论构造我国投资银行核心竞争力的策略和途径

我国投资银行如何塑造自身的核心竞争力,从而形成竞争优势,获得更大的发展,是摆在每一家投资银行面前的课题。文章首先总结和介绍了国际、国内理论界对投资银行核心竞争力内涵的诠释,分析了核心竞争力的影响要素,然后根据不同的投资银行的内外优势及其匹配程度,探讨了投资银行核心竞争力培育的内部管理型战略和外部交易型战略。在此基础上,结合我国投资银行的体制结构、治理结构、内部控制、风险管理等特点,从完善法人治理结构、培育诚信企业文化、风险评估和风险管理、业务创新和管理创新、实施差异化战略等方面提出了培育我国投资银行核心竞争力的途径和策略选择。     

Food Banks and Food Security: Welfare Reform,Human Rights and Social Policy. Lessons from Canada?

In the past twenty years food banks have established themselves as one of the fastest–growing charitable industries in first world societies. As institutionalized centres or clearing houses for the redistribution of donated and surplus food they have emerged as a key frontline response to the growing problem of food poverty and inequality. As welfare states have been restructured and cut back and basic entitlements have been denied, food banks have become secondary extensions of weakened social safety nets. This paper explores the growth of food banking in Canada and analyses its role in terms of advancing the human right to food, its effectiveness in achieving food security and the extent to which it contributes to, and/or counters the increasing emphasis by governments on welfare reform policies informed by neo–conservative ideology. Food banks are examined from the perspective of their origins and purposes, institutionalization, usage, food distributed and effectiveness. The rise of food banks in Canada is concrete evidence both of the breakdown of the social safety net and the commodification of social assistance. As such, they undermine the state's obligation, as ratified in international conventions, to respect, protect and fulfil the human right to food. They enable governments to look the other way and neglect food poverty and nutritional health and well–being. A possible future role for food banks in countries where they are already established lies in public education and advocacy, but their institutionalization makes this seem an unlikely course. In countries where they are in their infancy, the question of whether to support their development should be a matter of urgent public debate.     

The impact of India’s food security policy on domestic and international rice market

Food security policy making in India is at crossroads. India has emerged as a leading rice exporter. The Government of India has introduced the National Food Security Act which requires 33.6 million tons of rice per year for its public food distribution system. In this study, we modeled India’s rice market and analyzed policy implications of the long-term impact of India’s food security act on domestic and international rice market. We developed a structural economic demand and supply model for India’s rice market and further added subsidy equations to trace the consequence of National Food Security Act on domestic rice consumption and on the international market. We specifically focus on three different scenarios: subsidy as price effect, subsidy as inelastic income effect, and subsidy as elastic income effect under the broader framework of National Food Security Act. We found that at the end of the projection period (2024–2025), as a result of rice subsidy program, the consumption of rice increases significantly in the case of price effect while the inelastic income effect has no or less impact on production, consumption, and export of rice. Hence, the policy implication of our study is that if the objective of the National Food Security Act is to increase consumption then it needs to be implemented as price effect.     

Resettled Refugees and Food Insecurity in the U.S.; Exploring the Caseworker’s Role

When refugees arrive in their new resettlement country, they are designated to work with a caseworker employed with a resettlement agency who helps them acclimate to their new environment and break down new challenges. Food insecurity is one such challenge that resettled refugees face. This study looked at the role that caseworkers play in helping clients navigate food security. Eight caseworkers from three resettlement agencies participated in semistructured qualitative interviews. Data analysis revealed four categories: the caseworker’s role, linking clients to benefits, concerns about food, and caseworkers’ perspectives. The main concerns revolved around federal food assistance benefits, reflecting past study findings, and warrants further investigation into the efficacy of such programs. Moreover, the caseworkers’ perceived role in terms of food security was vague and inexplicit from the Cooperative Agreement protocols. Food security focused training could improve caseworker’s capacity to help clients adapt to their new food environment.     

