Do socially motivated self‐help groups perform better? Exploring determinants of micro‐credit groups’ performance in Eastern India

Group‐based micro‐credit initiatives, as part of the broader social and solidarity‐based finance initiatives, have gained prominence over the past decade, especially in developing economies like India. Lending to the poor, especially women, through micro‐credit groups, are significantly associated with the utilization of commons. Apart from their financial operations, self‐help groups promote social empowerment activities and collective action following a dual bottom‐line approach. However, the causal role of the group's motivation towards pursuing social objectives has not been explored in the past. The present study, therefore, investigates the interlinkages between the group's intrinsic motivation and efficiency using an innovative two‐stage double bootstrapped DEA‐based methodology. Results from the study affirm that apart from traditional factors like maturity, accessibility and group management, the motivation of the group is a crucial determinant of social efficiency. Additionally, the group's loan‐to‐savings ratio and receipt of cash payments significantly affect its long‐term financial sustainability. Micro‐credit groups cannot contribute sustainably as a viable alternative to traditional means of access to credit if it merely offers innovative forms of financing and consumption. They need to be socially aligned to serve the community better and contribute to the group's overall performance and galvanize community‐based resource management.     

Financial dependence and the terms of payments in international transactions

Using a novel data on payment choice in export transactions, this study shows that financing cost in a country is more important in terms of offering (undertaking) post-shipment (prepayment) terms in exports (imports) for the industries that rely more on external finance.     

Testing structural benefit transfer: The role of income inequality

How the valuation of environmental goods is related to income is a key question for economics, but the role of income inequality is often neglected. We study how income inequality affects the international transfer of the estimated value of environmental goods from a study to a policy site—a practice called value or benefit transfer. Specifically, we apply theory-driven, structural transfer factors to test whether adjusting for income inequality affects errors made in benefit transfer, drawing on a multi-country valuation study on water quality improvement. Our convergent validity analysis shows that the structural income inequality adjustment reduces benefit transfer errors by between 1.5 and 1.8 percentage points on average across all transfers. We therefore find that adjusting for income inequality offers only a minor improvement of benefit transfers as compared to adjusting for differences in mean income. Overall, our results shed light on the potential of structural approaches to benefit transfer for environmental valuation and public policy appraisal.     

Positive and negative word of mouth (WOM) are not necessarily opposites: A reappraisal using the dual factor theory

Prior research has not systematically investigated the enablers and inhibitors in conjunction to measure consumer behavior toward mobile wallets (m-wallets), focusing either on the adoption or the resistance perspective only. Similarly, antecedents and consequences of the dichotomous nature of word of mouth for m-wallets have also remained obscure so far. The present research proposes to address this void in the accumulated learnings by examining both enablers and inhibitors of mobile wallets (m-wallets) as antecedents of valence of word of mouth (positive and negative; PWOM and NWOM, respectively). Grounded in Dual Factor Theory, this study aims to explore consumers’ continued use intentions resulting from the WOM valence. The findings reveal that enablers (perceived information quality, perceived ability, and perceived benefit) drive PWOM, while the inhibitors (perceived cost, perceived risk, and perceived uncertainty) spur NWOM. Furthermore, the results show that only PWOM drives the continuance intentions of m-wallet users. Therefore, the study proves that the antecedents of PWOM are different from those of NWOM.     

Measuring the LCC effect on charter airlines in the Spanish airport system

Using a robust transfer function model methodology, the present paper seeks to offer empirical evidence regarding the size and type of effects that low-cost carriers (LCCs) have had on traffic for charter carriers (CCs) in the Spanish airport system by geographic market. We show an unmistakable substitution relationship between CCs and LCCs in the latter's typical niche markets, national and European flights, while there is no reaction from the CCs in the segment of international flights outside the EU. Furthermore, substitution effects are smaller between CCs and LCCs on the domestic level than effects between LCCs and network carriers (NCs) and slightly larger on the European level. Lastly, CC traffic's different sensitivity to terrorist attacks, day of the week, air accidents and the economic crisis is also evident. CCs should therefore be considered an independent category that warrants individualized analyses.     

技术变迁对城市化路径的作用机制研究

论文从技术变迁的视角来研究城市化,分析技术变迁对城市化的作用机制,探索在技术变迁的推动下形成的城市化路径.首先从城市化的一般机理入手,不断深入研究城市跟农村技术进步以及二者之间的技术转移对城市化的作用机制.不同的技术变迁方式会形成不同的城市化均衡路径,比较城市化实际路径与均衡路径的区别,论证技术变迁对城市化质量的决定作用,同时也为我国新农村建设战略提供理论支持,我国在城市化过程中存在着很多问题,要解决这些问题必须依靠新农村建设,提高农村的技术水平.     

浅议政府间财政转移支付的依赖性——基于云南省自分税制以来历年财政收支结构的分析

转移支付作为国家宏观经济调控的一种手段,有必要建立一套政府间的财政转移支付制度,以解决各地方政府财政能力均等化和促进欠发达地区经济发展问题。但是,与此同时势必会造成各级地方财政对上级转移支付的必然依赖,这又会在一定程度上抑制地方经济发展和培育地方财源的积极性。文章就云南省自分税制以来历年财政收支的实际情况,分析了各级政府之间对财政转移支付的依赖性。     

人民币汇率形成机制改革的探索

从解读2010年人民币汇率形成机制改革的新动向入手,首先界定了汇率形成机制的概念,然后通过对相关数据的分析,从国际收支不平衡、货币政策失效和经济对外依存度过高三个方面,阐释了此次人民币汇率形成机制改革的动因,最后从影响汇率形成机制的三个因素角度提出相关的政策建议。     

城乡统筹背景下土地流转与城市化的互动

协调城乡统筹发展已成为国家一项重大决策,城乡统筹要求以工促农、以城带乡,从而形成城乡良性互动的发展格局。实现城乡统筹发展目标需要协调土地流转与城市化过程之间的关系,使两者产生良好的互动机制。本文首先在分析传统的城乡二元结构基础上剖析了农村土地流转的一些热点问题,以及目前我国城市化进程中的缺陷。然后在城乡统筹背景下,提出土地流转和城市化的互动模式及互动途径。     

从体制角度看县乡财政建设

改革和完善财政管理体制,构建县级财政保障体系,是统筹城乡发展和建设社会主义新农村的客观要求。文章以山东省为例,以调研材料为依据,揭示了县乡财政建设现状及存在的问题,从体制角度分析了县乡财政建设中存在问题的原因,借鉴国外政府县乡财政建设的经验,提出了加强县乡财政建设的几点体制改革建议。