Complexity and the limits to learning

In this paper we look at the manner in which ideas coming from complexity science change our understanding of the cognitive powers of agents that is really necessary to explain the evolution of markets and of firms. The general ideas behind complex systems dynamics and evolution are presented and then two examples are treated in detail. The first in an evolutionary model of a market in which some new product is developed by competing firms and their “task” is to find a strategy in terms of quality and price that will be sustainable. This essentially requires agents/firms to discover mutually compatible strategies, and to create thereby sustainable market niches. The second example considers the internal structure of firms, in terms of their constituent working practices and skills. It demonstrates that it is precisely their ignorance of the consequences of adopting any particular practice that generates diversity in the emergent capabilities of firms, exploring the dimension of potential demand and therefore leading to a successful and sustainable business sector. The work supports the notion that the cognitive abilities that are involved are not about deduction and logic, as a traditional view of rationality might suggest, but are about the development and contraction of interpretive frameworks, which will be different for each player. The paper links these examples to a general recognition of the idea that complex, multi-agent systems evolve through successive “structural attractors”—multi-dimensional dynamical systems—with temporary structural stability. Because real systems contain both the structure and deviations from it, then there is a constant probing of structural stability and the possibility of qualitative change to a new structural attractor. This resembles the ideas in biological evolution related to “punctuated equilibria,” but it also links this to the idea of emergent and evolving networks of interaction, never of course near thermodynamic equilibrium.      

生态视角下的城市结构形态发展变化作用力研究——对道萨迪斯人类聚居地作用力的再思考

城市结构形态的发展与演化过程是多种力共同作用的结果.道萨迪斯将其归纳为11种作用力,注重人类聚居地的形成发展的一般规律,但没有解决各种作用力的作用特点和主导作用力的决定性问题.从生态学角度剖析,自然力与非自然力相互作用的生态过程确定城市结构形态的空间结构类型及形式:健康的自然生态环境网络系统作为"底",决定着城市建设用地发展变化的空间模式;自然生态系统的自组织过程主导结构形态发展的过程,这是对道氏理论的解释与补充.     

解决农村义务教育投入保障中的制度缺陷——对中央转移支付作用及事权体制调整的思考

财权与事权不匹配的矛盾是解决农村义务教育投入保障中的最大难点,受财力制约和宏观政策引导缺位的影响,地方投入为主的财政制度很难为义务教育发展提供全面、长远的支持。针对学界期望通过创新或完善中央转移支付制度解决农村义务教育投入的观点,本文提出不同看法:单纯依靠转移支付制度的改进来解决农村义务教育的地区差异和保障农村义务教育的公共投入是不可能的,只有在事权体制上做大的调整,将农村义务教育事权上划中央政府和财政,才是解决该问题的最佳选择。本文尝试通过建立计量模型,从保障农村义务教育投入中的制度缺陷的视角构建框架,为农村义务教育事权体制改革寻求另一个解决方案。     

Cox-Ingersoll-Ross模型的统计推断

该文在离散样本观察下,研究了Cox-Ingersoll-Ross模型的统计推问题,给出了CIR过程的平稳均值m与平稳方差ν的矩估计,并用-m和-ν给出了CIR过程中尺度参数α与β波动率之间的关系,基于CIR过程的平方变差,得到参数β的平方变差估计和参数α的估计.通过数值模拟的方法对平方变差估计与条件矩估计([9])方法作了比较,并选择1997-2006年的R007数据对这两种方法进行了实证分析.     