Impacts of off‐farm employment on welfare,food security and poverty: Evidence from rural Vietnam

How off‐farm employment can enhance welfare in terms of food consumption and poverty alleviation is a critical question facing many developing countries. This study addressed that question by pursuing two objectives: (i) to quantify the impact of off‐farm employment on rural households’ welfare, food security and poverty; and (ii) to examine the factors that affect their decision to work off‐farm. Using panel data, we estimated a difference‐in‐difference combined with a propensity score matching model. The findings show that off‐farm employment improves income, ensures food security and contributes to poverty alleviation. The results also show that age, marital status, education, labour, financial capital, land, location, market access and losses from natural disasters are significant contributing factors to the decision to participate in off‐farm employment. The findings suggest that to improve the welfare of rural households, the Vietnamese government should proceed with policies that enhance their opportunities for participation in off‐farm employment.     

Is Food Insecurity Associated with Depressive Symptoms in South Korea?

Emerging studies have suggested a possible link between food hardship and depression; however, empirical knowledge is limited. In South Korea, more public discussion has been conducted regarding the prevalence and consequences of food insecurity on mental health. To begin to address the knowledge gap, we applied family stress theory and investigated the association of food insecurity with depression in South Korea. We employed observational data from the Korea Welfare Panel Study, the first data to draw on food insecurity information from a nationally representative sample in Korea. Our sample consisted of 744 non‐elderly household heads. The independent variable “food insecurity” was measured using a six‐item scale adapted from the United States Department of Agriculture Food Security Scale. The dependent variable “depression” was measured using 11 questions from the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale adapted for Koreans. After controlling for income, material hardship, and other factors, our ordinary least squares regression findings show that food insecurity significantly predicts depression. Our findings are consistent whether food insecurity is measured on a continuum or in categorical groups. More research and empirical evidence should be shared to provide legitimate grounds for policy interventions that address and prevent food insecurity and mental health issues.     

责任伦理学视角下的中国食品安全问题

食品安全问题的产生有着很多复杂的原因。从表面上看,食品安全问题的直接起因是食品生产者技术操作不规范的结果,但食品安全生产过程中的这种不规范折射出的是我国食品生产过程中道德价值和伦理关怀的缺失。在这一意义上,责任伦理学理论能够为我们提供一个全新的审视食品安全问题的维度,能够更好地帮助我们解读我国食品安全的现状,进而能在价值和精神等层次上为我们构建食品安全责任体系指明方向。     

Threshold effects of liquidity risk and credit risk on bank stability in the MENA region

This paper studies the relationships between both liquidity and credit risks on bank stability for a panel data set of 75 conventional banks belonging to 11 countries of the MENA region observed during the period 1999–2017. By performing a Panel Smooth Threshold Regression (PSTR) model developed by Gonzalez et al. (2005), estimation results show that the relationships between bank stability-credit risk and bank stability-liquidity risk are non-linear and characterized by the presence of two optimal thresholds which are equal to 13.16% for credit risk and 19.03% for liquidity risk. Contrary to their positive effects below these optimal thresholds, credit risk and liquidity risk become detrimental to bank stability in high regime.To ensure their stability, banks are encouraged to revise the primacy given to credit activity and diversify their activities to improve profitability. They are also recommended to strengthen their own funds and opt for appropriate restructuring to ease their small size. As for the States of the selected countries, they have to deeply reform their financial systems and develop the legal framework relating to new techniques of external management of banking risks including securitization and defeasance. Likewise, these states are fortified to ensure political stability, which is a key factor for banking and financial stability.     

北京地区商业银行绩效因子分析

国内学术界常有对各个银行总行的绩效分析研究,但对省级分行的研究却不多见。本文使用因子分析方法结合各家银行北京分行的相关数据进行绩效实证分析,分离出各家分行在银行规模因子、银行安全性因子、银行人均效益因子、银行经营效益及安全性因子、盈利性因子诸方面的表现,并按照贡献率加权给出了各家分行的绩效排序。这对科学认识北京地区商业银行绩效会有所帮助。     

基于国际比较视角的我国问题银行退出路径研究

完善的市场退出机制是一个成熟、高效的金融市场应具备的特征之一。银行业建立平稳、有序的退出通道、纠错机制是完善市场的重要组成部分。相对于发达国家,我国问题银行市场退出的实践不多、经验不足。对问题银行市场退出的概念进行界定后分析了发达国家问题银行市场退出经验,我国问题银行市场退出现状及存在问题,提出了我国问题银行市场退出路径。     

