Economic and political liberalizations

This paper studies empirically the effects and the interactions of economic and political liberalizations. Economic liberalizations are measured as reforms that increase the scope of the market. Political liberalizations correspond to the event of becoming a democracy. Using difference-in-difference estimation, we study the effects on economic performance, macroeconomic policy and structural policies. Our main contribution is the analysis of the joint effects of both liberalizations, and the finding that the sequence of reforms matters. Countries that first liberalize the economy and then become democracies do much better than countries that pursue the opposite sequence, in almost all dimensions.     

FDI versus exports: Evidence from German banks

We use a new bank-level dataset to study the FDI-versus-exports decision for German banks. We extend the literature on multinational firms in two directions. First, we simultaneously study FDI and the export of cross-border financial services. Second, we test recent theories on multinational firms which show the importance of firm heterogeneity [Helpman, E., Melitz, M.J., Yeaple, S.R., 2004. Export versus FDI. American Economic Review 94 (1), 300–316]. Our results show that FDI and cross-border services are complements rather than substitutes. Heterogeneity of banks has a significant impact on the internationalization decision. More profitable and larger banks are more likely to expand internationally than smaller banks. They have more extensive foreign activities, and they are more likely to engage in FDI in addition to cross-border financial services.     

The paper‐bill spread and real output: what matters more,a change in the paper rate or a change in the bill rate?

This paper adds to the literature on the information content of the paper-bill spread by explicitly taking into account the two sources of wider spreads, rises in the paper rate and declines in the bill rate. Results from impulse response analysis and variance decompositions suggest that decreases in real output are greater and last longer when a widening of the paper-bill spread comes from an increase in the paper rate rather than from an equivalent decrease in the bill rate. This is consistent with the idea that changes in the commercial paper rate have greater information content about future business cycles than do changes in the Treasury bill rate.     

The Impact of Better‐than‐Average Bias and Relative Performance Pay on Performance Outcome Satisfaction

Drawing on equity and expectancy theories, we hypothesize that the perception of accountants about their ability to contribute relative to a peer (operationalized as the better‐than‐average [BTA] bias) negatively influences their satisfaction with the outcomes of the performance evaluation process (operationalized as performance outcome satisfaction [POS]). We hypothesize further that this negative influence is mitigated by the amount of relative performance pay. We test these hypotheses using data collected from a survey of and an experiment involving 164 entry‐level accountants. We found that in general our participants rated themselves better than the average audit professional and their immediate work associate; that is, they displayed a BTA bias. Moreover, we found that both the BTA bias and performance pay individually influenced POS; we also found a moderately significant interaction effect. In their entirety, the results indicate that the greater an entry‐level accountant believes that she or he is better than average the more likely her or his performance outcome satisfaction will fall.     

Edokko Options: A New Framework of Barrier Options

In this paper, we will give a new framework of barrier options to generalize`Parisian Option' and `Delayed Barrier Option'. Take a stopping time asthe caution time. When occurs, derivatives are given `Caution'. After, if K.O. time =() occurs, derivative contractsvanish. We simply say that first `Caution' second `K.O.'. Using thisframework, designs of barrier options become more flexible than before and newrisk management will be possible. New barrier options in this category arecalled Edokko Options or Tokyo Options.     

The Croatian profit tax: an ACE in practice

This paper discusses the experience of Croatia in applying, from 1994 to the beginning of 2001, a profit tax that was charged only on equity income in excess of an imputed normal return ‐ and was thus, in essence, an ‘Allowance for Corporate Equity’ (ACE) scheme of the kind advocated by the IFS Capital Taxes Group and others. The computation of taxable profit under this system is summarised, and the theoretical attractions of the system are described. The paper then discusses a variety of criticisms that were made of the system in Croatia, including an alleged bias in favour of capital‐intensive enterprises (and, in particular, large State‐owned enterprises with overvalued assets), international complications, the complexity of the computations of taxable profit, the possibility that the rate of protective interest was set at an inappropriate level, and excessive revenue cost.     

Trend-reverting fluctuations in the life-cycle model

Aggregate time series provide evidence of short-term dynamic adjustment that appears to be governed by complex or negative real eigenvalues. This finding is at odds with the predictions of reasonably parameterized, convex one-sector growth models with complete markets. We study life-cycle economies in which aggregate saving depends non-trivially on the distribution of wealth among cohorts. If consumption goods are weak gross substitutes near the steady-state price vector, we prove that the unique equilibrium of a life-cycle exchange economy converges to the unique non-monetary steady state via damped oscillations. We also discuss examples and extensions.     

从文化乡愁到价值重估

李仲元先生的旧体诗集《缘斋吟稿》,以史家与诗人交融的情思,抒写历史人物,观赏名胜古迹,品鉴名家名作,在历史天地中游目骋怀,使史实情思化,景物意象化,诗意格律化,出版后引起专家与读者的普遍好评。为此,本刊特组八篇文章,从不同角度立题,阐发诗集的审美内涵与艺术表现特点,以推进作为中国文学一种素有辉煌成就的体式进一步振兴与发展。     

Peer effects in learning HIV results

How do neighbors positively or negatively influence individuals living in rural Malawi to learn their HIV results? Using data of location of homes and distance to neighbors, we measure the social network effects of neighbors' learning their HIV results on individuals own learning. Using the fact that neighbors were randomly offered monetary incentives of varying amounts to learn their HIV results, we find positive effects of neighbors attending clinics on others living nearby: a 10 percentage point increase of the percentage of neighbors (approximately 2.4 individuals) learning their HIV results increases the probability of learning HIV results by 1.1 percentage points. The strongest network effects are among closest neighbors; we find no effect among religious social networks. We also find a negative interaction between direct cash incentives and peers: the effect of peers doubles among those who were not offered any individual financial incentive to learn their HIV results.