How Issue Size, Risk, and Complexity are Influencing External Financing Costs: German IPOs Analyzed from an Economies of Scale Perspective

This paper is focused on the cost of raising capital in Germany. A cross-sectional analysis of flotation cost data for 117 IPOs over the years 1993–1998 is presented. We find average flotation costs to be 7.77 percent of gross proceeds, while underwriting fees average 5.01 percent. Our results extend the literature in two important directions. First, contrary to the conventional economies of scale view we find marginal spreads to be rather constant in gross proceeds and to be higher for more risky and more complex offerings. Fixed costs amount to 5 to 9 percent of underwriting fees. Second, by applying a principal component analysis we find issue size, an issuer risk factor, and an offering method complexity factor to have an economicaly meaningful impact on underwriting fees.     

LABOUR SUPPLY ESTIMATION AND PUBLIC POLICY

Abstract. Economists devote considerable energies towards refining their econometric techniques to overcome difficulties connected with conducting empirical research. Despite advances in technique. it is not clear whether further refinement in this direction is worthwhile for policy purposes. It may be that no further amount of statistical adjustment of inadequate data will increase understanding, and that better data is simply necessary to add to our knowledge. But rarely is sufficient credit paid to new forms of data. In short, econometric technique is emphasized to the neglect of data innovation, as if new data were merely lying about waiting for an ingenious suggestion for use. This paper surveys advances of the last twenty five years in estimating labour supply for policy purposes with a view towards appreciating the relative contribution of both improvements in econometric technique as well as developments of new data.
After briefly detailing the key parameters which economists have sought to estimate, we describe the early 'first generation' research (circa 1970), which is plagued by problems of unobservable variables, measurement errors, truncation and selectivity bias, and non linear budget constraints. 'Second generation' research constitute attempts to resolve one or more of these difficulties, and the respective contribution of econometric technique and new data is acknowledged and assessed, including the contribution of data generated by large scale social experiments in which participants are randomly assigned to different guaranteed income plans and their labour supply behaviour measured.     

Stability and Segregation in Group Formation

This paper presents a model of group formation based on the assumption that individuals prefer to associate with people similar to them. It is shown that, in general, if the number of groups that can be formed is bounded, then a stable partition of the society into groups may not exist. (A partition is defined as stable if none of the individuals would prefer be in a different group than the one he is in.) However, if individuals' characteristics are one-dimensional, then a stable partition always exists. We give sufficient conditions for stable partitions to be segregating (in the sense that, for example, low-characteristic individuals are in one group and high-characteristic ones are in another) and Pareto efficient. In addition, we propose a dynamic model of individual myopic behavior describing the evolution of group formation to an eventual stable, segregating, and Pareto efficient partition. Journal of Economic Literature Classification Numbers: C72, H41.     

公共物品供给主体的多元化研究

我国公共物品供给正在从政府一元化供给模式向政府、私营部门和非营利部门共同参与的多元化供给模式转变,这是政府公共物品供给模式回应经济主体多元化的转变。政府、私人组织和非营利组织在公共物品供给过程中,既存在竞争关系,也存在合作关系。最优制度安排的标准就是在多中心体制中寻求静态的稳定性和动态的适应性,以综合的供给模式实现公共物品供给的最优架构,达到效率和公平的统一。     

“Ideas” driven growth: the OECD evidence

This paper estimates the parameters of the ideas production function crucial to recent ideas-driven growth models. Using U. S. patents granted to residents in OECD countries to generate the stock of commercially used ideas, we provide evidence for two main findings. First, at the level of the production of ideas, we find evidence of increasing returns to scale in the stock of ideas and number of researchers, but marginal decreasing returns in each one of these factors. Second, we provide evidence of the association between ideas growth and economic growth for the OECD as a whole in the long run.JEL Classification: 031, 040The author would like to thank the helpful comments made by two anonymous referees, and by the editor, of the PEJ. The helpful discussions with Professor Mário Rui Silva are grateful acknowledged, too.     

