Lessons from China on different approaches to pension coverage extension

Achieving universal pension coverage is both an aspiration and a challenge for many developing economies. Traditional contributory schemes are less effective in extending pension coverage to workers who are not in the formal sectors of the economy. As an alternative, non‐contributory schemes have gained popularity in recent years. China’s pension reforms mirror this global trend. The introduction of a contribution‐based pension scheme for urban employees (Employees’ Pension) was followed by a scheme for rural and urban residents (Residents’ Pension), which is partly government financed and partly contributory, with multiple options for premium payment. This study uses nationally representative survey data collected in 2016 to compare the inclusiveness of the two schemes. It finds that access to the Residents’ Pension scheme is more equal than the Employees’ Pension. Lower status workers in terms of education, employment, income and hukou‐migration are more likely to participate in the Residents’ Pension as opposed to the Employees’ Pension, compared with higher status workers. The Chinese experience suggests that a workable solution for pension extension in low‐ and middle‐income countries is to have a scheme that is flexible, affordable and responsive to the diverse needs of the population.     

Sensation seeking predicts risky driving behavior: The mediating role of difficulties in emotion regulation

The purpose of this study was to explore the mediating effect of difficulties in emotion regulation on the relationship between sensation seeking and driving behavior based on the dual-process model of aberrant driving behavior. A sample of 299 drivers in China completed the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale, the Driver Behavior Questionnaire, and the Sensation Seeking Scale V (SSS). The relationships among sensation seeking, difficulties in emotion regulation, and driving behavior were investigated using pathway analysis. The results showed that (1) disinhibition and boredom susceptibility are positively and significantly related to difficulties in emotion regulation and risky driving behaviors; (2) difficulties in emotion regulation are positively and significantly associated with risky driving behaviors; (3) difficulties in emotion regulation mediate the effect of sensation seeking on driving behaviors, supporting the dual-process model of driving behavior; and (4) professional drivers score higher in terms of difficulties in emotion regulation and risky driving behaviors than nonprofessional drivers. The findings of this study could provide valuable insights into the selection of suitable drivers and the development of certain programs that benefit road safety.     

彝族“付拖”与《羌族释比图经》中五行生肖的对比与解读

在彝族的付拖图里,蕴含了五行及生肖.在《羌族释比图经》中蕴含了五行生肖内容,表现出独特的羌族文化特色,有极为重要的学术价值.因为彝族和羌族的先民都与古羌人有密切的关系,而古羌人与中原先民文化有密切的关系,所以彝族和羌族的五行生肖文化与中原五行生肖文化当有文化渊源关系,只是在后来的传承中,因为传承主体的原因而表现出不同民族特色.因为羌族没有文字对自己的五行生肖文化加以定格记录,所以现在对之抢救和研究显得特别重要.     

投资组合视角下机构投资者治理行为分析:一个权变的观点

作为独立于管理层与股东之外的第三方力量，机构投资者在提高公司治理水平方面一直被国内外学者和政府监管部门寄予厚望。然而，目前公司治理领域有关机构投资者治理角色研究尚存在有效监督、无效监督、战略合谋三种争论。为回答机构投资者在公司治理中究竟发挥何种作用的问题，文章以企业两类代理成本为切入点，从投资组合角度重新审视了机构投资者的治理行为，并结合不同内外情境解释了其参与治理行为的权变观点。基于委托代理理论和有限注意理论，利用2013-2017年我国沪、深A股上市公司样本数据。通过定义监督型机构投资者，从投资组合权重与投资组合集中度两个维度，采用固定效应回归模型实证检验了机构投资者对公司两类代理成本的影响，并运用工具变量法对结果进行稳健性检验，同时结合公司内外不同情境，借助分样本检验辩证分析了机构投资者的治理行为差异。研究结果表明：投资组合作为机构投资者分散风险的投资行为模式，在参与治理的过程中表现出了"双刃剑"效应，监督型机构投资者与投资组合集中度在降低大股东与中小股东之间第二类代理成本的同时，却以提升股东与管理层之间的第一类代理成本为代价。进一步从外部市场环境与内部高管、控股股东三个方面，发现机构投资者在不同情境下的治理行为存在差异，具体表现为在欠发达地区与存在强权高管的上市公司内，机构投资者加剧第一类代理成本的现象表现得更为明显；而公司内支持型控股股东的存在，则会加强机构投资者对第二类代理成本的抑制作用。上述研究运用权变的观点，实现了从以往关注机构投资者"持股数量"向"投资组合集中度"研究的创新性转变，在丰富机构投资者研究视角的同时，为以权变观点看待机构投资者治理行为的合理性提供依据。研究一方面能够帮助上市公司通过引入监督型机构投资者进行管理创新，提升其治理水平实现高质量发展；另一方面也为证监会创新监管模式，运用权变的观点充分认识机构投资者的治理行为，制定分类引导异质机构投资者的相关文件提供理论参考。