Understanding Estimators of Treatment Effects in Regression Discontinuity Designs

In this paper, we propose two new estimators of treatment effects in regression discontinuity designs. These estimators can aid understanding of the existing estimators such as the local polynomial estimator and the partially linear estimator. The first estimator is the partially polynomial estimator which extends the partially linear estimator by further incorporating derivative differences of the conditional mean of the outcome on the two sides of the discontinuity point. This estimator is related to the local polynomial estimator by a relocalization effect. Unlike the partially linear estimator, this estimator can achieve the optimal rate of convergence even under broader regularity conditions. The second estimator is an instrumental variable estimator in the fuzzy design. This estimator will reduce to the local polynomial estimator if higher order endogeneities are neglected. We study the asymptotic properties of these two estimators and conduct simulation studies to confirm the theoretical analysis.     

On the Joint Estimation of Heterogeneous Technologies,Technical, and Allocative Inefficiency

In this article, we provide a semiparametric approach to the joint measurement of technical and allocative inefficiency in a way that the internal consistency of the specification of allocative errors in the objective function (e.g., cost function) and the derivative equations (e.g., share or input demand functions) is assured. We start from the Cobb–Douglas production and shadow cost system. We show that the shadow cost system has a closed-form likelihood function contrary to what was previously thought. In turn, we use the method of local maximum likelihood applied to a system of equations to obtain firm-specific parameter estimates (which reveal heterogeneity in production) as well as measures of technical and allocative inefficiency and its cost. We illustrate its practical application using data on U.S. electric utilities.     

The Local Power of the CADF and CIPS Panel Unit Root Tests

Very little is known about the local power of second generation panel unit root tests that are robust to cross-section dependence. This article derives the local asymptotic power functions of the cross-section argumented Dickey–Fuller Cross-section Augmented Dickey-Fuller (CADF) and CIPS tests of Pesaran (2007), which are among the most popular tests around.     

A Seemingly Unrelated Nonparametric Additive Model with Autoregressive Errors

This article considers a nonparametric additive seemingly unrelated regression model with autoregressive errors, and develops estimation and inference procedures for this model. Our proposed method first estimates the unknown functions by combining polynomial spline series approximations with least squares, and then uses the fitted residuals together with the smoothly clipped absolute deviation (SCAD) penalty to identify the error structure and estimate the unknown autoregressive coefficients. Based on the polynomial spline series estimator and the fitted error structure, a two-stage local polynomial improved estimator for the unknown functions of the mean is further developed. Our procedure applies a prewhitening transformation of the dependent variable, and also takes into account the contemporaneous correlations across equations. We show that the resulting estimator possesses an oracle property, and is asymptotically more efficient than estimators that neglect the autocorrelation and/or contemporaneous correlations of errors. We investigate the small sample properties of the proposed procedure in a simulation study.     

论我国城市社区的政治文化建构

20世纪90年代以来,随着我国市场经济、市民社会和民主政治的发展以及社区权力结构和治理模式的转型,城市社区的政治文化建构作为社区文化建设必不可少的组成部分,其作用和重要性愈来愈受到人们的重视。法律的相对滞后、见物不见人的文化心理、责权利的分离以及“社区人“意识的淡薄,是阻碍城市社区政治文化建构的主要因素。只有从中国政治发展和构建社会主义和谐社会的全局出发,坚持马克思主义主阵地,弘扬社会主义核心价值观,在实践中积极培育新型公民文化,改进政治社会化方式,建立有效的工作机制等,才是正确建构城市社区政治文化的根本途径。     

基于LW估计的中国证券市场长记忆性实证研究

针对国内研究证券市场长记忆性主要采用的是时域方法,文章采用基于频域的半参数Local Whittle估计方法研究了中国证券市场的长记忆特性,并且和对数周期图回归(GPH)方法进行了比较。结果表明,LW方法具有不受时间频率的影响,能够有效消除时间序列中短期记忆和周期性对估计结果的影响等优点,明显优于GPH方法。实证结果表明,中国证券市场存在明显的长记忆性,并且长记忆行为在重大突发事件发生期间更加明显。文章还从长记忆的角度探讨了“政策市”的存在性和相关特点。     

Passing Encounters East and West: Comparing Japanese and American Pedestrian Interactions

This study examined the microinteractions of pedestrians in Japan and in the United States as they walked past a confederate. Specifically, the effects of culture, condition (avoid, look-only, and look plus smile) and sex of confederate on glances, smiles, nods, and greetings by passing pedestrians were examined in a field study on over 1000 participants. The hypotheses of (1) lower responsiveness in Japanese pedestrians than in American pedestrians and (2) increased responsiveness as a function of condition were supported in a series of log-linear analyses of pedestrian glances, smiles, nods, and greetings. Both of these main effects were, however, qualified by Culture X Condition interactions on smiles, nods, and greetings, with the large condition effects present in the American pedestrians, but absent in the Japanese pedestrians. The results are discussed in terms of the functions of glances, smiles, nods, and greetings in these brief encounters and how differing cultural norms affect Japanese and American responsiveness. Finally, the limitations of this study and the broader utility of this research paradigm are discussed.

Ethnic Identities under the Tourist Gaze

This paper examines the construction of Bai ethnicity and Bai identity on the tourist market in Dali, Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan, China. Focusing on how the social landscape of Dali has changed in response to the development of tourism, this paper explores how Bai ethnicity is advocated as a product loaded with potential economic values. The author discovers that ‘commerce of authenticity’ (T. Oakes, Tourism and modernity in China. London, Routledge, 1998 Oakes, T. 1998. Tourism and modernity in China, London: Routledge.  [Google Scholar]), and different forms of ethnicity and artefacts promoted in the tourist market have not drowned out the sense of being ethnically Bai. Instead, the tourist industry has become a daily reminder of ethnicity to both insiders and outsiders by making people more self-conscious and reflexive about the ‘cultural stuff’ that they may have previously taken for granted, or may have left unattended. This paper demonstrates how locals actively appropriate state-defined categories and reshape them into the repertoire they desire.     

浅析唐长安寺观对京城的影响

唐代长安寺观林立。这些宗教机构除了履行佛道仪式,扮演祈佑的工具之外,对京城百姓的文化生活和这个城市本身有着不可忽视的影响。本文从四个方面浅析这些影响,从而再现宗教文化对世俗世界的作用。     

Can Quasi‐market and Multi‐level Governance Co‐exist? Insights from the Case of Lombardy's Employment Services System

This article explores the functioning of Lombardy's networked employment services system, inspired by quasi‐market and horizontal subsidiarity principles, and specifically addresses a gap in the quasi‐market literature, where little attention is devoted to the role played by institutions at lower levels of government. A qualitative study of the Lombardy system, with a focus on the municipality of Milan, is relied upon in order to explore the extent to which the principles of quasi‐market and multi‐level governance pursued by the regional government are allowed to co‐exist in practice. Here, sub‐regional levels of government are directly involved in services provision, but enjoy a more privileged condition relative to the private providers, thereby jeopardizing the implementation of an effective quasi‐market. The article contributes to existing theories by suggesting that horizontal subsidiarity and marketization cannot neglect multi‐level governance in those sectors where public bodies at various levels of government are directly involved in implementation.