From crinkly sheds to fashion parks: the role of financial investment in the transformation of retail parks

The retail park is one of the most ubiquitous and significant forms of off-centre retailing in the UK. Originally designed as low-cost accommodation for 'bulky goods', retail parks now include high-rent 'fashion parks' which are eagerly sought by institutional investors for long-term ownership. This paper explains why retail-park ownership, originating in the early 1980s in one-off schemes by locally based property developers, has become the province of major property companies, financial institutions, and asset managers. Growth in rents and capital values has been fuelled by increasing institutional investment, and by fears of a growing scarcity of high-quality developments because of town-planning restrictions. This pressure is now leading to attempts to realize the full capital value of older developments, through processes of 'active management' by the new breed of retail-park owners. In turn, this is leading to increasingly rapid changes of retail occupiers, involving in some cases the expulsion of the original 'bulky goods' retailers for whom retail parks were created. A parallel with the 'Wheel of Retailing' model of institutional change is suggested.     

Analysing Dutch dairy farmer behaviour towards the provision of public goods: The added value of an economic simulation experiment

The objective of this paper is to examine the value of experiments for assessing the impact of the proposed Common Agricultural Policy of 2013 on farm income and farming strategies. We focus specifically on the impact of an alternative direct payment system based on a flat rate and green payments. We show the added value of an economic simulation experiment to existing economic micro- and sector modeling analysis when analyzing farmer behavior. It is shown that the suitability of and rewards for the provision of green services play a significant role in their uptake by farmers and the support for them. These results are useful in implementing a revised direct payments system in the Netherlands for the future.     

Influences of Liabilities of Foreignness on Firm's Choice of Internationalization Process

Abstract

This study examines the effects of liabilities of foreignness on the choice of internationalization process. Based on a sample of 112 Korean multinationals, the results show that most firms adopt the evolutionary process than the revolutionary process. This is particularly true when the liabilities of foreignness are low.     

产融结合对制造企业研发投资具有双向调节作用吗

研发投资的高回报吸引着制造企业扩大投资规模，而研发投资的高风险又进一步强化了制造企业融资约束。产融结合是否既能够缓解融资约束调节制造业企业研发投资不足、又能约束投资惯性调节其投资过度呢？以2007—2016年沪深A股制造业上市公司为研究对象的实证研究发现，产融结合对制造企业研发投资具有缓解研发投资不足、加重研发投资过度的单向调节作用。进一步分析产融结合有效缓解研发投资不足、加重研发投资过度的机理，并对如何利用产融结合增强制造企业有效投资提出相关对策建议。〖JP〗     

Treatment experience,burden and unmet needs (TRIBUNE) in MS study: results from Turkey

Abstract

Objective:

To estimate the economic burden of multiple sclerosis (MS) in Turkey, including the relapses and disease severity, and to evaluate the quality-of-life of MS patients.

Methods:

The Treatment Experience, Burden and Unmet Needs (TRIBUNE) study was a multi-national, cross-sectional, retrospective, burden-of-illness survey. Total costs were calculated using unit costs derived from price lists or published literature, where relevant, and inflated to 2011 TL prices.

Results:

A total of 295 MS patients (74% females) were included in the analysis. The population had a mean age of 36 years; 73% had the relapsing–remitting form. Mean Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score was 2.2. Twenty-two per cent of the MS patients required hospitalization in the past year and spent an average of 29.2 days/year in hospital. These values were 43% and 5.6 days for the outpatients, respectively. Total cost per patient/year was 18,700 TL (Turkish Lira). Total costs for patients with mild, moderate, and severe disability were 15,418 TL, 26,002 TL, and 44,208 TL per patient/year, respectively. The mean EuroQol 5D scores in the same groups were 0.73, 0.52, and 0.05, respectively.

Conclusions:

Multiple sclerosis imposes a significant economic burden on patients and society in Turkey.     

Economic burden of hepatitis C-associated diseases: Europe,Asia Pacific,and the Americas

Abstract

Background:

Globally, hepatitis C virus (HCV) infects ～3% of the population. The objective of this study was to review published work and determine the direct medical costs for diseases associated with HCV infection globally, with the exception of the US.

Methods:

A systematic literature search was conducted to identify studies reporting the costs of hepatitis C sequelae between January 1990 and January 2011. Over 400 references were identified, of which 45 were pertinent. The costs were compiled, converted to US dollars, and adjusted to 2010 costs using the medical component of the consumer price index.

