Do changes in demographic characteristics explain declining male employment rates? Examination of the Australian case using a propensity score re-weighting decomposition approach

Using Australian data spanning the period from 1981 to 2001, we apply a propensity score re-weighting decomposition approach to investigate the extent to which the large decline in the male employment population rate over this period can be attributed to changes in socio-demographic characteristics. We find that changes in observed characteristics account for little of the aggregate decline. However, changes in characteristics are found to be important for population sub groups. In particular, changes in partner status and partner employment status have acted to decrease employment rates of younger males, but increase employment rates of older males. A further finding is that, holding observed characteristics constant, there has been a very large decline in the employment rate of 55–64-year-olds with bachelor degree qualifications. In the course of applying the decomposition method, we illustrate that validity of inferences depends on ‘appropriate’ specification of the reweighting function.     

Ethical dilemmas of relationship building in china

We analyze and discuss some ethical dilemmas of doing business on the Chinese Mainland, referring to detailed accounts of the gift‐giving and contract‐getting experiences of two overseas Chinese managers in dealings with Mainland Chinese managers in the sporting and leisure industries. We compare these cases with accounts of transactions in worldwide ship repair, and with a newspaper report of a sport‐related case in Hong Kong. Using a version of Kohlberg's moral‐stages model, and identifying key differences between guanxi and rational‐legal ethics, we explain how guanxi can become entangled with corruption in China. We link our explanations to the absence of rational‐legal moral governance, and to the sociological phenomena of anomie and relative deprivation. We conclude with suggestions about the conduct of China business. ? 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Jump variance risk: Evidence from option valuation and stock returns

We study jump variance risk by jointly examining both stock and option markets. We develop a GARCH option pricing model with jump variance dynamics and a nonmonotonic pricing kernel featuring jump variance risk premium. The model yields a closed-form option pricing formula and improves in fitting index options from 1996 to 2015. The model-implied jump variance risk premium has predictive power for future market returns. In the cross-section, heterogeneity in exposures to jump variance risk leads to a 6% difference in risk-adjusted returns annually.     

Usage Behavior Causal Model Construction for B&B-Owned Websites—from the B&B Owner/Operator Perspective

Previous studies on B&B (Bed and Breakfast) website usage behavior focused mainly on clients. It has been seldom researched to apply the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to verify the owner/operator usage behavior on B&B websites. This study aims to validate the causal relationship among beliefs, usage attitude, and behavior intention in website usage of B&B owners/operators. The results revealed that the TAM was recognized and the perceived ease of usage of B&B websites plays the most important role on the behavioral intention of B&B owners/operators. An easy and effective B&B website may allow an owner/operator to improve a B&B’s operational performance. Age has a significantly negative influence on perceived ease of use for B&B websites and educational attainment has a positive impact on perceived ease of use for B&B websites. Finally, conclusions and implications were discussed. This study can be used as a theoretical foundation and reference for further exploring related issues.     

A statistical treatment of the problem of division

The problem of division is one of the most important problems in the emergence of probability. It has been long considered solved from a probabilistic viewpoint. However, we do not find the solution satisfactory. In this study, the problem is recasted as a statistical problem. The outcomes of matches of the game are considered as an infinitely exchangeable random sequence and predictors/estimators are constructed in light of de Finetti representation theorem. Bounds of the estimators are derived over wide classes of priors (mixing distributions). We find that, although conservative, the classical solutions are justifiable by our analysis while the plug-in estimates are too optimistic for the winning player.Acknowledgement. The authors would like to thank the referees for the insightful and informative suggestions and, particularly, for referring us to important references.Supported by NSC-88-2118-M-259-009.Supported in part by NSC 89-2118-M-259-012.Received August 2002     

Enterprise risk management and firm performance: A contingency perspective

In recent years, a paradigm shift has occurred regarding the way organizations view risk management. Instead of looking at risk management from a silo-based perspective, the trend is to take a holistic view of risk management. This holistic approach toward managing an organization’s risk is commonly referred to as enterprise risk management (ERM). Indeed, there is growing support for the general argument that organizations will improve their performance by employing the ERM concept. The basic argument presented in this paper is that the relation between ERM and firm performance is contingent upon the appropriate match between ERM and the following five factors affecting a firm: environmental uncertainty, industry competition, firm size, firm complexity, and board of directors’ monitoring. Based on a sample of 112 US firms that disclose the implementation of their ERM activities within their 10Ks and 10Qs filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, empirical evidence confirms the above basic argument. The implication of these findings is that firms should consider the implementation of an ERM system in conjunction with contextual variables surrounding the firm.     

Who Wants to Trade Around Ex‐Dividend Days?

We examine order flows around ex-dividend dates on the Taiwan Stock Exchange. By using Taiwan's data, we can examine the heterogeneity of investors' behavior around ex-dividend dates to test different hypotheses. We find that for both taxable and nontaxable samples, small investors sell before the ex date and buy from the ex date, suggesting that small investors prefer low-priced stocks. We find weaker evidence that tax-disadvantaged foreign and large domestic investors avoid participating in taxable dividends. We find strong evidence that tax- neutral institutions play the role of short-term arbitrageurs around ex-dividend dates.     

The LeChatelier principle: the long and the short of it

Summary. Using ordinary calculus techniques, we investigate the conditions under which LeChatelier effects are signable for finite changes in parameter values. We show, for example, that the short run demand for a factor is always less responsive to price changes than the long run demand, provided that the factor of production and the fixed factor do not switch from being substitutes to being complements (or vice versa) over the relevant range of the price change. The absence of a sign change in the complementarity/substitutability relation holds under conditions that are considerably more general than supermodularity of the production function.     

Are Patenting Activities in U.S. Universities Still Affected by Bayh-Dole Act？

Based on four data sources, the trends of the patent activities of US universities in the last 40 years are quantitatively assessed. It has been found that patenting activities in U.S. universities slowed down greatly after 2000 and remained flat until the period from 2010 to 2012, when activities recover to the level of strength characterizing the period before 2000 and after the enactment of the Bayh-Dole Act. The affects of the （Bayh-Dole） Act on the university patenting activities （UPAs） are specifically analyzed for the time span considered. We found that the impacts of the Act had been remaining strong until the year of 1999 and then greatly diminished. We also identify that economic recessions are the major cause to the flatness of the patenting activities during 2000s. Recently, many concerns on university patent activities have been raised; these concerns are reviewed and recommendations to resolute to these concerns are provided.