Measuring the persistence of deviations from purchasing power parity with a fractionally integrated STAR model

Empirically, elements of both fractional long memory and threshold non-linearity are present in the real exchange rates of the G-7 countries against the US, notably in the EU countries. Estimated half lives of deviations from PPP using median unbiased corrections to conventional linear autoregressive models corroborate existing evidence related to the PPP paradox as half lives range from at least four years to an infinite number of years. In contrast, for each EU country, accounting for threshold non-linearity results in estimated half lives that can be less than three years even with the allowance for fractional long memory.     

Economic Growth Evens Out Happiness: Evidence from Six Surveys

In spite of the great U‐turn that saw income inequality rise in Western countries in the 1980s, happiness inequality has fallen in countries that have experienced income growth (but not in those that did not). Modern growth has reduced the share of both the “very unhappy” and the “perfectly happy.” Lower happiness inequality is found both between and within countries, and between and within individuals. Our cross‐country regression results suggest that the extension of various public goods helps to explain this greater happiness homogeneity. This new stylized fact arguably comes as a bonus to the Easterlin paradox, offering a somewhat brighter perspective for developing countries.     

Explaining Foreign Holdings of Asia's Debt Securities: The Feldstein–Horioka Paradox Revisited*

In this paper, we find that home bias is still present in all economies and regions, especially in the case of short‐term debt securities, but that there are substantial variations among economies and regions in the strength of home bias, with the eurozone economies, the USA and developing Asia showing relatively weak home bias and advanced Asia, especially Japan, showing relatively strong home bias. We then examine trends over time in foreign holdings of debt securities and find that capital has been flowing from the USA and the eurozone economies to both advanced Asia (especially Japan) and developing Asia, and that foreign holdings of debt securities have been increasing in advanced as well as developing Asia but for different reasons. The main reason in the case of advanced Asia (especially Japan) appears to be higher risk‐adjusted returns, whereas the main reason in the case of developing Asia appears to be the growth of debt securities markets combined with relatively weak home bias and (in the case of short‐term securities) lower exchange rate volatility. Finally, we find that since the global financial crisis, foreign holdings of debt securities have declined (i.e. that home bias has strengthened) in all economies and regions except developing Asia, where they have increased (except for a temporary decline in 2008) but where their share is still much lower than the optimal share warranted by the capital asset pricing market model.     

社会资本、家庭收入与城镇居民幸福感:基于中国大样本微观数据的实证研究

近年来,有关“幸福悖论”的研究逐渐得到学术界的关注,尤其是对于主观幸福感与收入水平的关系仍然存在广泛的争议.理论分析发现,主观幸福感的强弱是受到人口因素、经济因素和社会因素共同作用的结果.采用具有代表性的中国城镇居民大样本微观调查数据(CGSS2013),基于有序Logit回归模型探讨了社会资本、家庭收入对城镇居民幸福感的影响.研究结果表明:(1)家庭收入、健康水平与信任程度是影响主观幸福感的3个主要因素,而现阶段影响我国城镇居民幸福感的最重要因素为家庭收入水平;(2)性别、年龄、职业、健康、婚姻与政治面貌等个体因素均对城镇居民幸福感产生了显著的影响;(3)社会信任水平的提高有助于提升城镇居民的幸福感;(4)整体而言,未来需要从缩小社会收入差距、推进社会信用体系建设与完善城镇医疗保障等几个方面提升中国城镇居民的主观幸福感.     

Public policy for reducing tax evasion: implications of the Yule–Simpson paradox

The current study exhibits a new implication of the Yule–Simpson paradox with public policy repercussions. We construct Laffer curves of local property tax collection based on aggregated data and group division to residential land uses in Jerusalem. Results indicate that based on aggregated (dis-aggregated) data, the location of owner-occupiers and renters who pay a relatively high rate tariff will be on the upward-sloping (downward-sloping) part of the Laffer curve. Consequently, statistical test outcomes support Laffer’s controversial claim that for the few upper-brackets taxpayers, an efficient collection is associated with tax reduction rather than tax increase.     

中国城市化进程对服务业影响的实证分析——事实、悖论与解释

与发达国家城市化进程对服务业影响的一般规律相背离,通过对改革开放30年中国城市化进程与服务业发展的实证分析发现,＂城市化率对服务业就业比重的变化存在负贡献作用＂、＂城镇人口规模指数对服务业劳动生产率的变化存在负贡献作用＂、＂城镇居民人均可支配收入指数对服务业增加值比重的变化存在负贡献作用＂等若干悖论,并重点从制度安排、阶段特征等角度解释中国城市化进程与服务业发展相背离的原因。     

从裁判型国家的演化看有为政府的济民功能及防蜕约束

新结构经济学中有为政府实际上对应了一种裁判型国家。裁判型国家根本上把国家视为服务于所有成员的公共性社会机构,从而具有善的性质;正是为了发挥善的行为,人们往往赋予这种国家及其政府相当大的权力。但在现实世界中,那些掌握公权力的代理人往往会为了个人目标和利益而滥用组织手段,从而导致裁判型国家及其政府的功能发生蜕变。从这个意义上说,任何承担积极功能的有为政府都不能是无限政府,而必须在一套相对成熟和完善的规范和监督体系下运作。     

制造型企业服务战略与企业绩效的关系研究

西方许多优秀制造企业已经在向服务提供商的转型战略中获得了成功,但是也有失败的企业案例。西方学者将这种现象称为＂制造企业的服务悖论＂,其核心问题是制造企业的服务战略是否会提高企业绩效。本文回顾了西方学者关于制造企业服务战略与企业绩效关系的相关研究,并从行业与企业特征视角试图解释服务悖论现象,最后展望了该领域未来的研究方向。