The New Economy is dead,long live the information economy

The arrival of the 2001–2003 recession caused many to suppose that the so-called “New Economy” was now defunct. This article addresses a number of related issues, including the question of the durability and viability of business cycles in the face of the technological developments of the information age. It asks what went wrong with the New Economy and examines its characteristics as well as its remaining possibilities and prospects for the future. Finally, it considers the spread of the Information Economy to Europe, especially to Germany, the country that one might expect to be the leading European player, but which is not at present actually a strong competitor for that role.     

Voting Rights and Market Reaction to Dual Class Common Stock Issues

This paper examines the return of the original class of common stock around the announcement of the creation of a second class of stock. As in previous studies, this one finds a generally ambiguous market reaction on the first public announcement. However, this paper offers new evidence that both the voting rights and the compensation for loss of voting rights are important determinants of the market's reaction. Specifically, it demonstrates that a second class stock issue that contains no compensation for the lost voting rights results in negative returns. When the original stockholders are compensated for lost voting rights, they experience positive abnormal returns.     

我的九条命

在我生命中各个阶段里，我与学术界不知不觉地频频有缘。启蒙时期，我科到名师的熏导业已浸淫于国学；经史子籍，无所不读，撰文作诗，直追唐宋，俨然是一个“小老学究”。当我入仕时，一秉传统士大夫的志趋，一心为国为民，在我自我流放期间，发现我唯一可谋生的本领是学术，我既没有继承万贯家财，也没有在当权时放出许多人情，作为经商的捷径，实际上，我曾试探经商之路，但是在没有有力的后台引见下，我意识到，要加入一家企业，条件是能够为其带来多少商机，我对这种用才标准并不欣赏，在此情形下，要做一个小企业家，其生活方式也难以适应，特别是对我的妻女是一种冒险。     

International Borrowing, Specialization, and Unemployment in a Small Open Economy

The authors show that an increase in international borrowing increases specialization and unemployment in a small open economy that is subject to terms‐of‐trade risks. The economy has a production advantage in the export sector. However, the size of the export sector is limited by the available funds. To insure workers against income fluctuations arising from terms‐of‐trade risks, firms in the export sector offer workers a stable wage rate with the possibility of unemployment. An increase in international borrowing increases specialization in the export sector, which leads to higher unemployment when the terms‐of‐trade shock is bad. A state‐contingent price subsidy can reduce unemployment without inefficiently reducing specialization. The results are robust to the introduction of risk‐averse firms.     

家乐福:为全球零售商上课

家乐福集团在中国开设的大型超市就像零售业中的一个"海峡"--从东方和从西方卷来的大浪交织在一起:东方--在超市一边的货架上,可以看到大量鲜活的鱼、虾、牛蛙甚至甲鱼;西方--在另一边不远的冷藏柜里,又能看到真空包装的烟熏咸肉和意大利腊肠.这个来自法国的超级零售商运用现代的模式,结合当地人的口味,在中国经营着他们的零售帝国.     

Economic analysis of community‐based wildlife utilisation initiatives in Botswana

Financial and economic cost‐benefit models were applied to determine the worth of several planned community‐based, wildlife utilisation initiatives in Botswana, and to identify policy guidelines. Projects planned to incorporate small‐scale wildlife cropping. Rentals from safari‐hunting or wildlife‐viewing activities were found to have inherent viability, both financially and economically, particularly in the north of the country, where tourism is greatest. However, success is dependent on both good management and high densities of wildlife. In the Kalahari, game at low densities (more than 100 hectares per large stock unit) cannot be cropped profitably by communities and investments in game protection will result in economic gain. At higher game densities (between 100 and about 25 hectares per large stock unit), positive financial returns are possible with community‐based cropping but two considerations are important. First, investment in protection continues to pay economically and, second, cropping at close to maximum sustainable intensity is most profitable economically. Selective protection aimed at restoring proportions of drought‐sensitive game species also appears economically rewarding.