Governing universal health insurance in Korea and Taiwan

This article examines policy responses to the rising costs of healthcare in the Republic of Korea and Taiwan from a governance perspective. It tries to answer why the two countries responded differently to a similar set of challenges facing their National Health Insurance (NHI). While Taiwan – in an attempt to contain costs – introduced a global budgeting system, Korea failed to do so. Governments in both countries attempted to establish a new mode of governance, bringing multiple stakeholders to health policy making in order to build social consensus. But the Korean government, as this article shows, could not resolve its policy deadlock because of a loss of trust between the government and the medical profession, caused by the separation reform of 2001. Even though Taiwan was better able than Korea to address the financial challenges of its NHI, the new mode of health governance is still on shaky ground. This article argues that because neither government now enjoys the exclusive power over health policy that they once did under the developmental state, it is essential to find a way in which different stakeholders can make the necessary compromises that will enable the NHI to run on a sustainable path for the future.     

The roles of food prices and food access in determining food purchases of low-income households

A growing literature suggests that limited access to full-service grocery stores may be linked to poor diets, obesity, and other diet-related diseases. Food prices are likely to be as much of a factor in low-income consumers’ food purchase decisions as food store access is, but few studies consider the roles of prices and food access simultaneously. We incorporate supermarket access into a utility-theoretic censored demand system for 13 food groups among households that receive the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits in the U.S. The demand system is estimated with a Bayesian procedure which otherwise would have been cumbersome with the classical approach. Results suggest that prices are significant determinants of food purchases, but supermarket access has limited influence. Improving food choices, diet, and health may require addressing both accessibility and affordability.     

论我国粮食生产与贸易保护政策的演变趋势

对粮食生产与贸易实行特殊保护 ,是各国政府普遍实行的一种特殊政策。但是 ,以国家干预为特点的粮食保护政策 ,必然会扭曲市场运行机制 ,削弱资源优化配置功能 ,这就要求建立符合我国国情和市场经济规律要求的粮食贸易与保护政策 ,以增强我国粮食的竞争力。     

国外现代商业银行风险管理及其启示

风险管理是现代微观金融学的一大支柱,也是现代商业银行的核心功能之一,因此,在商业银行管理中具有极其重要的地位。现代商业银行风险管理体系包括:风险控制组织、风险度量技术、风险规避技术、全面风险管理模式。我国应借鉴国外经验,积极引进并应用先进风险度量方法和风险管理技术。     

Same same but different? Comparing institutional performance in the long-term care systems of Japan and South Korea

Responding to a rapidly aging population, Japan and South Korea introduced social insurance-based long-term care systems (LTCSs) in 2000 and 2008, respectively. Korea studied and took up key features of Japan's system while evolving along its own trajectory in line with its healthcare system. The aim of the present study is to unpack the broad category of ‘social insurance’ to explore how distinct system inputs and designs in Korea and Japan related to outcomes in performance measured in terms of coverage, quality of care, and sustainability. In doing so, the study serves as an important starting point for advancing a new stream of social policy research on the comparative performance of LTCSs. Our findings demonstrate that despite adopting a common system type, differences in implementation of the social insurance model (particularly in terms of financing and governance) contributed to divergent performance, with Japan outperforming Korea on most indicators during the observed period. This bears contrary implications for policymaking in the two countries: Whereas Japanese policymakers are faced with the challenge of promoting quality while containing spending, in Korea greater investment is required to strengthen the workforce and build up community care.     

Social Security in South Korea and Singapore: Explaining the Differences

The paper sets out statutory social security arrangements in Korea and Singapore and then explains the differences between them. It finds that while Korea has a relatively advanced social security system based primarily on social insurance, Singapore has a patchwork of programmes based on forced saving, tax allowance, public assistance, and public insurance schemes run along commercial lines. Moreover, the increasing share of government expenditure devoted to social security in Korea stands in sharp contrast to the declining share in Singapore. The paper accounts for the variations in terms of the different economic objectives of the two states and the different international and societal constraints they face. In contrast to South Korea * * Republic of Korea. Hereafter referred to as Korea.
which has rapidly established an elaborate set of income maintenance and health care programmes, Singapore continues to resist expansion of such programmes. The objective of this paper is to describe the social security programmes in the two countries and then explain why the supposedly similar political economies have pursued entirely different social security strategies. The paper will argue that to understand the variations, we need to examine the varying economic objectives of the two states and the different international and societal constraints they face.     

