Optimal privatization policy with asymmetry among private firms

We revisit the relationship between the optimal privatization policy and market competition indexes such as the Hirschman–Herfindahl index. It is affected by the number of the firms and asymmetry among the sizes of the firms; the smaller the number of firms and the more asymmetry among firms, the higher the market concentration index. The literature on mixed oligopolies suggested that the optimal degree of privatization increases with the number of private firms, and thus, decreases with the market competition index, assuming that all private firms are homogeneous. We investigate how asymmetry among private firms affects the optimal degree of privatization. We propose the simplest and natural model formulation to discuss asymmetry among private firms. We find that the optimal degree of privatization is either nonmonotone or monotonically increasing, and thus never monotonically decreasing, in asymmetry among private firms.     

对混业经营若干法律问题的认识

随着经济全球化的推进,各国为了提高金融竞争力而争相改革,要求打破银行、证券、保险、信托之间严格的分业状态,实行混业经营的呼声越来越高。从英国金融改革“大爆炸”和美国1999年《金融服务现代化法案》开始,彻底拉开了由分业经营转向混业经营的改革序幕。混业经营在我国也初现端倪,如何在其出现的早期通过立法规范市场环境,促进其健康发展,并对发展过程中出现的新情况（如资产证券化导致的次债危机）加以规范,防止各种新生事物的弱点相互助长引发危机,是一个值得我们探究的问题。     

A GPS data-based analysis of built environment influences on bicyclist route preferences

This study examines the effects of built environment features, including factors of land use and road network, on bicyclists' route preferences using the data from the city of Seattle. The bicycle routes are identified using a GPS dataset collected from a smartphone application named “CycleTracks.” The route choice set is generated using the labeling route approach, and the cost functions of route alternatives are based on principal component analyses. Then, two mixed logit models, focusing on random parameters and alternative-specific coefficients, respectively, are estimated to examine bicyclists' route choice. The major findings of this study are as follows: (1) the bicycle route choice involves the joint consideration of convenience, safety, and leisure; (2) most bicyclists prefer to cycle on shorter, flat, and well-planned bicycle facilities with slow road traffic; (3) some bicyclists prefer routes surrounded by mixed land use; (4) some bicyclists favor routes which are planted with street trees or installed with street lights; and (5) some bicyclists prefer routes along with city features. This analysis provides valuable insights into how well-planned land use and road network can facilitate efficient, safe, and enjoyable bicycling.     

混合多属性商业银行绩效的测度——基于BSC-FANP-EVIKOR方法的研究

本文基于BSC、FANP和扩展的VIKOR集成方法研究商业银行绩效测度问题。首先基于平衡计分卡(BSC)构建商业银行绩效测度指标体系,然后采用模糊网络层次法(FANP)确定指标的权重。考虑到测度过程中可能存在不完全信息和不确定信息,即属性值可能为模糊数,提出扩展的VIKOR方法,以解决银行绩效混合多属性(确定数、模糊数)测度问题。以5个银行为例进行绩效测度,发现本文提出的方法具有一定的稳定性。     

Mixed farming in Africa: the search for order, the search for sustainability

This paper examines the interest in the development and promotion of mixed farming in sub-Saharan Africa. For over 70 years mixed farming has been a dominant model for agricultural development despite the limited success of many of the programmes which have specifically promoted it. It is suggested that the establishment of mixed farming as a strong development theme is related to its promise to address a range of environmental and social concerns, and in so doing, help create order out of a ‘chaotic’ African countryside. Mixed farming is again being highlighted with the more recent interest in sustainable, environmentally friendly agricultural systems. However, there is considerable evidence that African farmers have adopted a flexible principles-based approach to the use of component technologies commonly associated with the mixed farming model. This must be fully acknowledged, and the seduction of unitary models avoided, if agricultural research is to contribute efficiently to the development of more sustainable farming systems.     

Profit sharing and strike activity in Cournot oligopoly

Within an incomplete-information framework, we develop a model of wage determination in a unionized Cournot oligopoly. The assumption of incomplete information allows the possibility of strikes or lockouts, which waste industry potential resources, at equilibrium. Facing such deadweight loss, the government or the social planner may decide to adopt a policy, such as a profit-sharing scheme. Under two different bargaining structures (firm level vs. industry level), we investigate the effects of adopting profit sharing on the wage outcome and the strike activity. If the base-wage bargaining takes place at the industry level, then the introduction of a profit-sharing scheme increases the strike activity. But if the base-wage bargaining takes place at the firm level and the number of firms in the industry is greater than two, then the introduction of a profit-sharing scheme reduces the strike activity.     

