Macroeconomic Policy Interaction under EMU: A Dynamic Game Approach

In this article, we study macroeconomic stabilization in the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) using a dynamic game approach. With the aid of a stylized macroeconomic model, this article analyzes the transmission and interaction of national fiscal policies and monetary policy of the European Central Bank (ECB) in the EMU. A special focus is on the effects of labor market institutions in the participating countries and of the introduction of fiscal stringency criteria like those imposed in the Stability and Growth Pact.     

From sponsorship to partnership in academy-industry relations

One practical result of the advent of the knowledge society has been an increased reliance on academic-industry partnerships as important sources for the creation of economic value. This paper argues that this renewed emphasis on knowledge has led to a shift in the nature of the relations between the academy and industry from sponsorship to partnership and the formation of new research institutions that allow researchers and practitioners to engage in continuous rather than problem based dialogue. These developments are illustrated by providing a case study based on the experience of one research team with its industrial partners. The paper presents results pertaining to some of the issues and challenges raised by continuous dialogue in partnerships, and emphasises the creative yet demanding implications of close collaboration between the two communities.     

An EM algorithm for the destructive COM-Poisson regression cure rate model

In this paper, we consider a competitive scenario and assume the initial number of competing causes to undergo a destruction after an initial treatment. This brings in a more realistic and practical interpretation of the biological mechanism of the occurrence of tumor since what is recorded is only from the undamaged portion of the original number of competing causes. Instead of assuming any particular distribution for the competing cause, we assume the competing cause to follow a Conway–Maxwell Poisson distribution which brings in flexibility as it can handle both over-dispersion and under-dispersion that we usually encounter in count data. Under this setup and assuming a Weibull distribution to model the time-to-event, we develop the expectation maximization algorithm for such a flexible destructive cure rate model. An extensive simulation study is carried out to demonstrate the performance of the proposed estimation method. Finally, a melanoma data is analyzed for illustrative purpose.     

Hero shots: involved fathers conquering new discursive territory in consumer culture

ABSTRACT

In this paper, we explore how visual expressions of culture offer new discursive territory within which consumer cultural ideals can be negotiated on a global scale. Through a critical visual analysis of the revelatory case Swedish Dads, we find hero shots depicting involved fathers where children’s needs and the hermetic confines of the home take center stage, as opposed to the traditional fatherhood ideals portrayed in western contemporary advertising, media, and popular culture. We demonstrate how the Swedish state’s gender ideology was encoded into a communicative event in the form of hero shots and subsequently dispersed by visual consumers as well as political and commercial stakeholders pushing this particular agenda and/or capitalizing on its tendencies. This in such a way that the event conquered new discursive territory fostering new types of consumer cultural negotiations on fatherhood ideals also in other cultural settings.     

Growing Followers: Exploring the Effects of Leader Humility on Follower Self‐Expansion,Self‐Efficacy,and Performance

Although the effectiveness of leader humility has been well documented, our understanding of how leader humility influences followers psychologically is limited. Surpassing a mere leader‐centric understanding of the leader influence process by more fully understanding how leadership behavior shapes followers psychologically has been identified as a critical need by leadership scholars. Drawing on self‐expansion theory, we argue that leader humility triggers followers’ self‐expansion and that this psychological change enhances followers’ self‐efficacy, which in turn contributes to followers’ task performance. We also argue that the relationship between leader humility and followers’ self‐expansion is strengthened when leaders and followers are similar in age and gender. Using a time‐lagged research design with responses from 256 leader–follower dyads, we found support for our proposed model. We discuss the theoretical implications for our findings and suggest areas for future research.     

China's changing diet and its impacts on greenhouse gas emissions: an index decomposition analysis

With increasing awareness of agriculture's contribution to global greenhouse gases (GHGs) and China's position as the world's top GHG emitter, there is heightened attention to the embodied emissions in China's food consumption. China's diet has shifted to include more fruit, vegetables, meat and dairy. Not surprisingly, GHG emissions from food consumption have also increased substantially. This analysis links China's food consumption with the emissions of food production industries in China and its trade partners to determine the effects of dietary change on GHGs since 1989. We utilise high‐resolution food production and emissions data to perform a logarithmic mean Divisia index decomposition to attribute changes in GHG emissions to the scale, supply structure, demand structure and efficiency effects resulting from Chinese dietary changes over a 20‐year period. This study finds that while countries supplying food to China contribute little to China's food‐related GHGs, demands for meat and dairy play a much larger role, driving up emissions. The overall scale of increased consumption of all food further propels growth in GHG emissions. Results indicate, however, that while food consumption in China more than doubles between 1989 and 2009 improvements in technological efficiency limit the rate of increase.     

R&D capabilities,intellectual property strength and choice of equity ownership in cross-border acquisitions: evidence from BRICS acquirers in Europe

The aim of the study is to investigate two relatively underexplored factors, namely, the R&D (research and development) capabilities of target firms and the strength of intellectual property (IP) institutions in target economies, that influences the choice of equity ownership in cross border acquisitions (CBAs) undertaken by multinational enterprises (MNEs) from BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) economies. They developed the key hypothesis on foreign market entry through CBAs by incorporating insights from transaction costs economics, the resource-based view and institutional theory to investigate the determinants of full versus partial equity ownership. Using logistic regression estimation methods to a sample of 111 CBA deals of BRICS MNEs in 22 European countries, it was found that BRICS MNEs were likely to pursue full rather than partial acquisition mode when target firms have high R&D capabilities. However, the greater the degree of strength of IP institutions in target economies and higher the target firms’ R&D capabilities, the more likely it is for BRICS MNEs to undertake partial, rather than, full acquisition mode. They provided interesting theoretical insights and managerial implications that might underlie some of the key findings on CBAs by emerging market MNEs.     

Total factor productivity growth in banking: The Israeli banking sector 1979–1982

The primary focus of this paper is the modeling and estimation of total factor productivity growth in banking. The measured total factor productivity growth is decomposed into its main components: 1) scale economy and output growth, 2) branching effect, and 3) technological change effect. Our findings indicate that total factor productivity grew at an annual average rate of 7.8% for the 1979–1982 period but this growth has slowed down to only 2.9% for the 1981–1982 period. Scale economy and output growth have contributed to about four-fifths of the growth, whereas branch growth and technical change have contributed to one-fifth of the growth. An important observation is the increasing importance of both branch growth and technical change throughout the period, especially for smaller banks.The refereeing process of this paper was handled by J. van den Broeck.