R&D activity in Canada: does corporate ownership structure matter?

This study examines the link between ownership structures and R&D activities in Canada. We hypothesize that highly concentrated ownership structures or the presence of controlling minority shareholders negatively affects R&D intensity of Canadian manufacturing firms. Our results show that the concentration of voting rights is negatively related to the level of R&D expenditure and R&D outcomes. Furthermore, we show that the level of separation between the voting and cash flow rights held by dominant shareholders of “Controlling Minority Structure” firms has a positive effect on R&D intensity but a negative effect on R&D outcomes. Copyright © 2010 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evaluating irrigation investments in Malawi: economy‐wide impacts under uncertainty and labor constraints

Irrigation expansion is critical to increase crop yields and mitigate effects from climate change in Sub‐Saharan Africa, but the low profitability has led to little irrigation investments in the region so far. Using an integrated modeling framework, we simultaneously evaluate the returns to irrigation arising from both economic and biophysical impact channels to understand what determines the profitability of irrigation in Malawi. Our results confirm that the returns to irrigation cannot cover the costs in Malawi. While labor‐intensive irrigation expansion leads to unfavorable structural change in the short‐run, the profitability hinges on low irrigated yields that fall far from expectations due to insufficient input use and crop management techniques. On the other hand, we find that the nonmonetary benefits of irrigation regarding higher food security, lower poverty, and reduced vulnerability to climate change make investments in irrigation worthwhile to improve the livelihoods of smallholders.     

Impacts of Thailand’s tourism tax cut: A CGE analysis

This study examines Thailand’s tourism tax cut policy aimed to alleviate negative impacts arising from the 2011 flood on the tourism industry and economy. The proposed TRAVELTHAI model, a medium-scale dynamic computable general equilibrium model, serves as a powerful analytical tool for effective policy decision making. Direct-tourism industries benefit the most from the industry specific tax policy, deemed a suitable short-run policy in response to the flood. Tax cuts on inbound tourism improves the terms of trade and marginally stimulates Thailand’s GDP. It is recommended that the development of fiscal policies should be more inclusive, in order to achieve better national impacts in the long run.     

A model of destination image formation

Image has been shown to be an important influence in the selection of vacation destinations. A model that represents the important determinants of destination image formation was developed based on previous studies in a number of fields. The research reported in this article presents the results of an empirical test of the model using path analysis. A major finding of the study was that a destination image is formed by both stimulus factors and tourists' characteristics. The results of this investigation provide important implications for strategic image management and can aid in designing and implementing marketing programs for creating and enhancing tourism destination images.     

能源税征收的劳动替代效应实证研究--基于上海市2002年大气污染的CGE模型的试算

作为政策分析的有力工具,可计算一般均衡(Computable General Equilibri-um,简称CGE)模型经过40多年的发展已在世界上得到广泛应用,并逐渐发展成为应用经济学的一个分支。目前,我国的CGE模型研究已取得了一些具有开拓性的成果,主要产生了有国务院发展研究中心的DRCCGE和中科院数量经济与技术研究所的PRCGEM两套CGE模型。在这些成果的基础上,文章首先分析了对煤征收能源税的重要性与必要性,随后详细介绍了采用由四大模块组成的CGE模型系统,并且给出了具体的求解处理过程。其次根据2002年上海市投入产出表数据,建立了一个地区性(上海市)可计算一般均衡(CGE)模型,结果表明能源税的征收有效地推动了劳动对能源的替代,促进了经济结构和能源结构的调整,导致大气污染物的减少,同时对实际产出的影响较小,表明对煤征收能源税的可行性和合理性。最后对模型的改进提出了一些建议,为日后地区CGE模型应用及政策分析提供了一些支持。     

人民币升值对中国钢铁行业影响的CGE研究

运用中国动态可计算一般均衡模型-MCHUGE模型,改变进口溢价和出口转换变量,控制出口产品流通成本,研究人民币升值对中国钢铁行业的影响表明:钢铁行业是人民币升值的受益产业;人民币的一次性大幅升值能显著地刺激钢铁行业产能扩张、投资增加和就业增长;人民币的渐进式升值则能减少钢铁行业的进出口波动.     

货币反替代及其影响的动态CGE研究

现阶段存在的人民币升值趋势出现了居民增持本币资产和抛售外币资产这一"货币反替代"问题。运用动态可计算一般均衡(CGE)模型—MCHUGE模型分析货币反替代对当前中国宏观经济的影响及不同货币反替代程度下的走势,其仿真结果表明:人民币的小幅度反替代可以在保持中国经济平稳运行的前提下释放人民币升值压力,同时可以改善中国的贸易条件,有利于出口竞争型企业的发展,但从事初级产品生产的产业将受到不同程度的负面冲击,产出水平和就业都有所衰退。     

How would global trade liberalization affect rural and regional incomes in Australia?

Agricultural protection in rich countries, which had depressed Australian farm incomes via its impact on Australia’s terms of trade, has diminished over the past two decades. So too has agricultural export taxation in poor countries, which has had the opposite impact on those terms of trade. Meanwhile, however, import protection for developing country farmers has been steadily growing. To what extent are Australian farmers and rural regions still adversely affected by farm and non‐farm price‐ and trade‐distortive policies abroad? This paper draws on new estimates of the current extent of those domestic and foreign distortions: first, to model their net impact on Australia’s terms of trade (using the World Bank’s Linkage model of the global economy); and second, to model the effects of that terms of trade impact on output and real incomes in rural versus urban and other regions and households within Australia as of 2004 (using Monash’s multi‐regional TERM model of the Australian economy).     

Trading Prior to the Disclosure of Material Information: Evidence from Regulation Fair Disclosure Form 8‐Ks*

Regulation Fair Disclosure (Reg FD) Form 8‐K filings provide a venue where managers release information to the market as a whole that they designate as being material. Using this setting, we study trading patterns immediately prior to the public disclosure of material information. We offer three main results. First, using both intraday and daily trading data, we find abnormal trading volume of 21 percent (13 percent) in the hour (day) prior to the public disclosure, respectively. Second, we find that this pre‐disclosure abnormal trading volume is concentrated in firms that are smaller, have more growth opportunities, issue fewer voluntary disclosures, and have weaker external monitoring. Finally, we find that this pre‐disclosure volume is concentrated in subsamples in which the information relates to a firm's material contracts, a firm holds investor/analyst conferences, and there is insider trading activity in a firm's shares. Our results do not concentrate in a small number of firms or industries, and do not appear to be explained by the form through which managers first release the material information (e.g., Form 8‐K, press release, website posting, or social media). Our results are also robust to controlling for the firm's other filings and peer filings that occur around the disclosure. Overall, the trading patterns we document may show that, inconsistent with the spirit of Reg FD, a subset of investors trade on information managers deem material prior to its broad, public release.