Does retail type matter? Consumer responses to channel integration in omni-channel retailing

A critical issue faced by marketing practitioners today is orchestrating strategies that provide a smooth consumer experience in an omni-channel environment. The extant literature offers limited guidance on managing the consumer journey in an omni-channel environment across different retail types. Using the S–O-R framework as its basis, this study generates novel insights by examining how different types of retailers influence consumer perceptions of channel integration (CPCI) as well as consumer empowerment, trust, satisfaction, and patronage intention. Data from 736 consumers was collected using purposive sampling to target those who interact with retailers from high-end specialty stores, department stores, and hypermarkets. The data was then analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). We find that consumers from high-end specialty stores, hypermarkets, and department stores have different perceptions when patronising the omni-channel retail business. The implications of the study are discussed and suggestions for future research are presented.     

县乡财政困境与财政立宪主义

中国县乡财政困难背后蕴含着深刻的政府与社会、政府之间的关系的矛盾。以往在技术层面上修修补补式的改革不能从根本上解决问题。因此,本文主张采取财政立宪的制度创新思路。包括两个方面的内容,一方面是通过完善法治和建立有效的民主决策监督机制,实现纳税人对政府的根本约束和监督;另一方面是规范政府间的财政分配关系,抑制政府间的过分自利倾向,实现政府间的合理分权与制衡。     

商业年金消费决策的行为经济学分析

商业年金是我国养老保险体系的重要组成部分,虽然近年来我国在政策层面不断推动商业年金的发展,但是我国居民的商业年金需求仍然十分低,存在“年金谜题”现象。本文从行为经济学的视角展开对商业年金消费决策的分析,首先从理论层面阐述了行为因素对商业年金消费决策的影响机制,随后设计调查问卷收集个体数据,从实证层面进行了验证。结果发现,主观概率、心理账户、信息感知、金融素养等行为因素会显著影响个人的商业年金消费水平,其他客观因素如性别、年龄、婚姻状况、风险态度以及收入水平等也会显著影响个人的商业年金消费水平。基于本文研究结果,认为未来商业年金回归保障属性、弱化个人账户概念以及发展保险咨询服务等可以带来商业年金需求的提升。     

The trend of the Gini coefficient of China (1978–2010)

ABSTRACT

This study proposes a new approach to analyse the effects of an overlap term on the calculation of the overall Gini coefficient and estimates China’s Gini ratios since the adoption of the economic reform and open-door policies. A decomposition of the Chinese Gini coefficient for 1978–2010 reveals that the key factor contributing to income inequalities is the income disparity between rural and urban inhabitants. We further investigate the features of this income inequality between rural and urban areas and employ statistical approaches to evaluate the effects of urbanisation and rural-to-urban average income on nationwide income inequality. The results show that accelerating the pace of urbanisation is mainly responsible for decreasing China’s income disparity. Drawing on these results, we conclude with suggestions for related policies.     

Saving–investment Correlations in Response to Monetary Policy Shocks: New Insights into the Feldstein–Horioka Puzzle?

In this paper, it is argued that the observed high positive correlation between national savings and investment which is found in the data can in part be explained by shocks to monetary policy. This hypothesis, which is established by reviewing some empirical findings, is tested in a two-country DSGE-model framework in the tradition of the New Open Economy Macroeconomics. The simulation results obtained support the idea that shocks to monetary policy might contribute to the explanation of the Feldstein-Horioka puzzle.

Machine learning for pricing American options in high-dimensional Markovian and non-Markovian models

In this paper we propose two efficient techniques which allow one to compute the price of American basket options. In particular, we consider a basket of assets that follow a multi-dimensional Black–Scholes dynamics. The proposed techniques, called GPR Tree (GRP-Tree) and GPR Exact Integration (GPR-EI), are both based on Machine Learning, exploited together with binomial trees or with a closed form formula for integration. Moreover, these two methods solve the backward dynamic programing problem considering a Bermudan approximation of the American option. On the exercise dates, the value of the option is first computed as the maximum between the exercise value and the continuation value and then approximated by means of Gaussian Process Regression. The two methods mainly differ in the approach used to compute the continuation value: a single step of the binomial tree or integration according to the probability density of the process. Numerical results show that these two methods are accurate and reliable in handling American options on very large baskets of assets. Moreover we also consider the rough Bergomi model, which provides stochastic volatility with memory. Despite that this model is only bidimensional, the whole history of the process impacts on the price, and how to handle all this information is not obvious at all. To this aim, we present how to adapt the GPR-Tree and GPR-EI methods and we focus on pricing American options in this non-Markovian framework.     

An explanation for the price puzzle: Asymmetric information and expectation dynamics

Using theoretical and empirical analyses, this paper shows that the expectation dynamics induced by information asymmetry between the Central Bank (CB) and the public can cause the price puzzle. The signalling and learning dynamics between the CB and a representative private-sector agent under asymmetric information is investigated. Inflation positively reacts to contractionary monetary policy because the change in the interest rate is perceived as a signal of the CB’s private information about higher future inflation and output by the public. The empirical section of the paper validates this theoretical argument using a VAR specification about the US economy. Besides providing an explanation for the price puzzle, the results of this paper has practical implications about transparency and monetary policy. The theoretical and empirical findings indicate that asymmetric information causes significant frictions in the transmission mechanism of monetary policy. These frictions induce short-run undesired effects like increase in expected inflation and actual inflation as a response to contractionary monetary policy which is identified as “the price puzzle”.     

商业银行效率、风险与技术进步——基于18家国际大银行的实证分析

本文运用非参数DEA方法对2006～2008年18家国际大银行的效率变化情况进行了实证研究。在选取投入产出指标上,与传统方法不同,本文考虑风险投入,利用利润法选取指标。通过运用两种DEA模型,分别对效率进行静态与动态分析,探讨引起国内外银行效率变动的原因,并且对技术退步现象首次作出可能的解释。本文主要结论为,不论从国际银行业,还是中国银行业来看,全要素生产率的减少主要是由技术退步引起的。而技术变动的原因在于风险的变动。     

特质风险能够被定价吗？——基于“特质波动之谜”现象的文献评述

传统的资产定价理论认为特质风险不应被定价,即便无法完全分散掉,与股票收益也应是对应权衡关系。但AHXZ（2006,2009）发现的＂特质波动之谜＂现象对标准金融学理论再次提出严峻的挑战,也使得公司特质风险定价行为逐渐成为金融经济学研究的新兴领域。本文从特质风险的测度、＂特质波动之谜＂现象的实证检验、异质性现象的形成机理三个方面进行研究综述,并提出进一步的研究展望,从而为今后研究提供借鉴和参考之用。     

深入社会改革,加快建设和谐无锡——无锡“十二五”社会改革途径探讨

经过三十多年的改革开放以后,无锡和全国一样,经济社会有了巨大的发展,但是,社会发展滞后于经济发展的情况仍然存在,急需深入社会改革,推动社会发展。本文在回顾无锡在"十一五"期间社会改革取得的成就基础上,分析了无锡社会发展存在的问题和面临的挑战和机遇,提出了"十二五"期间无锡深化社会改革的目标以及在政府职能转换、社会管理模式创新、实现公共服务均等化和城乡协调发展等四个方面的改革建议,最后提出了保障改革的一些措施。