Parametric estimation of inefficiency in cargo handling in Spanish ports

Port workers services have been usually heavily regulated and reserved exclusively for a special kind of workers, dockworkers, which seems to have been the cause of serious inefficiencies worldwide. During the eighties, law reforms have been introduced to solve this problem. In this paper we analyze and decompose efficiency in cargo handling operations in 19 Spanish ports from 1990 to 1998. The method chosen is that of the parametric estimation of both allocative and technical inefficiency using panel data and a quadratic cost function. Results show that although inefficiency has decreased overall, there has been over utilization of labor regarding capital, and technical inefficiency. This supports the need of further consideration of other aspects including competition.

The economic production quantity (EPQ) with shortage derived algebraically

Previously, in several papers and textbooks, the classical economic order quantity (EOQ) and the economic production quantity (EPQ) formulas for the shortage case, have been derived using differential calculus and solving two simultaneous equations (derived from setting the two first partial derivatives to zero) with the need to prove optimality conditions with second-order derivatives. In a previous original piece of work, a new approach to find the EOQ with backlogging using some slight algebraic developments appeared. This paper extends the mentioned algebraic approach to the EPQ formula taking shortages into consideration within the case of only one backlog cost per unit and time unit. The final expressions provide the same formulas that are available in the classic textbooks on inventory theory.     

Public Debt,Economic Growth and Inflation in African Economies

We analyse the relationship between public debt, economic growth and inflation in a group of 52 African economies between 1950 and 2012. The results indicate that the limits of public debt are negatively related to economic growth and exhibit, from a given level of debt, an inverted U behaviour regarding the relationship between economic growth and public debt. Briefly, the high levels of public debt are coincident with reduced rates of economic growth and rising levels of inflation. Our results for three specific geographical areas resemble those of the overall analysis, despite some differences. In North African countries, the growth rates of the gross domestic product (GDP) and inflation also show an inverted U behaviour as the ratio of public debt/GDP increases. The highest rate of economic growth is recorded when the ratio of public debt/GDP is below 30% of GDP and corresponds to an average inflation rate of 5.33%. An identical behaviour of the GDP growth rates and inflation also appears in Sub‐Saharan countries until the third interval (60–90%). However, the highest growth rate of the GDP and GDP per capita is registered when the public debt/GDP ratio is in the second interval (30–60%). For the countries of the Southern Africa Development Community, the highest average rate of economic growth (6.8%) is similar to North African countries, when the ratio public debt/GDP is below 30% of GDP, with an average inflation rate of 11%. A number of robustness analyses were performed and the great majority of them confirm the general analysis.     

Output collapses and productivity destruction

In this paper we analyze the long-run relationship between output collapses—defined as GDP falling substantially below trend—and total factor productivity (TFP). We use a panel of 76 developed and developing countries during the period 1960–2004 to identify episodes of output collapse and estimate counterfactual post-collapse TFP trends. Collapses are concentrated in developing countries, especially Africa and Latin America, and were particularly widespread in the 1980s in Latin America. Overall, output collapses are systematically associated with long-lasting declines in TFP. We explore the conditions under which collapses are least or most damaging, as well as the type of shocks that make collapses more likely or severe. Furthermore, we provide a quantification of the associated welfare loss with output collapses.     

The Market Concept: A Characterization from Institutional and Post‐Keynesian Economics

The neoclassical concept of the market is built on a number of assumptions that lead one to view it as a type of ether, devoid of any institutional content. In opposition to this point of view, this article proposes an alternative characterization of markets based on the fundamental principles of institutional and post‐Keynesian economics. After reviewing the main features that characterize the behavior of economic agents, we analyze the set of interrelations between these agents within markets and the role of institutions in the regulation of these interrelations. Finally, we discuss some of the consequences generated by the institutional dimensions of markets with regard to their origins and evolution, the justification for their existence, or the evaluation of their results.     

Count data stochastic frontier models, with an application to the patents–R&D relationship

This article introduces a new count data stochastic frontier model that researchers can use in order to study efficiency in production when the output variable is a count (so that its conditional distribution is discrete). We discuss parametric and nonparametric estimation of the model, and a Monte Carlo study is presented in order to evaluate the merits and applicability of the new model in small samples. Finally, we use the methods discussed in this article to estimate a production function for the number of patents awarded to a firm given expenditure on R&D.     

Export Performance of Brazilian States to Mercosul and Non-Mercosul Partners

ABSTRACT

We investigate the role of the trade-weighted real exchange rate and foreign income on the export performance of Brazilian states, differentiating between Mercosur and non-Mercosur partners. The results indicate that state exports are price and income inelastic. There are differences in the influence of the different trade factors between the two groups of partners. One crucial difference is the relevance of the real exchange rate effect for non-Mercosur partners. This might be associated with the existence of specific rules for Mercosur that can overcome the usual effect of relative competitiveness associated with movements in the real exchange rate.     

Protecting software development projects against underestimation

When a project in progress has been seriously underestimated, it is essential to figure out how much additional effort is required to complete it within its original scope and delivery date. This article posits that project contingencies should be based on the amount it will take to recover from the underestimation, and not on the amount that would have been required had the project been adequately planned from the beginning, and that these funds should be administered at the portfolio level. A model to calculate the required funds is developed.