Severe and Moderate Forms of Food Insecurity in Australia: Are They Distinguishable?

Food insecurity, the inability to access an adequate food supply, is often considered an issue confronting developing countries only. Yet, conservative estimates show that about 5 per cent of the Australian population are food insecure at any point in time. This paper uses newly released data from the 2004/05 ABS National Health Survey to examine the prevalence and correlates of the severity of food insecurity, and to uncover potential health and nutrition outcomes. Consistent with previous studies, results show that just over 5 per cent of Australians are food insecure due to financial constraints. Of this figure, about 40 per cent are considered to be ‘severely’ food insecure. That is, the person ran out of money to purchase food, and as a result went without food. A range of economic and socio‐demographic factors were found to be associated with food insecurity, indicating differential access to food supply throughout the Australian population. Results also show significant differences in the self‐reported measures of health, wellbeing and dietary behaviours of the severely insecure, moderatel insecure and food secure Australians.     

Social policy and embedded evaluation: Assessing the impact of a food insecurity project in the United Kingdom

Social policy making needs to involve robust evaluation to assess its impact. In this article, a social policy intervention focused on tackling food insecurity amongst vulnerable people is examined and the benefits and challenges of using an embedded approach to evaluation are considered. Food insecurity is defined as not always having the economic, social, and physical resources to ensure a sufficient supply of nutritionally appropriate food. Evidence suggests that food insecurity in the United Kingdom is increasing in the context of long-term poverty, austerity, insecure employment, rising living costs, low pay, and cuts to welfare and public services. An embedded evaluation was conducted involving interviews with the intervention participants and observations of a series of cooking and food budgeting classes. The findings suggest that the classes had a positive impact on many of the participants, who felt more confident about cooking and valued the shared experience. However, given the acute problems facing many of the participants including long-term poverty, policies aimed at tackling food insecurity need to go beyond cooking and food budgeting skills. The embedded evaluation approach contributed towards the overall impact of the intervention by providing insights that led to changes as part of an iterative process during the intervention rather than in the form of a final report after its completion. An embedded evaluation-based approach can be resource intensive, and the role of the evaluators can present challenges, but it can help to bridge the gap between intervention design, delivery, and social change.     

The effectiveness of monetary policy in small open economies

This paper examines the relative effectiveness of the use of direct and indirect monetary policy instruments in Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, by estimating a restricted Vector Autoregressive model with Exogenous Variables (VARX). The model captures the dynamic interaction of the key sectors in the economy and it accounts for the fact that the banking system in those countries is characterized by high levels of excess reserves. Also, the study assumes that the central bank conducts monetary policy using a Taylor-type rule, and it evaluates the effects of a reserve requirement policy. The results show that although a positive shock to the policy interest rate has a direct effect on commercial banks’ interest rates, there is a weak transmission to the real variables. Furthermore, an increase in the required reserve ratio is successful in reducing private sector credit and excess reserves, while at the same time alleviating pressures on the exchange rate. The findings therefore indicate that central banks in small open economies should consider using reserve requirements as a complement to interest rate policy, to achieve their macroeconomic objectives.     

金融全球化与“股东导向型”公司治理制度的跨国传播——对中国公司治理改革的社会学分析

自20世纪80年代以来,由于金融全球化和美式“股东资本主义”的兴起,“股东导向型”公司治理制度在全世界的影响越来越大,被誉为最佳公司治理模式或“国际惯例”。它不但影响了德、日等发达国家,也影响了中国等发展中国家和转型国家的公司治理改革。本文认为,“股东导向型”公司治理制度在中国的传播主要由内生性和外生性两大动机驱动,经过两个阶段和通过三种机制完成。第一阶段是在跨国层面,“模仿性同构”机制和“规范性同构”机制发挥了重要作用;第二阶段是在国内企业层面,政府通过法律法规和政策等手段要求企业采用新的公司治理模式,即“强制性同构”机制发挥了主导作用。对中国公司治理改革的社会学分析有助于我们从一个不同于经济学和管理学的新视角加深对中国金融市场和上市公司的理解,对于反思西方新自由主义企业制度,构建具有中国特色的现代企业制度具有较为重要的理论和现实意义。