Teoria dell'utilita'«SSB» e scelta tra distribuzioni di probabilita'

Summary In this paper we apply the SSB theory to the problem of choice among probability distributions. We propose a criterion of choice based on the SSB model and establish a necessary and sufficient condition for it.Finally, a comparison with the usual first order stochastic dominance rule is made.

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Lavoro eseguito nell'ambito del Contributo C.N.R. n. 85.001164.10     

≪Global dynamics and controls in an irregular economy model≫

The macroeconomic model of an irregular economy proposed by B. Contini, F. Cugno and M. Galeotti (1984) is extended by increasing the number of state variables and thus the dimension of the phase space for the relative dynamical system.By showing, through standard Liapunov methods, the non existence of closed non trivial orbits, the global attractivity of the equilibrium set is proved, under suitable boundary conditions.Control policies leading the economy to a desired equilibrium state are seen to be feasible, and central instruments which appear to be effective in this respect are briefly discussed.

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Riassunto Il lavoro estende un modello macroeconomico dell'economia irregolare che è stato proposto da B. Contini, F. Cugno e M. Galeotti nel 1984.Come nello schema originario la dimensione di ciascun settore economico (quello regolare e quello irregolare) dipende dall'andamento dei costi ad esso relativi, mentre il tasso di inflazione è legato ai prezzi ed alle quote dei due diversi settori.Noi non trattiamo, tuttavia, il differenziale tra i tassi di crescita della produttività,k, come una grandezza costante, e scriviamo, invece, una nuova equazione differenziale che ne descrive la dinamica.In questo modo si ottiene uno spazio delle fasi di dimensione tre che è stratificato da varietà invarianti di dimensione due. Ciascuna di queste varietà contiene esattamente un punto di equilibrio, che si prova essere un attrattore globale, sotto opportune condizioni al bordo.Dimostriamo, infine, che nell'ambito del nostro modello è formalemente possibile controllare il settore irregolare; questo ci porta al problema economico di quali politiche centrali siano atte a far conseguire un obbiettivo fissato relativamente alla dimensione della attività regolari ed irregolari in cui si articola il sistema.

     

Sulla dinamica dei processi di scambio monetari

In questa nota si propone una estensione del modello dinamico di economia monetaria di puro scambio sviluppato da D. Friedman in un lavoro recente [5]. Lo schema analitico mantiene il carattere non deterministico e non tâtonnement introdotto da S. Smale nello studio di processi transattivi [9]. Ammettendo che la merce usata nel sistema come moneta sia richiesta dagli agenti non solo sulla base delle sue caratteristiche fisiche, ma anche a partire dal ruolo istituzionale assolto, si prova che il processo economico converge ad una varietà di configurazioni finali che è strettamente più ampia dell'insieme degli equilibri walrasiani.     

Demand,innovation, and the dynamics of market structure: The role of experimental users and diverse preferences

The history of a number of industries is marked by a succession of eras, associated with different dominant technologies. Within any era, industry concentration tends to grow. Particular eras are broken by the introduction of a new technology which, while initially inferior to the established one in the prominent uses, has the potential to become competitive. In many case new entrants survive and grow, and the large established firms do not make the transition. In other cases, the established firms are able to switch over effectively, and compete in the new era. This paper explores a model which generates this pattern and has focused on the characteristics of the demand. We argue that the ability of the new firms exploring the new technology to survive long enough to get that technology effectively launched depends on the existence of fringe markets which the old technology does not serve well, or experimental users, or both. Established firms initially have little incentive to adopt the new technology, which initially is inferior to the technology they have mastered. New firms generally cannot survive in head-to-head conflict with established firms on the market well served by the latter. The new firms need to find a market that keeps them alive long enough so that they can develop the new technology to a point where it is competitive on the main market. Niche markets, or experimental users, can provide that space.

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Franco MalerbaEmail:

     

GSS for Multi-Organizational Collaboration: Reflections on Process and Content

Multi-organizational collaboration has become the norm for modern organizations as they seek to survive and prosper in increasingly turbulent times. These collaborations can take many forms, but face problems due to different management styles, different cultures, and different operating modes of the participant organizations. These differences usually cause difficulties for the multi-organizational teams that are set up to make the collaboration operational. Group Support Systems (GSSs) is one possible way of supporting these multi-organization collaboration teams (MCTs). This paper builds and describes a conceptual framework that highlights the critical characteristics of these teams and how GSS might support their activities. The framework is based on a detailed analysis of three case studies using three different GSSs.     

