Choosing Brands: Fresh Produce versus Other Products

Assuming that brands contribute to quality risk reduction, prestige, and design, we derive and test hypothesis on the willingness to pay (WTP) for brands across different product categories (electronics, clothing, packaged food, and fresh produce). Using the random effect tobit model on the stated point value of WTP and the ordered probit model on the stated range of WTP, we find that WTP for brands of fresh produce is least among the four product categories controlling for relevant demographic variations. Simulations show that fresh produce has a higher optimal price premium for brands but with a much smaller market share.     

商业FDI对本土制造业:溢出还是挤出——基于中国省级面板数据的实证研究

本文利用我国29个省市2003-2008年的面板数据,实证研究了商业FDI对我国本土制造业的影响。在对外资商业影响本土制造业的路径进行理论分析的基础上,构建了两类指标反映外资商业的不同影响渠道,并按地区类别进行分组检验,考察了本土企业的吸收能力和内资企业的技术差距对溢出效果的影响。结果表明,外资商业对我国本土制造业的影响具有明显的地区差异,通过对本土商业企业的竞争示范效应促进了东、中部地区制造业的发展,对西部地区当地制造业发展的影响则主要是通过人员流动效应实现的;实证结果还表明,企业的吸收能力越强,技术差距越小,越有利于外资商业正向作用的发挥。     

Dupire’s formulas in the Piterbarg option pricing model

In this paper we derive an expression for the local volatility of an underlying asset, given the prices of liquid European call options under the Piterbarg framework. The Piterbarg framework is a multi-curve derivative pricing model which extends the well known Black–Scholes–Merton model by relaxing the assumption of a risk-free interest rate, and includes collateral payments. The expressions for the local volatility is a function of the option price surface, and is then transformed to become a function of the implied volatility surface.     

Local externalities and societal adoption of technologies

In this paper we study the effect of local network externalities on the societal adoption of competing technologies. Three cases are examined: single non-sponsored technology, single sponsored technology, and two non-sponsored technologies. The efficiency and predictability of the technology adoption process for each case is investigated. We demonstrate non-predictability for single technology case and efficiency for the two technology case. We show the firm sponsoring a technology may choose a strategy that leads to the extinction of the technology.     

我国FDI区位选择中的“第三方效应”——基于空间面板数据的实证研究

本文在国内外FDI区位选择理论的基础上,针对现有研究忽视第三方效应的不足,首次利用空间计量方法对我国FDI区位选择中的第三方效应进行了实证检验。分析结果表明,引入第三方效应后,不仅能够较好地反映我国FDI的省际分布特征,而且很好地解释了我国各地区现阶段FDI的战略投资行为。这不仅是对FDI区位理论的有益扩展,对我国特别是中西部地区政府的招商引资策略,更是有着深刻的启示意义。     

Political fragmentation and projected tax revenues: evidence from Flemish municipalities

The level of revenues pocketed by a government during the fiscal year often deviates from that projected by this government in its budget. Despite a flourishing literature on, for example, the technical or procedural determinants of such forecast errors, little is yet known about how political stratagems may affect forecast errors. In the present paper, we analyse whether differences in the level of government fragmentation are useful in explaining local government tax revenue forecast errors—controlling for various other factors. Using data on 242 Flemish municipalities for the period 1992–2002, we find that two-party governments are more optimistic than single-party governments. In contrast to our initial expectations, governments with at least three parties are significantly more careful (or less optimistic) in their revenue projections than single- or two-party governments.