独立董事制度在普通法系国家（地区）篚移植及其启示

1990年以后,许多普通法系国家（地区）引入了起源于美国的独立董事制度,以期加强公司治理,提高国家竞争力。这表明,在全球化背景下,不同国家的公司治理具有趋同的趋势。然而,从实施效果来看,这些国家（地区）的独立董事制度尚存在种种问题,其有效性与美国有一定差距。这又反映了公司治理制度移植以及全球趋同的困难性。     

山西省农业水生态系统重金属污染实证研究——以汾河沉积物为研究对象

[目的]通过分析山西的汾河临汾段、太原市滨河湿地公园沉积物中重金属迁移转化规律,以期为山西生态农业中水生态系统的修复提供数据支持。[方法]对山西的汾河临汾段、太原市滨河湿地公园进行野外采样,试样分别进行好氧、厌氧、高度厌氧、好氧后厌氧等4个方式的培养处理,在室内设置试验所需的氧化还原环境,对比沉积物中重金属赋存形态,对经植被恢复后沉积物、未经植被恢复沉积物进行培养。模拟水生植物生长根际氧化状态,水生植物生长周期,研究山西省农业水生态系统的迁移转化规律。[结果]在不同处理条件下,沉积物迁移转化存在差异,其中好氧处理下汾河沉积物上清液含量呈现出先减小后增加的趋势,在培养过程中,上清液的Zn~(2+)含量比高度厌氧、厌氧处理的要高,与汾河相比较,在前16d,湿地公园上清液Zn~(2+)浓度变化幅度较小,汾河上清液Zn~(2+)浓度降低趋势显著;经厌氧处理的湿地公园和汾河的Fe~(2+)浓度则在后16d呈现快速增加趋势,好氧、高度厌氧的Fe~(2+)浓度变化趋势则比较稳定。在中度氧化还原环境中,Fe的释放更容易进行;在还原条件中,沉积物中可氧化态、可还原态Zn表现的是转移,不是释放,上清液中Zn~(2+)来自弱酸提取态的释放。[结论]利用微生物修复法、植物修复法对汾河水生态系统重金属污染治理,效果显著。     

土地法的理念更新与制度完善

我国现行土地法律制度以经济发展为基本理念,重土地的开发利用而轻保护改善。这样的理念指导下的法律及其制度,难以实现土地的可持续利用。有效地保护和改善土地、实现土地的可持续利用必须重新认识土地的价值,树立新的土地发展观、效益观、安全观,并以此为基础对土地调查统计制度、土地用途管制、土地利用规划制度、耕地特殊保护制度与土地征用制度进行完善。     

《海南自由贸易港法(草案)》修改的七大建议

制定海南自由贸易港法在我国立法史上是全新的创举,彰显了中国坚定不移对外开放的决心和信心。草案赋予了海南省人大及其常委会就贸易、投资及相关管理活动制定法规的权力,这是创新性的授权立法。草案需要增加对自由贸易港的定义,以法律明确海南自由贸易港是最高开放形态的定位。在框架结构上需借鉴通行国际经贸规则,调整数字贸易条款和金融服务条款的内容。在管理职权、清单制定的主动权等方面,要遵循充分赋予海南改革自主权原则,通过法律方式将行政许可权下放给海南。在税费征收问题上,明确税费的底线与上限,给市场主体以明确的预期。同时增加评估条款,将行之有效的对海南自由贸易港建设进行评估的做法予以制度固化。通过对草案的这些修改,以期未来通过的海南自由贸易港法更为完善。     

Return freight strategies and selling formats in e-commerce supply chain: The perspective of consumer fairness concerns and online shopping returns

Returns and consumer fairness concerns put a huge pressure on manufacturers who sell their products online. The optimal selling format and return freight strategy become particularly important for manufacturers in an e-commerce supply chain. Therefore, we build game models for the following scenarios under different selling formats: the seller bearing the return freight costs or the return-freight insurance premiums, consumers buying insurance for themselves, and no one buying insurance. By comparing the optimal solutions of the game models under reselling and agency formats, several conclusions are derived. In the agency format, if the return-freight insurance premium is higher than a particular threshold, then the optimal strategy of the manufacturer is to decrease the selling price to encourage consumers to purchase the insurance, otherwise, the manufacturer should purchase the insurance. As the level of consumer fairness concerns and platform commission rates increase, the manufacturer should gradually move from the agency to reselling format. In the reselling format, if the return-freight insurance premium is lower than a particular threshold, then consumers will purchase insurance and this will make the platform more profitable, and conversely, the platform should bear the return freight costs.     

Which consumer feedback metrics are the most valuable in driving consumer expenditure in the tourism industries? A view from macroeconomic perspective

The link between consumer feedback metrics and consumer expenditure at the microeconomic level has been extensively examined. However, little is known at the macroeconomic level about the influence of consumer feedback metrics on consumer expenditure. Relying on actual data concerning consumer feedback metrics and consumer expenditure, the present study examines the influence of various consumer feedback metrics on consumer expenditure in the tourism industries. Our study collected data about consumer feedback metrics and consumer expenditure over the period 2008–2017. The findings indicate that consumer satisfaction and consumer effort score (CES) are the best performing consumer feedback metrics in hotels, restaurants, and travel agencies industries. Furthermore, the top-2-box performs best for predicting consumer expenditure in online booking industry. The findings reflect the significance of consumer feedback metrics on the economy as a whole; therefore, efforts to boost consumer feedback metrics should consider a national agenda.     

Is it all about consumer engagement? Explaining continuance intention for utilitarian and hedonic service consumption

This paper compares the explanatory power of consumer engagement (CE) regarding service continuance intention with the variables of attitude (utilitarian and hedonic) and satisfaction. Survey data were collected from users of mobile music (n = 596) and mobile parking (n = 297) services. The partial least squares method was applied to analyze the data. In line with expectations, the findings show that attitude and satisfaction are superior drivers of service continuance intention compared to CE when service is used for utilitarian reasons. In contrast, when service consumption is driven by hedonic reasons, CE is a stronger driver than satisfaction. However, no evidence for the superiority of CE over attitude was found in the hedonic context.     

A creative-mix or variety-mix fusion experience? Examining marketing strategies for ethnic fusion restaurants

According to the National Restaurant Association, ethnic fusion cuisine is identified as a top food trend for the next decade. To that end, it is important for hospitality researchers and practitioners to understand consumer behavior in this fast-growing sector and derive appropriate marketing strategies for fusion restaurant brands. The present research examines the joint effects of fusion type (creative-mix vs. variety-mix), restaurant price tier (high vs. low), and cuisine compatibility (high vs. low) on consumers’ judgments and decision-making processes. The results show that ethnic fusion restaurants in the higher-price tier will generate higher levels of perceived chef expertise and visit intention through the creative-mix strategy, regardless of cuisine compatibility. However, ethnic fusion restaurants in the lower-price tier will generate higher levels of perceived chef expertise and visit intention through the variety-mix strategy only when cuisine compatibility is high. Implications for marketing ethnic fusion restaurants are discussed.     

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.     

Do macroeconomic forecasters use macroeconomics to forecast?

Faced with an uncertain future, forecasters often rely on textbook relationships to build a coherent narrative for their macroeconomic forecasts. We focus on two cornerstones of modern macroeconomics – Okun’s law and the Phillips curve – and examine whether or not professionals forecast in a way that is consistent with these. Using microdata from the US, Euro Area, and UK surveys of professional forecasters, we examine forecasts over the period 1981-2017 at the level of the individual and across different time horizons. Our findings show that the majority of forecasters produce their forecasts in a manner that is consistent with macroeconomic theory.