山东省耕地利用集约度时空变化及政策启示

研究目的:通过分析1993-2014年山东省耕地利用集约度总体和各投入要素集约度的时空变化特征及影响因素,进而探讨耕地利用集约度与社会经济发展水平的协调程度,并提出相应政策措施,以提高山东省耕地集约利用水平,保障区域粮食安全。研究方法:能值分析、GIS空间分析、主成分分析。研究结果:(1)1993-2014年,山东省耕地利用集约度总体呈增长态势,而劳动集约度不断下降;资本集约度中,属于省工性投入的农业机械集约度呈现出显著的线性增长特征,属于增产性投入的化肥、农药和农膜集约度均呈先升后降的趋势。(2)全省耕地集约利用水平空间差异明显,总体上呈"东西高,南北低"的特点。(3)耕地利用集约度在一定程度上受社会经济发展水平的制约,两者存在着不协调现象。研究结论:1993-2014年,山东省耕地利用集约度不断上升的同时也存在明显的区域差异,不同区域应依据当地自然和社会经济条件,采取相应措施提高耕地集约利用水平。     

居民生态补偿意愿影响因素研究

基于条件价值评估法设计调查问卷,对哈尔滨市居民随机调查,建立结构方程模型,以此分析影响居民生态补偿意愿的关键因素。研究表明:影响居民生态补偿意愿的因素有学历、家庭收入、对生态补偿以及生态重要性的认知程度,而且学历和家庭收入有双向关系,学历对居民的生态补偿及生态重要性的认知程度有正向影响。因此,提出提高人们的文化程度以提升居民的生态补偿意愿;加大生态补偿的宣传力度,从而增强居民的生态补偿意识等建议。     

The effect of external supply knowledge acquisition,development activities and organizational status on the supply performance of SMEs

Given the increasingly strategic role of external resources, acquiring knowledge about current suppliers and the broader supply market is an important and demanding task for the purchasing and supply management (PSM) function of a firm. Performance-improvement-oriented application of external supply knowledge present further challenges for the function. To examine this, we draw on the knowledge-based view and develop a hypothesized model in which supply knowledge acquisition drives PSM exploration and exploitation orientations which in turn mediate the organizational status of PSM function in terms of supply performance. We test the model on an SME-focused and survey-based dataset, using structural equation modelling. Our results indicate that an exploitative orientation is associated with knowledge gained from the supply base, whereas an explorative orientation is predominantly associated with supply market knowledge and less with supply base knowledge, suggesting natural pairings. The findings also show how an exploitative development orientation mediates the positive association of the PSM function's organizational status with supply performance. Driven by supply base knowledge, a status-empowered exploitative PSM orientation may suppress supply market based explorative orientation in resource-scarce SMEs, thus appearing to serve as the sole path to supply performance. Our research contributes by pointing out the significance of the knowledge-resource, and the knowledge-based view, in understanding performance in PSM.     

On the need to compensate the compensating variation in CGE modeling

The message of this research is that in the standard calibrated setting of Computational General Equilibrium (CGE) models, the welfare measures typically used to compare benchmark with counterfactuals are numéraire dependent. This evaluation bias affects the compensating variation and the Konüs index of cost of living. We show that the equivalent variation is neutral regarding the choice of value units in calibrated models but would be affected as well in uncalibrated CGE models. We illustrate with a simple example and propose an even simpler theoretical solution to overcome these biases; all that is required to have correct welfare estimates is to compensate normalizing with a suitable price index. This type of correction is necessary to overcome the sometimes blind implementation of welfare measures in numerical general equilibrium analysis. We show that the induced quantitative errors may be substantial providing biased welfare estimates and misleading results.     

Determinants and outcome of career competencies: Perspectives of hotel managers in China

This study aims to explore the determinants and outcome of career competencies. Based on the notion that organizations and individuals have respective obligations in the career management of employees’, this study developed perceived “organizational career management’ (OCM) and “career commitment” as determinants and career satisfaction as an outcome of career competencies. Data were collected in the state-owned hotels in China, and structural equation modeling was used to test the proposed relationships. The findings indicate that both perceived OCM and career commitments have positive, direct effects on career competencies. The findings of this study may benefit both hotels and hotel employees by providing valuable implications.     

Measuring festival quality and value affecting visitors’ satisfaction and loyalty using a structural approach

Perceived value is understood to be a precursor of customer satisfaction and loyalty and is itself impacted by product quality. The linkages between quality, value, satisfaction, and loyalty have been gaining increasing attention in the marketing field. Accordingly, this study examines whether quality dimensions have an impact on perceived value, which, in turn, affects satisfaction and loyalty, in the context of the Punggi Ginseng festival.