Value-in-context in crowdfunding ecosystems: how context frames value co-creation

The aim of this paper is to analyse the phenomenon of crowdfunding and determine whether it can be considered a service ecosystem, where the context frames innovation through value co-creation. A qualitative, multiple case study approach is used to analyse three platforms and six initiatives in the Spanish arts sector. The findings reveal that crowdfunding can be considered an ecosystem where value-in-context frames seven types of value co-creation, offering a contribution both to ecosystem theory and to the field of co-creation.     

Social Interaction and Beer Consumption

The aim of this article is to describe young consumers’ attitudes and conduct regarding beer consumption, analyzing the consumer as an individual (addressing internal factors) and in a collective (external factors). The research was designed in Brazil involving 52 participants, divided into 16 focus groups, and the respective data was transcribed and analyzed. The findings show three distinct types of consumers were identified. The authors termed these the Inductor, the Induced, and the Sophisticated. The article details how each type of consumer can be distinguished through different attitudes and factors. The results suggest that, rather than thinking of beer consumption as an individual item, beer consumption should be thought of as different types, involving different behavior, attitudes, and social interaction. The article demonstrates originality and value to put forward the notion that beer consumption should not be defined as an individual item. The framework offered in this article will assist future researchers to consider consumption of different types and brands of beer, based on social interaction.     

Metatheory as the key to understanding: Schumpeter after Shionoya

In his recent book, Yuichi Shionoya departs from previous Schumpeterianstudies. He sets out to reconstruct Schumpeter's metatheoreticalframework, which he argues is the key to a correct interpretationof his substantive writings. The centrepiece of this projectis the thesis that Schumpeter has a coherent methodologicalposition—instrumentalism—which consistently underpinshis theoretical work. The present paper examines this thesis,and in so doing paves the way for an alternative hypothesison Schumpeter. This hypothesis is based on Tony Lawson's workon the philosophy of economics.     

Productivity differences and the dynamic effects of labor movements

Barriers to labor mobility across countries coexist with substantial differences in living standards largely attributable to productivity differences. A growth model with endogenous labor movements is used to assess the effects on output, capital accumulation and welfare of removing barriers to labor mobility. The model is parameterized so that it is consistent with evidence on historical labor movements, and is applied to two cases: the enlargement of the European Union and the (hypothetical) creation of a common labor market in the North America. The main finding is that there are large resulting gains in terms of output and welfare.     

Ex post evaluation of PPP government-led renegotiations: Impacts on the financing of road infrastructure

Renegotiations are often claimed to be the major pitfall in public–private partnership projects. In fact, the literature and empirical evidence suggest a bias toward favoring concessionaires, although there are well-known examples of harmful unilateral decisions by governments. This article establishes a distinction between structural renegotiations (with changes in the risk-sharing agreement) and nonstructural renegotiations (without shifting risk) and analyzes the implications of structural renegotiations in a road concession by comparing the ex ante and ex post financial implications for government, concessionaire, and users. The selected project is one that started as a shadow toll and was later changed to real toll. The analysis shows that the renegotiation essentially transferred costs to the users. The financial burden for the government decreased and the internal rate of return (IRR) of the concessionaire increased slightly although the overall risk profile of the concession decreased. The users supported a 40% higher cost, and the system gained an additional cost component (the electronic tolling system). Overall the global financial costs increased 40% when compared with the initial regime. The article also sets out some discussions and implications for policymakers.     

Survey measures of risk aversion and prudence

This paper utilizes a thought experiment conducted by the Bank of Italy to estimate absolute and relative risk aversion along with absolute and relative prudence for a broad cross-section of Italian households. Upper and lower bounds are calculated for each parameter, and comparisons are made across socio-demographic groups. Evidence is found of decreasing absolute risk aversion, decreasing absolute prudence, increasing relative risk aversion, and increasing relative prudence.     

Do the Retired Elderly in Europe Decumulate Their Wealth? The Importance of Bequest Motives,Precautionary Saving,Public Pensions,and Homeownership

We use microdata on a large number of European countries from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) to examine the wealth accumulation (saving) behavior of the retired elderly in Europe. We find that less than half of the retired elderly in Europe are decumulating their wealth and that the average wealth accumulation rate of the retired elderly in Europe is positive though relatively moderate (6.6 percent over a 3-year period). These findings suggest that the Wealth Decumulation Puzzle (the tendency of the retired elderly to not decumulate their wealth or to decumulate their wealth more slowly than expected) applies in the case of Europe. Moreover, our regression results suggest that bequest motives, generous public pension systems, and the reluctance of retired elderly homeowners to sell or borrow against their owner-occupied housing are the primary explanations for the existence of the Wealth Decumulation Puzzle in Europe.