Organizational Isomorphism and Corruption: An Empirical Research in Russia

Based on neo-institutional literature, this article aims to show the influence of organizational isomorphism on corruption. The focus is institutional explanations of corruption. Our model is based on empirical research in Russia at the end of the 1990s. A face-to-face questionnaire was conducted with 552 top executives in private firms across various economic sectors. We used the structural equation model Partial Least Squares, PLS, technique to test our hypotheses. The developed model provides an integrated approach to the study of the relationship between corruption and organizational isomorphism. Our empirical data from firms in Russia allowed us to test various theoretical hypotheses concerning the influence of organizational isomorphism on corruption. Our emphasis is on the influence of competitive and institutional isomorphism on corruption.     

An analysis of housing expenditure using semiparametric cross-section models

In this paper we model expenditure on housing for owners and renters by means of endogenous switching regression models using cross-section data. We explain the share of housing in total expenditure from family characteristics and total expenditure, where the latter is allowed to be endogenous. We apply various existing parametric and semiparametric techniques for cross-section data. Exogeneity of total expenditure is rejected for the parametric models but not for most semiparametric models. The results are compared on the basis of budget elasticities and graphs of the estimated relationship between the budget share spent on housing and the logarithm of total expenditure. First version received: November 1997 / Final version received: January 2000     

Re‐examining the effects of aging on household recycling behavior: A study in France

While age is the variable most often used to explain household recycling behavior, research findings reveal only limited or contradictory effects. This study demonstrates the utility of several additional variables related to age in regard to explaining the effect of aging on household recycling behavior. These variables are generativity, available time, and perceived skills. By drawing on the theory of planned behavior, this paper offers a model that clarifies how age indirectly influences household recycling behavior. The model is tested on a stratified sample, and the results are analyzed through mediation tests and structural equation modeling. While aging is associated with lower levels of enthusiasm for recycling, more skills and available time allow recycling to be accomplished with increased ease. Finally, the results enable an explanation of the previous contradictory results about age effects and lead to managerial and societal recommendations on how household recycling can be effectively promoted.     

Measuring and improving the performance of customs valuation controls: An illustration with Gabon

Modern customs administrations aim to both facilitate legal trade and combat fraud. To meet this dual objective, many customs administrations in developing countries must give risk management a highly prominent role. In this context of modernisation, this paper first provides stylised facts on the performance of the customs controls carried out at the Gabon border. Then, we compare Gabon′s granular import customs data with international trade statistics. Based on this comparison, we identify undetected fraud and present a methodology to target ex post audits. Finally, we define indicators to monitor the performance of customs valuation controls.     

The antecedents and innovation effects of domestic and offshore R&D outsourcing: The contingent impact of cognitive distance and absorptive capacity

This paper analyzes differences in the antecedents and performance consequences of domestic and offshore R&D outsourcing. Offshore outsourcing is characterized by larger cognitive distance. We find that absorptive capacity from internal R&D allows for more offshore outsourcing and that offshore outsourcing leads to more positive innovation outcomes, especially product innovation.     

Seigniorage and public good in an OLG model with cash-in-advance constraints

This paper is a contribution to the theory of the optimal monetary policy in overlapping generations models with a cash-in-advance constraint applying on old age consumption purchases. We are particularly interested in the study of seigniorage when the latter is used to finance public goods valued by consumers. Assuming that a public good enters the utility function and the existence of cash-in-advance constraints, we find a Laffer curve of seigniorage at steady-state. We also analyze the dynamic optimal monetary policy when the government maximizes an intertemporal social welfare function and can only resort to seigniorage to finance the purchases of the public good. We show that the optimal rate of money growth may be strictly higher than the one which maximizes steady-state seigniorage: the optimal amount of seigniorage may lie on the decreasing part of the Laffer curve of seigniorage. We finally suppose that the government can use lump-sum taxes in addition to seigniorage. Then, the Friedman rule prevails and public expenditures are only financed through lump-sum taxes.     

A SURVEY ON THE FOUR FAMILIES OF PERFORMANCE MEASURES

Performance measurement is one of the most studied subjects in financial literature. Since the introduction of the Sharpe ratio in 1966, a large variety of new measures has appeared constantly in scientific journals as well as in practitioners' publications. The most complete and significant studies of performance measures, so far, have been written by Aftalion and Poncet, Le Sourd, Bacon, and Cogneau and H übner. A review of the most recent literature led us to collect several dozen measures that we classify into four families. We first present the class of relative measures, starting with the Sharpe ratio. Secondly, we analyse absolute measures, beginning with the most famous one ‐ the Jensen alpha. Thirdly, we study general measures based on specific features of the return distribution, where the pioneering contributions are those of Bernardo and Ledoit, and Keating and Shadwick. Finally, the fourth set concerns a few measures that explicitly take into account the investor's utility functions.     

Legacy Writing and the Consumption of Biographic Services

This study focuses on legacy writing and the development of the life‐history business (e.g., family ghostwriters and writing workshops). A theoretical model is proposed to study the underlying mental processes that lead the elderly to consume such services. This model was empirically tested on a sample of 392 individuals aged from 60 to 92 years. Results highlighted the following: the role of generativity and death preparation reminiscence on identity preservation issues in later life, the strong desire to contribute to collective memories (i.e., to reach people outside of the family circle), and the social nature of the consumption of services that could be considered as a means of sharing emotions. The results of this study will lead to a more in‐depth understanding of consumer behavior regarding the transmission and preservation of the self at end of life, and may also help service providers to improve their products and services.     

Political polarization and the French rejection of the European constitution

Political polarization expressed through the spatial model of political competition explains the rejection of the Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe by French voters. The increasing polarization of the distribution of voters during the last 30 years made the outcome of the 29 May 2005 referendum a predictable event.