Relative age effects in political selection

We exploit a regression discontinuity design to provide causal evidence of the relative age effect (RAE) on a long-run adult age outcome: Political selection. We find strong evidence of the RAE in politics in Finland. However, the effect is heterogeneous: We find that male candidates born early in the calendar year have a significantly higher probability of getting elected to the parliament but no similar RAE applies to female candidates nor to municipal elections. Moreover, this effect only takes place in the most competitive parliamentary districts and is present only for some parties. We also find that in all the groups where the RAE does not exist, early-born candidates are under-represented suggesting attrition of talent in the candidate placement. Overall, our results show that seemingly artificial cutoffs imposed by the government have persistent consequences even on the selection to the highest positions of power within a society.     

Political competition,tax salience and accountability. Theory and evidence from Italy

This paper argues that electoral competition may hinder rather than foster political accountability, especially when elected officers can choose among a number of tax instruments. We develop a political agency model showing that politicians in more competitive jurisdictions use less salient tax instruments more intensely. Defining salience as visibility or, analogously, as voters' awareness of the costs associated with specific government revenue sources, we argue that voters are less likely to hold politicians to account for the associated tax burden of a less salient instrument. This in turn implies that strategic politicians will more heavily rely on less salient revenue sources when electoral competition is stronger. Using data on Italian municipal elections and taxes over a 10-year period, we determine the degree of salience of various tax instruments, including property taxes (high salience) and government fees for official documents (low salience). We then show that mayors facing stronger competition for re-election use less salient tax instruments more intensely.     

The Impact of Political Competition on Economic Growth: Evidence from Municipalities in South Africa

This paper examines the impact of political competition on economic growth. In this paper, I show that internal political dynamics, distinct from the type of political system, can having different effects on growth. Using results from the 1994 and 1999 elections in South Africa, I show that municipalities with higher levels of political competition have shown lower levels of economic growth. I use individual level surveys to show that this political competition is associated with political paralysis, dissatisfaction with the current democracy and government and lower optimism about the future.     

Price competition in the spatial real estate market: allies or rivals?

This paper examines whether real estate firms can avoid price competition when properties in the vicinity are priced by allies. An oligopoly model with differentiated products generally suggests that real estate firms engage in price competition with their spatially closest rivals. Yet, they can raise property prices when the market share of their allies increases. To test this prediction, a spatial autoregressive model with spatial autoregressive disturbances, including a share of allies in the vicinity, is estimated using data on the prices of residential condos in central Tokyo, Japan. The model prediction is supported by the empirical results. In the data set, the magnitude of the market share on property prices increases with the expansion of the size of the spatial market.     

A triple‐win scenario for horizontal collaboration in logistics: Determining enabling and key success factors

Horizontal collaborations emerged as a new strategic option in the logistics sector during the last decade. However, successful implementation of horizontal collaborations is far from a developed issue due to several barriers that exist or emerge when setting up such collaborative projects. This study aims at identifying the enabling factors supporting successful implementation of horizontal collaborations in the logistics sector, and in identifying key success factors that logistics service providers (LSPs) should consider. Results from a within‐ and cross‐case analysis of two horizontal collaboration projects in the contract logistics sector support the proposed theoretical framework, highlighting both enabling and key success factors of horizontal collaborations. The former refers to factors that are related to LSPs, customers, and industries, whereas the latter results in a triple‐win scenario characterised by LSP competences, trust, and environmental management orientation of successful horizontal collaboration projects.     

Political activism and polarization

I develop a model of activism and polarization in the context of electoral competition. Two candidates simultaneously announce policy platforms and seek the support of ideologically inclined activists. Activists compete to influence electoral outcomes by expending costly support for their respective candidates. The presence of activists always moderates the platform choice of candidates, compared to the case of no activism. The central finding of the paper is that the relationship between partisanship of activists and polarization is ambiguous. As activists become increasingly partisan, polarization of candidate platforms reduces or widens depending on the costs of activism. I present normative conditions under which the presence of activism and increased partisanship among activists are both welfare‐improving for voters. Finally, introducing a public funding option for candidates increases polarization in the political process.     

产品市场竞争、公司治理与企业房地产投资——来自A股上市公司的经验证据

通过研究在产品市场竞争与公司治理不同情境中企业投资房地产的经济后果，发现房地产投资对公司市场业绩和会计业绩均存在负向影响。这种影响在竞争性行业中更加明显，并随着治理水平的下降逐渐加强。分类研究显示，在行业竞争、公司治理水平均较低或较高的情况中，负向影响较小；其他中间状态下，负向影响显著。房地产投资对会计业绩的改善效应仅存在于产品市场竞争激烈且治理较差的环境中，与之相伴的是市场业绩的显著恶化。当行业竞争激烈时，中等密集度投资能够获得会计业绩的改善，但随着密集度或投资期的增加，转变为持续恶化效应。这些结论意味着，产品市场竞争与规范的公司治理能够约束企业无效的房地产投资。     

中国横向税收竞争如何影响雾霾污染——基于环保支出中介效应的研究

分税制改革以来，省级政府间税收竞争激化带来的环境污染问题正在逐步凸现。在此背景下，首先从理论层面分析了税收竞争、环保支出及雾霾污染的关系，并提出假说；其次建立空间杜宾模型测度了税收竞争对雾霾污染的直接效应、间接效应和总效应，并利用中介效应方法实证检验了税收竞争通过环保支出对雾霾污染的作用路径。研究结果表明，税收竞争显著加剧了本地区雾霾污染，但是其间接效应和总效应并不显著；此外，环保支出是税收竞争影响雾霾污染的一个主要中介变量。     

Determinants of students’ entrepreneurial intention to compete in a fast-pitch competition

Despite the heightened popularity of entrepreneurship education, there remain open questions regarding best practices in co-curricular programs. Using the theory of planned behavior, the authors examine how students’ intention is shaped to increase the likelihood of participation in entrepreneurship co-curricular programs. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to examine the relation between entrepreneurial identity and entrepreneurial intention theory. They find the popular personality trait, openness, is related to ambition, which reveals the interaction between personal elements (personality/identity) and contextual elements (aspirations to success/intention), a novel finding in the literature. This further illustrates the interconnectedness between the theory of planned behavior and the entrepreneurial event model     

网络经济中的不正当竞争行为及其法律规制

近年来,网络不正当竞争案件频繁发生。与传统不正当竞争相比,网络不正当竞争的负面影响更严重,而我国却缺少对其进行规制的相关法律,因此,制定网络经济专门法,建设独立的执法队伍,完善公益诉讼制度在网络不正当竞争中的应用,将对规制网络不正当竞争起到至关重要的作用。