Cyclical fiscal policy,credit constraints,and industry growth

What are the effects of cyclical fiscal policy on industry growth? We show that industries with a relatively heavier reliance on external finance or lower asset tangibility tend to grow faster (in terms of both value added and of labor productivity growth) in countries that implement fiscal policies that are more countercyclical. We reach this conclusion using Rajan and Zingales׳s (1998) difference-in-difference methodology on a panel data sample of manufacturing industries across 15 OECD countries over the period 1980–2005.     

高技术制造业与高技术服务业协同集聚的经济增长效应

基于中国省级面板数据，利用空间面板模型和面板门槛模型，探究高技术制造业与高技术服务业协同集聚的经济增长效应。结果表明：区域间产业集聚特征差异显著，高协同集聚主要集中在东部沿海地区，低协同集聚主要集中在西部地区。经济增长水平、高技术制造业与高技术服务业协同集聚水平均具有显著空间正相关性，二者协同集聚有助于促进区域经济增长。协同集聚的经济增长效应存在双重门槛，当高技术制造业集聚度和高技术服务业集聚度均介于第一、二门槛之间时，产业协同集聚的经济增长效应最强。仅少部分省域两产业集聚度介于第一二门槛之间，能够有效发挥协同集聚对经济增长的推动作用。     

The effects of economic growth on income inequality in the US

The paper analyzes the relation between growth and income inequality in the US during the post-war years (1953–2008). We show that the income of the top income groups is more sensitive to growth, defined broadly as current growth and changes in expectations of future growth, compared to the income of the lower income groups. We provide evidence that this increased sensitivity arises for two reasons: (a) the top income groups receive a large portion of their income from wealth, which is more sensitive to growth than labor income and (b) the top income groups receive a large portion of their labor income in the form of pay-for-performance (equity compensation), which is also sensitive to growth. Consequently, we conclude that growth and income inequality are positively associated.     

高新区设立与区域绿色经济增长——基于PSM-DID模型

运用非径向方向距离函数测算了2003-2016年中国277个地级市绿色全要素增长率，在此基础上，采用倾向匹配的双重差分法实证评估国家高新区对绿色经济增长的影响，并分析其影响机制和传导途径。结果表明：国家高新区显著推动了绿色经济增长，主要通过推动“技术领导者转移效应”实现;国家高新区对绿色经济增长存在明显异质性，呈现出“边际效应递减”。中部地区、低等级城市和“成长期”国家高新区对绿色经济增长促进作用较大，高新区对协调区域绿色发展具有重要意义。传导途径表明，国家高新区以创新驱动人力资本效应、财政配置效应和对外开放效应促进绿色经济增长。     

The influence of trust perceptions on German tourists’ intention to book a sustainable hotel: a new approach to analysing marketing information

ABSTRACT

This study examined the relationship between German tourists’ trust perceptions and their intention to book a sustainable hotel, pioneering a new quantitative approach to sustainable tourism marketing. Data came from 300 respondents who participated in an online survey. Respondents were given a digital brochure to read containing information about a “fictitious” three-star beach hotel in Portugal, before completing a questionnaire that measured inter alia their intention to book this sustainable hotel. Both individual “general trust” (perception of others’ trustworthiness) and “specific trust” towards the fictitious hotel in the brochure were measured. The survey also evaluated respondents’ perceptions about the usefulness of the information in the brochure. Multiple regression analysis of the data indicated that general trust, trusting the hotel and perceived usefulness of the brochure were positively and significantly related to booking intentions. An interaction between general trust and perceived usefulness was also observed. This means that the higher the perception rate about the brochure's usefulness, the higher general trust was for booking intentions and vice versa. The practical implications of the results suggest that tourists could be motivated to book a hotel if its sustainability attributes and amenities were communicated in a trust inspiring way in marketing material.     

Privatisation,empowerment and accountability: What are the policy implications for establishing effective farmer organisations?

Weak institutional development and information flows have constrained the extent to which the smallholder farming sector in developing countries can significantly drive growth and poverty reduction. This is despite widely implemented economic liberalisation policies focussing on market efficiency. Farmer organisations are viewed as a potential means of addressing public and private institutional failure but this has frequently been limited by inequalities in access to power and information. This article investigates two issues that have received little research attention to date: what role downward accountability plays in enabling farmer organisations to improve services and markets, and what influences the extent to which downward accountability is achieved. Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA), one of the largest farmer organisations in the world (>400,000 farmers) is examined alongside wider literature. Mixed methods were used including key informant interviews, and eight months of participant observation followed by a questionnaire survey. The article concludes that without effective downward accountability farmer organisations can become characterised by institutions and mechanisms that favour elites, restricted weak coordination and regulation, and manipulated information flows. This in turn reduces individuals’ incentives to invest. If farmer organisations are to realise their potential as a means of enabling the smallholder sector to significantly contribute to economic growth and poverty reduction, policy and research needs to address key factors which influence accountability including: how to ensure initial processes in formation of farmer organisations establish appropriate structures and rules; strong state regulation to enhance corporate accountability; transparent information provision regarding actions of farmer organisation leaders; and the role independent non-government organisations can play. Consequently attention needs to focus on developing means of legitimising rights, building poor people's capacity to challenge exclusion, and moving from rights to obligations regarding information provision.     

Urban-rural imbalance and Tourism-Led Growth in China

This study investigates the structural effect of tourism on alleviating the urban-rural dichotomy and the moderating effect of a dual urban-rural economic structure on Tourism-Led Growth (TLG). A theoretical framework followed by an empirical analysis based on relevant data from 31 Chinese provinces for the years 1998–2013 is presented. The main conclusions of the econometric analysis are that tourism growth can help reduce the urban-rural gap in China, but that the larger the gap between urban and rural economies, the less substantial is the influence of tourism on economic growth in China. Tourism may play an important role in Central-Western and Inland China, but their relatively greater urban-rural economic gap may threaten the positive effect of tourism.     

So,you want to be an entrepreneur? Lessons from the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities

Based on helping dozens of military veterans refine their ideas for starting a business, we identify and discuss a series of potential pitfalls that aspiring entrepreneurs—veterans and civilians alike—must avoid in order to be successful. Potential entrepreneurs must not confuse the pursuit of hobbies and self-employment with the act of creating a business. People who wish to build a business around public speaking or consulting need to firmly establish why customers should be willing to pay for their advice. Individuals that seek to develop a new non-profit organization must have a viable value proposition even though they are not pursing a profit motive. Overall, the entrepreneurial ventures that are most likely to succeed are those that (1) are based on a sustainable business model, (2) leverage the entrepreneur's unique experiences and attributes, and (3) are built around a process or system that enables the venture to prosper even if the entrepreneur leaves the venture.     

Economic consequences of war: Evidence from Sri Lanka

We propose a theoretical and econometric framework to evaluate the impact of war on economic growth of a developing country with an open economy. The theoretical framework encompasses both the neoclassical and endogenous growth models. We test this framework using Sri Lankan data. The war had significant and negative effects both in the short and long-run (annual average of 9% of GDP). High returns from investment in physical capital did not translate in sizable positive externalities. Only short-run significant effects of openness on growth are found. Inconsistent politically driven policies towards openness are the likely reason.