The role of financial development on the underground economy in regards to Europe’s 2020 strategy

This paper attempts to investigate the relationships between development in the financial sector and the size of the underground economy in European Union countries. Our aim is to investigate the role of financial sector development when it comes to the size of the underground economy, as well as how financial development aids in meeting the growth objectives of the ‘Europe 2020 Strategy’. Panel data analysis will be conducted for the period 2004–2017 in order to examine the effects of financial sector development on the size of the underground economy. The main findings of this paper suggest that financial development has a significantly reducing effect on the size of the underground economy. In conclusion, development within the financial sector significantly lessens underground economic activity in the European Union. With further development of the financial sector, underground economies will not be an obstacle for the fulfilment of the cohesion and growth objectives of the Europe 2020 strategy.     

我国行政审批制度改革的力场分析与突破策略

行政审批是政府对市场和社会资源进行配置的前置性管理手段。为了与社会主义市场经济体制相匹配,我国在行政审批改革中设立了减少审批项目、规范审批行为、实现制度创新和推进依法行政的改革目标。但根据力场分析理论,在行政审批制度改革过程中由于对相关主体利益的重新分配造成改革力场中存在驱动力和制约力。通过研究改革中决策者、执行者、受规制者和消费者的利益取向,可以获知驱动力和制约力的强弱,并推算出制度变迁的方向。为了使行政审批制度改革能够顺利推行,还需进一步分析制约力存在的方式并寻求相应的突破策略。     

The influences of governance quality on equity-based entry mode choice: The strengthening role of family control

This study examines the possible heterogeneity of governance quality's influence on entry mode decisions made by firms with different degrees of family control. When entering a country with low governance quality, ceding control of the subsidiary in exchange for local partners’ help enables foreign firms to tackle institutional flaws. However, such a motivation diminishes as governance quality increases. This study thus hypothesizes that firms tend to choose WOSs over JVs when entering a host country with high governance quality.Firms controlled by family members, due to concerns regarding the preservation of socioemotional wealth, prefer to maintain high ownership levels of their affiliates. This study thus hypothesizes that firms with a higher degree of family control are even more likely to choose WOSs when entering a country with high governance quality. The results support the hypotheses.     

With or without you: The positive and negative influence of retail companions

This study evaluates whether the influence of shopping with a companion is consistent across retail contexts with service components or between genders. An experiment asked participants to recall and evaluate their most recent solo or joint restaurant or shopping experience. Results demonstrate that for restaurant experiences, there is a positive influence of others on individual time spent, money spent, satisfaction, and attitude toward the act. For shopping experiences, however, these effects were either strengthened or reversed dependent upon gender. For (males) females, joint shopping experiences are linked to (increased) decreased amount paid, attitude toward the act, and re-patronage intentions.     

Impact of growth strategy on mode of governance in alliances

The aim of this study is to analyse the way in which growth strategies influence the choice of governance mode in corporate alliances. Specifically, the study looks at how expansion, diversification and internationalisation strategies determine choice of joint ventures rather than other types of alliances. To that end, we analysed a sample of 918 alliances among companies from the European Union-15 between 2000 and 2004. The results suggest that companies prefer to set up joint ventures when their strategies are based on expansion and related diversification, whereas they prefer other types of alliances when they follow a strategy of unrelated diversification. Furthermore, in international alliances, it appears that the impact of growth strategy on alliance governance mode is similar for the entire range of companies employed in the sample.     

Microcredit games with noisy signals: Contagion and free-riding

The advent of microcredit financing has remarkably improved access to credit for the poor in many developing countries. Although several microcredit programs have adopted the joint liability scheme, economic theory suggests that joint liability could increase strategic default through contagion and free-riding. This paper aims at studying the extent of free-riding and contagion in joint liability lending. By using data from experimental repayment games conducted in Vietnam, with noisy signals that resemble actual microcredit programs, we found that subjects were motivated to free-ride under the joint liability scheme. While most empirical research in this area has focused on the problem of contagion, our findings point to the significance of investigating free-riding behavior under joint liability schemes. Analyses reveal that the free-riding tendency may be led by the irresponsiveness of repayment and shouldering behavior to the partner’s seemingly strategic default in the previous round.     

Demand for second-stage land certification in Ethiopia: Evidence from household panel data

Ethiopia has implemented one of the largest, fastest and least expensive land registration and certification reforms in Africa. While there is evidence that this ‘first-stage’ land registration has had positive effects in terms of increased investment, land productivity and land rental market activities, the government is now piloting another round of land registration and certification that involves technically advanced land survey methods and computer registration. This ‘second-stage’ land registration differs from the registration system employed in the first round that used field markings in conjunction with neighbors’ recollections to identify plot borders. We use panel data from 600 households in southern Ethiopia to investigate household perceptions of and demand for such a new registration and certification. Our study revealed relatively low demand and willingness-to-pay (WTP) for second-stage certificates. The WTP also decreases significantly from 2007 to 2012. Our findings indicate that farmers do not believe that the second-stage certificate enhances tenure security relative to the first-stage certificate except in instances in which first-stage certification was poorly implemented. The demand for second-stage certificates appears to come primarily from governmental authorities, as it can provide a better basis for land administration and produce accessible public documentation of land-related affairs.     

Cooperative strategies in international business and management: Reflections on the past 50 years and future directions

Over the past 50 years, cooperative forms of governance such as equity joint ventures and other strategic alliances have received tremendous attention in international business and management research. This article traces the history of this research over these past five decades with particular emphasis on the critical role that (Columbia) Journal of World Business has played in disseminating scholarly and managerial expertise on the successful management of cross-border, inter-firm collaboration. We highlight the evolution of interest in different contexts, phenomena, theories, and methodologies, along with the factors that have driven interest in these topics. Several suggestions for future research are also provided.     

中外合作办学中学生跨文化交际能力的培养

经济全球化趋势下,学校间的国际合作越来越普及。本文以无锡工艺职业技术学院中加合作项目为例,针对教学活动中外教与本院师生在互动过程中所产生的矛盾和问题进行探讨分析,旨在说明跨文化交际在外教教学中的重要性,并就如何正确面对文化冲突以及提高跨文化交际能力提出思路和方向。     

欧洲2020战略旗舰计划：创新型联盟（上）

“创新型联盟”是欧洲2020战略七大旗舰计划之首,由欧委会2010年10月公布,欧盟理事会2011年2月批准,是欧盟未来10年的科研与创新战略文件。该战略以10年内把欧盟建设成为“创新型联盟”为目标,要求欧盟把创新作为首要和压倒一切的政策目标,提出了加强研发投入、提高资金使用效益、实现教育现代化、4年内建成统一的欧洲研究区、简化科研计划管理、促进成果产业化、实现欧盟单一专利、启动“欧洲创新伙伴”行动、推动社会创新、加强国际合作等十项工作重点,并提出部署相关配套措施,开展欧盟层面的科研与创新绩效监测工作,确保“创新型联盟”各项目标的实现。本文是“创新型联盟”旗舰计划的译稿,供国内相关部门参考。