森林资源资产组合随机控制模型及决策

在界定了森林生态资产与森林资源资产组合概念的基础上,构建和模拟了基于随机控制理论的森林资源资产组合模型,为森林经营管理者提出了相应的结论和建议:森林经营管理者可以根据最优采伐量与木材价格、补偿价格、成本系数、税率、贴现率、生长率等参数之间的关系,获得在市场经济变动条件下的最优森林资产组合,以保证森林资产净收益的稳定增长。     

Scarcity of safe assets,inflation, and the policy trap

A goal of this paper is to make sense of the seemingly puzzling behavior of interest rates and inflation – and the role of central banks in that behavior – during and after the Great Recession, particularly in the United States. To this end, we construct a model in which government debt plays a key role in exchange, and can bear a liquidity premium. If asset market constraints bind, then there need not be deflation under an indefinite zero interest rate policy (ZIRP). Further, ZIRP may not be optimal under these circumstances. A Taylor-rule central banker could be subject to a ZIRP trap and persistently undershoot target inflation. As well, a liquidity premium on government debt creates additional Taylor rule perils, because of a persistently low real interest rate. We make a case that this is the key policy predicament currently faced by many central banks in the world.     

Firm performance and corporate finance in New Zealand

Low productivity growth in New Zealand has been a paradox. We study New Zealand firms’ profitability, in terms of profit margin and return on assets (ROA), from the viewpoints of productivity enablers using firm-level panel data. We find that tangible fixed investment and a research and development (R&D) tax incentive are associated with higher profitability performance. In addition, the firm size is found to be a key determinant of profit margin. By contrast, we do not find any evidence that intangible investment can improve the profitability. The global financial crisis has not changed the leverage effect on ROA in New Zealand, while the impact of R&D became more prominent after the crisis.     

Fancy Bitcoin and conventional financial assets: Measuring market integration based on connectedness networks

We investigate the relationship between Bitcoin and conventional financial assets from a perspective on the connectedness of asset networks. We adopt the method of measuring connectedness proposed by Diebold and Yilmaz (2009, 2012, and 2014) in a VAR system to study the dynamic interdependence between returns in Bitcoin, stocks, oil, and gold. We find that the connectedness between bitcoin and conventional assets is weak. The separation of positive and negative returns in the Bitcoin market shows the existence of an asymmetric pattern of the spillover effects between Bitcoin and conventional assets. A rolling window analysis finds that although Bitcoin prices experience a rising link to other financial assets, the magnitude is proven to be moderate. However, connectedness via negative returns is much stronger than via positive ones and exhibits a clearly increasing trend in recent periods. Our results in application are generally robust to other popular cryptocurrencies, such as ETH and Ripple. The findings presented in this paper have important implications for financial market participants, policymakers, and researchers in light of projected increases in the adoption of Bitcoin, as well as the rapid development of cryptocurrency.     

Governmental Financial Reporting of Heritage Assets From a User Needs Perspective

The implementation of IPSASs in European Union countries and the harmonization of governmental financial reporting are intended to respond to the needs of citizens. An important characteristic of reforms to governmental accounting and financial reporting is the incorporation within the accounting systems of all public authority assets, which include the case of ‘heritage assets’. This paper investigates to what extent IPSAS 17 responds to user needs of governmental financial reporting about heritage assets by conducting a survey of mayors and councillors in the Italian local government.     

Which financial stocks did short sellers target in the subprime crisis?

Tracing the SEC ban on the short selling of financial stocks in September 2008, this paper investigates whether such selling activity before the 2008 short ban reflected financial companies’ risk exposure in the subprime crisis. Evidence suggests that short sellers sold short stocks that had the greatest asset and insolvency risk exposures, and that the short selling of financial firms’ stocks was not significantly greater than that of non-financial firms after we match them on firm size and insolvency risk. When the short ban was in effect, the market quality of financial stocks without subprime assets exposure had deteriorated to a larger degree than that of financial companies with subprime assets exposure. The findings imply that such a regulation may mute the market disciplining effects of investors and may also be seen as a counterweight to any perceived macro or systemic risk reduction benefits resulting from such a ban.     

