The effects of EU agricultural policy changes on farmers' risk attitudes

This analysis utilises a model of production under risk estimatedon Finnish farm-level data to measure farmers' risk attitudesin a changing policy environment. We find evidence of heterogeneousrisk preferences among farmers, as well as notable changes overtime in farmers' degree of risk aversion. This result is dueto the increase in the non-random part of farm income generatedby the policy change after Finland's European Union accession.The analysis confirms the assertion that agricultural policiesthat are decoupled from production do affect input use and cropmix through their effect on farmers' risk attitudes.     

Assessing the productivity consequences of agri-environmental practices when adoption is endogenous

Journal of Productivity Analysis - We address the general problem of selection bias, an issue endemic to policy analysis when adoption is voluntary, with an empirical application to environmental...     

A Bioeconomic Analysis of the Northern Baltic Salmon Fishery: Coexistence versus Exclusion of Competing Sequential Fisheries

We develop a bioeconomic model of the northern Balticsalmon fishery that takes into account thesimultaneous harvest of wild and reared salmon. Weassess the optimal harvest allocation between thecommercial offshore, inshore, and estuary fisheries,and the recreational river fishery that sequentiallyharvest the salmon stock. We restrict the solution tospawning stocks sufficient to preserve the wildsalmon. Empirical results suggest closure of theoffshore and inshore fisheries. Optimal managementenhances the wild stock, and results in substantialeconomic gains to the fishery. Current fisheryregulation improves the performance of the fisheryover open access, but fails to utilize the fullproductive potential of the resource.     

Does market orientation pay off without brand orientation? A study of small business entrepreneurs

Market orientation and brand orientation are usually modelled as distinct antecedents of business performance, and the simultaneous performance effects of these orientations are empirically under-explored. Moreover, studies of market orientation and branding tend to focus on large corporations and the views of managers rather than the views of small business entrepreneurs. Addressing these research gaps, the current study explores market orientation and brand orientation by empirically testing their simultaneous effects on the business performance of small firms. Using primary data from 328 effective responses gathered from small business entrepreneurs, the study finds that market orientation improves the financial performance of a small firm only if it is implemented through brand orientation and eventually translated into brand performance. The results further indicate that older firms benefit more than younger firms from investing in branding, while younger firms benefit from paying attention to the actions of their rivals.     

Reconciling economic and biological modeling of migratory fish stocks: Optimal management of the Atlantic salmon fishery in the Baltic Sea

The paper puts forward a model of the Atlantic salmon fishery in the Baltic Sea that integrates the salient biological and economic characteristics of migratory fish stocks. Designed to be compatible with the framework used for actual stock assessments, the model accounts for age-structured population dynamics, the seasonal harvest and competing harvesting by commercial and recreational fishermen. It is parameterized for the Simojoki River stock. The socially optimal policy for maximizing discounted net benefits from the fishery within an uncertain environment is determined using a dynamic programming approach and numerical solution method. Our results indicate that substantial economic benefits could be realized under optimal management without compromising stock sustainability.     

(In)Efficient Environmental Policy with Interacting Pollutants

Many environmental problems involve the transformation of multiple harmful substances into one or more damage agents much in the same way as a firm transforms inputs into outputs. Yet environmental management differs from a firm’s production in one important respect: while a firm seeks efficient input allocation to maximize profit, an environmental planner allocates abatement efforts to render the production of damage agents as inefficient as possible. We characterize a solution to the multiple pollutants problem and show that the optimal policy is often a corner solution, in which abatement is focused on a single pollutant. Corner solutions may arise even in well-behaved problems with concave production functions and convex damage and cost functions. Furthermore, even concentrating on a wrong pollutant may yield greater net benefits than setting uniform abatement targets for all harmful substances. Our general theoretical results on the management of flow and stock pollutants are complemented by two numerical examples illustrating the abatement of eutrophying nutrients and greenhouse gases.     

Decomposing seasonality in an urban destination: the case of Milan

ABSTRACT

This paper analyses demand fluctuations in the field of urban destinations, decomposing Milan’s hotel seasonality. Four different seasonal periods are identified and two research questions are explored. The first aims to verify how seasonality evolved over the period 2004–2015 and the effectiveness of analysing tourism flow in an urban destination using daily data. The second aim explores the effects generated by the Milan Expo 2015 on seasonality. Using Smith Travel Research data, a longitudinal analysis (2004–2015) is carried out, decomposing the annual Theil index. Evidence is reported and discussed.     

Public capital and convergence in the Spanish regions

This paper discusses the preconditions and strategies of local development and turnaround in difficult surroundings such as peripheral rural communities. Its key premise is that local decision makers' beliefs of how such small economies function and of ‘proper’ interventions are critical. Such thought patterns were studied among Finnish rural municipality directors (RMDs), using comparative cause mapping. The findings show that while private initiative, entrepreneurship, is regarded as key for development, prevalent views of entrepreneurship, especially firm formation, are unsophisticated, stressing personal traits and social factors such as supportive cultures and role models. Paralleling these views, the current developmental doctrine is indirect, focused on resource provision and implying passive waiting for entrepreneurs to emerge before developers ‘can’ act. Considering their bleak perspectives, the paper argues that communities with weak autonomous turnaround capabilities need more interventionist strategies than those built-in the dominant paradigm, whereas current resource-providing models may be suitable in more benevolent environments. To augment the dominant thinking, the paper suggests an initiating ‘business-based development model’ as a parallel approach for a more effective local economic development in difficult surroundings.     

The influence of strategic patterns of internationalization on the accuracy and bias of earnings forecasts by financial analysts

This paper examines how financial analysts’ earnings per share forecasts are affected by strategic patterns that multinational firms have used to expand abroad. Prior empirical studies have examined a firm's internationalization level as a one-dimensional construct involving increased task complexity for financial analysts’ forecasting and therefore resulting in lower accuracy and greater optimistic bias in earnings forecasts. In contrast, we use two strategic patterns of internationalization associated with geographic dispersion and cross-border integration to characterize a firm's international strategy, and find different empirical results using a sample of U.S. public companies with domestic and international operations. The empirical evidence suggests that geographic dispersion contributes to increases in forecasting accuracy and decreases in optimistic bias. Further, the results support that cross-border integration leads to decreases in forecasting accuracy. The two strategic patterns of internationalization are a consequence of managerial choices and therefore these results are important for managers, investors and shareholders as they help explain the linkages between international strategies and earnings forecasts by financial analysts.     

An empirical study of consumer behavior related to private labels and national brand promotions

One day while in the store, Bernard grabs his usual Dominick's cream cheese off the shelf. I notice and point out that the national brand of Philadelphia cream cheese is on sale and less expensive. Bernard looks at the two products and actually hesitates for a while to switch to the national brand. His hesitation makes it clear that his preference is not based solely on price. (Chang Coupland 2005, 115).