The twin deficit hypothesis in Egypt

We employ a new approach to the twin deficit hypothesis aimed at enhancing policy making in Egypt. In contrast to the conventional twin deficit hypothesis between the current account, which comprises many items out of governments’ scope of maneuvering, and the budget deficit, we track the causal link between Egypt’s merchandise trade deficit and the budget deficit. We begin first by examining the conventional twin deficit hypothesis using a VAR model, which implies short run reverse causation running from the current account deficit to the budget deficit. Second, as cointegration exists between the budget deficit and the merchandise trade deficit, we run a multivariate VECM model which refutes the twin deficit hypothesis in favor of the current account targeting hypothesis. In policy terms, ameliorating Egypt’s trade balance would ultimately improve its fiscal balance as well.     

Macro stress testing and resilience assessment of Indian banking

This study conducts policy-based macro stress testing of the Indian banking sector and also assesses its resilience towards compliance with BASEL norms with the aid of an empirical macro-financial model. It uses scenario analysis and quantitative techniques to capture the impact of macroeconomic stress on the stability of the Indian banks by evaluating financial soundness indicators (credit quality, quantity and quality of capital adequacy). The scenarios are generated through policy-based shocks vis-à-vis other external shocks. The results from the estimation of the model indicate a cointegrating relationship between credit quality and key macroeconomic variables including output growth rate, interest rate, money growth rate and exchange rate. The results of the scenario analysis reveal that the Indian banking sector remains largely sound in terms of total regulatory capital adequacy ratio as per current BASEL II and even BASEL III requirement. The results also show that expansionary monetary policy impacts credit quality and capital adequacy in a positive and significant manner via its effect on the economy’s growth rate.     

基于C2C模式下的女装品牌推广探析

随着互联网在全球的普及以及近年来我国服装产业的迅猛发展,电子商务产业也随之崛起,越来越多的女性选择在网上购买女装品牌。从C2C模式的内涵及女装品牌市场的发展现状为出发点,分析了利用C2C模式是推广女装品牌的基础与保障,结合当前网上女装市场的现状,归纳总结出女装品牌推广过程中存在各类女装品牌存在竞争性,女装品牌的信息与品质不符;信用评价体系不健全,女装品牌推广的市场环境差;第三方支付遭遇难题,女装品牌推广后劲不足等问题,最后,笔者针对问题提出了利用多种新型营销手段实事求是的宣传,打造女装品牌的核心竞争力;健全信用评价体系,完善市场监督机制;加快第三方支付平台的改革,创建女装品牌推广模型等对策,旨在为女装品牌推广建言献策。     

An iterative sparse algorithm for the penalized maximum likelihood estimator in mixed effects model

In this paper, we propose a new iterative sparse algorithm (ISA) to compute the maximum likelihood estimator (MLE) or penalized MLE of the mixed effects model. The sparse approximation based on the arrow-head (A-H) matrix is one solution which is popularly used in practice. The A-H method provides an easy computation of the inverse of the Hessian matrix and is computationally efficient. However, it often has non-negligible error in approximating the inverse of the Hessian matrix and in the estimation. Unlike the A-H method, in the ISA, the sparse approximation is applied “iteratively” to reduce the approximation error at each Newton Raphson step. The advantages of the ISA over the exact and A-H method are illustrated using several synthetic and real examples.     

Imagining The Sociological Imagination: the biographical context of a sociological classic

Charles Wright Mills's arguments in The Sociological Imagination are very popular and this paper focuses on the biographical context in which his programmatic statements were occasioned. This breaks new ground by locating The Sociological Imagination and earlier programmatic statements in the professional and personal travails that motivated them. This approach is adopted in order to display the intersection between biography and sociology in Mills's life and career, a feature that he made a central part of sociology's promise. The paper utilizes this approach to reflect on the reasons why The Sociological Imagination became so popular and was able to transcend Mills's general unpopularity at the time of his death; and as part of the explanation of why the dismissal of the book on its publication contrasts with the contemporary view, enabling it to transpose successfully to a time significantly different than at its writing.     

关于C语言指针定义的讨论

在教学和实践中发现,C语言指针定义的信息量不足,难于解释指针使用的许多方面。本文大胆地剖析了已有的定义,从中找出问题所在,并试图加以改进。还结合实例给出了“拟构”概念,较好地说明了相关知识尤其是指针与数组的关系。     

消费者在线交易信任影响因素的实证研究——来自台湾的证据

因特网强大的通讯与实时能力使之成为绝佳的交易平台,随着因特网使用者的日益增加,网络购物在台湾也形成一股热潮,然而在因特网的环境中,网络消费者对网站的信任相当薄弱。为了找出网络消费者对网络商店的信任关键因素,提高网络商店的收益,本研究希望通过实证的数据分析,了解B2C购物环境下消费者信任程度的决定因素,并给出一个整合的理论模型,从而希望对网站经营者提供管理实践的启示。     

"C语言程序设计"双语教学探讨

以自动化学院自动化专业双语教学为研究对象,分析"C语言程序设计"进行双语教学的重要性、必要性,提出了"分组教学"的方法,并讨论了英文教材的选取原则,双语教学的课堂讲授法,作业与考试形式等问题.     

Racial conflict and the malignancy of identity

This paper demonstrates how our sense of identity can emerge out of mere markers of social distinction that may have no innate significance, but, nevertheless, spread to various aspects of our lives and be the root of conflict. The basis of such conflicts could arise from the use of race to form conditional judgments about people's behavior. Moreover, there are contexts where racial conflict is inevitable even though, if individuals had common knowledge of one another's preferences, there would be no conflict. It is argued that this kind of conflict, where many individuals have no innate aggressive preference, is widespread and understanding the process that gives rise to such conflict is the key to crafting effective policy that contains it.     

A comparative study on a permutation statistic

We studied asymptotic distribution and finite sample properties of a randomly weighted permutation statistic. The asymptotic normality and the finite sample simulations derived from our studies provided theoretical and numerical justifications for distributional assumption of many useful test statistics used in identifying spatial autocorrelations of mapped data. We compared a new method in computing the mean and the approximated variance of the randomly weighted D statistic, a special permutation statistic, with the Walter’s conditional method. In the numerical illustration of the method, we calculated the standardized values of the D statistic by subtracting the mean from the D statistic and dividing the difference by the standard deviation for the standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) and the life expectancies among the 48 states of the continental USA. Spatial autocorrelations of the SMRs and the life expectancies were found to be statistically significant.