Diverging trends in health care use between 2010 and 2016: Evidence from three groups of transition countries

This paper investigates changes in health care use in 28 transition countries using data on more than 60,000 households from the “Life in Transition” surveys II and III conducted in 2010 and 2016. Following the literature, the transition countries are divided into three groups – Eastern Europe, Southern Europe and the non-Baltic states of the former Soviet Union with Mongolia – based on the speed of their transformation. Regressions based on Andersen’s conceptual framework show no difference in public health care use between the three groups in 2010. By 2016, however, the share of households using the public health care system dropped by remarkable 17.1–22.2% points in Southern Europe and 13.5–27.1% points in the former Soviet Union with Mongolia compared to Eastern Europe. Moreover, by 2016, the probability of a household using the private health care system (with no use of public health care) in Southern Europe and the former Soviet Union was 7.5–18.7% points higher than in Eastern Europe, whereas it was 2.9–6.8% points lower than in Eastern Europe back in 2010. The analyses indicate that differences in household characteristics, as well as perceived corruption and quality of public health care, help to understand these diverging trends in health care use in the three groups of transition countries between 2010 and 2016.     

技术标准化与知识管理关系研究：生命周期视角

结合技术标准化的动态生命周期过程，发挥技术标准化与知识管理的协同互动作用，对于提升企业技术标准化能力和增强企业核心竞争优势具有重要意义。提出知识管理金三角模式，从知识创新、知识竞争和知识扩散3个层面，揭示技术标准化与知识管理的协同关系作用机理，构建技术标准化与知识管理的关系模型，并以华为公司生命周期各阶段的演化进程为样本进行案例分析，检验理论推导。结果表明，技术标准化与知识管理相互依存、相互促进。以此为基础，建立技术标准化与知识管理保障机制，为企业参与市场竞争提出策略性建议。     

财政科技支出、企业生命周期与技术创新

基于中国经济高质量发展目标导向，利用2007—2017年中国沪深A股上市公司数据，针对“财政科技支出—企业技术创新”范式进行分析并基于生命周期视角加以检验。结果发现，财政科技支出对企业技术创新活动产生正向驱动并展现出明显的结构性创新动力，即财政科技支出对于实质性技术创新活动的驱动更强，对于非实质性技术创新活动的促进作用不明显。在界分企业生命周期后发现，在企业成长期及成熟期，财政科技支出在驱动技术创新方面卓有成效，但在衰退期创新增益并不显著。此外，政府激励结构是影响财政科技支出效力释放的重要条件。地方政府在“为增长而竞争”导向下，财政科技支出的创新驱动效果被限制；在“为创新而竞争”导向下，财政科技支出能够充分发挥其结构性创新驱动作用。研究结论可为合理规划财政科技支出、完善政府激励体制构架提供实证依据。     

Do unhappy citizens vote for populism?

This paper explores the dynamics behind the surge in populist voting across Europe. It employs individual-level cross-sectional data from 8 waves of the European Social Survey (2002–2016). I attempt to shed light on one particular perspective of viewing populist voting – the role of psychological discontent. I examine robustness to (i) different ways of defining populism, (ii) a selection of alternative specifications and (iii) estimation methods. The results suggest that generalized unhappiness with one's personal well-being – and not merely dissatisfaction with governments – could play a significant role in the rise of European populism. As such, low levels of subjective well-being are proposed as a valid predictor of shifts towards extreme movements.     

Liquidity constraints and labor supply

In this paper we shed some light on how restrictions in financial markets, the so-called liquidity constraints, might act in affecting labour supply decisions of Italian workers. One way to neutralize the existence of binding liquidity constraints is simply by supplying additional labor, instead of reducing consumption. We estimate whether resorting to additional labor supply as a smoothing consumption device is at work by using the Italian Survey of Households Income and Wealth (SHIW). The longitudinal dimension of the SHIW dataset allows us to control for individual unobserved heterogeneity. We also use an IV strategy to address the endogeneity of our measure for credit constraints in labor supply equations due to time varying factors.Our results show that liquidity constraints increase the intensity in the supply of men׳s labor. Constrained men work, on average, 4 hours more than their unconstrained counterpart. Self-employed workers turn out to be more sensitive to binding liquidity constraints, possibly because they are more flexible in adjusting the intensity of their labor supply.     

Holiday recovery experiences,tourism satisfaction and life satisfaction – Is there a relationship?

This research examines the relationships between holiday recovery experiences and life satisfaction through mediating variables of tourism satisfaction. Derived from a sample of 777 American respondents, it was found that individuals who were able to control what they want to do, feel relaxed and detached from work, and have new and challenging experiences during a holiday vacation were more likely to be satisfied with their holiday experiences and their life in general. The paper concludes with recommendations for the success of tourism businesses as well as the enhancement of tourists' senses of well-being.     

基于生命周期理论的FDI产业集聚根植性研究

改革开放以来,由外国直接投资的进入而产生的FDI产业集聚对中国沿海地区经济高速增长起到了重要促进作用。但是近年来,外资撤离的现象时有发生,形成这一现象的原因很多,其中FDI产业集聚的根植性问题尤其值得关注。本文从FDI产业集聚演化的角度出发,分析了处于不同发展阶段的FDI产业集聚影响其根植性的因素,并以山东省韩资企业集聚为例对其根植性状况进行了考察,最后提出了增强FDI产业集聚根植性的对策建议。     

中国寿险业生产效率变化的实证分析——基于MALMQUIST指数

本文运用dea方法,总结其他学者参数设计的利弊,从财务管理角度重新调整了参数及其构成内容,结果发现中国寿险业全要素生产率尽管得益于追赶效应实现了2005～2009年连年大幅净增长,而且中外资各有千秋,但是沿面移动效应,即技术创新、管理创新等非常差,这意味着寿险业整体后劲不足,实现集约式增长任重而道远。     

HAPPINESS ECONOMICS FROM 35 000 FEET

Abstract The economics of happiness, or subjective well being, is an expanding field, with a growing number of applied papers reporting empirical associations between happiness and other variables. This paper takes a broad view of the topic, aiming to provide an outline of the literature in relation to happiness economics' origins, definitions, theory, methods, applications, critiques, relations with other areas of economic research, political and policy connections, and promising directions for future inquiry.