新时代混合所有制改革的目标、推进速度与模式探索——基于契约视角和中外历史及现实经验的思考

改革开放后,混合所有制改革在党的文件中已有20多年的酝酿和发展;党的十八届三中全会后,各级政府积极采取行动推动这个改革。然而,在企业层面,交易属性和交易成本决定了混合所有制改革难以大规模快速推进;在国家层面,混合所有制改革不是私有化,而是要在多种所有制经济“共赢同进”中完善社会主义基本经济制度,做强做优做大公有制经济。新时代的混合所有制改革应当是渐进式的、稳健的,而不是运动式的,更不是激进的私有化;混合所有制改革的模式应是多样化的,要积极探索真正体现初心的、适宜的改革模式。     

国有资本参股会影响民营企业的内部控制质量吗

混合所有制改革是进一步巩固和完善社会主义基本经济制度的重要举措,在推动经营机制转换、优化市场资源配置、提升企业运营效率等方面取得了显著成效。但是现有关于混合所有制改革经济后果的研究多集中在“正向混改”领域,而“反向混改”领域的研究相对较少,且对于民营企业内部治理机制缺乏深入系统的分析。为此,文章以2003-2021 年A 股上市公司为样本,研究国有资本的加入对民营企业内部控制质量产生的影响。研究发现：首先,国有资本参股能够通过提高民营企业的治理水平、增加媒体关注度、缓解民营企业的融资约束从而显著提升民营企业的内部控制质量。其次,进一步分析表明,国有资本参股的积极作用在有政治关联的企业和非家族企业更为显著;同时对于国资主体而言,其正面作用在地方国有企业及内部控制质量高的国有企业中更为明显。最后,本文发现,国有企业参股在内部控制战略、经营、报告、合规等层面均发挥一定积极作用,从而促进了民营企业内部控制整体质量提升。文章的发现丰富了“反向混改”经济后果以及企业内部控制质量影响因素的相关文献,为深化混合所有制改革提供了新的理论支撑和经验证据。     

混合所有制改革、国有股比例与企业价值

本文选取2014~2019年我国A股国有上市公司为研究对象,探讨了混合所有制改革与国有股比例对企业价值的影响。结果表明,实行了混合所有制改革的国有企业,其企业价值会显著提高,国有股比例与企业价值之间存在倒"U"型关系,进行混合所有制改革的国有企业的国有股比例存在阈值效应,且阈值为28.65%。因此,政府需继续鼓励非国有资本积极参与混合所有制改革,充分遵循市场化原则,推进国有企业去行政化;国有企业需设置合理的股权结构,完善公司法人治理结构,建立有效的内部制衡机制。     

Media effects on sustainable food consumption. How newspaper coverage relates to supermarket expenditures

Information provision is often considered to have an important role to play in changing consumers' choices. However, there is still no consensus on the mechanisms by which information might influence specific consumer expenditures, especially in relation to environmentally friendly food products. This paper explores whether the public debate on sustainable consumption in UK broadsheets and tabloids relates to observed consumers' expenditures. It does so by relating the number of published articles on selected sustainability topics to consumers' food expenditure in a leading UK supermarket from May 2009 to May 2011, using regression analysis. We selected only regular supermarket's shoppers who frequently buy the Sunday editions of the analyzed newspapers. Results indicate very sparse and inconsistent correlations suggesting that the impact of information is only minimally effective. The number of newspaper articles relates mainly to expenditures on organic, wholegrain and low salt products, possibly indicating a preference for healthy food. No consistent effects are observed when media target a change in more general food categories (e.g. a reduction in food of animal origin), although we observed some influence on purchases of fish. Finally, results indicate some correlations with purchases of meat for the readers of the Telegraph. In order to contextualize some of the results, we applied content analysis to a subsample of published articles on organic food. The qualitative approach shows that the framing of the news is important: change is positively related to information proposed uncritically; and negatively to information contextualized as a highly structured debate.