Marriage Settlements

French couples may choose between two types of marriage settlements governing asset ownership after a divorce or inheritance: common property or separate property. A cooperative model considers the marriage contract as a means of providing for widowhood of the less endowed spouse. A second model addresses the probability of divorce and the production of a marriage good. The common property contract then becomes a means of inducing the wife to invest in the marriage good. Choice of contract, labor supply and fertility are simultaneous. Empirically we find that characteristics of the spouses such as relative age or differences in endowments influence the choice. So do the expected number of children and the wife's labor supply decision. This last decision is also shown to be influenced by the chosen settlement, while fertility is not.
JEL classification : J 12; J 4; K 12     

试论刑罚的目的

刑罚的目的是国家建立刑罚制度的出发点和最终归宿,是刑法理论中的一个重要问题。因此,研究刑罚的目的并且科学地揭示刑罚目的的内涵,对于建立健全国家的刑罚制度,具有重要的现实意义。     

宋代妇女奁产权的探讨

奁产,作为女子出嫁时娘家陪嫁的财产,在普遍受到妇女自身重视的同时,国家也制定了相应的法律条文来保障妇女对自己奁产的所有权。宋代是中国古代经济的一个重要发展阶段,经济的繁荣成为社会文明的基础,妇女也具备一定的权利主体资格,享有一定的法律地位。该文主要从宋代的法律文献入手,着重分析宋代妇女的奁产权及其不完整性,以探讨宋代妇女的经济权利及地位。     

单位犯罪死刑立法探研

单位犯罪死刑立法是指单位犯罪中自然人的死刑立法。我国刑法中单位犯罪死刑立法涉及19个罪名，包含两种立法模式：同等原则与区别原则。文章认为应采取同等原则的立法模式，但不赞同单位犯罪中为自然人配置死刑。建议取消刑法中13个单位犯罪的死刑。     

一种基于遗传算法求解车间调度问题的优化方法

遗传算法是解决车间调度问题的有效方法之一。但在构造适应度函数时由于调度问题诸多的束条件使得直接求解十分困难。罚函数法将约束条件加到目标函数上，变有约束为无约束．能较易求解该类问题。     

对离婚损害赔偿制度的几点思考

界定了离婚损害赔偿的含义和功能,指出了离婚损害赔偿制度的法律意义、立法理由,就离婚损害赔偿的构成要件、关系主体、赔偿范围提出了自己的观点。     

Identifying terms of trade shocks in a developing country using a sign restrictions approach

Using annual data for Botswana from 1960 to 2012, we examine the responses of macroeconomic variables to four generalized positive terms of trade shocks – global demand, globalizing, sector-specific and global supply. A sign-restricted structural vector autoregression model with a penalty function is estimated to identify the four possible shocks. While positive global demand and globalization shocks are both expansionary, they have opposite effects on inflation. A positive commodity market specific shock dampens real GDP growth and is inflationary, suggesting a possible Dutch disease response. A negative global supply shock suppresses both output growth and inflation. All but the last shock leads to a significant declining interest rate. Monetary policy contraction is recommended for the first shock and expansion for the others.     

Shrinkage Estimation Strategies in Generalised Ridge Regression Models: Low/High-Dimension Regime

In this study, we suggest pretest and shrinkage methods based on the generalised ridge regression estimation that is suitable for both multicollinear and high-dimensional problems. We review and develop theoretical results for some of the shrinkage estimators. The relative performance of the shrinkage estimators to some penalty methods is compared and assessed by both simulation and real-data analysis. We show that the suggested methods can be accounted as good competitors to regularisation techniques, by means of a mean squared error of estimation and prediction error. A thorough comparison of pretest and shrinkage estimators based on the maximum likelihood method to the penalty methods. In this paper, we extend the comparison outlined in his work using the least squares method for the generalised ridge regression.     

Optimal penalty and accounting policy

This study considers risky investment projects under adverse selection and examines optimal penalties for erroneous auditing reports to maximize social welfare. These penalties give firms an incentive to choose accounting policies that maximize social welfare. We characterize the optimal penalties such that efficient firms choose an aggressive accounting policy and inefficient firms choose a conservative accounting policy.     

Three Short Stories of Progressive Institutional Change

The process of institutional change is a fundamental theme in institutional economics. There are multiple avenues for forging institutional change — policies, laws, cultural norms, social movements, and social practices. I analyze three examples of progressive institutional change. While there are many to choose from, the three short stories focus on: (i) accounting for measures of housework and care work in GDP; (ii) transforming legal values through adoption of marriage equality in the United States; and (iii) interrogating the fresh-tomatoes food supply chain in order to achieve a penny-a-pound more in earnings for migrant field workers. Each of these examples of progressive institutional change involves changing values, a cumulative process.