A new relative skill measure for games with chance elements

An interesting aspect of games is the relative extent to which a player can positively influence his results by making appropriate strategic choices. This question is closely related to the issue of how to distinguish between games of skill and games of chance. The distinction between these two types of games is definitely interesting from a juridical point of view. In this paper we present a modification of an existing measure of the skill level of a game, which has served as a juridical tool for the classification of games. The main difference is that this new definition does not automatically classify incomplete information games without chance moves as games of skill. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Non-stationarity and the import demand for virgin olive oil in the European Union

The aim of this study is to analyse the importation of virgin olive oil to European Union countries, paying special attention to the Spanish export contribution. The method used is based on the estimation of an imports demand system. The novelty of the paper lies not in the modelling approach but in the explicit consideration of the univariate characteristics of series that is included in the analysis. Since prices are non-stationary, cointegration among them has been tested. Results indicate that they are cointegrated and that homogeneity holds. As a result, relative prices are included in the imports demand system. Structural change is also considered so as to account for the entrance of both Spain and Greece into the EU during the period studied. Results demonstrate the leadership of Spain within the EU virgin olive oil market as well as the increasing competitiveness of Greek oil.     

The Impact of Bid-Ask Prices on Market Anomalies

A substantial body of literature on security market anomalies has evolved since the articulation of the efficient markets hypothesis. These anomalies include the size, January, and weekend effects. The evidence of such anomalies has been based upon returns computed from closing prices. Although readily available, analysis of closing prices may not reflect returns obtainable by public traders utilizing market orders to execute trades. We have demonstrated elsewhere that returns computed from closing prices are biased upward compared with returns that would have resulted from using market orders. This study reexamines the evidence on two market anomalies using returns generated in a manner more consistent with the actual returns available to actual market participants.     

Adjustment costs,durables, and aggregate consumption

Previous tests of the permanent-income hypothesis (PIH) have focused on either non-durables or durables expenditures in isolation. This paper studies consumer purchases of non-durables and durables as the outcome of a single optimization problem. It is shown that, with non-separability in utility, the presence of adjustment costs of changing durables stocks may affect the time series properties of both components of expenditure. An econometric test of the PIH based on the model developed in the paper is both more efficient and less prone to bias than those in some previous studies; however, this test confirms earlier rejections of the PIH in aggregate quarterly data.     

中国资本外逃的测算与防范

资本外逃是金融危机产生的催化剂与蔓延的助动器 ,对一国经济安全构成极大威胁。通过介绍资本外逃及其测算模型 ,运用间接法对我国资本外逃进行估算 ,结果显示中国存在严重的资本外逃现象。在详细分析中国资本外逃的产生原因之后 ,具体提出了一些相关防范对策。     

Book Reviews

Jim Schiller and Barbara Martin-Schiller (eds), Imagining Indonesia: Cultural Politics and Political Culture, Ohio University Centre for International Studies, Monographs in International Studies, Southeast Asia Series no. 97, Athens, Ohio, 1997, pp. xxiii + 351. US$30.00; £28.50

Bisuk Siahaan, Industrialisasi di Indonesia sejak Hutang Kehormatan sampai Banting Stir [Industrialisation in Indonesia from the Debt of Honour to the Change in Course], Pustaka Data, Jakarta, 1996, pp. xiv + 563 npg

J.Th Lindblad (ed.), Historical Foundations of a National Economy in Indonesia, 1890s–1990s, North-Holland and the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Amsterdam, 1996, pp viii + 427. Dfl 95.‐.

Sven Cederroth, Survival and Profit in Rural Java: The Case of an East Javanese Village, Nordic Institute of Asian Studies Monograph Series No 63, Curzon Press, Richmond, 1995, pp. xi + 301. npg.

R William Liddle, Leadership and Culture in Indonesian Politics, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, for ASAA Southeast Asia Publications Series, 1996. A$34.95.

Julius Tahija, Horizons Beyond, ‘Entrepreneurs of Asia’ series, Times Books International, Singapore, 1995, pp. xiii + 280. npg.

Mayling Oey-Gardiner, Mildred Wagemann, Evelyn Suleeman and Sulastri (eds), Perempuan Indonesia- Duht dan Kini [Indonesian Women: The Past and The Present], PT Gramcdia Pustaka Utama, Jakarta, 1996, pp. xvii + 477.

George Faulkner, Business Indonesia: A Practical Insight into Doing Business in Indonesia, Business. & Professional Publishing, Sydney, 1995, pp. xviii + 158.