Are Japanese stock prices too high?

This paper studies the behavior of Japanese stock prices, especially that of the price earnings ratio (PER) and the price dividend ratio (PDR) in the 1980s. It finds that movements in fundamentals such as the interest rate and the growth rate together with the widespread practice of cross share holdings between corporations fail to explain the behavior of PER and PDR in the 1980s. The sharp increases in the Japanese PER and PDR in the 1980s are due to one of the following three causes: bubbles, declines in risk premium, and expectations of land price inflation. The paper argues that the latter two may have been important features of the Japanese economy in the 1980s.     

Determinants of Underwriting Fees by New Entrant Banks: Evidence from the Japanese IPO Underwriting Market

This research investigates how banks expand market share after entering the underwriting market by examining the relation between commercial bank equity investments and underwriting fees. First, we find that not only bank underwriters with private information about issuers but also those without private information discount their fees, especially for smaller and riskier firms. This result is robust when using multiple firm‐bank relationship measures or when changing the investing stage. This is consistent with the strategic discount view that predicts that bank underwriters discount fees to expand bank market shares in underwriting markets.     

北方半干旱区氮肥不同配施方式对小南瓜产量的影响

小南瓜是北方半干旱区增加经济产值的适生作物之一。研究选用日本赤甘栗品种,采用田间小区试验,研究了在两种灌溉方式(灌溉、灌溉施肥)和四个牛粪氮添加水平(25、50、75、100 kg N/hm~2)处理下氮肥不同配施方式对小南瓜产量的影响。结果表明,在小南瓜生长前期,滴灌施肥方式可有效促进叶绿素的积累及叶片的复壮,有利于植株生长。单施有机肥组,随着牛粪氮添加水平的增加小南瓜产量未见明显增加,平均产量为10 t/hm~2;有机肥结合灌溉施肥组,随着牛粪氮添加水平的增加小南瓜产量显著增加,最高达到21.5 t/hm~2。当总氮添加量为100~140 kg/hm~2,有机无机肥配比为3:7~5:5时,小南瓜产量比单施牛粪肥增产60%,平均达到16 t/hm~2。