Economic Development and Business Ownership: An Analysis Using Data of 23 OECD Countries in the Period 1976–1996

Small Business Economics - In the present paper we address the relationship between business ownership and economic development. We will focus upon three issues. First, how is the equilibrium rate...     

A Tale of two narratives: assessing the sociological hypothesis of the appeal of the US dollar in Argentina

Quality & Quantity - A remarkable feature of the Argentinean economy is the widespread use of the US dollar as a measure of value, storage of value and in several high-end markets, as a medium...     

THE URBAN LEFT IN POWER: Comparing the Profiles of ‘Municipal Socialists’ and the ‘New Urban Left’ in Swiss Cities

Today, many cities in post-industrial societies are strongholds of left and progressive political forces. Almost 100 years ago, left parties had instituted municipal socialism in several European cities. In this article, we compare these two periods of left urban rule by focusing on the long-term changes over the last 120 years in the socio-demographic profile of urban left elites in four major Swiss cities. Our analysis of left elected representatives at six key dates highlights the main differences between the municipal socialists of the interwar period and the new urban left that rules contemporary cities. The former are members of the working class, blue-collar workers without university education, while the latter are members of the upper-middle class, highly educated sociocultural professionals. The results of our analysis contribute to a better understanding of the sociological composition of urban left-progressive political forces, an aspect that is somewhat neglected in recent research on the urban left. We discuss the potential political implications and further research avenues for contemporary debates in urban studies, in terms of urban policy priorities and political mobilization.     

Empirical analysis of the illiquidity premia of German real estate securities

Financial Markets and Portfolio Management - In this study, we analyze illiquidity premia and their effect on the expected returns of German real estate securities. To this end, we use a unique...     

Firm creation,entry costs,and house-price volatility∗

Amid growing work on the link between firm creation and cyclical housing-market dynamics, we document a significant, positive, and robust cross-country relationship between the level of new firm creation and the cyclical volatility of house prices. Using a business-cycle model with endogenous firm entry, housing, and housing-finance constraints and shocks, we show that, via general equilibrium effects, greater average firm entry can be a powerful amplification mechanism of housing-finance shocks. These shocks and constraints play a key role in quantitatively rationalizing the link between firm creation and house-price volatility across countries.     

Storing power: market structure matters

We assess how firms' incentives to operate and invest in energy storage depend on the market structure. For this purpose, we characterize equilibrium market outcomes allowing for market power in storage and/or production, as well as for vertical integration between storage and production. Market power reduces overall efficiency through two channels: It induces an inefficient use of the storage facilities, and it distorts investment incentives. The worst outcome for consumers and total welfare occurs under vertical integration. The results are key to understanding how to regulate energy storage, an issue which is critical for the deployment of renewable energies.     

Access to paved roads,gender, and youth unemployment in rural areas: Evidence from sub-Saharan Africa

The poor development of road infrastructure is one of the main obstacles to economic activity and therefore to employment in rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Using cross-sectional data from 31 SSA countries, this study examines, from a gender perspective, the effect of access to paved roads on youth unemployment in rural areas in the region. The seemingly unrelated bivariate probit framework has been adopted in analysing the data. This approach is used for addressing the possible endogeneity bias that occurs when the dependent variable and regressor are both endogenous and binary. The major finding of this study reveals that access to paved roads in rural areas reduces the probability that young people will face unemployment. The aforementioned is more pronounced for young women than for young men. Moreover, the greater the proximity to the road increases, the greater its reducing effect on the probability of young people being unemployed. It is therefore important that the development of road infrastructure in rural areas be at the centre of public policies to address youth unemployment in SSA countries. This will significantly increase women's empowerment, through their participation in the labour market, and the full economic participation of young people.     

Anti-money laundering and financial fraud detection: A systematic literature review

Money laundering has affected the global economy for many years, and there are several methods of solving it presented in the literature. However, when tackling money laundering and financial fraud together there are few methods for solving them. Thus, this study aims to identify methods for anti-money laundering (AML) and financial fraud detection (FFD). A systematic literature review was performed for analysis and research of the methods used, utilizing the SCOPUS and Web of Science databases. Of the 48 articles that aligned with the research theme, 20 used quantitative methods for AML and FFD solution, 13 were literature reviews, 7 used qualitative methods, and 8 used mixed methods. This study contributes by presenting a systematic literature review that fills two research gaps: lack of studies on AML and FFD, and the methods used to solve them. This will assist researchers in identifying gaps and related research.     

Imperfect public choice

We model imperfect governments with public choices that are sequential, myopic and not free of error. We first use this framework to explore governmental incremental budgeting. We argue that a model of bounded rationality is required to capture the empirical reality of incremental budgeting. We then provide a model that integrates bounds errors and systematic errors. We argue that the empirical evidence is that bounds errors and systematic errors are inextricably intertwined—some level of bounded rationality is required for systematic errors to emerge. We use this to explore political information lobbying. A testable hypothesis is that lobbyists will focus efforts on policy-makers of low ability. We show that choosing leaders with high ability, that is Madison's wisdom to discern, is important, especially when policy decisions concern dangerous products (rifles) or dangerous environments (pandemics).     

Valuing less and guarding more: Consumption stewardship in restricted contexts

This paper advances the conceptual understanding of consumption stewardship, defined here as a moral commitment to safeguard, nurture and use consumption resources to create consumer value. We delineate consumption stewardship from related consumption variables and articulate its underlying assumptions, conceptual distinctiveness and application areas. To create new theoretical and practical insights, the paper explores how consumption stewardship unfolds when a person enters into and lives in restricted consumption. A 2-year qualitative study, which included observation, casual conversations, and interviews, was implemented. Findings illustrate the nature and trajectory of consumption stewardship across latent, vigilant, submissive and shared modes. Our conceptual development of consumption stewardship and empirical evidence of the homeless experiences makes two main contributions. First, we show how the demands of stewarding material objects operate as a powerful determinant for individual (re)valuation of various possessions. Second, we identify how consumption stewardship drives different ways of consumption for value seeking. Findings offer insights for debates in the marketplace about protecting one's possessions, policies around consumption adequacy and social services' role for addressing space-related needs of vulnerable consumers.