Are Apparel Trade Restrictions Regressive?

Consumer welfare losses from apparel trade restrictions are estimated across different household income levels using Hicksian Equivalent Variations. The 1980–1992 Consumer Expenditure Survey, the 1980–1992 Consumer Price Index, and the 1990 ACCRA Cost of Living Index were used. For price differences under 45 percent, consumer welfare loss from higher apparel prices due to trade restrictions is greater as a percent of total expenditures for wealthy households than for poor households. Apparel trade restrictions, therefore, have a progressive effect.     

Perception of Women Managers in Singapore: A Media Analysis

The paper exmaines the factors that facilitate and inhibit women's entry into managerial positions, drawing on the findings from a previous study conducted in 1993 and comparing the results against those based on an analysis of selected contributions (from 1993–2003) in the media. A content analysis is conducted in three local newspapers on how they described woman and male managers. Profile, word and theme analysis are carried out on the selected contributions. Findings reveal that successful women managers are increasingly accepted and recognized by the society. Nonetheless, they still have to fulfill their traditional social roles. Only the talented women can make it. Implications of the findings are discussed..     

Affirmative Action in a Changing Legal and Economic Environment

This study examines the effects of changing legal and economic pressure on a large manufacturing firm in the 1980s and shows that the firm was able to pursue two potentially contradictory goals: equal employment opportunity compliance and product market competitiveness. The firm's institutionalized affirmative action commitment and diverse local labor market shaped innovations in production and employment practices in a way that encouraged meeting both goals rather than trading off one for the other.     

Lemon Laws: Intent,Experience, and a Pro-Consumer Model

Under deregulation, public policies regarding consumer rights and product warranties have shifted. This paper reviews the rationale for lemon laws, state legislation intended to help consumers resolve new car performance, and repair problems. It then compares consumers’ redress under these laws to redress under other remedies. Experience with Vermont's legislation, one of the most aggressive lemon laws, is reviewed and analyzed in detail as the basis for formulating public policy recommendations in this area.     

Screening,Market Signalling,and Capital Structure Theory

This paper develops an equilibrium model in which informational asymmetries about the qualities of products offered for sale are resolved through a mechanism which combines the signalling and costly screening approaches. The model is developed in the context of a capital market setting in which bondholders produce costly information about a firm's a priori imperfectly known earnings distribution and use this information in specifying a bond valuation schedule to the firm. Given this schedule, the firm's optimal choices of debt-equity ratio and debt maturity structure subsequently signal to prospective shareholders the relevant parameters of the firm's earnings distribution.     

Volume,Volatility, and New York Stock Exchange Trading Halts

Trading halts increase, rather than reduce, both volume and volatility. Volume (volatility) in the first full trading day after a trading halt is 230 percent (50 to 115 percent) higher than following “pseudohalts”: nonhalt control periods matched on time of day, duration, and absolute net-of-market returns. These results are robust over different halt types and news categories. Higher posthalt volume is observed into the third day while higher posthalt volatility decays within hours. The extent of media coverage is a partial determinant of volume and volatility following both halts and pseudohalts, but a separate halt effect remains after controlling for the media effect.     

中国股市的崩盘系统性风险与投资者行为偏好

股价崩盘作为金融市场上普遍存在并且具有广泛影响力的极端现象,对股票的定价产生了至关重要的作用。本文主要研究我国股市中股票的崩盘系统性风险,研究发现:(1)股票的崩盘系统性风险与预期收益率显著正相关,并且对冲组合可以获得8.86%的年化收益;(2)投资者的博彩型股票偏好和吉祥数字偏好都会显著影响崩盘系统性风险与预期收益率之间的关系。本文的研究对于进行投资决策、风险管理以及理解投资者行为都具有参考意义。     

高息委托贷款与企业创新

本文分析了参与以高息委托贷款为代表的影子银行业务对企业创新活动和未来业绩的影响。通过结合管理层的短视理论,本文分析了企业从事高息委托贷款后企业创新活动变化以及盈利水平和构成的变化。结果表明,当年从事高息委托贷款降低了企业未来的专利产出水平和投入水平,并伴随未来营业利润资产收益率更低和营业外利润资产收益率更高的情形。进一步的分析表明,从事高息委托贷款与否与公司整体盈利能力没有显著差异,更多表现出盈利结构上的差异,说明从事高息委托贷款的根本动机是源于管理层的短视。