Production location and random input price

The purpose of this paper is to develop systematically the theory of plant location for a competitive firm facing random input price. It will be shown that the impact of input price uncertainty on the firm's optimum location depend crucially upon (i) the firm's attitude toward risk, (ii) the characteristics of the production function, (iii) the structure of transport costs on inputs and output, and (iv) the type of input usages. Moreover, and more importantly, some conclusions obtained by prior studies on location theory in a certainty world can also be shown to be special cases of our more general results, but some are not justifiable in a world with random input price.     

Managerial Self-Interest, Pension Financial Slack and Corporate Pension Funding

This paper examines the impact of managerial self-interest on corporate pension funding decisions. It is postulated that managers with no ownership stake in the firm will have incentives to maintain financial slack in the form of excess pension funding. Pension funding slack may be viewed as a managerial perquisite that decreases the probability of necessary future debt financing. Such a strategy may increase the value of undiversified human capital to the detriment of maximizing shareholder wealth. As managerial ownership increases, the incentives to consume such a perquisite will decrease since the interests of managers and shareholders become more aligned. The results presented in this study strongly support this proposition.     

What Happens During the Private Period?: Evidence from Public‐to‐Private Reverse LBOs

This study provides new evidence on the restructuring activities undertaken by public‐to‐private reverse leveraged buyouts (RLBOs) while owned by private equity firms. The authors' comprehensive sample of public‐to‐private LBOs that return to public ownership through IPOs enables them to observe changes in profitability, valuation, financial structure, operating structure, and cost structure from the time the firms go private through (and after) their emergence through (re‐) IPOs. With their exclusive focus on reverse LBOs involving public‐to‐private deals, the authors reach findings that contradict previous conclusions about RLBOs. At the time of the LBO, the target firms in reverse LBOs are more levered than their peers, pay higher dividends, and are more profitable than their peers. At the same time, however, they appear to have lower market valuations before the buyouts. During the private period, the target firms of reverse LBOs achieve significant increases in employee productivity, asset restructuring, and improved gross margins, while operating with substantially higher levels of debt financing, lower levels of cash and working capital, and greater concentration of equity ownership. After the companies return to public ownership through IPOs, such companies continue to operate with higher leverage and ownership concentration than their publicly traded peers while producing further increases in profitability, resulting in substantial increases in both enterprise and equity valuation. The authors' analysis also shows that higher debt levels from the buyout play an important role in increased enterprise values. The evidence suggests that possible undervaluation as well as expected efficiency gains from restructuring actions are the primary motives for such reverse LBOs.     

THE MARKET'S PRICING OF DEBT IPOs

Based on the authors' recent study published in the Journal of Financial Economics , this article summarizes new evidence on the first-day and aftermarket price performance of a firm's first public offer of bonds after its equity IPO. Unlike equity IPOs, such bond IPOs are not underpriced on average. However, bonds that are more equity-like (junk bonds) are underpriced at the initial offer whereas high-grade debt is actually overpriced. This finding supports the view that riskier debt issues have a larger equity component and, as a consequence, a higher degree of information asymmetry.
The authors' study also showed that less prestigious underwriters are associated with more underpriced offers, and that the issuer's stock market listing plays an important role in determining the first-day price performance of bond IPOs. The degree of underpricing is lower for bonds issued by firms whose equity is listed on NYSE/AMEX than for bonds issued by firms listed on Nasdaq. Finally, the aftermarket performance for the full sample and various subsamples is consistent with bond market efficiency in the sense that, once prices adjust after the first day of trading, there are no clearly exploitable opportunities for excess returns.     

