Evidence of the duration-dependence from the stock markets in the Pacific Rim economies

This article investigates the duration-dependent feature of five Pacific Rim economies. The duration-dependent Markov Switching model is employed to achieve this objective. The Savage–Dickey density ratio is also computed in support of the duration-dependent Markov switching model. The possible bull and bear market dates for each stock market are also identified by the posterior probability from the empirical model. It is unambiguous that Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong are all characterized by duration-dependence in a bear market but no duration-dependence in a bull market. In the case of Taiwan and Singapore, the duration-dependence feature holds for both the bear and bull markets.     

Job preferences of students and new graduates in nursing

This article investigates the preferences of student and newly graduated nurses for pecuniary and nonpecuniary aspects of nursing jobs. It is the first study applying methods based on discrete choice experiments to a developed country nursing workforce. It is also the first to focus on the transition through university training and into work. This is particularly important as junior nurses have the lowest retention levels in the profession. We sample 526 individuals from nursing programmes in two Australian universities. Flexible and newly developed models combining heteroscedasticity with unobserved heterogeneity in scale and preference weights are estimated. Overall, salary remains the most important feature in increasing the probability that a job will be selected. ‘Supportive management/staff’ and ‘quality of care’ follow as the most important attributes from a list of 11 nonpecuniary characteristics. However, the subset of new graduates rank ‘supportive management/staff’ above salary increases, emphasizing the importance of a supportive workplace in the transition from university to the workplace. We find substantial preference heterogeneity and some attributes, such as the opportunity for clinical rotations, are found to be attractive to some nurses while seen as negative by others. Nursing retention could be improved by designing different employment packages to appeal to these different tastes.     

LTE-A中异构网络的切换分析

在传统网络数据流量爆发性增长、频谱效率已接近极限值的形式下,异构组网是增加网络容量、提高数据速率的有效方式。LTE-A系统中异构组网引入低功率节点,缩短了网络与用户间距离,提高了无线链路质量和频谱效率,逐渐成为LTE-A系统中的关键技术之一,但同时也带来复杂的移动性管理等问题。在深入分析3GPP E-UTRA协议规范的基础上,首先建立了LTE-A Macro-Pico异构网络拓扑模型,然后对Macro-to-Pico和Pico-to-Macro双向切换概率进行了分析和仿真。在此基础上,给出了用户及其相关网络参数对于切换成功概率的影响分析。     

异质性机构对企业集团关联交易影响的实证研究

以2004—2010年中国A股上市公司机构投资者持股数据、企业集团与上市公司关联交易数据为样本,研究二者之间的关系。结果表明:机构投资者持股对减轻企业集团关联交易现象影响显著,并存在着"U"型的关系,即随着机构持股比例的上升,其对企业集团关联交易的抑制作用先增强后减弱;民营企业中机构投资者对企业集团关联交易的抑制作用强于国有企业;不同类型的机构投资者与关联交易之间的关系存在差异,即证券投资基金和险资能够有效地抑制关联交易,而合格的境外机构投资者几乎对关联交易不存在抑制效果。     

基于产出冲击的国际储备需求的跨期均衡分析——真实经济的视角

与现有研究相比,文章从真实经济的角度构造了一个简单的基于代表行为人的跨期均衡模型,探讨基于产出冲击和消费平滑的主动性储备需求的决定。研究表明:主动性储备需求与产出冲击发生的概率、产出冲击大小、代表行为人的相对风险厌恶系数以及代表行为人的主观贴现率呈正向关系,与经济增长速度呈反向关系,而与储备资产的相对价格呈现出非线性的关系。通过数值模拟发现,我国主动性储备约占2007年GDP的6%(相当于我国2007年底国际储备的12%),说明我国近年来增加的国际储备存在较大的被动持有部分,目前的国际储备持有额已经从一定程度上脱离了实体经济的基本需求。因此,除紧缩的货币政策外,我国政府还需要进一步运用汇率政策、贸易政策以及其他干预政策直接降低被动国际储备额。     

Product-destination Portfolio and Dynamics by Firm Ownership and Trade Mode： Evidence from Chinese Industrial Exporters

Using matched firm‐level trade and production data over the period 2000–2006, we study the product‐destination portfolio and dynamics of Chinese industrial exporters and make a thorough comparison among four types of firms and between two kinds of trade modes. We find that ownership structure and trading modes do matter to the destination and product mix choices of Chinese industrial exporters. In particular, foreign firms' exports and processing trade tend to be more destination‐specific and products are more specialized. Therefore, foreign firms are more likely to maintain a particular link within a specific global supply chain.     

异质机构投资者共同持股对所持股公司绩效影响的实证研究

以2010年沪、深股市中同时有证券投资基金和除基金外其他机构投资者持股的682家公司为样本,构建线性回归模型研究了异质机构共同持股条件下,异质机构对公司绩效的影响。最终得出结论：在异质机构共同持股条件下,不论持股比例是否具有优势,证券投资基金对公司绩效均具有显著影响,而其他机构投资者对公司绩效均不具有影响。     

On local indeterminacy and endogenous cycles in Ramsey models with heterogeneous households

It is well-known that endogenous cycles can occur in Ramsey models with heterogeneous households and borrowing constraints. In this note, we address the issue of robustness in the more general case of endogenous labor supply and we explain the occurrence of local indeterminacy under progressive taxation.

Evidence on the contrarian trading in foreign exchange markets

This paper investigates the existence and price impacts of contrarian behavior in the foreign exchange markets. By utilizing a nonlinear behavioral model where the chartists and fundamentalists coexist, evidence obtained from two sample periods significantly supports the existence of contrarian trading in the British pound, the Japanese yen and the German mark markets. The contrarian trading can only partially offset the price impacts of trend-followers, therefore the price impact of the chartists as a whole is destabilizing. The ability that the contrarians can counterbalance the extrapolation of the trend-followers differs across markets. Traders in the BP market have the highest tendency to contrarian strategy, which in turn contributes to the least deviations of the BP exchange rates departing from its PPP fundamentals. The fundamentalists' confidence in trade fades during large misalignments, which make the mean reversion function of the fundamentalists weak under the circumstances. We find the magnitudes of interventions will be affected by the price impacts of contrarians and their abilities on market stabilization.     

Putting Ethics on the Agenda for Real Estate Agents

This article uses sociological role theory to help understand ethical challenges faced by Norwegian real estate agents. The article begins with an introductory case, and then briefly examines the strengths and limitations of using legal definitions and rules for understanding real estate agency and real estate agent ethics. It goes on to argue that the ethical challenges of real estate agency can be described and understood as a system of conflicting roles with associated rights and duties, in particular sales agent, intermediary and adviser sub-roles. The arguments are developed using exploratory findings from a survey of Norwegian real estate agents and from several focus groups. The article then suggests the use of various intranet tools as a kind of action research aimed at putting ethics on the real estate agents’ agenda, working to develop a collective conscience and collective self- criticism among the agents, and, in doing so, building bridges between academic research and the practical working world of the agents.