Comparison of the Korean and US Stock Markets Using Continuous-time Stochastic Volatility Models / Seungmoon Choi

We estimate three continuous-time stochastic volatility models following the approach by Ait-Sahalia and Kimmel (2007) to compare the Korean and US stock markets. To do this, the Heston, GARCH, and CEV models are applied to the KOSPI 200 and S&P 500 Index. For the latent volatility variable, we generate and use the integrated volatility proxy using the implied volatility of short-dated at-the-money option prices. We conduct MLE in order to estimate the parameters of the stochastic volatility models. To do this we need the transition probability density function (TPDF), but the true TPDF is not available for any of the models in this paper. Therefore, the TPDFs are approximated using the irreducible method introduced in Ait-Sahalia (2008). Among three stochastic volatility models, the Heston model and the CEV model are found to be best for the Korean and US stock markets, respectively. There exist relatively strong leverage effects in both countries. Despite the fact that the long-run mean level of the integrated volatility proxy (IV) was not statistically significant in either market, the speeds of the mean reversion parameters are statistically significant and meaningful in both markets. The IV is found to return to its long-run mean value more rapidly in Korea than in the US. All parameters related to the volatility function of the IV are statistically significant. Although the volatility of the IV is more elastic in the US stock market, the volatility itself is greater in Korea than in the US over the range of the observed IV.

Effects of Technology Transfer Policies on the Technical Efficiency of Korean University TTOs / Jaepil Han

The Korean government has provided various policy devices to boost technology transfers between academia and industry since the establishment of the Technology Transfer Promotion Act in 2000. Along with the enactment of the law, the Korean government mandated the establishment of a technology transfer office at national and public universities and encouraged technology transfer activities. Despite the quantitative expansion of technology transfer offices (TTOs), operational inefficiency was brought up. As a supplementary policy, the Korean government implemented a line of projects to support the labor and business expenses of leading TTOs. This research questions whether the project greatly affected the technical efficiency of TTOs. We analyze publicly available university panel data from 2007 to 2015 using a one-step stochastic frontier analysis. The results suggest that the program was marginally effective at shifting the technical efficiency distribution to the right on average, but it failed to maximize its impact by diversifying the policy means based on targets. The marginal effects of the program on technical efficiency differ according to the research capability and size of each school. We also compare technical efficiency against the licensing income at the start and end of the program. Technical efficiency increased for the leading TTOs, and both measures show improvements for unsupported TTOs. Our empirical results imply that diversifying the program for universities with different characteristics may have improved the effectiveness of the policy.

Government R&D Support for SMEs: Policy Effects and Improvement Measures / Sungho Lee and Jingyeong Jo

Government R&D grants for SMEs have risen to three trillion Korean won a year, placing Korea second among OECD nations. Indeed, analysis results have revealed that government support has not only expanded corporate R&D investment and the registration of intellectual property rights but has also increased investment in tangible and human assets and marketing. However, value added, sales and operating profit have lacked improvement owing to an ineffective recipient selection system that relies solely on qualitative assessments by technology experts. Nevertheless, if a predictive model is properly applied to the system, the causal effect on value added could increase by more than two fold. Accordingly, it is important to focus on economic performance rather than technical achievements to develop such a model.

Higher Education, Productivity Revelation and Performance-pay Jobs / Jisun Baek and WooRam Park

This paper examines the differences between the subsequent careers of high school and college graduate workers based on a direct role of college graduation with regard to the revelation of workers’ individual abilities. Using NLSY79, we document a positive relationship between off-the-job training/performance-pay jobs and ability for high school graduates at the early stages of their careers. However, this relationship is less prominent for college graduates. Moreover, we show that high ability is associated with more jobs, which reflects higher job mobility, only for high school graduates. We argue that these patterns are the result of productivity-revealing behavior of high school graduates, whose individual abilities, unlike college graduates, is not observed precisely at the beginning of their careers.

Comparison of the Korean and US Stock Markets Using Continuous-time Stochastic Volatility Models / Seungmoon Choi
　Ⅰ. Introduction
　Ⅱ. Data and Features
　Ⅲ. Three Stochastic Volatility Models
　Ⅳ. Estimation Method
　Ⅴ. Estimation Results
　Ⅵ. Conclusion and Discussion
　REFERENCES

Effects of Technology Transfer Policies on the Technical Efficiency of Korean University TTOs / Jaepil Han
　Ⅰ. Introduction
　Ⅱ. Technology Transfer Policy in Korea
　Ⅲ. Impacts of a Financial Support Program
　Ⅳ. Conclusion
　REFERENCES

Government R&D Support for SMEs: Policy Effects and Improvement Measures / Sungho Lee and Jingyeong Jo
　Ⅰ. Introduction
　Ⅱ. Government R&D Support Projects for SMEs
　Ⅲ. Comparison of Recipients and Non-recipients
　Ⅳ. Estimation of the Causal Effect of Government Support
　Ⅴ. Exploratory Models to Improve the Selection of Recipients
　Ⅵ. Conclusion and Policy Suggestions
　REFERENCES

Higher Education, Productivity Revelation and Performance-pay Jobs / Jisun Baek and WooRam Park
　Ⅰ. Introduction
　Ⅱ. Data
　Ⅲ. Empirical Framework
　Ⅳ. Results
　Ⅴ. Conclusion and Discussion
　REFERENCES