How much can we trust China’s investment statistics?

Abstract

Building upon recent research into the underestimation of China’s official final consumption expenditure, this paper investigates the quality of China’s investment data. We strictly follow the official method to estimate the annual gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) expenditure from 2004 to 2012, and the resulting figures are significantly different from the official statistics. This implies that the ‘total investment in fixed assets’ data, which are the primary source for the estimation of GFCF, grossly exaggerate actual investments, and that the official GFCF figures are not, strictly speaking, independently estimated, as they are purported to be. We deduce that the official gross capital formation figure is more or less a residual item obtained by subtracting final consumption and net exports from the official GDP figure that is calculated based on the production-cum-income approach. As a result, the underestimation of China’s consumption expenditure automatically translates into overestimation of investment expenditure. We conclude that China’s official consumption and investment statistics cannot be trusted as the basis for policy discussions and academic research.     

The effect of investment and withdrawal horizons on myopic loss aversion

Using unique survey data, we find that a longer investment horizon (6–10 years and 11+ years) reduces the likelihood of exhibiting myopic loss aversion (MLA) compared to an investment horizon of less than 2 years. In addition, we find that investors with higher levels of assets under management (AUM) are less likely to exhibit MLA compared to the lowest AUM quartile.     

Policy lessons from spatiotemporal enrollment patterns of payment for ecosystem service programs in Argentina

Payment for ecosystem services schemes (PES) are lauded as a market-based solution to curtail deforestation and restore degraded ecosystems. However, PES programs often fail to conserve sites under strong long-term deforestation pressures. Underperformance, in part, is likely due to adverse selection. Spatial adverse selection occurs when landowners are more likely to enroll parcels with low deforestation pressure than parcels with high deforestation pressure. Temporal adverse selection arises when parcels are enrolled for short time periods. In both cases, financial resources are allocated without having a sizeable impact on long-term land use change. Improving program performance to overcome these shortcomings requires understanding attributes of landowners and their parcels across large scales to identify spatial and temporal enrollment patterns that drive adverse selection. In this paper, we examine these patterns in Argentina’s PES program in Chaco forest, a global deforestation hotspot. Our study area covers 252,319 km². Results from multinomial logistic regression models showed that large parcels of enrolled land and parcels owned by absentee landowners exhibit greater evidence of spatiotemporal adverse selection than smaller parcels or parcels owned by local landowners. Furthermore, parcels managed under land use plans for conservation and restoration are more likely to be associated with adverse selection than parcels managed for financial returns such as harvest of non-timber forest products, silviculture, and silvopasture. However, prior to recommending that PES programs focus on land uses with higher potential earnings, a greater understanding is needed of the degree to which these land uses meet ecological and biodiversity goals of PES programs. We suggest that increased spatial targeting of enrollment, along with enrollment of local landowners and further incentives for land uses that support conservation and restoration, could promote long-term conservation of forest lands.     

Wholly owned foreign subsidiary relation-based strategies in volatile environments

Drawing from dynamic capability, institutional, nonmarket strategy, and social-network literatures, we detail wholly owned subsidiary (WOFSs) relation-based strategies (RBSs). We explain how deploying RBSs with key nonmarket and market actors will create competitive advantages for WOFSs operating in volatile emerging market environments. We posit that dynamic capabilities will drive the deployment of RBSs by WOFSs, and argue that the positive relationship between dynamic capabilities and RBS deployment will strengthen as perceived institutional uncertainty increases. We further suggest that the greater the strength and frequency of RBS deployment, the more likely that a WOFS will establish a combination of nonmarket-based and market-based embedded assets. Also, our theory proposes that greater integration of nonmarket-based and market-based assets will enhance WOFS financial performance outcomes. Implications for future research are discussed.