Networks and geography in the economics of knowledge flows. A comment

This paper proposes a comment on the article by M. A. Maggioni and T. E. Uberti within this issue. It focuses on one main question: can we say that the literature on Networks and Geography has reached the initial objective assigned to it: “Demonstrate that networks and geography are the necessary ingredients for every study of the innovative process at any level of analysis: from individual agents, to institution/organization, from the regional to the national and international level”? The answer to this question is presented following three main steps: (1) How do geographical positioning and network positioning interact to impact the innovative performance? (2) What is the influence of the geography on the networking strategies (cooperation choices)? (3) What is the influence of the network upon geographical strategies (location choices)? The conclusion is that the field described by Mario Maggioni and Erika Uberti is, as their paper shows, fast expanding and already has a history and appreciable results. It still clearly appears however that much still remains to be done if the potentiality offered by the cross-use of spatial and network analysis when dealing with knowledge diffusion and its impact on innovation is to be fully exploited. No doubt that the important advances accomplished during these last years in the collecting of data related to localized relationships will provide the necessary incentives to develop the still greatly lacking micro-econometric analyses.     

Formal Participation in the IASB's Due Process of Standard Setting: A Multi-issue/Multi-period Analysis

This paper sets out to enquire about the nature of constituents' participation in the IASB's due process in terms of representation (constituents' diversity and characteristics) and drivers to participate. We choose to adopt a multi-issue/multi-period approach to investigate constituents' formal participation. An analysis of comment letters sent directly to the IASB over the period 2002–2006, reveals that preparers sent most letters followed by the accounting profession and standard setters. With regard to timing, we find that preparers concentrate their participation efforts at a later stage in the process compared to the other constituents, who react earlier. Formal indirect participation in the IASB's due process by submitting comment letters to EFRAG is infrequently used by European constituents. In those cases where constituents exert influence to both IASB and EFRAG, they often use exactly the same comment letter. Concentrating on the drivers to participate, the data reveal that preparers, accountants and standard setters react significantly more when proposals have a major impact on the accounting numbers of a company. Users, stock exchanges and their supervisory authorities write significantly more comment letters when disclosure issues are at stake. Finally, participating preparers in the IASB's due process are larger and more profitable than non-participating preparers.     

Risk assessment of surplus appropriation schemes in participating life insurance

The aim of this paper is to analyze a life insurance company’s risk exposure with respect to different surplus appropriation schemes in participating life insurance. In this regard, three surplus appropriation schemes are considered, including the bonus system, the interest-bearing accumulation, and the system of shortening the contract term. We further examine an insurance company that offers all three schemes, i.e. each system is used for one third of the policyholders. Focus is laid on the effect of different asset portfolios and shocks to mortality on the insurer’s risk situation with respect to the policyholder’s age level at contract inception.     

Optimal rate classification for enhanced annuities

For a given premium, enhanced annuities pay higher pensions to policyholders with impaired health. Even though risk classification is a common concept in the insurance sector and should allow insurers to increase their profitability, enhanced annuities are rarely offered outside of the United Kingdom. The paper provides a general method of determining an optimal risk classification system for enhanced annuities that will maximize an insurance company’s profits. The cost of risk classification, as well as that incurred when insureds are assigned to inappropriate risk classes (a chief component of underwriting risk), are explicitly considered.     

The downside of formula apportionment: evidence on factor demand distortions

This paper investigates the impact of corporate taxes on the input factor choice of multi-jurisdictional entities (MJEs) under a formula apportionment (FA) regime. Our testing ground is the German local business tax that applies FA regulations with income apportionment according to the relative payroll share. Using unique data on the population of German firms, we find that MJEs distort their employment and payroll costs in favor of low-tax locations. On average, a 1-percentage-point-increase in the tax rate differential between an affiliate and foreign group members is found to lower the affiliate’s payroll to capital ratio by 1.9%.     

Threat appeals in social marketing: death as a ‘special case’

Death is commonly used as a threat, both by fear-appeal researchers and by social marketing and health promotion practitioners (eg ‘Quit smoking or you'll die’). Fear (or threat) appeal researchers have frequently used death to arouse fear, and particularly in the ‘high’ fear condition. It is argued here that death is a ‘special case’ threat, and that the introduction of death in high fear conditions is a confounder in that death is a qualitatively different negative outcome from the non-death negative outcomes used in low fear conditions. The use of death in threat appeals requires attention in its own right for a number of reasons. First, death will occur eventually regardless of the message recipient's behaviour. Hence, messages that threaten death may arouse defensive responses in the target audience (eg ‘you've got to go sometime’), and unresolvable anxiety in the general population. Secondly, death can vary on a number of attributes (eg age at death, sudden versus prolonged, etc), and, while most threat appeals imply premature death, few studies have made this point explicit. Thirdly, the fear of death is multidimensional and some dimensions are more readily acknowledged as fearful than others. For example, a threat specifying the effect of one's death on loved ones might have more impact than a threat of death to oneself. Fourthly, people may fear death differently, or, for religious or other reasons, may not fear death at all. Furthermore, there may be age and gender differences in response to threat appeals using death. It is concluded that systematic research is required to determine whether and for whom death threats are effective. Copyright © 1999 Henry Stewart Publications     

Bringing History In: Policy accumulation and general policy alienation

Research mainly looked at problems public professionals have with specific policy programmes. However, policies are not developed in a vacuum. Public professionals are often confronted with (a series of) policy changes, intended to refine, replace or complement other policies. This policy accumulation results in professionals having a certain predisposition towards policies in general. To conceptualize this predisposition, we introduce the term general policy alienation. We investigate whether the earlier developed policy alienation scale can be adapted to measure general policy alienation. Our analyses show that the scale performs satisfactorily. Theoretical relevance, as well as directions for practical applications are discussed.     

Corporate taxation and the quality of research and development

This paper examines the impact of tax incentives on corporate research and development (R&D) activity. R&D tax incentives are commonly provided as special tax allowances or tax credits. In recent years, several countries also reduced their income tax rates on R&D output with the purpose to foster R&D activity. Previous papers have shown that all three tax instruments are effective in raising the quantity of R&D related activity. We in turn assess the impact of corporate tax incentives on the quality of R&D projects, i.e., their innovativeness and earnings potential. Using rich data on corporate patent applications to the European patent office, we find that a low tax rate on patent income raises the average profitability and innovation level of the projects undertaken in a country. The effect is statistically significant and economically relevant and prevails in a number of sensitivity checks. Generous R&D tax credits and tax allowances are in contrast found to exert a negative impact on project quality.