Cross country linkages and transmission of sovereign risk: Evidence from China’s credit default swaps

China’s climb to a trading powerhouse has changed its position in the world and therefore its relationships with other economies. As a result, its sovereign credit risk, which we measure by the pricing of its credit default swaps (CDS), now has the potential to greatly impact other sovereign CDS spreads. Employing a dynamic approach, we find that changes in China’s sovereign risk has strong contagion effects on its goods and service providers, while China is vulnerable to contagion effects from its major importers, suggesting sovereign risk spills over to other regions via the global supply chain. China’s success hurts some of the weaker countries in Europe by competing for their customers, while China faces strong competition itself from its export-focused neighbors. FDI and portfolio investment also affect the CDS relationships between China and other economies.     

The macroeconomic relevance of bank and nonbank credit: An exploration of U.S. data

This paper exploits the Financial Accounts of the United States to derive long time series of bank and nonbank credit to different sectors, and to examine the cyclical behavior of these series in relation to (i) the long-term business cycle, (ii) recessions and recoveries, and (iii) systemic financial crises. We find that bank and nonbank credit exhibit different dynamics throughout the business cycle. We also examine the role of bank and nonbank credit in the creation of financial interconnections and illustrate a method to conduct macro-financial stability assessments.     

Raising rivals' costs: The entry of an upstream monopolist into downstream markets

A regulated upstream monopolist provides an input to firms in a downstream market. If the monopolist enters the downstream market, a natural concern is that it will act so as to raise its downstream rivals' costs. An offsetting incentive is that a higher downstream price will reduce demand for the input, which reduces the monopolist's profit. Conditions under which one incentive dominates the other are derived. The monopolist may desire to lower its downstream rivals' costs rather than raise them. These findings suggest that regulatory policy towards such downstream entry should not focus exclusively on the ability to discriminate.     

Entry Facilitation by Environmental Groups

We consider a model of vertical product differentiation where consumers care about the environmental damage their consumption causes. An environmental group is capable of increasing consumers’ environmental concern via a costly campaign. We show that the prospect of such a campaign can induce entry by a firm that is able to employ a cleaner technology than the one used by the incumbent. We further demonstrate that the subsequent competition can lead to an adverse effect on aggregate pollution, i.e. the decline in average industry pollution per product is offset by the increase in aggregate production.      

浅谈山地建厂总图设计中的几个问题

文章结合山地建厂设计工作实例，就总平面布置、竖向设计、土石方工程、物料运输、防洪、安全防护等问题进行分析，并提出了相应的技术方法。     

Trade liberalization, outsourcing, and the hold-up problem

This paper shows that, in a bilateral relationship where a foreign supplier has to make a relationship-specific investment but cannot enforce a complete contract, the standard hold-up problem of underinvestment is aggravated when trade incurs a tariff. In this context, we identify two new channels through which trade liberalization enhances international trade. First, lower tariffs increase the incentives of foreign suppliers to undertake cost-reducing investments. Second, lower tariffs may prompt vertical multinational integration. These indirect effects imply that responses of trade volumes to trade liberalization are greater than standard trade models suggest and help explain current trends toward foreign outsourcing and intra-firm trade.     

劳动力市场的横向分割与纵向分割之比较

本文以劳动力市场的横向分割与纵向分割两种分割系统为线索,力求对分割理论和现实情况进行勾勒与诠释,主要从生成因素、经济效应、应对之策三个维度对两者展开比较,试图对该研究领域的诸多观点进行梳理与整合。     

Multinational firms, exclusivity, and backward linkages

How does the nature of contractual relationships between a multinational and its local suppliers affect backward linkages and welfare in the local industry? We address this question in a two-tier oligopoly model where a multinational transfers technology to its suppliers if they accept an exclusive contract that precludes them from serving its local rivals. Invited suppliers balance the benefits of gaining access to new technology and the derived demand of the multinational against the opportunity of selling to other local firms. Exclusivity reduces competition among local suppliers and can lower backward linkages and local welfare relative to autarky.     

Private labels and public quality standards: How can consumer trust be restored after the mad cow crisis?

In those sectors faced with questions of food safety (meat, fruit, vegetables), new private labels have been set up in Europe in order to restore consumer trust. In this paper, we perform a theoretical analysis of these private labels. We propose an original model of vertical relationships between producers and retailers which takes into account two supply sources through (i) a competitive spot market on which the retailers buy a minimum quality standard product and (ii) supply contracts aimed at marketing higher quality private labels. We study how producers and retailers could cooperate in setting up these new labels. From a public point of view, we show the complementarity of a moderate increase in public quality standards and the creation of these new private labels. JEL Classification L22. L23. Q13. Q18