Efficient local IV estimation of an empirical auction model

In this paper we examine semiparametric efficiency bounds and efficient estimators for the case of a linear local instrument variable (LIV) model under the assumptions studied in Abadie et al. (2002). We apply the semiparametrically efficient estimation method to analyze the relation between bid dispersion and early bidding in an online auction dataset, which is collected from a natural experiment conducted in Nekipelov (2007). The results confirm the theoretical findings developed in Nekipelov (2007). The semiparametric efficient estimation procedure substantially improves the statistical significance of the effect of jump bidding on bid dispersion.     

推进天保工程建设 构建林区和谐社会

本文针对2008年初我国南方出现的雪凝灾害对我县自然林区的破坏,现就如何继续推进天保工程建设,弥补我县林区损失,构建林区和谐社会作如下探讨。     

传统组景序列调查反映的中国古代游憩偏好

中国古代的大量组景序列实例提供了研究中国古代游憩偏好和游憩行为的大量史料.本研究已收集200套组景序列案例,包括中国、日本的实景以及绘画实例.其中已有明确定位的142组中国实景实例,分布在与北宋疆域大致相符的范围内.本研究采用随机选出的100套组景序列共812个单独景观进行分析,显示出自然景现在中国古代游憩欣赏中所占的重要比重,同时表明了中国传统游憩偏好不同于西方的几点特性.     

The Impact of School Lunches on Primary School Enrollment: Evidence from India's Midday Meal Scheme

At the end of 2001, the Indian Supreme Court issued a directive ordering states to institute school lunches – known locally as “midday meals” – in government primary schools. In this paper we provide a large‐scale assessment of the enrollment effects of India's midday meal scheme, which offers warm lunches, free of cost, to 120 million primary school children across India, and is the largest school feeding program in the world. To isolate the causal effect of the policy, we make use of its staggered implementation across Indian states in government but not private schools. Using a panel dataset of more than 420,000 schools observed annually from 2002 to 2004, we find that midday meals result in substantial increases in primary school enrollment, driven by early primary school responses to the program. Our results are robust to a wide range of specification tests.     

网络型能源产业融合动因与改革进程

回顾网络产业融合理论以及电力产业和天然气产业的市场化改革历程,分析网络产业分拆式改革后融合化发展的动因,结果显示:放松规制、信息技术发展、市场竞争因素以及消费者需求是网络型能源产业分拆后再融合的主要动因.市场化改革历程表明在各种因素的推动下,我国网络型能源产业正在逐步形成融合化发展趋势.     

The future of the mobile phone business

One of the fastest growing technologies of our times is that of mobile phones. In this article we use the assumption that the diffusion of mobile technology, as measured by the number of active mobile accounts, follows the well known S-curve of natural growth in competition systems. The accuracy of the logistic fit is tested against actual data for the whole world, Europe, China and the GSM system. Using the produced models predictions concerning the future of mobile business are deliberated.According to these models active mobile accounts around the globe are expected to grow from 1.7 billion in 2004 to approximately 2 billion in 2008, reaching a peak penetration of 29.2%. Growth barriers, apart from the age of the potential user, are also low income and extreme poverty. Europe, early adopter of mobile technology and leader in active mobile accounts against all other regions in the world, has apparently reached a peak with almost every European, apart from the very young or very old, using a mobile phone. The mobile market in China is anticipated to exceed 500 million active accounts and may increase even further depending on the economic and social reform that is currently under way in that part of the world. GSM will most likely remain the leading mobile technology in the future as it is today.The growth process for the world, Europe, and the GSM system is almost completed and during this stage instabilities may occur before the potential emergence of a new wave of growth.     

建立国有自然资源性资产管理体制的思考

本文首先分析了我国目前国有资产管理体制不完善对国民经济产生的影响,进一步阐述了资源性国有资产管理的现状以及应对国有资产进行价值和功能上的定位的观点,最后提出了完善资源性国有资产管理体制的建议.     

How useful is the concept of the natural real rate of interest for monetary policy?

The natural rate of interest plays a key role in Wicksell's‘cumulative process’ as well as in modern monetaryequilibrium models of the business cycle. It constitutes a usefulconcept for the theoretical analysis of the interdependenceof monetary policy and economic fluctuations. However, the usefulnessof this concept for the practice of monetary policy is limited—especiallyowing to the fact that the natural real rate of interest andits law of motion cannot be measured with satisfying precision.     

Regional sustainability: How useful are current tools of sustainability assessment at the regional scale?

Sustainability assessment methods are primarily aimed at global, national or state scales. However, modelling sustainability at finer spatial scales, such as the region, is essential for understanding and achieving sustainability. Regions are emerging as an essential focus for sustainability researchers, natural resource managers and strategic planners working to develop and implement sustainability goals. This paper evaluates the effectiveness of current sustainability assessment methods - ecological footprint, wellbeing assessment, ecosystem health assessment, quality of life and natural resource availability - at the regional scale. Each of these assessment methods are tested using South East Queensland (SEQ) as a case study. It was selected because of its ecological and demographic diversity, its combination of coastal and land management issues, and its urban metropolitan and rural farm and non-farm communities. The applicability of each of these methods to regional assessment was examined using an evaluation criteria matrix, which describes the attributes of an effective method and the characteristics that make these methods useful for regional management and building community capacity to progress sustainability. We found that the methods tested failed to effectively measure progress toward sustainability at the regional scale, demonstrating the need for a new method for assessing regional sustainability.