试评我国原产地规则的不足

一、我国原产地规则的历史及概况１９８６年１２月，我国海关总署颁布了第一个有关原产地的行政法规———《中华人民共和国海关关于进口货物原产地的暂行规定》并于１９９３年１０月２６日对该规定进行了修订。根据该规定，海关在判定进口货物的原产地时有两个标准：一是对于完全在一个国家内生产或制造的产品，该国即视为原产地；二是对于经过几个国家加工制造的产品，以最后一个对产品进行经济上或视为实质性加工的国家为原产地。具体标准是：《海关进出口税则》中４位数税号一级的税则归类已发生改变，或者加工增值部分占新产品总值超过…     

Auditor selection and corporate social responsibility

This study examines the association between the selection of an industry‐specialist auditor and corporate social responsibility (CSR). We find that firms with higher CSR ratings are more likely to hire industry‐specialist auditors (national‐level industry leaders, city‐level industry leaders or joint city‐national industry leaders). Moreover, firms with better CSR performance related to product quality and the environment in controversial industries are found to select non‐specialized auditors. The results suggest that such firms may overinvest in CSR activities associated with the environment and product issues to disguise the sin nature of their manufactured goods, and simultaneously engage low quality auditors perhaps to avoid full disclosure of potential environmental and legal liabilities. Overall, we conclude that CSR is associated with the non‐controversial firms ensuring high quality financial reporting in response to societal expectations, and thus CSR firms in such industries have strong incentives to engage industry‐specialist auditors.     

Developing the evidence base of patient and public involvement in health and social care research: the case for measuring impact

While patient and public involvement (PPI) in health and social care research has progressed successfully in the last decade, a range of difficulties with the evidence base exist, including poor understanding of the concept of impact, limited theorization and an absence of quantitative impact measurement. In this paper, we argue that a paradigm change towards robust measurement of the impact of involvement in research is needed to complement qualitative explorations. We argue that service users should be collaboratively involved in the conceptualization, theorization and development of instruments to measure PPI impact. We consider the key advantages measurement would bring in strengthening the PPI evidence base through a greater understanding of what works, for whom, in what circumstances and why.     

Consumers' perceptions of mail‐order speciality foods

The objectives of the study are to examine consumers' perceptions of speciality food mail‐order products on the basis of a mail survey of “active” and “inactive” mail‐order shoppers. The paper identifies a profile of mail‐order shoppers, examines the influence of perceived risk and the effectiveness of risk relievers, derives the dimensions of perceived benefits and establishes consumer segments based upon benefits sought.

The results reveal a distinct profile of active in‐home shoppers with resped to demographic and lifestyle variables.

Shoppers perceive higher levels of risk with mail‐order shopping compared to in‐store shopping. Appropriate risk relievers are identified for both active and inactive groups.

Consumers' perceptions of the benefits of mail‐order emphasis quality, uniqueness and convenience. However, underlying these attributes are four main dimensions of customer relations and service, convenience, nostalgia and uniqueness.

Furthermore, it is possible to identify two segments of active mailorder shoppers in terms of a produd‐oriented group and a mail‐order‐oriented group.     

Legal Protection,Corruption and Private Equity Returns in Asia

Although trustworthiness has been described as a source of competitive advantage, its value extends to organizational governance and wealth creation. We identify the importance of the commitment–compliance continuum in the decision to trust and note that trustworthiness is a subjective perception viewed through each person’s mediating lens. That lens and each person’s interpretation of the social contract impact one’s commitment to cooperate. We suggest five propositions that integrate trustworthiness, governance, and wealth creation.     

中国股票市场的信息测量与分析——基于771只上证A股的市场微观结构研究

依托上交所启动市价委托机制以及股票被ST的"自然实验",本文分析了成交(未成交)委托的价格发现作用,测量了成交(未成交)委托不平衡中的私有信息含量和信息不对称程度。研究发现:其一,启动市价委托机制前,成交委托中的信息含量居多,约40.75%,未成交委托中的信息含量只有0.46%。其二,启动市价委托机制后,成交委托和未成交委托中的私有信息含量均显著上升,分别净增加约11.5%和5.0%;而信息不对称程度均显著下降,分别净下降约14.8%和3.5%。其三,ST股票的成交委托和未成交委托中的私有信息含量比正常股票分别净增加2.6%和54.2%;信息不对称程度因ST效应净增加约35.0%,但未成交委托的信息不对称程度下降并不显著。这为我国证券市场透明化建设提供了定量依据。