A flexible adaptation of the WIOD database in a virtual laboratory

ABSTRACT

The World Input-Output Database provides a time series of world input–output tables (WIOTs) that have been used for example to understand the manifold effects of the increased integration of markets through international trade. In order to enhance the flexibility of research on global trade issues using WIOD, we implement the WIOT workflow in a collaborative, cloud-based virtual laboratory environment. We demonstrate that a lab-based adaptation of WIOD is able (a) to continuously create and update versions of the WIOTs in a timely, consistent, and cost-effective way, (b) to enhance original information with accompanying information on standard deviations, and (c) to enable flexible re-casting of the entire WIOT time series into user-specific geographical and sectoral classifications.     

The day-of-the-week effect and conditional volatility: Sensitivity of error distributional assumptions

We test for reliable evidence of the day-of-the-week effect on both the mean and volatility for the S&P/TSX Canadian return index. Unlike previous studies, we permit several specifications for the error distribution — GARCH normal, Student's t, generalized error distribution, and double exponential distribution. Unlike other studies, we find that the day-of-the-week effect in both mean and conditional volatility is sensitive to the particular specification of the underlying distributions. We also find that using a regression analysis assuming a Student's t distribution is a better way to investigate this effect. Our evidence demonstrates the apparent fragility of previous empirical studies on calendar anomalies. Thus, our results serve as a warning that with financial data, the error distributional assumptions are critical to correctly identifying empirical regularities in the data.     

Random walk and breaking trend in financial series: An econometric critique of unit root tests

The present note sheds light on several pitfalls associated with unit root tests that are overlooked by a growing volume of literature in financial economics. Specifically, several studies have confused unit root tests with the Random Walk hypothesis. Unit root tests are not designed for such a task since they aim at investigating whether a time series is difference-stationary or trend-stationary and are not, therefore, predictability tests. Secondly, we emphasize some serious shortcomings associated with the widely used unit root test developed by Zivot and Andrews [Zivot, E. & Andrews, D.W.K. (1992). Further evidence on the great crash, the oil-price shock, and the unit-root hypothesis. Journal of Business and Economic Statistics, 10, 251–270.]. In particular, we stress that results from the Zivot–Andrews test are sensitive to the methods employed to calculate the critical values and to select the maxim lag k. Furthermore, Zivot–Andrews test imposes a one time structural break in a time series; however recent studies showed that not counting for other true structural breaks may bias the results and may cause a spurious rejection of the unit root null hypothesis. Finally, we support our arguments by an empirical example based on the findings of Narayan and Smyth [Narayan, K.P. & Smyth, R. (2004). Is South Korea’s stock market efficient? Applied Economics Letters, 11, 707–710.] with regards to the efficiency of South Korean stock market. We show that contrary to what the authors claim, the KSE (KOSPI) price index is predictable, and hence the South Korean stock market is not informationally efficient.     

Self-service innovativeness scale: introduction,development, and validation of scale

Consumer innovativeness is a central variable in innovation diffusion and adoption literature. The foremost challenge confronted by investigators involved in innovation diffusion and adoption research is the problem of measuring the innovativeness construct. Furthermore, a scale measuring innovativeness towards self-service technologies (SSTs) adoption is required as SSTs have grown considerably in the last few decades. To this end, this study develops and validates a self-service innovativeness (SSI) scale applicable across a variety of SSTs. The study presents a series of six distinct phases describing the development and validation of a six-item, self-report scale. The innovativeness scale has been validated in different contexts, allowing comparisons across distinct samples (i.e., student vs. non-student sample) and different industries (i.e., retail and hospitality industries). The SSI scale presented in this paper is short, valid, reliable, and easy to administer in service domains.     

Knowledge acquisition using psychotherapy technique for critical factors influencing construction project layout planning

The positioning of equipment on a construction site may change in different construction phases, different environments, and different types of end products, which greatly influence the decision of the site planning engineer who seeks to maximize the construction efficiency by minimizing the friction from the site layout. This study aims to acquire and analyze site planning experts' knowledge on critical factors influencing the construction layout planning using a psychotherapy technique. Through an open‐structured interview survey and cluster analysis, 125 core factors influencing the site layout plan were analyzed and categorized into a database.     

Designing a framework for acquiring technological knowledge among technology transfer recipients A perspective from a radar

Technology transfer is becoming increasingly important for business and economic growth in developing nations. The modern global economy uses knowledge resources to increase productivity and foster improvements in standard of living. Individual businesses acquire knowledge of advanced technologies to establish and maintain competitive positioning in the global marketplace. Without proper knowledge acquisition, transfer of technology cannot take place. The process of acquiring knowledge requires the organization to choose or adapt elements of the technology to local cultural conditions to integrate it with indigenous technologies. The cultural context of the recipient can also affect the process of acquiring knowledge. The culture and social environment of the individual creates a schema for organizing knowledge and understanding reality. This paper has two objectives： Firstly, to investigate how organisational culture affects readiness for technology transfer, and secondly, to identify elements of organisational culture affecting readiness for technology transfer. Qualitative mode of data collection was used in this study as well as interview and focus group discussion. The results from the preliminary investigations were used to create the components of the framework. Hypotheses were formulated between the constructs of the framework and a rigorous attempt was made using Structural Equation Modelling （SEM） to validate the construct as they created through qualitative findings.     

Cultural Norms and Son Preference in Intrahousehold Food Distribution: A Case Study of Two Asian Rural Economies

Based on the cost and content of individual calorie intake, I find evidence of son preference in food distribution in rural Bangladesh but not in the rural Philippines, which is consistent with the contrasting cultural norms of these two agrarian societies. Unlike in the Philippines, few females in Bangladesh, a male‐dominated patriarchal society with the strong presence of dowry and purdah systems, seem to participate in the labor market. Gender differences in wage rates appear to be prominent in Bangladesh as well, and the transfer at marriage from a bride's family seems to exceed that from a groom's family. In Bangladesh, the village wage rate of adult females is positively associated with a girl's allocation from the animal food group, while village wage rates of adult males are negatively associated. However, no such association is observed in the Philippines, which is characterized by egalitarian values between the sexes. In recent marriages in Bangladesh, a village's average value of transfers from grooms' families is also positively associated with a girl's allocation. While higher birth order children fare worse than lower birth order children in both economies, in Bangladesh a higher birth order girl does worse than a higher birth order boy, whereas this is not the case in the Philippines. The son preference does not seem to be associated with scarcity, as it is prominent in non‐poor Bangladeshi households but not in poor ones; the preference does not appear in either category in the Philippines. A Bangladeshi village's access to television, which I use as a proxy for liberal values, is positively associated with girls' calorie allocations.     

Can Sentiment Toward Advertising Explain Materialism and Vanity in the Globalization Era? Evidence From Dubai

ABSTRACT

This report presents the first study to address sentiment toward advertising, materialism, and vanity in the globalized city of Dubai. A conceptual model is developed and subsequent hypotheses are tested via structural equation modeling. The main research findings suggest that consumers in Dubai exhibit positive perceptions of advertising as well as higher levels of materialism and vanity. Sentiment toward advertising is found to positively influence materialism levels, while materialism strongly influences views, concern for physical appearance, and personal achievement. Sentiment toward advertising, however, has no direct effect on any vanity trait, suggesting that vanity is more an internal personal trait.