Impact of financial/economic crisis on demand for hotel rooms in Hong Kong

The main objectives of this study are (1) to identify the factors that influence the demand for hotel rooms in Hong Kong and (2) to generate quarterly forecasts of that demand to assess the impact of the ongoing financial/economic crisis. The demand for four types of hotel room from the residents of nine major origin countries is considered, and forecasts are generated from the first quarter of 2009 to the fourth quarter of 2015. Econometric approaches are employed to calculate the demand elasticities and their corresponding confidence intervals, which are then used to generate interval demand predictions. The empirical results reveal that the most important factors in determining the demand for hotel rooms in Hong Kong are the economic conditions (measured by income level) in the origin markets, the price of the hotel rooms and the ‘word of mouth’ effect. Demand for High Tariff A and Medium Tariff hotel rooms is estimated to have experienced negative annual growth in 2009 due to the influence of the financial/economic crisis, whereas that for High Tariff B hotel rooms is thought to have grown in 2009 after having decreased in 2008. The demand for tourist guesthouse rooms is expected to be the least affected by the crisis. Overall demand is predicted to recover gradually from 2010 onwards.     

The impacts of international tourism demand on economic growth of small economies dependent on tourism

This paper studies the impacts on economic growth of a small tourism-driven economy caused by an increase in the growth rate of international tourism demand. We present a formal model and empirical evidence. The ingredients of the dynamic model are a large population of intertemporally optimizing agents and an AK technology representing tourism production. The model shows that an increase in the growth of tourism demand leads to transitional dynamics with gradually increasing economic growth and increasing terms of trade. In our empirical application, an econometric methodology is applied to annual data of Antigua and Barbuda from 1970 to 2008. We perform a cointegration analysis to look for the existence of a long-run relationship among variables of economic growth, international tourism earnings and the real exchange rate. The exercise confirms the theoretical findings.     

Market structure and demand-side substitutability of chained urban hotel segments

This study analyzes how the demand in hotel markets is divided amongst chained hotel segments. Hypotheses regarding consumers’ switching behavior due to changes in income levels and relative prices are tested using data from 25 major urban markets in the United States, encompassing segments ranging from luxury to economy over 43 quarters. The effects of differentiation and market concentration are also investigated in this context. The results suggest that leisure and individual consumers of the low-scale segments may be trading “up” to higher scales when their income increase, but that upscale segments’ corporate consumers are not necessarily trading “down” when Corporate Income fall. In addition, only low-scale segments appear to be substitutes to upscale segments, but the inverse seems not to be true. Also, properties in mid-range segments are found to be the only ones benefiting from a high market concentration, while low-scale properties turn out to be the ones gaining from differentiation through price.     

劳动力供给变化影响制造业升级的机理及政策研究

人口结构转变背景下人口老龄化加速,劳动力供给数量趋减,劳动者受教育程度提高,新生代劳动力择业行为转变,低端劳动力成本攀升,这将对我国制造业发展产生深远影响。基于1952-2014年中国人口、劳动力和制造业发展相关数据,本文对劳动力供给变化影响制造业升级的机理深入展开探讨,认为劳动力供给数量下降会倒逼制造业升级,知识型劳动力占比提速会顺推制造业升级,新生代劳动者择业行为转变会促进制造业升级。因此,我国应顺沿劳动力供给变化,既要通过技术技能双提升、人才培养模式创新和科技创新驱动制造业升级,又要通过政策促推制造业向和劳动力供给动态变化相协调的价值链高端和结构高端升级。     

医疗价格上涨的经济学分析：基于政府补贴的角度

关于医疗费用上涨的原因,还没有学者从政府对医疗服务的补贴方面来进行研究。事实上,政府的医疗补贴,可以增加人们对医疗的需求,需求的变化必然导致价格的变化。文章在研究这个问题时,首先建立了医疗服务的市场需求与供给模型和个人需求与供给模型,然后根据模型分析了政府的医疗补贴如何使价格上涨,同时也说明了补贴的必要性,最后提出了相应的建议。     

河北省夏玉米需水量变化特征及未来可能趋势

基于1963—2015年近50年间河北省夏玉米主产区8个气象站点气象资料,采用联合国粮食与农业组织(FAO)推荐的Penman-Monteith模型和作物系数法计算夏玉米需水量,再结合《IPCC排放情景特别报告》中的两种排放情景RCP2.6(低排放情景)和RCP8.5(持续排放情景)预估的未来气候情景,探讨气候变化下未来河北省夏玉米需水量的时空演变规律。结果表明:1963—2015年河北省夏玉米需水量呈现下降趋势,在空间上大致以黄骅为高值中心,由东北向西南逐渐递减,并在邢台形成低值中心的分布特征;从未来气候变化情景来看,相对于基准时段(2015年),RCP2.6和RCP8.5情景下,在2020年、2030年、2050年、2070年未来4个典型年份夏玉米的需水量均表现出增加的特征。     

四川玉米供需形势与主产区发展对策

文章分析了四川粒用、青饲、鲜食玉米的供需形势,针对区域生态与生产资源特点,提出了在四川盆地中部、盆地东南部、盆周山区、城郊等主产区分别发展不同类型专用玉米的途径。     

Serial Nonparticipation in Repeated Discrete Choice Models

We consider alternative econometric strategies for addressing serial nonparticipation, that is, repeated choice of the same alternative or same type of alternative across a series of choice occasions, in data typically analyzed within the repeated discrete choice framework. Single and double hurdle variants of the repeated discrete choice model are developed and applied to choice experiment and multisite seasonal recreation demand data. Our results suggest that hurdle models can generate significant improvements in statistical fit and qualitatively different policy implications, particularly in choice experiment applications where the proper treatment of serial nonparticipation is relatively more ambiguous.     

Price Endogeneity and Food Demand in Urban China

Price endogeneity has been ignored in previous analyses of food demand in urban China. We exploit data provided by the China National Bureau of Statistics on agricultural commodity supply shifters and use reduced‐form price equations to account for price endogeneity. Applying our unique econometric approach to the analysis of provincial‐level food demand in China, we find strong statistical evidence of price endogeneity. Models that ignore price endogeneity result in substantially biased elasticities and misleading estimates of future food demand in China.     

A Meta‐Analysis on the Elasticity of Demand for Pesticides

There is an increasing policy interest in pesticide taxation schemes as a measure to reduce harmful effects of pesticide use. The effectiveness of such tax depends, however, on the price elasticity of demand for pesticides. Moreover, information on these demand elasticities and their determinants is of crucial relevance for policy‐making and normative modeling approaches. In this article, we present a meta‐analysis based on studies that have estimated pesticide demand elasticities in Europe and North America. Our meta‐analysis reveals that the own‐price elasticities of demand for pesticides are, with a median of ?0.28, significantly smaller than zero, but also significantly larger than ?1, i.e. to be inelastic. We find that the demand for pesticides for special crops is less elastic than that for arable and grassland. In addition, the demand for herbicides is more elastic than for other pesticides. Studies that consider only short‐term horizons and little flexibility for farmers to adjust to price changes generate significantly less elastic pesticide demands. The results also indicate that more recent studies identify lower pesticide price elasticities of demand. Furthermore, we find that peer‐reviewed studies tend to find more inelastic results compared to grey literature.