Political hazards and entry modes of Chinese investments in Africa

Africa has achieved the fastest growth rate of inward foreign direct investment (FDI) recently. Yet heightened political hazards present substantial challenges to foreign firms in Africa. This study examines the entry strategies that firms may take to mitigate such hazards by exploring the relationship between political hazards and entry mode choices in Africa. We further consider how an investing firm’s host country experience and foreign aid provided by its home country government to host countries in Africa can influence this relationship. In a sample of listed Chinese firms’ investments in Africa from 2000 to 2014, we find that Chinese firms tend to use the joint venture mode when political hazards are high in an African country. This relationship is weakened when they accumulate host country experience and when the Chinese government’s foreign aid to an African country increases. Our findings point to firm-level strategies to mitigate political hazards as well as instruments available to home country governments to help their multinational firms operating in host countries characterized by unstable political environments.     

Effects of Collaborative Communication on NPD Collaboration Results: Two Routes of Influence

Although NPD collaboration with external partners has become the next generation in NPD practice, the discussion concerning how to organize collaboration so as to obtain better results is far from over. Since communication is the most important element in successful interfirm exchange, this study focuses on the impact of collaborative communication and its facets—frequency, formality, reciprocal feedback, and rationality—on NPD collaboration results. In order to explain how collaborative communication can best be managed to enhance NPD collaboration results, this research combines the relational and resource‐based views, proposing the existence of two routes of influence: the direct resource‐based route and the indirect relational route mediated by trust. Using a sample of 207 NPD collaboration projects of innovative firms, empirical findings indicate that reciprocal feedback–rationality and frequency play an important role in product quality and adherence to budget and schedule, respectively, even without trust. Moreover, the trust between partners substantially reinforces the positive influence of reciprocal feedback–rationality on NPD collaboration results and makes the effect of formality significant. Therefore, the two alternative routes are confirmed as important paths to new product success, which provides relevant managerial implications.     

全国各省(市、区)及中心城市汽柴油批发及零售价格表

根据《国家发展改革委关于提高国内成品油价格的通知》（发改电[2009]172号）,从2009年6月1日零时起,国内市场汽柴油价格统一上调400元/吨。《通知》主要内容如下：1）供军队及新疆生产建设兵团、国家储备用汽、柴油（标准品）价格分别上调至6130元／吨和5390元／吨。     

LNG接收站计量撬设计探讨

系统介绍了计量撬装系统概念、组成及国内外计量相关的天然气计量标准,通过对天然气计量中流量计的简要分析对比,针对目前浙江LNG接收站贸易交接要求,选用气体超声波流量计计量撬装系统,并分析了浙江LNG贸易计量系统的工艺流程及计量管路尺寸设计的依据。     

当前宏观经济形势与2004年的比较与思考

当前,国内外经济形势错综复杂。文章通过对近期和2004年中国宏观经济形势的比较,分析其中的异同,以厘清未来走势,并为宏观调控提供借鉴。两个时期部有一些相同点：中国经济从低谷走出,乐观情绪升温,房价骤涨,通胀开始抬头,中国跟随世界进人新一轮加息周期,人民币升值压力不断加大。两者不同点是：当前货币增长速度远远快于2004年。贸易顺差更大,信贷和财政状况逊色。未来,预计CPI回升势头更快,央行面临回收流动性的压力更大,贸易摩擦加剧,中美息差可能进一步扩大,人民币的升值压力将加大。     

2009年基金产品创新评述及创新前瞻

本文对2009年中国证券市场证券投资基金的创新产品进行了综合评述,特别对分级基金进行了投资分析,指出目前市场上数量化投资产品的不足之处,同时指出了2010年基金产品的几个创新方向。     

后金融危机时期全球创业教育与中国创业发展——基于全球创业观察最新数据分析的结论

通过2008年全球创业观察（GEM）获得的数据分析,可以认为创业的发生、发展与创业教育有很大关系。总体而言,创业教育和培训对创业能起到积极的促进作用。但创业教育的不同形式与不同来源对各国的创业所产生的作用各有不同,取得的效果也存在着差异。创业教育对创业产生的效果与其文化和价值观念、经济发展水平、社会保障体系成熟程度以及就业机会等因素有很大关系,同时与创业群体的年龄阶段、创业教育或培训的供给情况以及创业教育的质量等因素关系密切。本文在分析基础上得出的结论,为我国政府在创业教育和培训方面制定政策等提供了决策性参考依据。     

从资产负债表看美联储的救市与退出

为应对金融危机,美联储采取了一系列措施,包括下调联邦基金利率水平、量化宽松政策、对现有的货币政策工具进行创新、对金融机构实施紧急救助等,这些措施对金融市场实施全方位的救助,增加了基础货币的供应,促进了金融市场的恢复,同时也使美联储的资产额大幅增加。由于市场信心尚未完全恢复,金融机构不愿意放贷,美联储通过各种金融工具投放出去的流动性又流回美联储。如果经济好转、市场信心恢复,这些流动性投向市场,将对经济形成巨大的通货膨胀压力。未来的退出步骤将与救市步骤相反,即先通过数量化工具收回市场上过多的流动性,使美联储的资产负债表达到正常的水平,再提高联邦基金利率。就美联储的资产负债表的结构和美国经济的现实情况来看,美联储的低利率政策还将持续一段时间。     

Pricing catastrophe options with stochastic claim arrival intensity in claim time

We model claim arrival and loss uncertainties jointly in a doubly-binomial framework to price an Asian-style catastrophe (CAT) option with a non-traded underlying loss index using the no-arbitrage martingale pricing methodology. We span these uncertainties by benchmarking to the shadow price of a one-claim bond and the premium of a reinsurance contract. We implement a stochastic time change from calendar time to claim time to more efficiently price the CAT option as a random sum – a binomial sum of claim time binomial Asian option prices. This choice of the operational time dimension allows us to incorporate different patterns of catastrophe arrivals by adjusting the claim arrival probability. We demonstrate this versatility by incorporating a mean-reverting Ornstein-Uhlenbeck intensity arrival process. Simulation results verify our model predictions and demonstrate how the claim arrival probability varies with the expected claim arrival intensity.