中国城市居民住房支付能力研究

虽然住宅价格是由住宅市场的供给和需求决定的,但从长期来看,住宅价格应该与城市居民家庭的住房支付能力相适应.评价住房支付能力的指标有房价收入比(PIR)和住房可支付性指数(HAI),房价收入比用于判读住房价格是否合理,而住房可支付性指数能够反映家庭购买住房的还贷能力.论文通过计算2004年我国34个主要城市的房价收入比和住房可支付性指数,对我国城市居民的住房支付能力进行了城市排序.参照国外相关指标的评价标准,论文采用Pareto累计图的评价方法,得出了我国当前房价收入比和住房可支付性指数的分布区间.论文的研究成果既可作为政府调控城市住宅市场发展的依据,也可作为居民投资置业的依据.     

深化水价改革:全面推进与重点深入

我国水价改革已经取得一定成绩.但迄今为止,水价改革尚缺少一个系统性强的整体规划,基本处于各自为战、分散进行的状态:城市水价改革快于农村水价改革,城市供水价格改革快于水利工程价格改革,缺水地区水价改革快于丰水地区水价改革.在改革措施方面,则着重于提高水价,普遍存在以调代改甚至只调不改的情况.基于此,本报告提出"深化水价改革,既要全面推进,又要重点深入"的思路,并在完善水价形成机制、水利工程供水价格改革、城市供水价格改革、农业用水价格改革、完善污水处理费征收制度、完善水价管理体制以及建立水权制度和水权交易市场等方面提出对策建议.     

空间竞争、房价收入比与房价

本文通过构建一个房地产市场空间竞争模型,分别就Cournot竞争和价格合谋情形,探讨了开发商的位置及其密度如何影响均衡开发量、房价和社会福利.本文的基本结论是:空间竞争决定了房价,而非房价收入比;市场决定的价格不一定为合理性价格;房价与市中心距离和开发商密度成反比;空间垄断是房价刚性的根本原因.因此,要将刚性房价降下来,政府一方面应将大项目拆分为小项目,促进竞争,另一方面应对空间垄断进行管制.     

住房耐用品、土地市场分割与货币失踪之谜

2008年国际金融危机后,我国M2供给增幅远高于CPI上涨幅度,这一现象被学界称为“货币失踪之谜”。本文构建了一个两部门新凯恩斯货币模型来研究这一问题。当外部需求下降后,央行降低利率以提振经济,房地产部门和非房地产部门同时扩张。由于住房属于耐用消费品,具有一定的金融属性,其需求对利率变化更敏感。利率下降后,住房需求相对普通消费品需求上升更多。因为存在土地市场分割,商住用地供给弹性较小,住房需求上升导致商住用地价格上升较多,地价上涨提升了房地产企业的抵押融资能力,房地产部门进一步扩张。普通消费品需求对利率反应小,需求较弱导致工业用地价格上升幅度较小,非房地产部门抵押融资能力小幅提升。因此,非房地产部门产出和CPI只温和扩张。Ramsey最优货币政策模拟表明,只有实现了房地产部门与非房地产部门均衡发展,才能实现社会福利最大化。     

Asymmetric Price Adjustment in the US Gasoline Industry: Evidence from Bayesian Threshold Dynamic Panel Data Models

This paper investigates the gasoline price adjustment to changes in the input cost price for a panel of 48 US states using a monthly data set covering the period 1994–2011. We build, for the first time, a non-linear threshold panel vector-error-correction model (PVECM) and propose efficient Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) Bayesian techniques. Our findings indicate that states with high margin experience a slower adjustment and a more asymmetric response to input price cost shocks. Our results are robust to potential structural breaks in the threshold parameter, which is important as market conditions change over time and are very sensitive to production/consumption constraints. Lastly, we attribute fluctuations in the gasoline prices to input cost shocks, arguing that the peak responses occurring one month after the shock are short-lived.     

Comment on “The Empirical Basis for Antitrust: Cartels,Mergers, and Remedies”

In this journal, James Langenfeld critically reviewed four of the present authors’ articles that analyze the size of cartel overcharges and their antitrust policy implications. In this comment, we explain why we believe Langenfeld errs in his criticism of our work. In particular, this comment discusses the variation in research quality of the sources used to compile a large sample of historical cartel overcharges; the advisability of trimming outliers or large estimates from the sample; alleged publication bias; why our 25% median estimate is much more likely to be correct than the US Sentencing Guideline’s 10% presumption; and the implications of the average cartel overcharges results for optimal deterrence and antitrust policy.     

Price Discrimination in Russian Wheat Exports: Evidence from Firm‐level Data

Russia emerged as an important wheat exporter in recent years raising the question of how this will affect international wheat markets. In particular developing countries – the main destination of Russian wheat exports – could be harmed by aggressive pricing behaviour. This article analyses the exertion of price discrimination by Russian wheat exporting firms based on Krugman's pricing‐to‐market hypothesis. We apply Knetter's panel model to a firm‐level dataset and find evidence for price‐discriminating behaviour by Russian firms in 25 out of 61 destination countries over the period 2002–2011.     

A text message away: ICTs as a tool to improve food security

The growing use of ICTs around the world, particularly cellular phone technology, provides a significant development opportunity. Under certain situations, ICTs can improve rural households’ agricultural production, farm profitability, job opportunities, adoption of healthier practices, and risk management. All these effects have the potential to increase wellbeing and food security in rural areas of developing countries. Several challenges to effectively scaling up the use of ICTs for development remain, however. Taking advantage of the opportunities provided by ICTs depends on increased connectivity of marginalized population groups, the content and usefulness of the information provided through ICTs, and the capacity of households in rural areas to understand and act on the information that they receive. We need innovative ways to bring together the public and private sectors to ensure that the three Cs (connectivity, content, and capacity) are addressed as a whole.     

Evaluating price transmission between global agricultural markets and consumer food price indices in the European Union

This paper uses error correction models to evaluate the extent to and speed at which world agricultural commodity price movements affect consumer food prices in the European Union member states. We consider three types of world commodity price indices, each containing different commodities and weighting criteria. Results reveal a long‐run relationship between world agricultural commodity and consumer food prices in over half of the member states. Consumer prices in different member states and categories of member states respond differently to specific world price indices, suggesting that there are disparities in the structure and the efficiency of their food markets. The eurozone founders generally have lower transmission elasticities. This should be taken into account when predicting the impacts of extreme world price volatility and consumer food price rises, prompting governments to pay attention to the most vulnerable households.