Economic growth as a function of human capital,internet and work

The World Bank has suggested the need to enhance Information and Communication Technology skills in all sectors because a 10% increase in internet connectivity was found to boost GDP growth by 1.38%. Simultaneously, the OECD argued that high internet access rates generate a 2% increase in GDP. Because the internet positively affects economic growth, we investigated the relationship between an economically active population, human capital and technology to evaluate these effects in Mexico. A data series from 1991 to 2010 was analysed in three stages according to the least-squares method. A Cobb–Douglas function under the Solow model was considered. Technology and internet access were found to positively affect top-level students and graduate students and thus contribute to the global innovation index.     

Can student effort be manipulated? Does it matter?

This article provides evidence that college students’ effort can be manipulated substantially by making changes in the college testing regime and moreover that student effort is a meaningful input in education production. The evidence comes from a quasi-experiment where a mid-semester test with a pass requirement is introduced to a mandatory one-semester Business School course in Macroeconomics. Four cohorts of students – one before and three after the introduction of the pass requirement – have reported their study effort twice during the semester, and the relationship between achievement and study effort is investigated by using a within-subject within-student across-study periods approach.     

Compatibility,interoperability, and market power in upgrade markets

We examine the market power of a seller who repeatedly offers upgraded versions of a product. In the case of pure monopoly, the seller also controls compatibility across versions. In the case of an entrant who offers an upgrade, the incumbent seller also controls subsequent interoperability across versions. We argue that control of compatibility and interoperability does not allow an incumbent seller to charge a price premium relative to when such control is absent and, consequently, neither is a necessary source of market power.     

Competing Industrial Standards and the Impact of Trade Liberalization

The main purpose of this study is to illustrate, with simple trade theory, the relationship between competing industrial standards and trade liberalization. We assume that there are two competing industrial standards in an international context, each of which applies to a group of differentiated products. A product can be used only in combination with other products based on the same industrial standard. We examine the impact of trade liberalization (i.e., a decline in trade costs) on consumers’ choice of a standard. It will be shown that the degree of indirect network effects, captured with substitution between differentiated products, plays an important role as a determinant of the impact of trade liberalization.     

Denmark’s Agricultural Institutions: An Instrumental Evaluation

This paper begins with a tax and a specially organized commission proposed by John R. Commons. Commons made his proposal because high tariffs were not benefiting workers. The paper contends that his proposal also applies to a current problem - the failure of trade agreements to improve working conditions. The paper bases its argument on data, standard economic reasoning, and Commons’ approach in “constructive research” to wage transactions, public purpose, limiting factors, and power imbalances.

The paper argues that Commons’ proposal could improve the evolution of American labor law and that it could ameliorate power imbalances created by laws that give corporations and trade associations a bargaining advantage over nations and organizations such as the International Labor Organization (ILO). It concludes that economic discourse could benefit from consideration of the belief behind Commons’ proposal - that costs of production passed on to consumers should include the cost of good working conditions.     

Pricing used books on Amazon.com: a spatial approach to price dispersion

This paper estimates a spatial autoregressive (SAR) model of price dispersion using publicly available internet bookselling data. It uses a semiparametric adaptive estimator that does not require the usual Gaussian assumption of maximum likelihood (ML) estimators. The results suggest that both price competition and seller heterogeneity are key drivers of the observed price dispersion. The paper finds that sellers with large sales volume, newly established sellers and US mainland states-based sellers tend to price lower. The identified significant spatial interaction is evidence of spatial price competition. Controlling for everything else, a seller asks a lower price when large sellers charge relatively high prices, which is also evidence of price-based selling and undercutting.     

国外网络银行发展模式的启示

网络银行与传统银行相比,具有独特的优势和特点。与此同时,网络银行在信用基础,银行监督,法律规范及内部管理体系等一系列问题上,对传统银行体制也提出了新的挑战。本通过对国外网络银行发展模式的论述,阐明了发展我国网络银行应注意的问题。     

我国互联网金融发展模式与对策建议

我国互联网技术发展迅猛,现代化信息科学技术渗透生活方方面面,其对金融领域的影响尤为突出,改变了大众投资消费观念及渠道。在未来,传统的金融模式将不再是现代社会唯一的金融融资模式。从互联网金融的产生入手,总结归纳了互联网金融的特点及存在模式,并结合我国现阶段互联网金融的发展情况,对当前发展中存在的问题与风险进行了分析,探讨了未来我国互联网金融模式的发展方向并就面临的问题提出相应解决对策。     

会计准则结构及其构成要素研究--对我国会计概念框架构建的思考

传统的会计准则制定模式中都特别强调了会计概念、会计原则和会计规则的突出地位,因而有了原则导向(或基础)的会计准则制定模式、规则导向(或基础)的会计准则制定模式以及安然等财务欺诈案件后美国目标(实际是概念)导向的会计准则制定模式的说法。通过对现有会计准则制定模式的反思,我们认为会计概念、会计原则和会计规则不应是会计准则制定的导向或基础,而是会计准则结构体系的构成要素。在本文中,我们对其各自的含义界定和功能定位进行初步探讨,旨在为建立我国的会计概念框架,完善会计准则体系提供理论参考。     

会计准则制定方法的变迁与选择

规则基础和原则基础的会计准则各有其优点,也有其局限性,美国的会计准则既不是完全原则基础的,也不是绝对规则基础的,而是多种准则制定方法的混合产物。一项理想的会计准则必须要以内在一致的概念框架为基础,把财务会计的目标放在首位,平衡会计信息的各项质量特征,并且要能反映经济现实、中立、无偏。目标导向-原则基础的会计准则是目前比较理想的准则。