Impact of modern communication infrastructure on productivity,production structure and factor demands of US industries: Impact revisited

This study investigates the contribution of modern communication infrastructure characterized by high speed broadband access network on the productivity growth, production structure and factor demands for US industries and for the aggregate economy. To evaluate such contribution, we modify the traditional cost function by incorporating communication infrastructure as input in production process in conjunction with other public infrastructures. The network externality and spillover effect of broadband access technology are captured by introducing broadband penetration rate as a shift factor in industry level production function. Empirical results show that the increased use of modern communications infrastructure increases the productivity of all industries with wide variations across industries. Estimated impacts on input demands show that increase in use of communications infrastructure service saves labor and materials and increase the demand for private capital. Finally, aggregate social rate of return on such investment has been estimated for policy implications.     

开放经济下中国新凯恩斯混合菲利普斯曲线

本文采用广义矩方法估计开放经济下中国新凯恩斯混合菲利普斯曲线，结合中国现实选择工具变量。结果表明，使用混合成本作为通货膨胀的驱动因素在统计和经济意义上具有显著性，影响我国通货膨胀主要是资本成本与进口中间品成本；厂商定价行为既有前瞻性又有后顾性，但前瞻性处于主导地位，且价格具有较强的灵活性。     

应该用哪一个模型来描述中国货币市场利率的动态变化

本文论证了双曲模型是描述中国货币市场利率动态变化的最佳单因子利率模型。由极大似然估计可以得到单因子利率模型的边际密度函数。双曲模型的边际密度和非参数估计得到的边际密度函数拟合较好，其表现远远优于几个常见的利率模型（CIR、CKLS和AG模型）。与较一般的Ait-Sahalia模型相比差别很小，但参数形式得到简化，似然比检验也支持这一点。双曲模型在刻画利率的均值回复特征方面还克服了AG模型的不足。     

公共资本生产率的比较研究——基于长三角21城市公共资本边际生产率的实证分析

近10年来长三角的政府公共投资（分配）过多地流向了上海、苏州、杭州、南京等核心城市，使这些城市的人均公共资本拥有量大幅上升，从而引发了其边际生产率递减情况的发生。但它们的资本利用效率或技术创新水平没有明显提升（或下降），不足以抵消其资本边际生产率下降的趋势。对这些大城市的经济发展来说，公共投资对其经济增长的意义已经在数量上表现得不明显，但对正处于经济快速增长期且资本边际生产率呈递增态势的长三角外缘中小城市而言，公共投资却有着积极意义。     

Altruistic, egoistic and biospheric values in willingness to pay (WTP) for wildlife

We attempt to measure general attitudes and ethical beliefs towards preservation, as well as the importance of each of the three considered value orientations (biospheric, egoistic and altruistic) in WTP estimates. In the present study, we apply the GAC scale to a contingent valuation exercise for the recovery of the common murre (Uria aalge) in Galicia (Spain). Up to now, only a few studies in the field of environmental and ecological economics have analyzed value orientations under the Environmental Concern (EC) framework, obtaining mixed results. In the present work, we conclude that ethical aspects affect the individuals decision making process, and that value orientations play an important role in the pro-environmental attitude formation. These value orientations affect willingness to pay (WTP) estimates for environmental goods.     

联产品协同生产的成本驱动实证研究

实证研究证明，联产品生产的协同作用也是产品成本的驱动因素。协同成本的动因在于联产品的组成变量。在联产品协同生产过程中，所采取的基于非线性成本函数的边际成本计算法，应该是数理依据严谨、实务应用可行的方法。     

个人教育投资的均衡分析

人力资本投资的关键形式是教育投资。文章认为,个人教育投资的均衡条件是边际成本等于边际收益。因为个人教育投资的边际成本递增,边际收益递减,所以必须采取多种措施刺激个人教育投资的积极性,才能促进我国教育事业的大发展。     

The willingness to pay–willingness to accept gap: A failed replication of Plott and Zeiler

The well-known willingness to pay–willingness to accept (WTP–WTA) gap refers to the observation that individuals attach a higher value to objects they own (WTA) than to objects they do not own (WTP). We report on experiments to re-investigate the possibility that the WTP–WTA gap arises from subject misconceptions due to experimental procedures as suggested by Plott and Zeiler (2005). The contribution of this paper is two-fold: first, we attempt to replicate the findings by Plott and Zeiler that the WTP–WTA gap disappears when using procedures that are aimed at reducing misconceptions, such as extensive training and practice rounds for the BDM mechanism. However, we fail to do so as the WTP–WTA gap persists in the main task where subjects state their WTA or WTP for a mug. Second, we use the paid practice rounds to identify subjects without apparent misconceptions and find that also for those subjects who never make dominated choices in the lottery tasks, the WTP–WTA gap in the mug task exists. Thus, we find no evidence of the idea that subject misconceptions are the main source of the WTP–WTA gap.     

Regulators’ and stakeholders’ perspectives in a framework for bioenergy development

In this study, ten bioenergy crop rotations (corn, corn-stover, sorghum, soybean, corn-soybean, corn-soybean-canola, corn-stover-soybean, miscanthus, switchgrass, and sorghum-soybean) were selected based on local stakeholder (economically motivated) and regulator (environmentally motivated) preferences. These crops were implemented on diverse landscapes (agricultural, marginal, and agricultural plus marginal lands) one at time for 17 years using a SWAT model of the Saginaw River Watershed in Michigan. The bioenergy crops were evaluated based on 100 percent, 50 percent, and zero percent weight assigned to both stakeholders’ and regulators’ preferences using analytic hierarchy process (AHP), an optimization and decision-making technique that aims to satisfy multiple conflicting objectives. The corn-soybean-canola rotation was selected in all landscapes based on economic benefits (stakeholders’ preferences). Meanwhile, perennial grasses (miscanthus and switchgrass) were selected based on environmental benefits (regulators’ preferences), because they maintain permanent cover, require fewer inputs than traditional row crops, and are less management intensive. When implementing bioenergy crops on marginal lands, pollution generation greatly increased at the field level, indicating that these lands are likely not viable for bioenergy crop production to meet potential future renewable energy demand.     

Exchange rate,marginal q and investment behaviour of small and medium-sized enterprises in Japan: time series evidence of manufacturing industries

In this article, we investigate Granger’s causality among the exchange rate, Tobin’s marginal q and investment-capital ratio with quarterly data on firms categorized as small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Japan. We utilize the data of the following industries: chemical, iron and steel, production machinery, electric machinery and equipment, automobile and accessories and all manufacturing. The empirical results we obtain show that the null hypotheses of no Granger’s causality from the exchange rate to other variables, investment and marginal q, are accepted in all industries. The reason is the lower percentage of export by SMEs. Thus, it is considered that the effects of Abenomics on SMEs are limited, and that other kinds of reflation measures for SMEs are needed.