Global terrorism: deterrence versus pre-emption

Abstract .  This paper analyses two anti-terrorism policies when a targeted nation's people and property are in jeopardy at home and abroad. A country's deterrence decision involves both external benefits and costs as the terrorist threat is deflected, while its preemption decision typically gives external benefits when the threat is reduced for all potential targets. With damages limited to home interests, a country will overdeter, while, for globalized terror, a country will underdeter. Pre-emption is usually undersupplied. Leader-follower behaviour is apt to lessen inefficiency for deterrence, but worsen inefficiency for pre-emption, compared with simultaneous-choice equilibrium allocations. Targeted nations can never achieve the proper counterterrorism policy through leadership.     

New Evidence on the Determinants of Bank Risk

This paper uses equity returns for publicly traded US bank holding companies (BHCs) from 1997 to 2004 to identify the determinants of risk, measured by equity market volatility, and examine how they have evolved. The results indicate that balance sheet items such as commercial and industrial loans and consumer lending and income statement items such as other noninterest income drive the cross-sectional differences in BHC risk. Newly mandated regulatory data on the components of other noninterest income show that investment banking, servicing, securitization income, gains from loan sales, gains other asset sales, and other noninterest income are particularly volatile activities. This highlights the value of increased transparency as a means to improve market discipline and reduce the opacity of complex financial institutions. Finally, in the years after 2000, the locus of risk has shifted off of the balance sheet and onto the income statement as investors identify the new risks associated with evolving and expanding bank activities.     

社会生产力是制度的生产函数(下)——社会集成创造力的制度弹性

中国最近20多年的强劲发展,源于改革在一定程度上激发了中国人的创造力。人类发展的历史证明,社会生产力实际上是人类集成创造力,它由三大系统构成。制度结构作用于人类集成创造力生成、发挥、发展全过程的“力”,则是制度生产力。人类社会任何时期历史继承的现存创造力都是一个既定的量,但在不同的制度生产力作用下会产生不同的增量,有着不同的函数对应关系,即社会生产力变量是制度变量的生产函数,有效制度是解放和发展社会生产力的内在因素。     

Imported Technology and R&D in the Taiwanese Electronic Industry

The paper identifies the R&D status of the Taiwanese electronics industry by employing a bivariate probit selectivity model to examine the relationship between imports of technology and inhouse R&D at the firm level. A complementary relationship between imported technology and inhouse R&D is observed, which implies that imported technology does not inhibit inhouse R&D in the Taiwanese electronic industry. However, technology-importing enterprises have a higher average level of R&D expenditure than nonimporting ones, indicating that the R&D conducted in the industry is dominated by the adaptive R&D of the technology-importing enterprises.     

Using Formula Prices in the Absence of Publicly Reported Prices: An Application for Segregated Early Weaned Pigs

A formula for deriving the price of segregated early weaned pigs using corn, soybean meal, and market hog prices was estimated by equating return on investment for the different phases of production. USDA reported prices were compared with prices derived from this and several other common formulas. Based on several accuracy measures, the estimated formula was better at predicting spot-market prices than other formulas. Producers appear to form price expectations based on futures plus expected basis rather than simply futures or current cash prices. However, the method of choosing price expectations will depend on the risk attitudes of the buyer and seller and their business relationship. Developing pricing formulas based on the framework outlined here (equal returns on investment) has merit for establishing prices in the absence of publicly reported information. However, it is important that users of the formula understand the conceptual framework of how and why it was developed.     

理念的突围:高校生态经营管理

生态学理论对高等教育的潜入,引发了高校经营管理理念的变革。高校正在走出惯性思维的“围城”,教育的个性与特色,校与校的竞争与合作、学校与社会的和谐与交融,使林立的高校,在各居其位中展示出异彩纷呈的生态景观。     

论我国城镇化道路的特殊性

在城镇化进程中,除了普遍适用的共性外,不同国家和地区,在不同历史时期,城镇化道路具有其特殊性。我国城镇化道路的特殊性主要表现为:城镇化道路的“二元”性、城镇化道路的“农本”性、城镇化道路的可持续发展性、城镇化道路的市场主导性和政府调控性。     

建设社会主义新农村与农业产业化经营中的税收优惠政策研究

没有农村的现代化,就不会有全国的现代化,建设社会主义新农村是我国现代化进程中的重大历史任务。同时,世界各国农业现代化的道路证明,农业产业化是实现农业现代化的必要途径,也是我国农业发展的必然趋势。因此,关注和研究农业产业化和新农村建设具有时代的现实意义。