The effectiveness of the ECB’s unconventional monetary policy: Comparative evidence from crisis and non-crisis Euro-area countries

During the European financial crisis, the European Central Bank implemented a series of unconventional monetary policy measures. We argue that these programs lowered the bond yield spreads of Euro-area countries. This hypothesis is tested using pooled OLS estimations and two different datasets: monetary policy event dummies and the purchase volumes of the Securities Markets Programme (SMP). Overall, we find significantly negative effects on bond yield spreads for both datasets, leading us to accept the hypothesis. While the OMT reduces the spreads of both crisis and non-crisis countries, LTROs and the lowering of the deposit rate to 0 percent are mainly effective in non-crisis countries. The SMP lowers the spreads of crisis countries, but it has the opposite effect on non-crisis countries. This converse effect is explained by the risk that increasingly accumulates on the ECB’s balance sheet through the SMP and that way constitutes a fiscal risk for non-crisis countries. The results are confirmed by pooled OLS estimations that measure the effect of unconventional monetary policy on central government debt.     

How are Africa's emerging stock markets related to advanced markets? Evidence from copulas

The finance literature provides ample evidence that diversification benefits hinges on dependence between assets returns. A notable feature of the recent financial crisis is the extent to which assets that had hitherto moved mostly independently suddenly moved together resulting in joint losses in most advanced markets. This provides grounds to uncover the relative potential of African markets to provide diversification benefits by means of their correlation with advanced markets. Therefore, we examine the dependence structure between advanced and emerging African stock markets using copulas. Several findings are documented. First, dependence is time-varying and weak for most African markets, except South Africa. Second, we find evidence of asymmetric dependence, suggesting that stock return comovement varies in bearish and bullish markets. Third, extreme downward stock price movements in the advanced markets do not have significant spillover effects on Africa’s emerging stock markets. Our results, implying that African markets, with the exception of South Africa, are immune to risk spillover from advanced markets, improves the extant literature and have implications for portfolio diversification and risk management.     

Estimating Reaction Functions in Experimental Duopoly Markets

It is well known that, in general, there are a multitude of supergame equilibria in noncooperative duopoly markets, suggesting the inability (without severe restrictions) of theory alone to determine the 'best' strategy in a repeated game context. Axelrod's prisoner's dilemma simulation tournaments have led to the view of the somewhat cooperative 'tit-fortat' approach as an attractive strategy, in particular compared to an alternative strategy of 'always defecting' (choosing at all times the single period Nash solution). In this paper, we use data obtained from two independent posted-offer duopoly experiments to investigate the actual dynamic reaction functions of participants. Neither of the above seems to be commonly employed as a pure strategy.We also provide some support for the Axelrod view of 'tit-for-tat' as the most profitable strategy.     

Segmenting a market in the making: Industrial market segmentation as construction

This paper takes an empirical starting point in a claim that Biacore, a pioneering Swedish producer of affinity biosensors, was “in the enviable position of creating its own market” (Abelin, 1997). An in-depth case study traces how Biacore undertook segmentation activities while shaping the market for its new product technology, affinity biosensors. This involved stabilising the modes of exchange with customers, the product and the identity of the company. The efforts of Biacore highlight a constructive dimension of market segmentation that hitherto has received little attention. Rather than a process of describing, deciding and taking action, Biacore engaged in the gradual construction of market segments through an interactive and iterative process involving close collaboration with early users. Simultaneously, the market for the new technology gained shaped. Thus, the paper reports a ‘markets from networks’ story illustrating how the practice of segmenting a market may have consequences for that market.     

国有企业集团内部资本市场运行效率:基于双重代理关系的分析

本文选取深沪两地140家国有集团附属上市公司与100家非集团国有上市公司2003-2007年的平衡面板数据作为样本,从双重代理关系的视角实证分析了内部资本市场的运行效率。理论分析与经验证据均显示:(1)国有企业集团内部资本市场上的主导代理关系为管理层代理关系,而非控股股东代理关系,即影响国有企业集团内部资本市场效率的代理问题为管理层代理问题,国有控股股东由于缺位并没有将内部资本市场异化为其进行利益侵占的隐蔽渠道;(2)从集团总部层面来讲,内部资本市场能够有效配置资金,但从成员公司的层面来讲,总部与成员公司经理的代理问题使内部资本市场的功能受损。     

国际证券市场联动程度的实证分析

20世纪80年代以来,通过国际证券投资分散风险已经形成一种可行手段,然而,随着全球经济一体化趋势的强化,国际证券市场也正在经历着一体化趋势,证券市场联动关系越来越明显,这必然会使国际投资多样化空间变小,进而会侵蚀掉国际多样化投资收益.有鉴于此,本文使用协相关参数分析、平稳性检验、多元协整检验、协整向量参数零配载限制检验、基于VECM的Granger因果性检验等计量技术测度国际证券市场联动程度,为国际证券投资提供量化参考.     

小商品市场发展的国际依托、学术论争与战略操作:浙江证据

浙江省义乌市国际贸易综合改革试点总体方案(以下简称义乌试点)已获国务院批复,义乌试点必须充分发挥义乌小商品批发市场在全球分工协作体系中的独特作用。在探索现代流通新方式方面,大胆探索,实现体制机制的创新与突破,为我国加快转变外贸发展方式,形成经济全球化条件下参与国际经济合作与竞争的新优势提供新动力。