Optimal research and development and the cost of business cycles

While research and development (R&D) investment has been procyclical in the post-war period, recent literature suggests that the optimal path for R&D is countercyclical, and that the economy would be better off by subsidizing R&D in recessions. The objective of this paper is to analyze the welfare effects of distortions in the intertemporal allocation of R&D resources and to compare diverse policy interventions so as to improve social welfare. To this end, we introduce a calibrated dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model with Schumpeterian endogenous growth that is capable of explaining the observed procyclicality of R&D. Our results show that the cost of business cycles is lower in the decentralized economy with procyclical R&D than in the efficient allocation with countercyclical R&D. This is because the suboptimal propagation of shocks in the decentralized equilibrium offsets some of the existing steady-state distortions. In this second-best context, countercyclical R&D subsidies have no positive effect on welfare. In contrast, fiscal policies aimed at restoring the optimal steady-state produce large welfare gains.     

Behaviours and entrepreneurial intention: Empirical findings about secondary students

This paper aims to identify some factors that may be explaining differences among secondary students in start-up intentions. For that, the study develops an entrepreneurial intention model sustained by the use of Azjen’s Theory of Planned Behaviour (TBP). Using a sample of students aged between 14 and 15 years old, a questionnaire based on the Li?án and Chen’s Entrepreneurial Intention Questionnaire was administrated. The purpose is to test a model of entrepreneurial intention using structural equations. The findings point that TPB is an appropriate tool to model the development of entrepreneurial intention through pedagogical processes and learning contexts. The education and training should centre itself much more in changing personal attitudes than in knowledge. Moreover, it is desirable that an entrepreneurship educational programme could contribute to the development of competences related to entrepreneurship, social and civic skills, and cultural awareness.     

The Asian clam Corbicula fluminea in the European freshwater-dependent industry: A latent threat or a friendly enemy?

While the biofouler Corbicula fluminea (Müller, 1774) is known to cause great economic losses in North America, studies reporting the problem in Europe are much scarcer. This paper explores the industrial effects of the species in Portugal, the gateway by which the bivalve entered Europe around 30 years ago. National waterworks, major power stations, cement plants, pulp and paper mills and irrigation systems were surveyed. The industrial impacts of the pest were shown to remain relatively mild; irrigation systems are those that seem to be facing more significant economic losses due to infestation. Possible reasons for the apparent discrepancy between this result and the species dispersal in natural ecosystems are discussed, and recommendations on adequate responses to the latent threat are provided. This study may assist the implementation of integrated pest management policies in countries at risk of invasion or recently invaded, and contribute to an understanding of the species’ progression in industrial environments.     

Effect of Diversity of Large Wildlife Species on Financial Benefits to Local Communities in Northwest Namibia

There exist few quantitative assessments of the relationship between biodiversity per se and economic benefits at scales that are relevant for conservation. Similarly, the merits of Community-Based Natural Resource Management programs for both wildlife and people are contested. Here, we harness two databases, on wildlife surveys and financial benefits, to address these issues for communal conservancies in northwest Namibia. We use ordination methods to characterize the diversity and stability of large wildlife assemblages on conservancies, and demonstrate that diversity (but not stability) is an important explanator of conservancy financial benefits. Our results indicate that for this area of Namibia, biodiversity, as represented by large wildlife assemblages, has an important, positive effect on the tangible financial benefits that people derive from conservation programs.     

中国风电产业在国际市场崛起的挑战分析

2010年,以金凤科技、华锐风电为代表的中国风电企业在赢得了快速增长之后展现出加快国际化步伐的态势。尽管现在走出去的中国风电企业仍是少数,但国际化进程已不可避免。本文着重总结了中国风电企业在国际化过程中会面临的挑战,并以美对华301调查为案例,分析了其给中国风电产业带来的风险和影响,从中获得启示,以加快我国新能源产业国际化的步伐。     

Nonparametric Estimation of Oligopsony Power in First‐Price Auction

This paper proposes a nonparametric procedure to estimate market power for first‐price auction data and applies the procedure to cattle procurement markets. Most previous studies have used parametric methods, which require specific functional forms for retail demand, input supply and processors’ cost equations. However, researchers often find that market power estimates from parametric methods are sensitive to the choice of functional forms and specifications. An application to data from cattle procurement experiments shows that our nonparametric approach greatly outperforms commonly used parametric methods in estimating the degree of market power. While parametric estimates are sensitive to functional form specification and are at least 90% smaller than ‘true’ market power indices, estimates from our nonparametric procedure deviate from the actual value by no more than 25%.     

Exporting status and success in innovation: evidence from CIS micro data for EU countries

Using a large sample of micro data from four waves of Community Innovation Survey for EU member states, we investigate the relationship between firms’ export status and different sorts of innovation activities. We find systematically positive relationship between the two, whereby the strongest correlation is found in case of product innovation and the weakest in case of organizational innovations. While aggregate data show that innovation success is increasing in firm size, we find that exporting has the strongest effect on innovation in the medium-sized firms. We also explore cross-country differences in the impact of export status on innovation. Countries with a higher share of exports in GDP and greater share of spending on research and development generally display a stronger correlation between exporting status and innovation.     

From global start-ups to the borderless firm: Why and how to build a worldwide value system

Although the original concept of international new ventures included the geographic configuration of value activities, the subsequent development of the literature has gradually abandoned the concern about the geographic configuration of both input sourcing and output marketing to concentrate almost exclusively on the latter. Therefore, this paper argues that there is a need to re-focus the research so as to figure out how and why some companies are borderless. Borderless firms are defined as the result of the combination, early on, of geographically dispersed resources and capabilities, defying the home-base logic. A borderless firm presents the following characteristics (or a combination of them) from inception (or shortly thereafter): (i) value-added activities dispersed across different countries and regions; (ii) entrepreneurs not bounded by a home base; (iii) multinational founders and/or management teams; and (iv) a multinational workforce. To enquiry into this issue, the study uses five case studies of borderless firms. The results advance the understanding of the motives and processes behind the development, early on, of a borderless configuration of value activities.     

Pricing a rural development program: uncertainty,indifference, and protest behaviors

This article presents an econometric approach to modeling uncertainty, unwillingness to pay, and protest behavior in contingent valuation studies. For that purpose, a mixture model with sample selection is developed for a multiple‐bounded uncertainty elicitation format. The proposed theoretical framework is applied to evaluate the social welfare impact of implementing a sustainable rural development program. Results show that a “naive” analytical approach that excludes protesters from the analysis would result in significantly higher willingness to pay estimates for those individuals who favor the implementation of the program and agree to reveal their true reservation prices.     

What are the antecedents of women’s entrepreneurial orientation?

This study seeks to identify the antecedents of women’s entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and exploring what possible relationships that may exist between them. The research focuses on women entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs in a quantitative perspective whose methodology consisted of the collection of primary data through a survey distributed to women in Portugal. After structural equation modelling was applied, the results suggested that recognition of opportunities influences EO. This influence is expressed both directly and indirectly through training in management and entrepreneurial skills. These findings led to the conclusion that policies promoting training for community members, in general, need to be rethought and policies need to emphasise training in management that enhances entrepreneurial skills, thereby increasing the proliferation of entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship education and training should be promoted from basic education onwards in order to develop entrepreneurial skills from an early age. Prior to this study, the relationships between opportunity recognition, management training and entrepreneurial skills have never been studied in relation to women.