Firm innovativeness and business performance: The joint moderating effects of market turbulence and competition

To clarify the nature of the effect of firm innovativeness on business performance, this study draws on contingency theory and an interactional perspective to develop a conceptual framework to investigate how the interaction between market turbulence and competitive intensity moderates the relationship between firm innovativeness and business performance. This study used survey data from a sample of 154 high-tech manufacturing firms in Taiwan and employed hierarchical moderated regression analysis to test the hypotheses developed. The results reveal that the effect of firm innovativeness on business performance varies across the different configurations of market turbulence and competitive intensity. Specifically, the performance effect of firm innovativeness is most positive under high market turbulence and high competitive intensity; the performance effect is least positive under low market turbulence and low competitive intensity. However, the performance benefits of firm innovativeness fail to materialize under low market turbulence and high competitive intensity. Overall, these findings highlight that market turbulence and competition jointly influence the direction and strength of the performance effect of firm innovativeness. This study advances firm innovativeness research by identifying the configurational market conditions that augment or limit the value of firm innovativeness.     

Valuation of reverse mortgages under (limited) default risk

In this paper, we develop a consistent valuation framework for reverse mortgages based on reduced-form intensity models as used in credit risk modelling. Within our modelling framework, we explicitly calculate the probability that the total loan amount exceeds the house value at termination of the contract and derive the maximum payment(s) which can be made to the homeowner under certain constraints. We apply our results to data from the German market and discuss implications for the design of reverse mortgages from a lender's perspective.     

The effect of tourism investment on tourism development and CO2 emissions: empirical evidence from the EU nations

Abstract

The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of tourism investment on tourism development and CO₂ emissions in a panel of 28 EU countries using annual data from 1990 to 2013. The empirical results from a panel cointegration test confirm the presence of long-run equilibrium relationship among the variables. The long-run elasticities indicate that tourism investment has a significant positive and negative impact on tourism development and CO₂ emissions, respectively. Finally, the short-run heterogeneous panel non-causality test results show the evidence of bidirectional causality between tourism investment and tourism revenue. These results therefore suggest that tourism investments not only increase tourism revenue but also reduce CO₂ emissions. Given these findings, we suggest the policy makers of the EU nations to initiate more effective policies to increase the tourism investments. The increasing tourism investments will allow the industry to grow further by ensuring sustainable tourism development across the EU member countries.     

整体壁板参数化设计与敏感性分析

对整体壁板的止裂特性和损伤容限性能进行了计算和分析．应用参数化有限元技术,得到该结构的蒙皮裂纹尖端应力强度因子,分析了凸台和筋条对结构止裂特性的影响;随后根据线弹性断裂力学理论,计算了结构的剩余强度,并分析了凸台和筋条的存在对结构剩余强度的影响．为了分析结构几何参数对该结构的敏感性,给出了不同结构参数下的应力强度因子曲线,和其相对应的结构剩余强度曲线．这些曲线对整体壁板的结构设计提供了有意义的参考．     

Diminishing Returns: Carbon Market Crisis and the Future of Market-Dependent Climate Change Finance

The current and future costs of meeting climate change mitigation needs in the global South vastly exceed levels of available funding from public sources in the North. As a possible solution to this problem, policy-makers and various observers have pushed increasingly for the adoption of market-based carbon financing strategies, with the United Nations Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) representing the most consistent application of this approach to date. Nevertheless, market-based carbon finance remains highly volatile given its heavy dependence on conditions in the broader global carbon market which remains in the throes of a devastating crisis, earning carbon the distinction of 2011s worst performing global commodity. By demonstrating that it is through carbon's market price that finance-generating investment in the CDM is largely derived, and which also determines the ex post value of CDM projects, this paper argues for the decoupling of climate change finance from carbon's market value. The need to do so is particularly pressing since, it is argued, the current crisis in the global carbon market reflects an embedded crisis tendency in that market, born in part from the political machinations through which it was born and which leaves it prone to persisting crises of oversupply.     

