Peer Networks and Tobacco Consumption in South Africa

This paper deepens the empirical analysis of peer networks by considering their effects on both smoking participation and smoking intensity in South Africa, a country where majority initiate smoking at adolescent age. Peer networks are key in determining the smoking behaviour of youths, but the magnitude of the effects is still debated, questioned and inconclusive. I used a control function approach, a two‐stage least square and the fixed effect method to address the potential endogeneity of peer network. The results suggest positive and significant peer effects on smoking participation and smoking intensity. While the network effects are consistently positive and significant, the magnitude of the estimates varies across methodological approaches with the instrument variable estimates generally lower. Including older adults in the peer reference group increases the peer effect estimates. Finally, using clusters as an alternative measure of network size in wave one, I show that peer effects are independent on network size but rather on network quality. Relative to the results of this paper, previous literature has documented larger peer effects on the decision to smoke. The findings suggest that policies (excise tax) that directly affect the decision to smoke and the smoking intensity of the peer reference group are likely to affect own smoking behaviour.     

现代化进程中价值理性反思的问题意识与原因探析

从价值理性概念的全面界定出发,评析当下世界现代化进程中现代性理念的发展史,可以看出,现代性的历史展开过程是一个工具理性不断膨胀、价值理性不断失落的过程。放眼世界,立足于中国,从理论和实践两个方面全面分析价值理性失落的原因,为重建价值理性奠定理论前提。     

Joint Determination of Current Classroom Performance and Additional Economics Classes: A Binary/Continuous Model

Students in DEEP high schools are found to score higher on the Test of Economic Literacy but are less likely to want another course in economics than students who are not in DEEP schools.     

Macroeconomies as constructively rational games

Real-world decision-makers are forced to be locally constructive; that is, their decisions are necessarily constrained by their interaction networks, information, beliefs, and physical states. This study transforms an otherwise standard dynamic macroeconomic model into an open-ended dynamic game by requiring consumers and firms with intertemporal utility and profit objectives to be locally constructive. Tested locally constructive decision processes for the consumers and firms range from simple reactive reinforcement learning to adaptive dynamic programming (ADP). Computational experiments are used to explore macroeconomic performance under alternative decision-process combinations relative to a social planner benchmark solution. A key finding is that simpler decision processes can outperform more sophisticated decision processes such as ADP. However, memory length permitting some degree of adaptive foresight is critical for good performance.     

西安道路临时停车收费问题探析

随着私家车的日益增多，交通的压力越来越大，车路矛盾越来越突出，而西安道路临时停车收费中存在的最大问题是停车难。停车场的管理也比较混乱、松散，乱收费现象严重，且收费标准缺乏科学合理性。规范西安道路临时停车收费，其收费标准的制定要科学合理、便民利民、依法规范、公开透明、简便易行，具有前瞻性。     

Income Inequality and Technology Diffusion: Evidence from Developing Countries*

We study the effect of within‐country income inequality on the diffusion of mobile phones using data on market penetration in a sample of developing countries from 1985 to 1998. Mobile phones are an example of international technology, originating in industrialized countries and diffusing worldwide. We find that income inequality, as measured by the income share of the highest earning deciles, has a positive effect on the early diffusion of mobile phones and that the estimated effect becomes greater when a measure of agricultural endowments is used as an instrument. The instrumental variable results are robust to weak instruments. Our findings suggest that the diffusion of new technologies originating from industrialized countries may generate yet another channel that links inequality and development.     

The Estimation of Systematic Risk under Differentiated Risk Aversion: A Mean-Extended Gini Approach

This paper examines a mean-Gini model of systematic risk estimation that resolves some econometric problems with mean-variance beta estimation and allows for heterogeneous risk aversion across investors. Using the mean-extended Gini (MEG) model, we estimate systematic risks for different degrees of risk aversion. MEG betas are shown to be instrumental variable estimators that provide econometric solutions to biases generated by the estimation of mean-variance (MV) betas. When security returns are not normally distributed, MEG betas are proved to differ from MV betas. We design an econometric test that assesses whether these differences are significant. As an application using daily returns, we estimate MEG and MV betas for U.S. securities.     

浅析法兰克福学派工具理性批判的内在逻辑

法兰克福学派以工具理性批判问题为切入点,从启蒙理性、工具理性和合理性这三个角度对当代资本主义社会展开深入批判,并揭示出启蒙理性、工具理性和合理性三者之间的内在逻辑关联。     

中国政治民主化的困境分析

民主化是当前社会发展的一个总体趋势，它在带来一定机遇的同时，也对一些迈向现代化的发展中国家提出了挑战。从民主的条件这一立场出发，在发展民主的过程中，中国需要面对一系列的困境，包括经济上的贫富差距、腐败问题；政治上的合法性与合理性问题；民主政治文化的匮乏以及公民社会培养上的难题。     

The Evolutionary Game Model of Enterprise Competition Strategy Considering Market Share

In this paper, we analyze the limitation of rationality, and on basis of Cournot model, we give a Cournot model with double objectives considering market share （output）, and divide the enterprise competition into two stages： the first stage, the Cournot competition game with double objectives considering market share; the second stage, the evolutionary game based on Nash equilibrium strategy. In an indirect evolutionary approach, we obtain the Evolutionary Stable Strategy （ESS） of CE model, analyze and compare the different results of C model and CE model derived from different hypotheses. CE model is an extensive form of conventional Cournot model, whose structure and equilibrium result is helpful to give more effective explanation and forecast to actual situation. The study approach in this paper, to some extent, is generally applicable to other game models.