Results:

The median cost of liver transplants was estimated at $139,070 ($15,430–$443,700), refractory ascites at $16,740 ($8990–$35,940), hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) at $15,310 ($3370–$84,710), decompensated cirrhosis at $14,660 ($3810–$48,360), variceal hemorrhage at $12,190 ($3550–$46,120), hepatic encephalopathy at $9180 ($5370–$50,120), diuretic sensitive ascites at $3400 ($1320–$7470), compensated cirrhosis at $820 ($50–$2890), and chronic hepatitis C at $280 ($90–$1860). The variation among studies was mainly due to the methodology used to assess cost, local cost and government reimbursement, and country-specific treatment protocols.

Limitations:

All costs were adjusted to 2010 US dollars using the US medical component of the consumer price index (CPI) which may not reflect the change in medical costs in other countries. In addition, the costs, in the local currency were converted to US dollars in the year of the study. However, medical expenses may not vary with exchange rate, leading to artificial variations. Finally, there was no assessment of the quality of individual studies, which resulted in the same weighting to all studies.

Conclusions:

Hepatitis C imposes a high economic burden globally. Knowing the burden of HCV sequelae is useful for policy decisions as well as serving as a basis for determining the value of HCV screening and treatment.     

Barriers to investment in the informal venture capital sector

Much of the government intervention into the market ‘gap’ for start-up and early-stage equity finance in the UK is based on the belief that the problem is on the supply side. Based on an analysis of the informal venture capital market this paper argues that there is no shortage of finance available. A survey of business angels reveals that many are willing to allocate a higher proportion of their investment portfolio to investments in unquoted companies, with recent tax incentives having a positive effect on their willingness to invest. Over 90% are currently looking to make more investments. However, there are constraints on their ability to invest: they do not see enough deals that meet their investment criteria, the majority of the investment proposals that they receive are of poor quality, and they are often unable to negotiate acceptable investment terms and conditions with entrepreneurs. The implication is that there is a need for further interventions by policy-makers to remove these barriers so that more small firms can take advantage of the substantial pool of angel finance that is available.     

日本对华投资的变迁及特征研究

中日是一衣带水的邻邦,两国的交流源远流长。改革开放以来日本企业开始大规模进行对华直接投资,其间在投资规模、投资金额、投资方向、投资区域等方面都历经了许多变迁,但日本企业在对华投资国别中一直处于重要地位。本文主要从近30年来日企对华直接投资的4次热潮分析其变迁过程,从投资原因、行业和地域等方面分析其投资的特征。     

组织人力资本投资风险及原因的新探讨

组织人力资本投资存在高风险已成为共识,因此各种类型的组织为提升竞争力而进行人力资本投资需要充分考虑投资风险问题。如何规避风险成为各类组织投资时关注的焦点,但是必须要搞清楚人力资本投资风险产生原因才能有针对性的提出风险规避的对策。过去对人力资本投资风险产生原因的研究,多数是从人力资本载体的不确定性、投资收益的长期性和间接性的角度进行的。本文则从员工个人人力资本与组织人力资本存在区别的角度,剖析组织人力资本投资风险产生的原因,认为组织人力资本投资风险产生原因是多种因素的综合,其核心是人力资本的不可控性和人力资本个体的机会主义行为倾向,夹层是组织中存在可以钻空子的机会,外围是社会及组织中缺乏对机会主义行为的制约机制所造成的。这一分析有利于组织深入研究规避人力资本投资风险的对策,为组织人力资本投资风险决策提供科学依据。     

Investments in response to trade policy: The case of Japanese firms during voluntary export restraints

This paper develops a dynamic structural model of a single decision in order to analyze the effect of voluntary export restraints (VERs) on quality-upgrade and foreign direct investment (FDI) behavior. I estimate the model parameters using a variant of the two-step estimator developed by Bajari et al. (2007). Using panel data of Japanese firms in the U.S. automobile industry, both activities are found to have significant sunk cost, which introduces intertemporal interactions in decisions, and I also find that the entry costs for FDI are larger than fixed adjustment costs for quality-upgrade. I simulate counterfactuals based on the estimation of the structural model. In the absence of the VERs, both quality-upgrade and the probability of undertaking FDI decrease. The second simulation examines the substitution effect between the two investment activities. The proposal to restrict FDI policy causes a dramatic increase in the level of quality-upgrade. Similarly, the proposal to restrict quality-upgrade policy results in an increase in the probability of FDI.