Measuring Regional Fiscal Transfers Induced by National Budgets

National budgets typically induce a substantial redistribution of resources across regions. In this paper I propose an economic definition of such implicit fiscal transfers, which, in the absence of gains or losses out of centralizing fiscal policy, is particularly suitable for territorial equity discussions. In my view the fiscal transfer of a region is equivalent to the region's willingness to pay for achieving fiscal independence. Such implicit transfers are also characterized in the context of a model where public debt is exclusively motivated by the tax-smoothing principle. It turns out that the fiscal transfer of a region can be computed by adding the region's primary balance and an allocation of the national primary deficit according to a linear combination of the region's share of receipts and expenditures. Thus, in general the computation of these implicit transfers requires detailed information about parameter values, which may not be available in practice. Some possible solutions are discussed.     

Ownership, institutions, and capital structure: Evidence from China

We employ a unique data set to explore the role of ownership structure and institutional development in debt financing of non-publicly traded Chinese firms. We show that state ownership is positively associated with leverage and firms’ access to long-term debt, while foreign ownership is negatively associated with all measures of leverage. Surprisingly, firms in better developed regions are associated with reduced access to long-term debt, suggesting the availability of alternative financing channels and the tightening of the lending standards under the on-going banking reform. The combination of ownership structures and institutions explains up to 6% of the total variation in firms’ leverage decisions, while firm characteristics alone explain no more than 8% of the variation. Further, we show that non-state-owned firms tend to have lower total and short-term debt than their state-owned counterparts in less developed regions. Finally, we show that state-owned firms’ easy access to long-term debt is positively associated with long-term investment and negatively associated with firm performance.     

我国地方政府债券发行长效机制的构建研究

在经历了长期的沉寂之后,我国的地方政府债券在2009年正式启动。虽然近期在二级市场上,地方政府债券遭到投资者的冷遇,但地方政府债券的持续发行有其理论与现实基础,从中国经济长远发展的角度考虑,应当构建地方政府债券发行的长效运行机制。在短期内应尽快建立地方政府债券发行的激励与约束机制以防范地方债务风险,在中长期应不断深化财政体制改革,逐步实现真正的地方政府债券制度安排。     

企业负债融资的分析与策略

现代企业要快速发展,一靠技术革新,二靠大规模资金投入,而大规模资金的来源在哪里?其中,一个最主要的来源就是负债融资,这是市场经济条件下企业筹集大规模资金的必然选择。但是负债融资在给企业带来巨大利益的同时,也会带来一些潜在的风险,企业只有在适度控制负债的前提下,才能实现其价值最大化。     

日本灾后财政和债务前景展望

日本是发达经济体中财政赤字和政府债务负担最严重的国家。接二连三的欧洲主权债务危机和美国主权债务问题使市场不得不对日本是否将是下一个债务危机发生国产生隐忧。在2008年全球金融危机爆发前,日本的债务结构和低利率环境还可以使其维系高额的财政赤字和债务负担。然而2008年之后,在全球经济疲软和日本经济萎靡不振的背景下,日本处在了主权债务风险一直上升的阶段。更令日本祸不单行的是"3.11"大地震、海啸和核泄露事件,这一连串灾难更令日本在财政赤字和举债问题上如履薄冰。如果日本政府还不尽快实施有效的债务管理政策和可信的财政整顿计划,短期日本经济会难于运转,中长期日本将爆发主权债务危机。     

西方现代股利政策理论及实证研究回顾

本文对西方现代公司股利政策方面的理论和实证研究进行了一个综合性的回顾和分析。其中包括主流的股利行为模型、股利的信息内涵、代理成本、追随者效应,也包括国内研究中较少涉及的债务约束、声誉学说、成长机会和交易成本问题,以期对国内相对落后的股利政策研究和随意性较强的股利政策制定带来一定的借鉴意义。     

负债融资对企业现金持有行为的影响研究——来自中国上市公司的经验证据

以中国上市公司为研究对象,以2004~2006年的横截面数据为基础,考察了负债水平、负债期限结构及负债来源对企业现金持有行为的影响。实证结果表明,公司的现金持有量与负债水平呈现一种非线性的"U"型关系;公司的现金持有量与短期负债比例正相关,而与长期负债比例负相关,说明负债的期限结构会影响企业的现金持有行为;从负债来源看,公司的现金持有量与银行负债比例负相关,而与商业信用比例正相关。