Aid for trade and the quality of exports

This article studies how aid for trade (AfT) affects the quality of recipient countries’ exports. It shows that the quality effect is most discernible for AfT for assistance in trade policy: a 50% increase in the value of AfT received in this category is associated with a 0.5–1% increase in the quality of exports to the donor and other OECD countries. On average, the actual AfT received for assistance in trade policy leads to a 2% upgrade of the recipient country in the quality ladder of all developing countries. Around half of this quality effect is driven by the quality improvement of continued products in continued markets (intensive margin), and the other half by the quality upgrading of new products in continued markets and existing products in new markets (extensive margin).     

Using paradata to collect better survey data: Evidence from a household survey in Tanzania

Data are a key component in the design, implementation, and evaluation of economic and social policies. Monitoring data quality is an essential part of any serious, large‐scale data collection process. The purpose of this article is to show how paradata should be used before, during, and after data collection to monitor and improve data quality. To do this we use timestamps, global positioning system (GPS) coordinates, and other paradata collected from an 800‐household survey conducted in Tanzania in 2016. We demonstrate how key paradata can be used during each phase of a research project to identify and prevent issues in the data and the methods used to collect it. Our results corroborate the importance of collecting and analyzing paradata to monitor fieldwork and ensuring data quality for micro data collection in developing countries. Based on these findings we also make recommendations as to how researchers can make better use of paradata in the future to manage and improve data quality. We argue for an expansion in the understanding and use of varied paradata among researchers, and a greater focus on its use for improving data quality.     

Looking Forward to Performance Improvement: A Field Test of the Feedforward Interview for Performance Management

This study examines the effectiveness of the feedforward interview for improving the job performance of employees relative to a traditional performance appraisal interview in a business equipment firm. Managers (n = 25) were randomly assigned to one of two conditions. Employees (n = 70) who engaged in a feedforward interview with their manager were observed by an anonymous peer to perform significantly better on the job four months later than employees (n = 75) who received the company's traditional performance appraisal interview. The finding that the feedforward intervention increased performance relative to the performance appraisal indicates that the effect is a relatively enduring one. The results suggest that the feedforward interview should prove useful for human resource managers who are searching for ways to increase the performance of their organization's human resources over and above the traditional performance appraisal. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Multiple equilibria in the Aghion–Howitt model

We show that the simple Aghion–Howitt model exhibits oscillatory indeterminacy in the process of creative destruction as firms undertaking new research do not internalize their effect on existing firms. A simple calibration shows that indeterminacy occurs for quite plausible parametrizations of the share of the intermediate good.     

Technology ladders and R&D in dynamic Cournot markets

Motivated by dramatic and unpredictable technological advances in energy production (for instance drilling and extraction of shale oil), we extend Cournot models of competition to incorporate research and development (R&D) that can lead to (stochastic) drops in production costs. Our model combines features of patent racing with dynamic market structure, capturing the interplay between the immediate competition in terms of production rates and the long-term competition in R&D. The resulting Markov Nash equilibrium is found from a sequence of one-step static games arising between R&D successes, and several numerical examples and extensive analysis of the emerging comparative statics are presented. Analyzing the relationship between current market dominance and the level of R&D investments, we find that market leaders tend to invest more, which in some sense makes oligopoly dynamically unstable. We show that anticipated market transitions have long-term impact; for example the potential of future monopoly can spur R&D investment now, even if the firm is presently uncompetitive and not actively producing. We also show that, surprisingly, random innovations have an ambiguous effect on R&D. This feature, which is driven by the Cournot framework, contrasts with the common situation whereby uncertainty lowers innovation and delays R&D investments. Finally, we demonstrate that increased competition may actually increase efforts to innovate through higher desire to achieve dominance. This would match the anecdotal evidence that the threat of market entrants forces incumbents to maintain high R&D.     

Organizational Communication Research on Motorola

With China' s accession to the WTO, it is faced with huge challenges and opportunities. One of the biggest challenges is to foster intercultural thinking and working abilities so that China can compete with other powers. This paper tries to set Motorola Solution as an example to discuss cross-cultural business communication problems.     

中国奖励旅游经营的特征、问题与思考——基于旅行社的访谈分析

文章在对广州市10家代表性旅行社的会奖负责人进行半结构性深度访谈的基础上,运用内容分析的方法,提炼出现阶段中国奖励旅游经营的特征与面临的共性问题,主要有：对奖励旅游的内涵认知国内更关注旅游成本的来源而不是活动的激励效果;购买方消费习惯不成熟、目的性不强、交易中平等沟通意识不够;奖励旅游中间商提供的产品创意性不强、组织结构不适应,管理科技含量低且与买方关系结合方式不稳定;供应商与中间商合作不稳定、服务灵活性不强且对目的地支持的依赖程度高。进一步指出,在中国传统文化下,重集体主义的奖励理念影响了消费意识;旅游业自身的结构性障碍及多重委托代理下的旅行社供应链地位不稳定造成行业的无序竞争与产品质量的难以控制;政府促进下的行业管理组织的成立是规范经营的重要途径。     

Recent research in tourist behaviour

The study of tourist behaviour has become an active and significant contributor in the overall analysis of tourism. This paper considers recent research work at James Cook University, an institution whose researchers have had a long interest in tourist behaviour topics. A review of a number of recent research projects in tourist behaviour by the Australian research team is provided and the value of four integrating concepts linking this research is specified. The four concepts highlighted are the travel career ladder which is an approach to tourist motivation, cognitive steps and mindfulness, which are conceptual organisers of how people think and process information and social situations which provides an integrative view of key factors to consider when describing social behaviour. The paper concludes by highlighting some recent commentary on tourist behaviour trends by prominent tourism analysts noting that the specific stream of tourist behaviour studies reported in this article do not fully support the general trends noted by the commentators. The potential value of tourist behaviour studies as a benchmark for understanding tourism futures is noted     

An evaluation framework for the sustainable operation of leisure farms

The Taiwanese government’s promotion of domestic travel has generated high demand for leisure farming, resulting in the increasing establishment of leisure farms and an intensification of competition. A key concern for farm operators is how to operate and develop farms according to the principles of sustainability. Through a literature review, in-depth interviews and a modified Delphi technique, this study developed an evaluation framework for the sustainable operation of leisure farms. From the study results, we derived 39 indicators encompassing the five dimensions, namely social sustainability, economic sustainability, environmental sustainability, resource sustainability and management sustainability. The implications of these findings for managing leisure farms and future research directions are discussed.