The Evolution of Reforestation in Brazil

This paper analyses the evolution of reforestation in Brazil and evaluates the federal government's previous programmes to stimulate that activity, focusing on the discontinued Programme of Fiscal Incentives for Afforestation and Reforestation (PIFFR). Despite the great increase in reforested area in Brazil since the 1970s, the country will suffer a scarcity of roundwood from reforested areas over the first decade of the 21st Century. In the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, the Brazilian federal government supported programmes to foster reforestation; however, no stimulus programmes were implemented in the 1990s when roundwood demand increased and production stagnated. Today, the government recognizes the need to stimulate reforestation. The PIFFR, the most important of those earlier programmes, is evaluated using a traditional cost–benefit approach. The evaluation shows that a reinstatement of this programme would now be inappropriate. The conclusion suggests a direction for new federal policies that seek to foster the enlargement of reforestation in segments where the price mechanism has not worked well.     

Measurement of an individual entrepreneur��s social capital: a multidimensional model

The aim of this paper is twofold. First of all, we participate in the open discussion on the nature of social capital and we show that the one-dimensional approach is not enough to capture the complex nature of social capital. Second, we present, implement and validate a specific three-dimensional measurement tool that can be used to analyze the role of social capital in further entrepreneurship research. The measurement tool is implemented through a Structural Equation Model, which is estimated and validated from a database including information from 282 Argentinean entrepreneurs who answered a questionnaire specifically designed for this research. Our measurement model considers the dimensions proposed by Koka and Prescott (Strategic Management Journal, 23:795–816, 2002), i.e. relational, resources and structural.     

The speed of adjustment in working capital requirement

This paper analyzes the determinants of working capital requirement (WCR) and examines the speed with which firms adjust toward their target WCR. The findings indicate that firms adjust relatively quickly, which supports the hypothesis that current balance sheet items are easier to manipulate and could be changed quite easily, even in the short run. Moreover, we find that the speed of adjustment is not equal across all firms and varies according to their external finance constraints and their bargaining power. Firms with better access to external capital markets and greater bargaining power adjust faster due to their lower costs of adjustment.     

DOES CONTRACEPTION BENEFIT WOMEN? STRUCTURE,AGENCY, AND WELL-BEING IN RURAL MEXICO

The authors of this paper examine Amartya Sen's contributions to the concept of human well-being from a gender perspective and argue that this concept is particularly useful for explaining women's decisions on contraceptive use. The study draws on data collected in six rural communities of Chiapas, Mexico. It emphasizes the ways in which public discourse articulates the apparent benefits of having small families; the context of the household and community in which rural women make reproductive decisions; and the impact of family planning programs on women's sense of subjective well-being. In particular, it questions the assumption that reduced fertility through contraception necessarily enhances women's well-being and points to the importance that women attach to being a party to reproductive decisions. The authors also explore the links between women's assessment of these decisions and of paid work, and their actual education levels and real possibilities of employment.     

Spatio-temporal determinants of the structural and productive transformation of regions in Central and East European countries

This paper investigates the determinants of the structural (between-sectoral) and productive (within-sectoral) transformation of 56 NUTS2 regions in Central and East European (CEE) countries over the 2008–2014 period. Over the analysed period, a transformation of the analysed regions has taken place towards the tertiary sector and high value-added activities. The results from a spatial panel Durbin analysis reveal the existence of product-space linkages and point to a productive transformation towards high technology-intensive activities as an important driver of industrial development. Equal access to digital infrastructure in urban and rural areas and transfer of skills, knowledge and resources through the inflow of foreign investment and imports of production inputs increase the contribution of manufacturing to regional employment. The effect of profit tax reductions on the share of manufacturing employment is about five times larger than the effect of government subsidies to production.     

COOPERATIVE ESSENCE AND ENTREPRENEURIAL QUALITY: A COMPARATIVE CONTEXTUAL ANALYSIS

This article links two different fields of research, entrepreneurship and cooperatives, and studies whether, depending on the context, differences in terms of the fulfilment of the cooperative philosophy (cooperative essence) and entrepreneurial quality exist. To this aim, a statistical analysis is carried out using data from two Spanish regions: Andalusia and the Basque Country. The results enable us to conclude, firstly, that cooperative essence differs in relation to regional context, but not in relation to entrepreneurial quality. Secondly, cooperative essence and entrepreneurial quality are positively related, suggesting that cooperative essence may be part of the entrepreneurial quality of these kinds of firms.     

Firm Recruitment Behaviour: Sequential or Non‐sequential Search?

In the extensive job search literature, studies assume either sequential or non‐sequential search. This article introduces a novel method to test the hypothesis that firms search sequentially based on the relationship between the number of rejected job applicants and the number of filled vacancies. We distinguish between ten different search methods. For most search methods, including methods that rely on social networks and temporary help agencies, we find that sequential search cannot be rejected. However, when firms use advertising or public/private employment agencies, sequential search is rejected. Hence, we find that both forms of search are relevant for our understanding of the labour market. Further, the form of search is closely related to the search method used.