Reinvigorating the social contract and strengthening social cohesion: Social protection responses to COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the vulnerability of those who are inadequately covered by social protection in more and less developed countries alike, and has exacerbated the fragility of a social contract that was already under strain in many countries. A weak social contract in the context of an exceptional crisis poses a very real risk to social cohesion. Nevertheless, many States have reasserted themselves as the guarantor of rights by protecting public health and incomes. By sustaining these measures, economic recovery will be supported which will help minimize risks that may weaken social cohesion. However, this is a fast-moving, inherently unstable and protracted crisis. Social protection stands at a critical juncture. Decisive policy action will be required to strengthen social protection systems, including floors, as one of the cornerstones of a reinvigorated social contract.     

基于心理契约的民办高校辅导员管理策略研究

本文根据心理契约的内涵和特点,分析了目前在高校辅导员队伍中运用心理契约的必要性,同时提出了运用心理契约促进高校辅导员管理的对策。     

论网络点击合同下消费者权益的法律保护

点击合同是格式合同在网络环境下的嬗变,是电子商务交易中的主要形式之一。点击合同在信息披露、不公平条款、合同确认方式等方面存在很多亟待解决的新问题,这些问题也直接影响到网络消费者权益的保护。我国应当在借鉴国际先进立法和实践的基础上,对点击合同予以重点监管和规制以适应网络经济发展的需要,为网络消费者权益的保护提供制度保障。     

平台竞争、排他性协议与竞争瓶颈

在很多双边市场中,经常出现平台一边的用户与平台之间产生利益纠纷的现象,例如顺丰速运与菜鸟网络之间的纠纷等,本文从理论模型的角度研究了这种经济现象。文章通过将双边市场的用户分为视平台有差异和无差异两种类型,研究了平台如何掠夺视平台无差异的用户所有剩余的问题。研究发现,平台厂商有与视平台无差异的用户签订排他性协议的激励;无论签订排他性协议与否,这类用户都将被掠夺所有剩余,产生了所谓的"竞争瓶颈";排他性协议带来的福利效应并不明确,当平台的边际成本和交叉外部性参数较大时,排他性协议的签订能够提升社会总福利。     

基于共同持有资产的银行间接关联网络研究

金融市场是一个复杂系统,银行之间不仅有直接的拆借关系,还能够通过投资市场建立间接关联。本文分析了资产内生相关性、资产降价出售以及银行投资行为等因素对银行间接关联程度的影响,基于这些因素通过持有共同资产构建银行系统的间接关联,并以此为基础通过平面极大过滤图方法生成银行间接关联网络,论证了该网络中的系统重要性银行,并通过对该网络结构特征的分析,发现间接关联网络具有小世界和无标度等特征,这些特征与银行通过直接拆借形成的网络相似。本文对于银行间接关联网络的研究不仅能够更加清晰地了解银行之间的关系,也为银行系统性风险的监管提供了新的视角。     

What influences the size of child maintenance payments? A register‐based study of maintenance payments in Finland

The aim of this study was to explore how particular economic and demographic factors contribute to the level of the child maintenance payment (CMP) paid by the non‐resident parent. For this study, we used 5‐year longitudinal panel data from years 2009 to 2013 consisting of over 80,000 non‐resident parents from the Finnish Tax Administration and The Finnish Population Register Centre. Results from regression models indicate that the single biggest factor affecting the size of CMPs is the number of dependent children. We found that the non‐resident parent's higher income is associated with higher CMPs and that non‐resident fathers pay on average larger CMPs than non‐resident mothers, even after accounting for differences in income. Unexpectedly, we found that the age of the dependent child did not predict changes in CMPs. This suggests that once formal CMP‐contracts are determined between the parents, they are seldom changed. Our results suggest that some degree of mandatory periodic review for maintenance contracts is worth considering.     

Job insecurity and work outcomes: The role of psychological contract breach and positive psychological capital

Job insecurity has received growing attention from researchers because it poses serious challenges for organisations and for society as a whole. However, there are insufficient studies about the processes through which job insecurity affects outcomes as well as potential ways to reduce its negative impact. This study focuses on the relationship between job insecurity and individual-level outcomes (in-role performance and organisational deviance) and examines if (a) job insecurity is positively and/or negatively related to work outcomes, (b) psychological contract breach acts as a mediator of the relationship between job insecurity and work outcomes, and (c) positive psychological capital (PsyCap) buffers the job insecurity–work outcomes relationship via psychological contract breach. With a sample of 362 employee–supervisor dyads, in which the outcome measures were collected from the supervisors, we found support for our hypotheses. Specifically, we found a moderated mediation effect, whereby PsyCap moderates the negative indirect relationship of job insecurity on outcomes through psychological contract breach.     

Coordinating contracts for a financially constrained supply chain

We consider a financially constrained supply chain in which a supplier (leader) sells products to a retailer (follower) who has no access to bank financing due to her low credit rating. However, the supplier can borrow from a bank and offer trade credit to the retailer to alleviate her financial constraint. Failure to pay off a bank loan or trade credit incurs a variable default cost. We analyze the centralized version of the supply chain to obtain new coordination requirements. We then examine whether revenue-sharing, buyback, and all-unit quantity discount contracts can coordinate our supply chain. We show that the all-unit quantity discount contract fails to coordinate. However, the revenue-sharing and buyback contracts can coordinate the supply chain, but only when the supply chain has a sufficient total working capital. Moreover, they cannot allocate profit flexibly unless the supplier has a large enough working capital. Finally, we design a generalized revenue-sharing contract that coordinates the supply chain with flexible profit allocation, and also show by numerical examples its superiority over the revenue-sharing and buyback contracts.     

自贡盐业契约“出山约”与“出丢上中下节约”研究

在清代民国时期,四川自贡井盐生产过程中出现了“出山约”、“上、中、下节约”等特殊契约形式,导致这种契约形式出现的原因是多方面的,其中自然环境、盐井开采技术以及市场竞争是导致这些契约关系出现的重要原因。这些契约形式的出现对当时自贡地区盐业生产产生了极大的影响,有效地解决了投资者与地主之间的矛盾,保证了井盐开采所需资金来源,分散了投资风险,优化了盐井生产组织形式,提升了投资的积极性,从而使自贡地区的井盐生产能形成独特的生产模式,长盛不衰。     

对“公司＋农户”组织模式的反思

本文对当前我国“公司＋农户”组织模式困境作了较为深入的剖析。一是对公司和农户签订的契约环境进行分析,找出“公司＋农户”组织困境产生的根源。二是对履约过程中的障碍进行分析,找出“公司＋农户”组织运行的困境。结合我国实际提出了“公司＋农户”组织模式改进的建议：通过提高农户的组织化程度,构建有效的治理结构,摆脱集体行动逻辑的困境;扩大农户生产规模,提高自我履约能力;双方建立起真正的利益共享机制;政府体制进行改进和互补性制度的安排。