中国农产品贸易隐含的CO2评估——基于非竞争型投入产出模型

在有关国际贸易隐含碳的研究中,大多使用竞争型投入产出模型,同时农产品贸易隐含碳少有提及.文章通过构建非竞争型投入产出模型精确地评估了1995～2005年中国农产品贸易隐含的CO2.结果表明:中国农业的CO2排放不容忽视,需要进一步加大节能减排力度;农产品生产所排放的CO2有3.71％～4.50％是由出口所产生的,农产品消费所排放的CO2有3.29％～10.10％是由进口来满足的,尤其是中间投入的进口“节省”了大量的CO2排放;农产品净出口隐含的CO2不断减少,中国逐渐成为农产品CO2排放净进口国,农产品贸易为节能减排做出了贡献.     

Searching for the favourite-longshot bias down under: an examination of the New Zealand pari-mutuel betting market

This paper tests for the presence of the favourite-longshot bias in a new setting. This bias #150 the tendency for bettors to underbet favourites and overbet longshots #150 has been found in most studies of pari-mutuel and bookmaking betting markets in the USA, the UK and Australia. However, there is growing evidence that in at least some pari-mutuel betting markets there is no favourite-longshot bias. This paper examines the previously unexplored New Zealand pari-mutuel betting market on horse races for evidence of this bias. Utilizing a large sample of recent New Zealand thoroughbred horse races, it is found that while early, off-track bettors price this bias into odds, late (on-and off-track) bettors eliminate much of the bias by the close of betting. That is, the results reinforce the view that not all pari-mutuel betting markets are characterized by a favourite-longshot bias at the close of betting. Evidence is also found that late bettors in this market are smart bettors.     

我国二氧化碳排放区域差异研究——基于IPCC碳排放核算方法

本文利用我国能源相关统计数据,对我国各省区二氧化碳排放总量、排放强度和人均排放量进行则算,并将其划分为二氧化碳低排放、中排放、高排放区域.通过分析发现,我国各省区二氧化碳排放具有显著差异,总体表现为东部发达省区总排放量大、排放强度低、人均排放量高,而西部地区则呈现出相反的特征.文章在分析我国二氧化碳排放区域差异的基础上,进一步讨论了产业结构、GDP、人口、能源消费结构、对外开放度以及能源资源禀赋和地理位置六个方面对典型地区二氧化碳排放量的影响,并做出对比分析,提出我国减排工作中应重视省区之间的差异,将各省区功能定位、减排成本、资源环境等方面的指标纳入减排评价指标,建立技术与资金合作的联合减排机制等政策建议.     

贸易开放提高了二氧化碳排放吗?——来自中国的证据

采用中国 1990—2010 年的省级面板数据,选取排放总量和碳强度作为二氧化碳排放指标,实证考察贸易开放对中国碳排放的影响,研究发现: ( 1) 贸易开放显著提高了碳排放,"向底线赛跑"假说揭示的环境负面效应强于贸易的环境收益效应。(2) 环境库兹涅茨曲线假说在中国成立,人均收入是影响碳排放的关键因素。( 3) 贸易开放的环境效应存在时空上的结构性差异,随着时间的推移,贸易开放对环境的负面效应有所减弱; 相对于内陆地区,贸易开放对沿海地区环境的负面效应要小。在分析实证结果背后原因的基础上,得出了相应的政策启示。     

TRADE LIBERALIZATION AND WAGE PREMIUM IN ARGENTINA: THE ROLE OF TRADE FACTOR INTENSITY

During the 1990s, several Latin American countries implemented policies directed to the removal of barriers on international trade. However, there is a perception that reforms, especially trade liberalization, failed to deliver on their promises, easing the way for policies aimed at reversing some of them. Following Wood's hypothesis, we allow for the effects of liberalization to vary, depending on the skill intensity of production. The evidence confirms that the role of trade liberalization has been relatively small, but controlling for the presence of endogeneity gives larger estimates. Contrary to previous evidence, the wage premium of skilled workers was more sensitive to the increase of skill‐intensive exports than to that of unskilled‐intensive imports.