Has China’s fast industrial growth been efficient? An industry-level investigation with a newly constructed data set

We adopt contemporaneous, nonradial and variable returns to scale assumptions in a data envelopment analysis (DEA) exercise to address the inefficiency problem in Chinese industries in different policy regimes using a newly constructed data set for 24 Chinese manufacturing industries in 1952–2008. While confirming that the central planning period was indeed a ‘graveyard’ for productivity that entailed severe technical regress and efficiency losses, we do not find a steady improvement in efficiency during the reform period despite strong technical progress. We argue that the resurgent prominence of the government and the state sector since the late 1990s, especially following China’s World Trade Organization accession, has obstructed the efficiency improvement.     

Grouped coefficients to reduce bias in heterogeneous dynamic panel models with small T

We propose the grouped coefficients estimator to reduce bias in dynamic panels with small T that have a multilevel structure to the coefficient and factor loading heterogeneity. If groups are chosen such that the within-group heterogeneity is small, then the grouped coefficients estimator can lead to substantial bias reduction compared to pooled GMM dynamic panel estimators. We also propose using a Wald test that can be used to assess whether pooled estimators suffer from heterogeneity bias. We illustrate the usefulness of grouped coefficients with an application to labour demand in which the coefficients are grouped by sub-sector. Our results suggest that the standard pooled estimates are substantially biased.     

Asymmetric loss and herding behaviour of exchange rate forecasters: evidence from South Africa

This study examines the asymmetry of the loss function for private forecasters in exchange rate forecasts of the South African rand. It tests rationality under the possibility of an asymmetric loss function. The results indicate less evidence of asymmetry for a horizon of 1 month but considerable evidence of asymmetry for a horizon of 3 months. However, the shapes of the distributions formed by estimated asymmetry parameters of sub-samples for each forecaster are symmetric, regardless of the forecast horizons, which implies that these forecasters do not herd or antiherd. In fact, the results of our empirical herding test show that forecasters neither herd nor antiherd, which is in sharp contrast to recent findings on antiherding for foreign exchange rates in emerging market economies. Our findings provide consistent evidence for a recent suggestion that antiherding might result in the rejection of rationality, even under asymmetric loss functions. Our findings also suggest that central bank transparency might be associated with herding behaviours.     

Learning and the disappearing association between governance and returns

The correlation between governance indices and abnormal returns documented for 1990–1999 subsequently disappeared. The correlation and its disappearance are both due to market participants' gradually learning to appreciate the difference between good-governance and poor-governance firms. Consistent with learning, the correlation's disappearance was associated with increases in market participants' attention to governance; market participants and security analysts were, until the beginning of the 2000s but not subsequently, more positively surprised by the earning announcements of good-governance firms; and, although governance indices no longer generated abnormal returns during the 2000s, their negative association with firm value and operating performance persisted.     

基于ADAMS的四足机器人运动仿真研究

作为工业机器人的一个主要研究分支,多足机器人具有很强的环境适应性和运动灵活性,正在日益受到重视。应用三维建模软件UG建立了四足机器人的模型,导入到虚拟样机分析软件ADAMS中生成虚拟样机模型,并对四足机器人进行了步态规划,利用MATLAB计算得到机器人关节运动轨迹,导入到ADAMS中,模拟了机器人的实际运动状态,得到其爬行轨迹。利用虚拟样机进行仿真为多足机器人步态规划的研究提供了一种良好的试验方法。     

A Cost Function for the Natural Gas Transmission Industry

This article estimates the parameters of a cost function for the process of gas transmission based on the two basic capital inputs to the process: pipe and compressors. This in turn allows us to assess the combination of capital, operating, and maintenance costs that minimize the total cost of a natural gas transportation system. We further show that the industry's production technology exhibits increasing returns to scale. That is, we find that the long-run marginal cost is lower than the long-run average cost per unit. The natural gas transmission cost function derived is consistent with the engineering aspects of the industry and may be used to find the minimal cost of a system to transport natural gas.     

Borrowing Interest Rate as a Function of the Debt-Equity Ratio in Capital Budgeting Models

This research extends Weingartner's basic horizon model by letting the borrowing terest rate vary from period to period as a function of the debt-equity ratio. blicly available data for two industries are used to obtain the function. Two models 2 developed: a non-convex nonlinear programming problem, which is solved by the oke and Jeeves algorithm; and an iterative linear model. It is concluded that either del can be used to represent the relationship between borrowing interest rate and Dt-equity ratio in the context of the capital budgeting problem.     

No,I Do Belong: How Asian American and Asian Canadian Professionals Defy and Counter Workplace Racial Violence during COVID-19

We explore the different types of racial violence encountered by Asian American and Asian Canadians (whom we refer to as Asians) in the workplace during COVID-19 and how they respond. Using a grounded theory approach, we found that during the COVID-19 pandemic, Asians experienced different types of workplace racial violence, most of which manifested as microaggressions, including a revival of the yellow peril trope, physical manifestations of bordering behaviour, and identity denial. In some cases, manifestations of physical violence also emerged. The data revealed that Asians demonstrated various types of agentic responses to challenge and counter unwanted and incorrect identities conveyed by the racial microaggressions. We enhance theory by shedding light on the experiences of Asians whose voice has largely been ignored in the organizational literature. Our study draws together and contributes to the theory on racial violence and racialized identity by highlighting the different types of racial violence faced by Asians and exploring the challenges they encounter in the face of racial microaggressions. Finally, we discuss practical implications of our study results and offer insight into how organizations can help support their Asian employees.     

Functional regression of continuous state distributions

In this paper, we consider a regression model to study the distributional relationship between economic variables. Unlike the classical regression dealing exclusively with mean relationship, our model can be used to analyze the entire dependent structure in distribution. Technically, we treat density functions as random elements and represent the regression relationship as a compact linear operator in the Hilbert spaces of square integrable functions. We propose a consistent estimation procedure for our model, and develop a test to investigate the dependent structure of moments. An empirical example is provided to illustrate how our methodology can be implemented in practical applications.     

Functioning, Capability and Freedom: A Framework for Understanding Workplace Disabilities

Work-related disability issues have been central in many of the U.S. public policy debates since the late 1970s and early 1980s. Although there is a robust business, legal, and public policy literature dealing with such issues philosophical analyses are not common. Accordingly, the paper examines, from a broadly philosophical perspective, some of the issues associated with restricted workplace employment opportunities due to the presence of one or more real or perceived disabilities. Following a review of the concept of disability, the paper examines disabilities and impairments using the concepts of functionings and capabilities developed by Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum. The paper then connects the capabilities approach to disabilities with the concepts of negative and positive freedom developed by Isaiah Berlin. The paper concludes by suggesting how to address employment and workplace discriminations of disabled people.