EXPLORING ALL VAR ORDERINGS FOR CALCULATING SPILLOVERS? YES,WE CAN!—A NOTE ON DIEBOLD AND YILMAZ (2009)

Diebold and Yilmaz (Economic Journal 2009; 119 ; 158–171) introduce the spillover index to measure linkages between international financial markets. As their index depends on the ordering of the variables in the underlying VAR model, they check robustness by computing the index for a small number of randomly chosen permutations, stating that it was impossible to explore the huge number of renumerations. Building on a new divide‐and‐conquer strategy, we provide an algorithm for swiftly calculating the spillover index's maximum and minimum over all renumerations. Using this new algorithm, we find that the true range of the spillover index can be up to three times as large as estimated by Diebold and Yilmaz. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

From New Public Management to New Public Governance? Hybridization and Implications for Public Sector Consumerism

This paper examines how variations in the notion of public sector consumerism become embedded in diverse governance practices. To this end, we extend the literature on public governance logics with insights from research on public sector consumerism and hybridization in public sector management reforms. Through a comparative, multi‐level analysis we trace the development of two governance logics largely corresponding to the distinction between New Public Management (NPM) and New Public Governance (NPG) in Swedish transport infrastructure policy. In contrast to research predicting or prescribing a relatively radical shift between such governance logics we show how they partly co‐evolved along two reform paths entailing notable variations in the degree of hybridization and the embedding of consumerist notions in emerging governance practices. In doing so, we draw attention to how the hybridization of governance logics is contingent on the alignment of diverse interests and differences in the process through which such logics are brought together. We discuss the implications of these findings for future research into public sector consumerism and hybridization in public sector management reforms.     

Export-driven adjustment in portugal

Macroeconomic imbalances in the eurozone have decreased significantly since the beginning of the financial and economic crisis. In Portugal, the economic adjustment process is strongly being driven by growth in export activity. The recent improvement in price competitiveness has supported the positive export trend. However, there are structural challenges that limit the potential for growth in the tradable sector. To ensure that the adjustment process is sustainable, it needs to be backed up by targeted structural reforms. This article aims to contribute to the discussion about the reduction of macroeconomic imbalances in the eurozone by analysing the determinants of export growth in Portugal and the role played by the adjustment policies contained in the macroeconomic programme.     

Production and Employment Impacts of Biotechnology —Input-output Analysis for Germany

Biotechnology is often regarded as a key technology with high potential for far-reaching social, environmental and economic impacts. Among others, the development and diffusion of biotechnology may have considerable economic effects on production and employment. This paper analyses the economic impacts of different prospective diffusion paths of biotechnology in some major application fields for Germany. Bottom-up technology information from the literature, expert judgements and explicit scenario assumptions for various impact factors are combined and integrated in an input-output framework to calculate direct and indirect production and employment effects. The impact on net production and employment differs greatly between the different application sectors and depends on the respective importance of the various impact mechanisms. The indirect economic effects are rather high and exceed the direct economic effects. These findings show the importance of a bottom-up approach as well as the consideration of the indirect economic effects for appropriate analyses of the impact of biotechnology.     

Ich lass mich nicht waschen

Wenn Pflege abgelehnt wird — Verweigern dementiell erkrankte Menschen notwendige Pflegema?nahmen, sind viele Pflegekr?fte schlicht überfordert. Denn wie geht man mit dementen Bewohnern um, wenn diese sich nicht waschen oder rasieren lassen wollen? Sven Lind erkl?rt die Gründe und zeigt m?gliche L?sungsstrategien auf.     

Valuing recreational fishing in Tasmania and assessment of response bias in contingent valuation*

We report results from contingent valuation studies in each of two Tasmanian fisheries that estimate the value of a day’s recreational fishing. Published studies estimating the economic value of recreational fishing in Australia and New Zealand are limited, although the economic and social benefits associated with this activity are sizable and the importance of understanding the behaviour of recreational fishers for the sustainable management of aquatic resources is well recognised. In our contingent valuation surveys, we use a double‐bounded version of the dichotomous choice question, which improves the statistical efficiency of the estimates relative to those based on a single dichotomous choice question. We test and control for response bias, in the form of anchoring and a shift effect, that may occur in data collected using a double‐bounded dichotomous choice (DBDC) elicitation format. We highlight the importance of identifying and correcting for response bias in DBDC models on a case‐by‐case basis. Our estimation results show that there is no significant difference in the willingness to pay for a day of recreational fishing across individuals who caught different number of fish in either fishery. This suggests that high and low catch fishers placed the same value on a day’s fishing.