古巴1990年以后的经济改革与新农民化

20世纪90年代早期，经济改革推动了古巴的社会变革，古巴进入了社会变革的新时期。社会变革的一些方面与传统的结构调整相似，而其他方面则与之有所不同。农业方面，国营农场被改造成为各种合作社，进一步细分了合作社的生产力，解放了农产品市场，以及把土地分割给小佃农。通过采访决策者和合作社的领导，并对古巴西部和东部进行调查，可以发现，20世纪90年代的古巴有两个重要特点：一是出现了“新农民化”现象；二是这两个地区的收入差距即使没有扩大，也依旧存在。然而，即使是在最贫穷的地区，小农户的收入还是比雇佣工人的平均收入要高一些，而在其他地区，则是高出许多。总的来说，古巴的经济危机迫使古巴的农业政策朝着巩固小农户地位的方向调整。     

守望光明

本文基于2008年10月在美国芝加哥召开的科尔尼商业政策委员会会议中全球政治经济领袖们的综合意见，率先从全球一片悲观情绪中看到了金融海啸后的第一线曙光。     

Triggering competition in the Spanish airline market: The role of airport capacity and low-cost carriers

We analyze the influence of increases in airport capacity and the entry of low-cost carriers on airline competition. We use parametric and non-parametric techniques to analyze a sample of Spanish routes. We find that capacity increases in large airports produce more competitive airline conduct only in routes departing from non-hub airports. Also, we find that the natural monopoly threshold decreases with time. Finally, low-cost carriers have a moderate but still significant effect on prices and increase alternatives even in low-density routes.     

Learning about reform: Time-varying support for structural adjustment

Political support for structural reforms can vary dramatically over time. Countries that have sustained reforms have seen their popularity grow, while others have witnessed sudden reversals of political support. Opinion can reverse itself, without any apparent provocation, when voters are learning about the effects of reform. In this model, structural adjustment causes a drop in government services and temporary unemployment. The unemployed gradually learn about when they will be re-employed. As labor markets adjust and the cost of reform is revealed, support can gradually rise, it can remain low and suddenly rise, or there can be a quick reversal of support for a previously popular policy. Cross-sectional data, event studies and case study support the explanation. Extensions consider international policies to maintain support for reform.     

Leveraged Recapitalizations, Operating Efficiency, and Stockholder Wealth

This research investigates the role that leveraged recapitalizations (recaps) play in disciplining inefficient managers. Accounting ratios are used to evaluate firm operating profitability and efficiency. Matched-firm-adjusted returns are used to assess stock market performance. Pre-recap and post-recap performance are evaluated separately. The results reveal that 1) recap managers are at least as efficient as matching non-recap managers prior to recapitalization, 2) recaps do not improve operating profitability and efficiency, and 3) increases in stockholder wealth around recap announcements are transitory. Further analysis indicates that post-recap stock price performance is correlated negatively with the recap-induced change in leverage.     

Manta ray tourism: interpersonal and social values conflicts,sanctions, and management

Scuba diving and snorkeling with manta rays (M. birostris, M. alfredi) at sites in Hawaii, USA, have become popular, with upward of 30 tour boats and 300 participants daily. This article examined whether conflicts are occurring within and between these activities and if so, what types of conflict are prevalent and how would participants respond (support restrictions, sanction others). Data from surveys of 444 participants following evening trips to view manta rays showed that 79% of snorkelers experienced in-group conflict with other snorkelers, and 53% of scuba divers reported conflict with other divers. Most conflicts were interpersonal (physical interactions among individuals interfering with experiences). Conflict behaviors included bumping into people (up to 92%), not being aware (up to 73%), and blinding people with underwater flashlights (up to 56%). There were fewer out-group conflicts between different activities (snorkelers vs. scuba divers) and minimal social values conflicts (negative preconceptions, no physical interactions among individuals). Participants supported limiting numbers of snorkelers, scuba divers, and boats, and providing education on how to behave with others. Those experiencing conflicts were more supportive of these strategies and more likely to directly sanction participants causing conflicts, but were not more likely to indirectly sanction managers and operators.     

Why economists dislike a lump of labor

The lump-of-labor fallacy has been called one of the “best known fallacies in economics.” It is widely cited in disparagement of policies for reducing the standard hours of work, yet the authenticity of the fallacy claim is questionable, and explanations of it are inconsistent and contradictory. This article discusses recent occurrences of the fallacy claim and investigates anomalies in the claim and its history. S.J. Chapman's coherent and formerly highly regarded theory of the hours of labor is reviewed, and it is shown how that theory could lend credence to the job-creating potentiality of shorter working time policies. It concludes that substituting a dubious fallacy claim for an authentic economic theory may have obstructed fruitful dialogue about working time and the appropriate policies for regulating it.     

The role of the media in a bubble

We examine the role of the news media during the British Railway Mania, arguably one of the largest financial bubbles in history. Our analysis suggests that the press responded to changes in the stock market, and its reporting of recent events may have influenced asset prices. However, we find no evidence that the sentiment of the media, or the attention which it gave to particular stocks, had any influence on exacerbating or ending the Mania. The main contribution of the media was to provide factual information which investors could use to inform their decisions.     

Acceso y uso de los mercados financieros para el pago de los gastos de la educación básica

The aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis and the macroeconomic adjustment that followed provided higher unemployment and eroded the Mexican households’ purchasing power. Though, families had to continue financing education expenditures, sometimes borrowing in the formal or informal financial market. The hypothesis of this paper posits that access and use of formal and informal financial products can reduce the financial problems associated with basic school private expenditures. The probit model is estimated through a sample of four hundred households drawn from the municipality of San Pedro Cholula (state of Puebla). The results indicate that a worsening of working conditions and sudden unemployment are associated with an increased likelihood of difficulties in making ends meet. Moreover, accessing the formal financial market lessens the likelihood of such problems, but for the informal counterpart results depend on the characteristics of each financial intermediary.