Strategies for online communities

This study examines the participation of firms in online communities as a means to enhance demand for their products. We begin with theoretical arguments and then develop a simulation model to illustrate how demand evolves as a function of interpersonal communication and a firm's chosen strategy. In this model, the firm's strategy involves allocating advocates who promote its product in online communities. Our model results point to some key parameters informing firms' strategies when social learning processes shape demand. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

非对称冲击下的货币政策协调：一个斯塔克尔伯格模型

本文在非对称性冲击的假定下，研究了货币政策协调的斯塔克尔伯格博弈。对模型的斯塔克尔伯格均衡解的分析表明，非对称冲击对货币政策协调的政策效果有着不确定影响。在货币政策协调领域，由于冲击性质的改变，斯塔克尔伯格博弈中领导者的“先发优势”和“先动策略”并不能保证其从货币政策协调中获取确定的政策收益。     

The Effects of Firm Size and Industry on Corporate Giving

Recent downward trends in corporate giving have renewed interest in the factors that shape corporate philanthropy. This paper examines the relationships between charitable contributions, firm size and industry. Improvements over previous studies include an IRS data base that covers a much broader range of firm sizes and industries as compared to previous studies and estimation using an instrumental variable technique that explicitly addresses potential simultaneity between charitable contributions and profitability. Important findings provide evidence of a cubic relationship between charitable giving and firm size and evidence of strong industry effects. The plus-minus-plus regression coefficient sign pattern for the cubic firm size model suggests that small and large firms give more relative to total receipts with lower giving ratios among medium size firms. One interpretation for this finding is that small firms are close to the communities they serve while high visibility creates a need for large firm philanthropy. Strong industry effects provide evidence of inter-industry differences in giving culture and/or different public relations requirements across industries. Christie H. Amato (Ph.D., University of Alabama) is professor of marketing at the Belk College of Business Administration, University of North Carolina, Charlotte. Dr. Amato's research interests lie in the area of strategic marketing, productivity, quality of life and ethics. She has published articles in top marketing journals including: Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Retailing, Journal of Advertising and Journal of Business Research. Louis H. Amato (Ph.D., University of South Carolina) is professor of economics at the Belk College of Business Administration, University of North Carolina-Charlotte. Dr.␣Amato's research interests lie in the areas of market structure and profitability, productivity, quality of life and ethics. He has published articles in top journals including Southern Economic Journal, Review of Industrial Organization, and Quarterly Journal of Business and Economics.     

中国FDI水平溢出效应的Meta分析

本文通过从55篇研究文献中提取关于中国FDI水平溢出效应的相关信息,应用Meta回归分析方法考察中国FDI水平溢出效应的实证结论受何种因素的影响和所受影响的程度。本文Meta回归分析研究发现文献研究中指标的构建（被解释变量指标与FDI溢出效应指标）会影响FDI水平溢出效应的结论,区分FDI水平、垂直溢出效应后会降低得到FDI水平溢出效应是显著的结论的可能性;但文献研究中样本数据特征对FDI水平溢出效应的结论的影响更大,特别是文献研究中如果采用近期的数据会降低得到正向FDI水平溢出效应的可能性,采用的数据跨度越长（实际上是数据中包括的近期数据越多）会降低得到FDI水平溢出效应是显著的结论的可能性;文献研究中是否纳入控制变量对FDI水平溢出效应的正负及是否显著的影响不大,因此研究中国FDI水平溢出效应时模型的设定（主要是遗漏变量）问题并不严重。     

服务贸易自由化与中国应对策略的探析

服务贸易自由化是在服务贸易重要性显现以及全球经济一体化背景下提出的。随着国际服务贸易发展程度的深化,全球经济一体化进程的加快,以及《服务贸易总协定》的签订,服务贸易自由化可谓是大势所趋。这必将对世界各国服务贸易的发展和政府经济政策的制定产生众多深远的影响。服务贸易自由化既具有积极的经济效应,又具有一定的负面效应。作为既是发展中国家也是WTO成员方的中国,服务贸易自由化对我们来说是机遇也是挑战。我们必须要在这一趋势下认清中国服务贸易发展的现状,抓住机遇,并勇于迎接挑战,制定符合中国实际的应对策略,提高中国服务贸易的竞争力。     

Frontiers of commercial real estate portfolio performance: Are sector-region-efficient diversification strategies a myth or reality?

This paper departs from the traditional optimisation methods used to evaluate portfolio performance. Rather, the Stochastic Frontier Analysis approach is used to econometrically determine the benchmark real estate portfolio frontier and subsequently assess the gains from diversifying real estate portfolios along regional and sectoral dimensions in the UK. Portfolio specific inefficiency measures are obtained which indicate whether a portfolio is efficiently diversified and therefore places on the benchmark frontier and if not, the degree to which performance can be improved is quantified. Portfolio-specific efficiencies average at 85–91%, indicating scope to further improve performance. Further, diversification be it on a sectoral or regional dimension, contributes to significantly lower variability in portfolio efficiencies.     

Interaction Effects among Labeled Attributes for Eggs in the United States

New labels for food products continue to be introduced in the United States. This paper estimates interaction effects among labeled attributes for eggs to investigate cases where affixing labels of “premium” attributes would indeed gain additional premiums in the U.S. market. A latent class analysis identified four consumer segments (Attribute Seekers, Price Checkers, Local Supporters, and Combination Responders). Several interaction effects were sufficiently large in magnitude to neutralize the main effects, but differently for each segment. While the combination of certified-organic with cage-free or local label yielded negative premiums in certain segments, the premium Attribute Seekers were willing to pay were considerable. Across all segments, preferences for locally produced products were robust singly or in combinations. Consideration of interaction effects and consumer segments are recommended for effective labeling strategies.     

房价、房价偏离与溢出效应：来自珠江三角洲的经验证据

利用国外较新的PMG估计法,探讨影响珠江三角洲商品房均衡价值的因素及房价偏离,并采用脉冲响应函数分析房价偏离在不同城市间的溢出效应。随着收入和人口的增加,房价加速上涨;经济越发达的城市,房价收入比越大,房价的增长速度更快、波动更为剧烈。人均可支配收入是推动房价上涨最重要的长期因素,通货膨胀次之,贷款最小;但贷款、通货膨胀是主要的短期推动力。虽然珠江三角洲地区房价总体上没有明显的泡沫,但波动很剧烈,一旦发生调整,其幅度将很大。除江门外,其他城市只对深圳房价偏离的冲击做出响应,而深圳对其他城市房价偏离的冲击没有响应;江门房价更多的受到来自中山和珠海的影响,深圳是珠江三角洲房价波动的源头。     

Returns to public sector plant breeding in the presence of spill‐ins and private goods: the case of bean research in Michigan

This article illustrates a methodology for assessing economic returns to a publicly funded breeding program in the presence of private sector investments, and spill‐ins from other contemporary public institutions and past research efforts. The approach consists of determining yield gains from bean improvement research; applying these yield gain estimates to measure benefits attributable to different institutional players and time periods; and then assessing the benefit‐cost ratios of investments in a bean improvement program since 1980 by Michigan State University (MSU). The results indicate that investments in MSU's bean breeding program have yielded benefits to costs ratio in the range of 0.7 to 2.2, depending on the attribution rule used to estimate the benefits. The estimated benefit/cost ratios reported in this study are lower‐bound estimates, as they do not account for potential benefits from area planted to MSU varieties outside of Michigan (spillover effects), which was 1.5 times greater than the area planted to MSU‐bred varieties within Michigan in the period 1998–2002. The implications of the increasingly privatized bean seed markets for the role of public sector research in bean improvement research are discussed.