Renminbi's misalignment: A meta-analysis

This paper presents the results of a meta-regression analysis of empirical estimates of renminbi misalignments. Seventeen articles and 130 observations dealing with empirical estimates of the misalignment of Chinese currency are collected. This meta-analysis shows that real exchange rate measures and econometric methodologies have a significant negative impact, whereas data characteristics, dissemination procedures and the underlying theoretical exchange rate models all have significant positive impacts on measures of the misalignment of the Chinese yuan. However, this research shows that empirical methodology induces larger values on the supposed misalignment of Chinese currency than the theoretical model of the real equilibrium exchange rate. Therefore, just one empirical estimate is not sufficient for a full understanding of the misalignment of the renminbi. Instead, a correct evaluation of renminbi misalignment should combine all the theoretical models of real equilibrium exchange rates with various econometric methods.     

The replicator dynamics does not lead to correlated equilibria

It is shown that, under the replicator dynamics, all strategies played in correlated equilibrium may be eliminated, so that only strategies with zero marginal probability in all correlated equilibria survive. This occurs in particular in a family of 4×4 games built by adding a strategy to a Rock-Paper-Scissors game.     

Does resorting to online dispute resolution promote agreements? Experimental evidence

This paper presents an experiment performed to test the properties of an innovative bargaining mechanism (called automated negotiation) used to resolve disputes arising from Internet-based transactions. The main result shows that the settlement rule tends to chill bargaining as it creates incentives for individuals to misrepresent their true valuations, which implies that automated negotiation is not able to promote agreements. However, this perverse effect depends strongly on the conflict situation. When the threat that a disagreement occurs is more credible, the strategic effect is reduced since defendants are more interested in maximizing the efficiency of a settlement than their own expected profit. The implications of these results are then used to discuss the potential role of public regulation and reputation mechanisms in Cyberspace.     

Boards of directors in family firms: a generational perspective

The purpose of this study is to advance the understanding of boards of directors in family firms. Building on generational changes in family attributes, we argue that firms in a different generational phase have different governance needs and characteristics. With regard to board task needs, the empirical results indicate a convex generational evolution in the need for board advice, and a rise over the generations in the need for board control. With regard to board composition, we find that the likelihood of having an outside director on the board has a convex generational trend. This relationship seems to be fully mediated by the firm’s board task needs. Furthermore, the number of family directors seems to increase over the generations. This study demonstrates that it is important to consider the generational phase of the family firm in order to understand its governance system.