Business groups,the financial market and modernization*

Business groups are an important aspect of the industrial organization of many developing countries. This paper develops a theory suggesting that they may be organizations that facilitate modernization in the presence of financial market constraints. An important function of the stockmarket is the diversification of risk that comes with specialized, productive technology. But in the face of serious information problems a well functioning stockmarket may fail to emerge, relegating the economy to a low productivity‐poverty trap. Bilateral links between a firm and a group of others may be a more cost effective way to achieve risk‐sharing. Such business groups may be feasible when a full‐fledged stockmarket is not. As modernization takes place, either because information problems become less severe or more firms enter the economy, business groups actually expand in size before being abruptly rendered obsolete by the stockmarket. This is consistent with empirical results from a number of emerging economies.     

The Recognition and Timing of Deferred Tax Liabilities

Abstract:   This paper examines the characteristics of firms that account for deferred tax liabilities related to government investment grants under an extended adoption timing period. Not only the recognition but also the timing decision is associated with changes in future performance and changes in the debt structure. Recognisers outperform non‐recognisers in the future, while early recognition is related to post recognition performance but only for those firms that currently perform well. Changes in the balance sheet structure are also related to both decisions. Firms with recent increases in the debt level tend to postpone recognition, while currently well‐performing firms that increase their future debt level are less likely to recognise deferred taxes.     

Delaying integration of immigrant labor for the purpose of taxation

Delayed integration (DI) is a rule for taxing migrants. It requires that immigrants be taxed in the host country only after some period of transition. Conversely, emigrants are released from the obligation to pay taxes only after a certain period. DI is an alternative to the Employment Principle and the Home-Country Principle. The former governs the international taxation of labor. The latter is a close substitute for the Nationality Principle, on which US tax law is based. The paper studies DI in a setting which allows one to trade off the efficiency costs of distortionary taxation and of wasteful government.     

上海都市旅游规划的时空审视及其战略取向

时间和空间是物质存在的方式,也是旅游活动存在的方式.脱离了时间的空间,或者脱离了空间的时间,在实际上都是不可能存在的.针对上海城市对空间的重视程度高于对时间的关注之倾向,本文立足于二元一体的时空坐标,从辩证思维视角,对上海都市旅游作属性定位,提出了上海都市旅游的战略选择取向应当立足于"通过空间展示时间"的观点,进而在时空坐标战略钟的选择中,提出上海城市建设以及都市旅游发展战略选择的合理取向的某些构想.     

经济全球化下基于企业能力的价值链优化分析

本文主要探讨了经济全球化下，基于企业能力的价值链优化问题。文中将企业活动按其价值创造大小划分为：核心活动、亚核心活动和基础活动三类；分析企业自主执行各项活动能力的强弱；构建企业活动、能力与战略选择矩阵，从企业能力与企业活动的匹配关系角度，对企业活动进行恰当的战略选择：自制、合作或外包，以优化企业价值链，实现企业持续竞争优势。     

FDI location choice of Chinese multinationals in East and Southeast Asia: Traditional economic factors and institutional perspective

This paper investigates the factors determining foreign direct investment (FDI) location choices of Chinese multinational firms. We developed a conceptual framework that synthesizes traditional economic factors and institutional perspective. Then several hypotheses were developed in line with the framework and empirically tested using panel data of Chinese outward FDI to eight economies in East and Southeast Asia across a time period of thirteen years. Our findings suggest that institutional factors demonstrate a higher level of significance, complexity and diversity in determining FDI location choice in comparison with economic factors, while both types of factors influence the FDI location choice of Chinese multinational firms. We also found that the FDI location choices of Chinese firms have a dynamic nature, as statistical evidence indicates a heterogeneous response of Chinese FDI towards different economic groups and during different time periods.     

旅华外国游客旅游目的地选择影响因素实证研究

以2008年在北京、上海、广州、西安、桂林、昆明等热点旅游城市收集的一手数据为基础,应用描述性分析和因子分析等手段,系统分析旅华游客目的地选择影响因素。结果发现:旅游交通、服务和设施等促成因素构成了目的地选择的核心影响因素,价格、时间和距离等限制性因素的作用位居第二层次,而旅游景区、东道主好客性等核心吸引物的作用最小。此外,由于经济、社会、文化和旅游者个体特征的差异,欧美等洲际客源选择目的地时更多地考虑吸引物因素,而洲内客源更多地考虑限制性因素。     

Applying the dissonance‐minimising format to value cultural heritage in developing countries*

We adapt the dissonance‐minimising (DM) format proposed by Blamey et al. [Land Economics, 75 (1999) 126] in a dichotomous choice contingent valuation survey to estimate the economic benefits of preserving a cultural heritage site in Vietnam. We find that the DM format can be successfully applied to avoid biases because of yea‐saying in a developing country context.     

Accommodating spatial correlation across choice alternatives in discrete choice models: an application to modeling residential location choice behavior

This paper presents a modeling methodology capable of accounting for spatial correlation across choice alternatives in discrete choice modeling applications. Many location choice (e.g., residential location, workplace location, destination location) modeling contexts involve choice sets where alternatives are spatially correlated with one another due to unobserved factors. In the presence of such spatial correlation, traditional discrete choice modeling methods that are often based on the assumption of independence among choice alternatives are not appropriate. In this paper, a Generalized Spatially Correlated Logit (GSCL) model that allows one to represent the degree of spatial correlation as a function of a multi-dimensional vector of attributes characterizing each pair of location choice alternatives is formulated and presented. The formulation of the GSCL model allows one to accommodate alternative correlation mechanisms rather than pre-imposing restrictive correlation assumptions on the location choice alternatives. The model is applied to the analysis of residential location choice behavior using a sample of households drawn from the 2000 San Francisco Bay Area Travel Survey (BATS) data set. Model estimation results obtained from the GSCL are compared against those obtained using the standard multinomial logit (MNL) model and the spatially correlated logit (SCL) model where only correlations across neighboring (or adjacent) alternatives are accommodated. Model findings suggest that there is significant spatial correlation across alternatives that do not share a common boundary, and that the GSCL offers the ability to more accurately capture spatial location choice behavior.     

On structural inelasticity of modal substitution in freight transport

At the European level there is an increasing focus on how freight transport can be moved from trucks on roads to more environmentally friendly modes such as rail and ship. A large proportion of the transport services between OD pairs, however, cannot be substituted since there is only one alternative available. The paper investigates the magnitude of this “structural inelasticity” of modal substitution in freight transport due to a sparser layout of rail and ship-based freight networks compared to road. In the analysis we use a recent Scandinavian freight demand model covering more than 800 zones. We find that the structural inelasticity is very significant - in particular for transportation over less than 500 km. Moreover, the inelasticity varies greatly with commodity groups and between OD pairs, and it depends strongly on the port and rail infrastructure. The results suggest that pure charging instruments (road pricing for trucks) in many regions will have limited mode substitution impacts. However, if combined with structural changes in terms of improved infrastructure for rail and ship, impacts may be greater.