Unified GIS database on cycle tourism infrastructure

Bicycles are used in the Czech Republic for commuting to work and for leisure time activities. This is reflected in the cycle trail administrators' offer to make the existing network denser, design new routes, mark their courses and install a complementary cycle infrastructure.     

The epidemiology of non-fatal injuries among 11-, 13- and 15-year old youth in 11 countries: findings from the 1998 WHO-HBSC cross national survey

The primary objective was to present a cross-country comparison of injury rates, contexts and consequences. The research design was the analysis of data from the 1998 cross-national Health Behaviour in School-aged Children survey and 52955 schoolchildren from 11 countries, aged 11, 13 and 15 years, completed a self-administrated questionnaire. A total of 41.3% of all children were injured and needed medical treatment in the past 12 months. Injury rates among boys were higher than among girls, 13.3% reported activity loss due to injury and 6.9% reported severe injury consequences. Most injuries occurred at home and at a sport facility, mainly during sport activity. Fighting accounted for 4.1% of injuries. This paper presents the first cross-national comparison of injury rates and patterns by external cause and context. Findings present cross-country similarities in injury distribution by setting and activity. These findings emphasize the importance of the development of global prevention programmes designed to address injuries among youth.     

The role of small firms in the industrial development and transformation of Czechoslovakia

This article presents an analysis of the role of small firms in the formation and reform of the Czechoslovak manufacturing sector. It attempts to give an understanding of the industrial structure formed under the past regime within the framework of the mass production paradigm. As manufacturing productivity gradually declined over the past 25 years and small firms have been virtually eliminated, systemic preference has been given to the development of large monopolies. Consequently, a monolithic coalition structure of enterprise managers, state bureaucrats, and political nomenklatura has arisen and continues to present itself as a serious hindrance to economic transformation. While small firms have the potential to play a critical role in the democratic marketization of Czechoslovakia, current government preoccupation with the rapid privatization of the state sector risks damaging the development of a balanced distribution of firm size and, in turn, the revitalization of the society.     

The people behind the scenes: Episodic volunteering at fundraising events

Nonprofit organizations (NPOs) have become increasingly dependent on episodic volunteers (EVs), those that would help carry out an event with little training and expectation to commit to future events. Despite its importance to the survival of NPOs, the use of EVs with respect to fundraising has received little research focus. Furthermore, none of the existing studies identified examined how fundraising EVs differ from other EVs. This study seeks to contribute to our understanding of fundraising EVs using a global perspective. Data were generated using surveys distributed in seven countries, tallying more than 4,000 respondents. Variables included demographic characteristics, previous donation and volunteer history, motives, mode of volunteering, and overall experience. The data were analyzed by applying between-group (logistic regression on participation) and within-group analysis (ordered logistic regression on willingness to participate in the future). Data were further analyzed by examining differences by country. We found that country, gender, religion, income, employment, history of donations, mode of volunteering, and several motives, both intrinsic and extrinsic, were significant in the logistic regression analysis of participation in fundraising episodic volunteering. The ordered logistic analysis unexpectedly found that the only predictors to foster a willingness to engage again were the responsiveness of the event team and a desire to fulfill spiritual satisfaction. In recruiting and selecting EVs for fundraising events, NPOs should consider previous or current donors and those with regular volunteering experience and they should market volunteer opportunities towards those in search of spiritual fulfillment and meaning. Moreover, NPOs should prioritize quick and clear communication with fundraising EVs in order to foster a willingness to volunteer again. Lastly, NPOs should regularly assess for country-specific factors and contexts that may affect episodic volunteering in fundraising events. Our paper illustrates who fundraising EVs are, their motives, how they choose to volunteer, and what contributes to their willingness to volunteer again. Given the limited research on fundraising EVs, this study serves to help lay the foundation of research for this unique subgroup. Our aim was to not only address the dearth of literature but serve as a springboard for future research on fundraising EVs.     

Gradual stimulation of respondents' reflexivity: A research design for studying unreflexive consumers

In interpretive research accounts, reflexivity has been understood primarily in terms of the researcher's reflexivity, while the respondent's reflexivity has been considered only marginally. We regard this gap as critical and therefore introduce a research design for the gradual stimulation of respondents' reflexivity (GSRR), which we propose as a methodological tool for strengthening research validity. First, to frame our argumentation in the contemporary socio-technological context, we emphasize the need to focus on the respondent's reflexivity in the onto-epistemological conditions of the hybrid space and posthuman consumer culture, which unprecedentedly eliminate actors' abilities to monitor their actions reflexively. Second, we present and methodologically examine the GSRR as a 3-phase sequential mixed-method research design for stimulating respondents' reflexivity. GSRR's logic is as follows: the questionnaire captures what respondents think they are doing; the digital self-tracking diary captures what they are doing and what they often do not acknowledge (unreflexivity); the interviews use the previous phases' data to elicit respondents' reflexivity. Third, we present examples from our research practice to demonstrate the strengthening of data validity elicited from respondents by stimulating their reflexivity. We conclude by outlining the GSRR's possible future applications and directions.     

Can behavioral nudges and incentives help lower-income households build emergency savings with tax refunds? Evidence from field and survey experiments

Tax refunds are an opportunity for lower-income households to accumulate emergency savings so they have cash on hand to cover expenses when income is insufficient. Our field experiments testing different behavioral interventions to encourage refund saving via online tax filing show small effect sizes (0.12–0.14) and a low aggregate savings rate (12%) that might be increased were filers to receive financial incentives. We test a key provision of the Refund to Rainy Day Saving and Financial Security Credit Acts using a survey experiment, finding that hypothetical refund saving jumps from 16% with no financial incentive, to 71% and 80% with 25% and 50% matches, respectively, findings which are mostly insensitive to refund size. Our results suggest that public policies to provide greater financial support—including stronger income supports—will better prepare lower-income households for financial emergencies than behavioral interventions to nudge refund saving.     

NO CREDIT,NO GAIN: TRADE LIBERALIZATION DYNAMICS,PRODUCTION INPUTS,AND FINANCIAL DEVELOPMENT

We study the role of financial development on the aggregate implications of reducing import tariffs on capital and intermediate inputs. We document empirically that financially underdeveloped economies feature a slower aggregate response following trade liberalization. To quantify these effects, we set up a general equilibrium model with heterogeneous firms subject to collateral constraints and estimate it using Colombian plant-level data. We find that low financial development substantially limited the gains from trade liberalization in Colombia in the early 1990s. More broadly, we find that low financial development substantially limits both the aggregate and welfare gains from tariff reductions.