‘Doing-good’ and ‘doing-well’ in Chinese publicly listed firms

Recently, the presumed benefits of corporate social responsibility have become an important issue, especially for China where institutional settings are quite different from other parts of the world. Using an internationally accepted benchmark (OECD's Principles of Corporate Governance, OECD, 2004), this study constructs a corporate social responsibility (CSR) index to measure the quality of the corporate social responsibility practices of the 100 major Chinese listed firms during 2004–2007. This enables us to evaluate the progress of the corporate social responsibility practices of Chinese firms. The results show that Chinese companies have been making progress in their corporate social responsibility practices. The findings also show that market rewards Chinese firms for improving their corporate governance practices which implies ‘doing-good’ leads to ‘doing-well’ in the equity market in China. We also find that overseas-listed and more profitable Chinese firms have better improvement in CSR practice. This study has policy implications in pushing for further CSR initiatives in other emerging markets.     

TAX UNCERTAINTIES AND THE INVESTMENT DECISION

This paper investigates how the firm's investment decision is affected by uncertainties in the tax laws under an asymmetric structure of income taxation. Tax liability is modelled as a call option, and tax uncertainties are modelled as randomness in the exercise price of the call option. The effects on the investment decision are derived by evaluating the comparative statics of the optimal investment level with respect to the volatility of the exercise price. The central result is that the disincentive effects of the tax uncertainties are generally exacerbated under the tax asymmetry.     

The Profitability of Trading Strategies Based on Book Value and Earnings in Hong Kong: Market Inefficiency vs. Risk Premia

Using a sample of Hong Kong firms, we have examined the relative and incremental usefulness of book-to-price ratio (B/P), and earnings-to-price ratio (E/P) for providing profitable trading strategies or for predicting stock returns. Our results show that trading strategies based on B/P or E/P yield significant excess returns for various holding periods up to two years, and that B/P and E/P are not only individually but also incrementally useful for predicting stock returns. Further, results of various tests indicate that trading profits observed from the B/P strategy are likely to be a result of B/P proxying for risk differentials, while those from the E/P strategy are related to gains from exploitation of market inefficiency or mispricing. The two ratios appear to capture different aspects of firm value in Hong Kong.     

A Critical Investigation of the Use and Effectiveness of Interpretive Services

With increasing concern for the environment, there has been a strong interest in ecotourism in Hong Kong, culminating in the opening of the Hong Kong Wetland Park (HKWP) by the local government in 2005. Since the HKWP uses various on-site interpretive services to help to convey education and conservation messages on environmental issues, through the use of a recent survey this paper aims to examine and analyze their use and effectiveness in achieving the intended purpose. The questionnaire was completed by 206 visitors and reveals that experiential facilities, interpretive signs and exhibition materials are the three most frequently used services. Although guided interpretive tours have received the highest satisfaction rating and are considered the most effective means of conveying educational and conservation messages, the survey found that this service is still unknown to many visitors and more public exposure is recommended. Interestingly, in terms of the goal of the wetland park's ability to convey an educational message to its patrons, the survey has also found a significant difference in success rate between visitors with a desire for knowledge and visitors merely enjoying a leisurely activity.     

The economic burden of psoriasis with high comorbidity among privately insured patients in the United States

Objective: To evaluate the impact of comorbidities on healthcare resource use (HRU), and direct and indirect work-loss-related costs in psoriasis patients.

Methods: Adults with psoriasis (≥2 diagnoses, the first designated as the index date) and non-psoriasis controls (no psoriasis diagnoses, randomly generated index date) were identified in a US healthcare claims database of privately-insured patients (data between January 2010 and March 2017 were used). Psoriasis patients were stratified based on the number of psoriasis-related comorbidities (0, 1–2, or ≥3) developed during the 12?months post-index. All outcomes were evaluated during the follow-up period, spanning the index date until the end of continuous health plan eligibility or data cut-off. HRU and costs per-patient-per-year (PPPY) were compared in psoriasis and non-psoriasis patients with ≥12?months of follow-up.

Results: A total of 9,078 psoriasis (mean age?=?44?years, 51% female) and 48,704 non-psoriasis (mean age?=?41?years, 50% female) patients were selected. During the 12?months post-index, among psoriasis vs non-psoriasis patients, 71.0% vs 83.0% developed no psoriasis-related comorbidities, 26.3% vs 16.0% developed 1–2, and 2.6% vs 1.0% developed ≥3 psoriasis-related comorbidities. Compared to non-psoriasis patients, psoriasis patients had more HRU including outpatient visits (incidence rate ratios [IRRs]?=?1.52, 2.03, and 2.66 for 0, 1–2, and ≥3 comorbidities, respectively [all p?p?p?p?Conclusions: HRU and cost burden of psoriasis are substantial, and increase with the development of psoriasis-related comorbidities.     

TRADE AND WAGE INEQUALITY: THE HONG KONG CASE

Abstract. This paper examines the effects of Hong Kong–mainland China trade on the wage inequality in Hong Kong. Because of the large volume of trade and the large income disparity between these two regions, this empirical study provides a good test of the theories on North–South trade. The econometric analyses show that the relative wage between the skilled and unskilled workers in Hong Kong increased as the share of the volume of Hong Kong's trade with mainland China in Hong Kong's total trade volume rose.     

AN ANALYSIS OF HONG KONG EXPORT PERFORMANCE

Abstract.  The study models the Hong Kong domestic exports and re-exports, compares the performance of exports to the rest of the world, the USA and Japan, and uses destination-and-export-type specific unit value indexes to construct real exchange rates. In general, Hong Kong exports display mean-reverting dynamics, are positively influenced by foreign income and are adversely affected by high value of its currency. The lagged export variable, foreign income, and real exchange rate provide most of the explanatory power. Other variables explain marginally the variability of Hong Kong exports.     

How does line-manager support enhance worker wellbeing? A study in China

Abstract

Drawing on the job demands-resources and effort-reward imbalance models, this study investigates the mediating roles of intrinsic motivation and distributive justice in the relationships between line-manager support and employee wellbeing (job satisfaction, work engagement and physical health). Responses to a survey of 357 front-line workers in a Chinese manufacturer were analysed through structural equation modelling. We find, in this context, that line managers are a strong determinant of employee wellbeing when they foster the intrinsic motivation of employees and their perceptions of organisational justice. Such findings are helpful for our understanding of attitudes in the Chinese workforce and underline the value of analysing multiple mediating mechanisms and multiple wellbeing outcomes in human resource management-wellbeing research.     

A Note on the Information Content of Relocating Corporate Domicile: A Trading Volume Approach

Overseas location of corporate domicile is not new for Hong Kong. Before the eighties, some companies operating in Hong Kong, principally shipping companies and financial institutions, registered overseas for tax purposes. Since 1989 there has been a rapid increase in the number of companies deciding to relocate, including industrial companies. This study examinies the association between sharemarket trading and the relocation announcement. The results indicate that unusually large trading volumes are observed immediately after the announcement day.     

An exploratory study of the relationship between customer-based casino brand equity and firm performance

This exploratory study examines the relationship between customer-based casino brand equity and firm performance using Macau casinos as a sample. The results indicated that better-performing casino brands were associated with greater customer-based brand equity, which comprises brand loyalty, brand image and brand awareness. Furthermore, Asia Pacific-based casino brands in Macau outperformed their U.S.-based counterparts in terms of customers’ perceived quality, suggesting the need for U.S.-based casino brands to better cater for the needs of Macau casino visitors and to localize their services. Future research directions are also suggested.