Stock Repurchase and the Role of Signaling： A Comparative Analysis between U.S. and China

This paper compares different methods used for stock repurchase and examines the role of signaling in the U.S. and China＇s capital markets. We find that the ways to buyback stocks are very different in the two countries. Most U.S. stocks are repurchased through open market and the signals sent to the market through open market repurchase are getting weaker. Even though stock repurchases are at their early stage in the Chinese stock market and the dominated way to buyback is through a negotiated repurchase agreement for non-floating shares, the power of signaling seems much stronger. Examining stock prices pre- and post-repurchase, we find that stock repurchase records an average abnormal return of 3.42% on the announcement date and 3.24% on the date of actual renurchase.     

Logic paradox under current corporate finance

The current corporate finance is based on the theory framework of new classical economics. Therefore, the main contents such as free cash flow, NPV method and capital structure decision-making are still based on the balanced price of product and capital markets, they still can＇t reflect the essential character of corporation. The logic paradox, causes the current corporate finance study under a more and more embarrassing circumstance in the front of enterprise financial management practice, with the feature of value management.     

The Reinhart-Rogoff controversy as an instance of the ‘emerging contrary result’ phenomenon

The article proposes a new approach to the Reinhart–Rogoff affair. In contrast to the two explanations of the controversy put forward in existing literature, I argue that Growth in a Time of Debt and its criticism published by Herndon, Ash and Pollin (Does high public debt constantly stifle economic growth? A critique of Reinhart and Rogoff) exemplify the ‘emerging contrary result’ phenomenon (emerging recalcitrant result, ERR). Three arguments support this hypothesis. First, the infamous spreadsheet error did not cause the findings to differ. On the contrary, the results differed mostly due to employing alternative averaging schemes. Second, the cliometric techniques employed by both research teams are justified to a similar degree. Third, the pattern in the cliometric literature focused on the 90%-threshold hypothesis suggests that the Reinhart–Rogoff controversy exemplifies an ERR phenomenon caused by submission/publication bias.     

Comparing the employment-output elasticities of migrants and nationals: the case of the Gulf Cooperation Council

Many countries have large or increasing migrant populations. We estimate the elasticity of private-sector employment to nonoil GDP for nationals and migrants using a Seemingly Unrelated Error Correction (SUREC) model. We use data from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, which have a particularly large share of foreign workers. Our results indicate that the employment response is statistically significantly lower for nationals, who have an estimated short-run elasticity of only 0.15 and a long-run response of 0.7, than for migrants, where the short- and long-run elasticities are 0.35 and almost unity. Lower elasticities could signal higher labour market adjustment costs. In the context of low oil prices, forecasts imply a significant jobs shortfall for nationals in the coming years.     

Regional wages and market potential in the enlarged EU: an empirical investigation

This article empirically analyses the link between market potential and regional wages in the enlarged EU. We contribute to the existing literature in several ways: (1) we analyse the link between market potential and wages for the EU27 and (2) deconstruct total market potential into several geographical components and analyse their respective contributions to explaining the geographical wage structure. We correct for existing spatial autocorrelation and endogeneity by using an instrumental variable generalized spatial two-stage least squares (IV GS2SLS).     

Market access and regional dispersion of human capital accumulation in Turkey

Building on early advances in development economics, the theoretical construct of new economic geography asserts that geography plays a crucial role in educational human capital accumulation. Based on this expectation, this study investigates the impact of market access on provincial human capital accumulation in Turkey. Results indicate that market access matters for understanding why some regions lag behind others in terms of average years of schooling. Our results are robust to the inclusion of spatial mechanisms, different specifications of the spatial weight matrix, endogeneity and alternative measurements of market access and to a host of other factors that affect regional human capital accumulation.     

The exceptional performance of exporters and labour market outcomes: evidence from Egyptian firms

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the manufacturing export market in Egypt after the Arab Spring using a novel firm-level census dataset from 2013. Export is very rare in Egypt. The conventional export premia are very high, except for total factor productivity. Exporters have stark effects on labour market outcomes, including wages, employment, demand for skilled and female workers, wage inequality, and job security. These findings have two important implications: (1) Manufacturing exports might be monopolized by large firms, and (2) promoting exports could improve labour market outcomes, especially for skilled and female workers.     

Policy Dimensions of Progressive Institutional Change: Lessons from China’s Construction of a Socialist Market Economy

Abstract:

Through a comprehensive review of the progressive institutional change (PIC) literature, I first discuss four possible trajectories of PIC by considering the forces of societal reaction that might frame the path, as well as the scale and scope of the changes. Thus, I pose four questions that need to be asked when related policies are formulated for PIC. To illustrate this method, I scrutinize the evidence from the construction of a socialist market economy by the Chinese government since the 1980s and argue that related policies have successfully promoted PIC from three dimensions: (1) curbing potential conflicts with power groups; (2) promoting a sense of awareness among stakeholders; and (3) minimizing disturbances to the community. Actually, the related changes demonstrate a dynamic “displacement process” for PICs. Despite the success of this sociosystem, it is found that the sustaining of PIC which requires policy factors that enhance instrumental efficiency in the Chinese context will serve as a challenge to the Chinese government ahead.     

Financial Insecurity in a World of Plenty

Abstract

The U.S. economy is addicted to the simulative impacts of household borrowing. Household debt has grown dramatically since the 1990s and has served to mitigate the detrimental effects of stagnant household wages. The accumulation of this debt has also had the macroeconomic impact of stimulating the economy, pushing it closer towards full employment. However does full employment stimulated by household indebtedness actually represent economic progress? It is argued that even the poorest citizen in a modern industrialized society is better off than a king of feudal Europe, yet in the United States such material prosperity is often tied to social insecurity thanks to debt. The growth of this debt has been enabled by a financial system that has evolved dramatically over the past forty years. The U.S. financial system’s primary role is no longer to finance investment but is rather a tool that enables a separation of ownership from use. Debt has fueled corporate profits which have enriched the shareholding class while at the same time the system has reduced the financial security of the majority of workers. This article crystalizes these issues by analyzing the differentials in financial circumstances faced by workers and shareholders in several major U.S. firms.     

Is there a profit premium for market-oriented firms? A panel data investigation

ABSTRACT

This paper provides an empirical investigation of the impact of market orientation on firms' economic performance during the period 1998–2012 using a panel of Italian manufacturing firms. We introduce a dynamic concept of market orientation, in that we define a market-oriented firm as one that persistently undertakes product and marketing innovation, while at the same time introducing organizational changes and training efforts to manage and improve its knowledge assets over the long term. This notion of market orientation is therefore crucially related to the so-called dynamic capability approach. The related empirical model shows that being a market-oriented firm significantly affects profitability, in a framework in which this latter is simultaneously estimated with productivity, thus allowing for more precise estimates of the profit premium which is earned accordingly.