Heterogeneous Firms,Globalisation and the Distance Puzzle

Despite the strong pace of globalisation, the distance effect on trade is persistent or even growing over time (Disdier and Head, 2008). To solve this distance puzzle, we use the recently developed gravity equation estimator from Helpman et al. (2008) (HMR henceforth). Using three different data sets, we find that the distance coefficient increases over time when ordinary least squares (OLS) is used, while the non‐linear estimation of HMR leads to a decline in the distance coefficient over time. The distance puzzle, thus, arises from a growing bias of OLS estimates. The latter is explained by an increase in the importance of the bias from omitting the number of heterogeneous exporting firms relative to the bias from omitting zero trade flows. Furthermore, we show that including zero trade flows cannot solve the distance puzzle when using HMR. The HMR estimates are strongly correlated with the time pattern in freight costs reported by Hummels (2007).     

An Estimation of the Intergenerational Income Elasticity of China

Abstract:

Using 1989–2006 waves of the China Health and Nutrition Survey data, we estimate the intergenerational income elasticity (IIE) of China. We find that the lower bound of the IIE is 0.491 using the son’s latest observed income and his father’s income averaged over three periods. We use the father’s number of years of education as an instrumental variable for his permanent income to derive the upper bound of the IIE, which is 0.556. We find that the intergenerational income mobility of rural China is higher than that in urban areas.     

三氯甲基碳酸酯的开发应用

三氯甲基碳酸酯是一种新型的可以替代光气及双光气的化工原料,本文介绍了其合成及应用。     

Traditional culture,political ideologies,materialism and luxury consumption in China

China is now the second largest luxury market in the world. This study examines the effect of traditional Chinese cultural values and support for political ideologies on materialism and interest in luxury products. Results showed that both traditional Chinese cultural values (face, harmony and guanxi) and political ideology (Maoism vs. Deng's theory) influenced materialistic aspirations and interest in luxury products. This suggests that researchers should also consider the influence of political ideology as much as they consider cultural values, as many developing societies are in transition.     

Social Capital or Ethnic Enclave Location? A Multilevel Explanation of Immigrant Business Growth

The rapid increase in migration into host countries and the growth of immigrant‐owned business enterprises has revitalized research on ethnic business. Does micro (individual)‐level social capital, or meso (group)‐level location within the ethnic enclave lead to immigrant business growth? Or do you need both? We analyze quantitative data collected from 110 Chinese restaurants in Australia, a major host country. At the micro level we find that coethnic (same ethnic group) networks are critical to the growth of an immigrant entrepreneur's business, particularly in the early years. But non‐coethnic (different ethnic group) social capital only has a positive impact on business growth for immigrant businesses outside the ethnic enclave. Our findings are relevant, not only to host‐country policymakers, but also for future immigrant business owners and ethnic community leaders trying to better understand how to promote healthy communities and sustainable economic growth. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The ethical profile of global marketing negotiators

As international trade and business opportunities grow globally, insight into trading partners’ strategies is essential. One of the major strategies that impact trading partners’ relationships is negotiation strategy employed by each partner. These strategies assume even greater importance when these strategies have ethical content. This study examines the effects of marketing executives’ preferred ethical ideologies (relativism and idealism), opportunism and Machiavellianism on their perceived appropriateness of unethical negotiation tactics. Utilizing a sample of 995 marketing executives from six countries, cluster analysis and multivariate analysis of variance revealed two types of marketing negotiators: principled and corrupt negotiators. Corrupt negotiators tend to be more Machiavellian, more relativist, more opportunistic and less idealistic than their principled counterparts. Principled negotiators tend to perceive unethical negotiation tactics less favorably than their corrupt counterparts. Implications of these results for practitioners and directions for future research are discussed.     

Is the cardholder an efficient alarm system to detect credit card incidents?

There is a growing tendency in credit card industry to increase the contribution of the smallest players, the cardholders, in the detection of card incidents. This article examines whether cardholders are efficient at detecting/communicating incidents of theft, loss or fraudulent use of their cards. The analysis focuses on whether they demonstrate enough speed of response to support a risk control subsystem by the issuer. The research follows a completely new approach showing how the issue can be handled by applying the concept of elasticity, a notion just recently exported from economics to the field of statistics by linking it with the reverse hazard rate. The issue is focused on the analysis of the characteristics of the elasticity function of the random variable that measures the delay of cardholders in reporting incidents. This study is illustrated with an application to a real data set of 1069 incidents.