Media as watchdogs: The role of news media in electoral competition

We develop an equilibrium model to analyze the role of the media in electoral competition. When policy payoffs are state-dependent, party policies do not converge to the median voter's ideal policy if the media report only party policies. News analysis about the state, though possibly biased, can discipline off-equilibrium deviations and make the parties adopt more centrist policies. Since voters are rational, the party favored by the media need not win with a higher probability. Instead, media bias may reduce the effectiveness of electoral competition and lead to more polarized policies.     

外商直接投资与对外贸易技术溢出效应比较——基于面板因果关系的研究

开放经济中,最主要的国际经济关系是国际投资和国际贸易,二者都对东道国的产业有技术上的影响。文章运用面板单位根检验、协整检验以及误差修正模型等现代计量经济学方法,考察外资和进出口对中国整体技术水平的影响。结果显示FDI和技术进步互为长期和短期因果关系,对外贸易是技术进步的长期和短期原因,没有证据显示外商直接投资和进出口有长期稳定关系。     

The Effects of Environmental Factors on the Behavior of Chinese Managers in the Information Age in China

This paper examines the effects of environmental factors on the ethical behavior of managers using computers at work in Mainland China. In this study, environmental factors refer to senior management, peer groups, company policies, professional practices, and legal considerations. Ethical behaviors include attitudes to disclosure, protection of privacy, conflict of interest, personal conduct, social responsibility, and integrity. A questionnaire survey was used for data collection, and 125 mainland Chinese managers participated in the study. The results show that peer groups, professional practices, and legal considerations do influence the ethical behavior of mainland Chinese managers in the areas of social responsibility, integrity, and accountability. A discussion of the implications of the results is also provided in this paper.     

Navigating China's labyrinth: Singapore government‐linked companies and lessons learned from their experiences

The government‐linked companies (GLCs) were among the earliest Singapore firms to venture into China and tap into its rapid economic growth. Riding on their expertise in services and manufacturing, the financially strong GLCs have been able to penetrate the mainland market and gain a firm foothold in China. However, their success has not come easy. Many of the GLCs experienced many difficulties and had to learn to deal with the complexities of doing business in the mainland. This article uses an analytical framework to explore the difficulties that the GLCs face, with the Singapore‐Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP) as a case study. The article also examines if there has been a change in the business strategies after the SIP experience, offering some useful lessons for companies investing in China. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

浅谈内部审计风险管理

内部审计是以管理为导向的,产生内部审计风险的客观条件不同决定了它与外部审计在特点及影响因素等方面存在诸多差异。因此在现代企业制度下,控制和规避内部审计风险就要从多方面建立健全组织规章制度和相应的保障机制,从而有效防范内部审计风险,最大限度地保障和实现组织价值。     

Preschool for all? Enrollment and maternal labour supply implications of a bilingual preschool policy

ABSTRACT

Previous research supports the effectiveness of preschool in various contexts, yet there is limited evidence whether universal-type preschool policies induce changes in enrollment. While certain states have enacted universal preschool policies, some have also considered bilingual preschool mandates, either as a supplementary or stand-alone policy, requiring schools to open up bilingual classrooms for children from non-English speaking families. The question of whether bilingual preschool policies can induce enrollment and close achievement gaps between English learners and English speakers is particularly important today for urban cities and states with large immigrant populations. In this study, I exploit exogenous variation from the first bilingual prekindergarten mandate in Illinois to estimate the causal effects on preschool enrollment and maternal labour supply of recently immigrated and Hispanic families. Utilizing a difference-in-differences strategy, estimates suggest significant effects on preschool enrollment between 18% and 20% and no effects of increasing maternal labour supply in Illinois. Estimates are robust to various specifications, control groups, and timeframes. I use the analysis to further discuss whether universal preschool policies are designed sufficiently for access and inclusion of various student types, and contribute to our understanding on the effectiveness of using childcare subsidies to increase the welfare of low-income families.     

Covered interest arbitrage with transaction costs: An evidence from the Hong Kong foreign exchange market

This paper deals with the effects of transaction costs on the efficacy of covered and one-way interest arbitrage under the linked exchange rate system in the Hong Kong foreign exchange market. First, we examine the arbitrage opportunities in the swap market and in domestic and foreign securities markets. Second, we measure the profitability of covered interest arbitrage and one-way arbitrage. Empirical findings have shown that allowing for transaction costs, covered interest arbitrage seems to entail less unexploited opportunities for profit. However, there exists a great deal of unexploited profit opportunities in one-way arbitrage in the Hong Kong financial market.We are grateful to two anonymous referees and the editor for their helpful comments on an earlier version of this paper.     

Dynamic specification of demand functions: A cointegration approach

The single-equation approach has been commonly used in the studies of energy demand. However, as most of the data used in the energy demand model are unlikely to be stationary, this factor has to be taken into account when estimating the demand behavior. To overcome this problem, the authors have applied the cointegration and error-correction models to model Chinese coal consumption data. In order to contrast their performance with such traditional models as Hendry's general-to-specific approach, a forecast error comparison exercise has been conducted. In terms ofex post forecast errors, the Engle-Granger error correction model outperforms other chosen models. By using the Engle-Granger approach, it is possible to obtain important information about the behavior of coal demand in China.