Examining Group Facilitation In Situ: The Use of Formulations in Facilitation Practice

In this paper we examine how the talk of the facilitator shapes group workshop interactions by using the conversational object ‘formulation’. The data consist of video recordings of a corpus of four facilitated workshops held with management and development teams. By adopting an exploratory video-based investigation using conversational analysis to examine our data, we highlight the significance of three distinct set of formulations used by facilitators in workshops. Specifically, our findings show how formulations that encourage reflection or facilitate action, together with those collaboratively produced, enable sense making and the achievement of a temporal conversational order among participants. This research contributes to the study of facilitated workshops by offering a more nuanced approach to the understanding of the craftsmanship of doing facilitation, its effects on the workshop process and, ultimately, workshop outcomes.     

Security Markets versus Bank Finance: Legal Enforcement and Investors' Protection

When minority investors’ rights are poorly protected, the ability of firms to raise equity capital is impaired, leading to less finance for new ventures. Fewer firms will be financed with outside equity, resulting in a low market capitalization relative to GNP. External funding requires easily enforceable claims such as debt or requires long‐term relationships with institutions. Provision of funding shifts from risk capital to debt, and to a predominance of intermediated over market finance. We report supporting evidence for a few countries. To measure investor protection, we use a price measure, the premium on voting stock, related to the control premium. In countries where the voting premium is large, corporate financing is dominated by bank lending and equity markets are much smaller.     

Tourism Destination Image and Motivations: The Spanish Perspective of Mexico

ABSTRACT

The notion that a tourist has about a certain destination is conditioned by his vision of it, and this behavior is the result of his perceptions (Baloglu &; McCleary, 1999 Baloglu, S. and McCleary, K. W. 1999. A model of destination image formation. Annals of Tourism Research, 26(4): 868–897. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Goodrich, 1978 Goodrich, J. N. 1978. The relationship between preferences for and perceptions of vacation destinations: Application of a choice model. Journal of Travel Research, 17(2): 8–13. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]). The outcome of this information assessment process is currently known as destination image (Milman &; Pizam, 1995 Milman, A. and Pizam, A. 1995. The role of awareness and familiarity with a destination: The central Florida case. Journal of Travel Research, 33(3): 21–27. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]). Based on the model of Baloglu and McCleary (1999 Baloglu, S. and McCleary, K. W. 1999. A model of destination image formation. Annals of Tourism Research, 26(4): 868–897. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) we propose a model which explains the process of destination image formation. For testing this model, we have gathered information from residents in Spain, with Mexico as a destination. For this task, a covariance analysis was estimated by maximum likelihood with EQS.     

Climate change shocks and socially responsible investments

Climate change's impact on investor behavior is a scantly investigated area in finance. This paper examines the performance of socially responsible exchange trade funds (ETFs) concerning conventional ETFs, in response to climate change events. We proxy climate change signals with a list of natural disaster events that NASA scientists relate to climate change. We contribute to existing literature, by using a very extensive information set of ETF strategies, not influenced by rating agencies' subjective evaluation policies, and covering almost 90% of the universe of worldwide sustainability thematic-oriented ETFs. This sample allows us to identify the socially responsible investment behavior in response to unpredictable climate change shocks. Our identification strategy accounts for endogeneity concerns and relies on two-stage least square (2SLS) approach finding that responsible investors react to climate change events by purchasing socially responsible investments. The relationship between climate change signals and return of investment in themes linked to the development of sustainability is positive. Interestingly enough, the sign of this relationship is different, when we disentangle the empirical results according to the asset type, confirming that investors shift their investments from equity funds to bond funds when market sentiment worsens. Our results indicate that policymakers should increase the support of firms adopting environmentally conscious business practices, while managers should boost a sustainable business strategy.     

Flows into tourist areas: an econometric approach

The globalisation of the tourism industry has led to a horizontal and vertical penetration of firms, leading to strong competition in all tourist centres. In light of these circumstances there is a need to develop strategies that encourage entrepreneurial actions and help firms to design the most competitive tourism offer possible. For the development of these strategies, the current work attempts to identify the degree of interrelation existing between the different tourist markets. Specifically, the study is based on an analysis of the evolution in the relations between the main tourist‐receiving centres in Spain. It identifies the short‐ and long‐term dynamic relations existing between them, and determines their degree of interdependence and any potential leadership relations between them. The methodology used is the one underlying Cointegration theory and vector autoregressive theory, together with forecast error variance decomposition and the impulse‐response function. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.