Visitor Motivational Factors and Level of Satisfaction in Wellness Tourism: Comparison Between First-Time Visitors and Repeat Visitors

This study aims to examine the differences between visitor motivations and satisfaction between first-time visitors and return visitors to a recreation wellness tourist attraction site in South Korea. Data were collected using a questionnaire at a national arboretum and 573 samples were used for analysis. The study discovered that first-time visitor motivations were composed of four factors: “relaxation and rest”, “novelty”, “self-exploration”, and “accessibility”. The return visitor motivations were “sightseeing and experience”, “convenience for touring”, “self-exploration”, and “accessibility”. The desired outcomes motivating the visitation and level of satisfaction were different between first-time and return visitors. The results contribute practical information to managers and marketers not only of the arboretum, but also of wellness tourist attractions to improve strategic visitor management in Korea and beyond. The study strategically applies the arboretum as a competitive resource in a wellness tourism industry with strategic segmentation of visitors.     

Consumption of Movie Experience: Cognitive and Affective Approaches

This study examines the structural relationships among film quality, value, and satisfaction on the perspective of moviegoers. The experience economy concept is employed as the theoretical framework, where moviegoers’ cognitive and affective evaluations are projected in fulfilling their perceived value. Moviegoers’ perceived movie attributes and experiences are assessed to evaluate the moviegoers’ satisfactions through functional and emotional values. In particular, this article investigates how four dimensions of experience mediate the effect of movie attributes on perceived value and satisfaction. A total of 565 samples were analyzed with structural equation modeling to investigate the relationship of ‘quality—value—satisfaction.’ The findings show that two movie attributes (core and peripheral) affect three dimensions of experience (entertainment, educational, and escapist), which in turn influence functional and emotional values, and moviegoers’ satisfaction. The results also confirm that emotional value is a more powerful predictor of moviegoers’ satisfaction than functional value.     

论药品专利和公共健康问题——以人权和“价值平衡”理论为视角

WTO建立的TRIPS协议将包括药品在内的一切发明都纳入可以给予专利保护的范围，这使发展中国家在解决本国因艾滋病、结核病和疟疾等传染病引起的公共健康问题时，和发达国家相关药品的专利保护之间产生冲突。从当前全球的公共健康现状出发，运用人权和“价值平衡”理论对此分析，可以得出这样的结论：作为基本人权，发展中国家人民的生命健康权应该优于知识产权加以保护。     

会展服务满意度测评研究——以澳门国际贸易投资展览会为例

剖析会展服务满意度的影响因素,构建会展服务满意度指数模型和测评指标体系,对提高会展服务质量、提升会展企业竞争力具有指导意义。通过文献研究和专家访谈等方法,构建了会展服务满意度指数模型;对参展商和观众进行问卷调查,并运用因子分析和结构方程模式等手段对回收的452份有效问卷加以分析。研究表明,会展服务满意度主要有4类影响因素,分别是现场接待服务、会展专业服务、会展配套服务和会展后台服务;会展服务满意度测评需要考察15项指标。     

家庭环境因素对大学生公众演讲焦虑水平的影响

调查家庭环境因素对中医院校大学生公众演讲焦虑水平的影响,希望能促进演讲能力培训课程教学研究工作。采用问卷调查法对参加演讲能力培训课程的学生的公众演讲焦虑水平和家庭环境因素进行调查分析。家庭环境中的娱乐性、知识性、组织性、控制性、亲密性等因素与对被试公众演讲焦虑水平有较高水平的负相关;其中,控制性的影响显著性较低,其它各项因素显著性较高。演讲能力培训课程教学研究工作者对选课学生的公众演讲焦虑形成的影响因素有深入了解,可以找到更好的切入点,通过心理学和教育学的专业知识和技术,帮助学生不断降低自身的公众演讲焦虑,提高自身的公众演讲能力。