Estimating consumer willingness to pay for food quality with experimental auctions: the case of yellow versus fortified maize meal in Kenya

Biofortification of maize with provitamin A carotenoids is a new approach to the alleviation of vitamin A deficiencies in Africa. Unfortunately these varieties are yellow or orange, while consumers generally prefer white. Consumer willingness to pay for yellow and fortified maize was compared in experimental auctions in three regions in Kenya. The premium that consumers are willing pay for fortified maize (24%) was higher than the discount they require to buy yellow maize (11%), and in one zone consumers prefer yellow. Yellow color is, therefore, not an impossible obstacle for biofortified maize, although it would clearly be easier to introduce this maize first in regions where yellow maize is currently grown.     

中国近代建设的伟大先行者——重温孙中山《在安徽都督府欢迎会的演说》

孙中山不仅是中国近代民主革命的伟大先行者,也是中国近代建设的伟大先行者。他率先勾画了近代中国最为完整、最系统的经济建设蓝图,提出了经济建设的一系列具体的方针政策,体现了他的雄心壮志和远见卓识。他《在安徽都督府欢迎会的演说》,是其经济建设思想的重要组成部分。     

我国消费信贷中个人信用制度建设的思考

消费信贷作为刺激消费、扩大内需、推动生产、拉动经济的重要举措,促进了我国消费市场的发展,也推动了个人信用制度建设的发展,但消费信贷中的违约风险也随之加大。本文根据我国消费信贷中个人信用制度的发展现状,围绕消费信贷来分析信用制度缺失对消费信贷带来的风险,从而提出了建立和完善行之有效的个人信用制度的政策建议。     

我国报业市场与经济增长的实证分析

改革开放以后的20几年里,我国报业市场与宏观经济都经历了一段长时间的高速增长.我国报业市场所经历的高速增长与我国这20年中经济的高速发展是相辅相成的,两者存在很强的相关性.从因果关系上看,报业市场的发展对我国经济增长的促进作用,要大于经济增长对报业市场发展的促进作用.     

From Judicial Sovereignty to Collective Democracy: The Development of J.R. Commons’ Perspective on Progressive Institutional Change

Abstract:

This article clarifies the significance of “collective democracy” in the works of John R. Commons by comparing it with “judicial sovereignty” in terms of its contribution to “progress.” We can thus answer two issues that Paul D. Bush does not clearly address: (i) what setup for policy formation contributes to progress and (ii) what is the role of economists within a collective democracy? Based on the comparison, the answer to the first question is collective democracy, and regarding the second question, the roles of economists as both economists and “institutional” economists are extrapolated.     

Early warning indicators? The effect of consumer and investor sentiments on the restaurant industry

This study looks at the influence of cyclical fluctuations of the consumer confidence index (CCI) and the volatility index (VIX) as early-warning indicators of the variations in restaurant performance. The industry has traditionally focused on past data and on microeconomic influences to anticipate its future performance, a procedure that does not consider possible cyclical fluctuations in restaurant performance metrics. These fluctuations are driven by sentiments of consumers and investors. The study uses the cyclical component of the applied data, followed by unit root and cointegration testing, with subsequent application of the Limited Information Maximum Likelihood technique. The results show both indicators have an effect on restaurant performance, where VIX has an impact on the current, expected, and overall restaurant performance, while the CCI’s influence is only partial (current performance). Policy-makers and planners could benefit from anticipating features of indicators to assess and steer the future performance of the restaurant industry.     

Measuring ease of use of mobile applications in e-commerce retailing from the perspective of consumer online shopping behaviour patterns

Scientifically judging and comparing different mobile e-commerce retailing applications (apps) are essential to increase online shopping efficiency and enhance design for system improvement. In this research, the use of mobile apps in e-commerce retailing is viewed as an information operation process, and distance of information-state transition (DIT) theory is introduced to measure the “convenience” of mobile apps to obtain service information. Thus, a novel DIT-based evaluation method for the ease of use of mobile apps in e-commerce retailing from the perspective of consumer online shopping behaviour patterns is proposed. Three representative Chinese enterprises, namely, Tianmao Mall, Jingdong Mall and Suning Easy-to-buy, are chosen as study objects. Moreover, the corresponding ease-of-use indicators of three mobile apps under typical online shopping behaviour patterns are evaluated quantitatively. Results show that this research has important implications not only for online consumers but also for designers of online shopping systems.     

国际河流利用的基本原则及重要规则初探

从国际水法和国际惯例的角度,对当前国际社会普遍认可的几个关于国际河流利用的基本原则和重要规则的本质特点及其运用进行了阐述和分析。认为“公平合理利用”和“不造成重大损害”作为国际河流利用的两个最基本的原则,后者应以前者为前提,不应孤立运用;自由航行、经常交换数据与资料、事前通知等作为具体情况下的重要规则,在运用时要注意其适用条件;正确理解和运用这些原则和规则,对合理利用国际河流和开展国际合作具有重要意义。     

农村居民消费、流动性约束和消费信贷的实证研究

本文利用1978-2004年我国农村居民人均消费支出和人均可支配收入数据对农村居民消费和流动性约束之间的关系进行了实证研究。分析结果表明：我国农村居民受流动性约束的程度明显偏高；而自从我国大力发展居民个人消费信贷业以来，流动性约束水平有所下降，消费信贷的发展发挥了一定的作用。今后在我国农村地区进一步建立健全面向广大农民的消费信贷业务，对于缓解流动性约束，推动农村居民消费需求增长具有积极的意义。     

货币政策与金融形势指数FCI: 基于VAR的实证分析

为了探索资产价格在货币政策中的信息功能,经济学者们构造了金融形势指数FCI以反映未来产出与通货膨胀率的变化.常规的FCI指数包括真实短期利率、真实房地产价格指数、真实有效汇率指数和真实股权价格指数.鉴于中国货币政策的实践,本文拓展了FCI指数的概念,考察了加入真实货币供应量的FCI指数在中国货币政策传导中的信息角色.基于VAR模型的实证研究表明：FCI指数可以成为中国货币政策的重要参照系;包含真实货币供应量的FCI指数对CPI通胀率具有更好的预测力.