Ground handling services at European hub airports: Development of a performance measurement system for benchmarking

The liberalization of ground handling in Europe forces airports to assess their performance relative to their competitors in order to remain competitive and sustain long-term competitive advantage. Together with main EU hub airports, action research was conducted for one year to develop a holistic performance measurement system (PMS) for ramp services. The resulting PMS entails a process-based perspective and reflects the supply chain of airport logistics. As the findings of an ex-post validation suggest, the system represents a suitable basis for competitive benchmarking activities.     

Relative price and inflation variability in a simple consumer search model

There is a large empirical literature on the effect of aggregate inflation on both price-level dispersion (relative price variability, RPV) and inflation rate dispersion (relative inflation variability, RIV) across goods or locations. Early empirical work of RIV has an explicit theoretical foundation in signal-extraction models. However, recent empirical work on RPV has produced results inconsistent with signal-extraction models. In particular, while RIV is increasing in the absolute value of inflation shocks, RPV is a negative monotonic function of inflation shocks. We show that consumer search theory offers a potential explanation for these apparently contradictory observations.     

Productivity growth in natural resource industries and the environment: an application to the Korean tuna purse-seine fleet in the Pacific Ocean

Measures of multifactor productivity growth in natural resource industries are misleading without accounting for the effects on the environment. This paper introduces environmental effects into an output-oriented Malmquist index of multifactor productivity growth in order to evaluate growth in productivity and technical efficiency for Korean purse seine vessels fishing for tuna in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean.     

Misjudging the character of the welfare state: Hayek,generality, and the knowledge problem

What are the limits of collective action? As James Buchanan famously worried, is it possible to empower the productive state without lapsing into the predatory state? This paper uses insights from F.A. Hayek to address problems of public goods and the role of the state. Hayek convincingly argued that no central planner has sufficient knowledge to run an economy. Yet Hayek also allowed for state provision of some goods beyond the prevention of coercion. The question, then, is whether Hayek’s safeguards offer a satisfactory response to Buchanan’s worry. This paper contends that Hayek violated his own conditions for permissible government activity. Nevertheless, he offers a serious research agenda for limiting state abuses.     

Other financial institutions' portfolio behaviour and policy implications: A study of India

Abstract

Applied literature has largely neglected the asset decision of other financial institutions (OFIs), though it may possess important policy implications. In this paper, portfolio behaviour of OFIs in India is modelled by using the annual flow of funds data for 1951/52 to 1993/94. The long-run model of the Almost Ideal Demand System and the allied concepts of cointegration generated economically and statistically plausible results. We find a strong influence of interest rates on portfolio behavior, thereby the role of interest rates on resource allocation. The paper concludes that the macroeconomic management through monetary policy actions may not be unnecessarily limited through the channel of OFIs in the post-financial reform regime in India.     

欧盟对外经济制裁政策评析

二战后,经济制裁一直是世界各国实现外交政策目标的重要手段之一.20世纪90年代以来,欧盟在国际上逐渐成为一个重要的经济制裁实施者,并将制裁政策纳入了其共同外交与安全政策之中.虽然欧盟对外经济制裁效果并不令人满意,甚至在对外经济制裁实施机制方面存在看冲突与困境,但欧盟制裁政策的目标、基本原则却日益凸现和完善.     

Four scenarios for nanotechnologies in the UK, 2011–2020

The future social value of nanoscale science and technology (NST) has been repeatedly represented as revolutionary. However, government and industry support for the commercialisation of NST has to confront four key areas of uncertainty: concerning potential hazards associated with applications, commercial viability, public acceptance and evolving regulation. Academic and policy responses have to date largely emphasised the need for adaptive and anticipatory regulation, yet research which evaluates the prospects of success in implementing such measures has so far been lacking. This paper contributes to remedying this lack by examining difficulties and opportunities which may arise around this regulatory agenda in the UK, with the aid of a ‘policy Delphi’ exercise undertaken with a multi-stakeholder panel. It summarises four scenarios to aid policy-makers and technology strategists in the UK and internationally in thinking through how the future of NST innovation may be affected by factors associated with the aforementioned areas of uncertainty.     

厦门市证券业存在问题及对策研究

一、厦门市证券业存在的问题 1、上市公司存在的问题 ——厦门市上市公司个体与群体规模均偏小,与全国平均水平比较有较大差距。1993年中国证券市场刚起步,当年的证券市场新股上市家数132家,厦门有4家,占3.03％;1996年上市的公司全国为212家,厦门占5家,占2.35％;1997年以后中国证券市场进入高速发展期,每年上市家数都在100家以上,而厦门3年仅上了3家,2000年全国上市168家,厦门却没     

Examining the relative influence of upper echelons ties on IPO underpricing

Integrating signaling theory with insights derived from the attention based view, this study addresses the question of which types of upper echelons ties initial public offering (IPO) markets value more. Specifically, we argue that the signals conveyed by upper echelons ties with publicly traded firms are perceived by IPO equity markets as more valuable than upper echelons ties with privately held firms. Additionally, we contend that the signals sent by external directorates with publicly traded firms are perceived more favorably by IPO equity markets than managerial ties with publicly traded firms. The theory in this study is tested on a sample of 366 firms than underwent their IPOs during 1997. The results of hypothesis tests provide partial support for our arguments.