Machine Learning and Expert Judgement: Analyzing Emerging Topics in Accounting and Finance Research in the Asia–Pacific

In this paper, we focus on the question to what extent machine learning (ML) tools can be used to support systematic literature reviews. We apply a ML approach for topic detection to analyze emerging topics in the literature—our context is accounting and finance research in the Asia–Pacific region. To evaluate the robustness of the approach, we compare findings from the automated ML approach with the results from a manual analysis of the literature. The automated approach uses a keyword algorithm detection mechanism whereby the manual analysis uses common techniques for qualitative data analysis, that is, triangulation between researchers (expert judgement). From our paper, we conclude that both methods have strengths and weaknesses. The automated analysis works well for large corpora of text and provides a very standardized and non-biased way of analyzing the literature. However, the human researcher is potentially better equipped to evaluate current issues and future trends in the literature. Overall, the best results might be achieved when a variety of tools are used together.     

Why is free education so popular? A political economy explanation

This paper analyzes the political support for different funding regimes of education in a one‐person, one‐vote democracy. We focus the analysis on four systems that have had a preponderant presence in the political debate on education: a private system, a public system that delivers the same resources to each student (universal‐free education), a public system that intends to equalize results, and a public system that aims to maximize the output of the economy. We show that a system of universal free education is the Condorcet winner. The level of income inequality and the degree to which income distribution is skewed to the right are key factors behind this conclusion. We also show that the voting outcome of public versus private funding for education depends crucially on the type of public funding under consideration.     

The impact of pre-announced day-to-day interventions on the Colombian exchange rate

Using cross-country cross-industry data, this paper explores how industry’s growth in number of firms in Central-East Europe (CEE) region is influenced by bank concentration in both the pre-crisis and crisis periods. The CEE region shows highly concentrated banking markets and less-developed financial markets; thus, the level of bank concentration and the resulting credit supply are crucial for firm creation and survival. Despite this, there is little evidence on these countries in the literature. Our empirical results suggest an inverted-U relationship: industry growth is fostered by bank concentration, but there is a turning point from which higher concentration begins producing the opposite effect. Moreover, the positive impact has a greater intensity during the crisis period compared to the pre-crisis period. Between sectors’ analysis shows that high-tech sectors are less reactive to changes in the concentration level.     

Impact of IT Service Management Frameworks on the IT Organization

Over 90 percent of companies are estimated to use IT Service Management (ITSM) frameworks, yet there is little research on their benefits to the Information Technology (IT) department and the business units. An international survey of 491 firms was conducted to assess the benefits of the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL), the de-facto ITSM framework, specifically on how these benefits evolve as companies increase their adoption of the ITIL model. Also studied are the perception of challenges of the implementation and the number of ITIL processes implemented in relation to the progress of the adoption of ITIL. Results indicate that as the maturity of implementation increases, the perception of challenges decreases. Findings also show that as the maturity of implementation increases, the number of realized benefits increases, as well as the number of implemented ITIL processes. Implications for practitioners and researchers are also discussed.     

Social structures that promote change in a complex world: The complementary roles of strangers and acquaintances in innovation

In this paper we offer insights about the type of societies that are more likely to generate and promote innovation. In particular, we present results from a study of innovation through computational social simulations to focus on a structural aspect of societies: their degree of separation and how this social characteristic may be related to what, how and why new ideas and solutions can replace existing wide-spread practices in a society. We focus on the work of design practitioners and sustainable design as an example to illustrate these insights.     

Do monetary subjective well-being evaluations vary across space? Comparing continuous and discrete spatial heterogeneity

Using subjective well-being estimations, this study analyzes whether compensating variations vary across space using a cross-sectional data set from Chile. To achieve this goal, it describes and compares two econometric ways of modelling unobserved spatial heterogeneity. Both approaches allow compensating variations to vary across spatial units by assuming some distribution a priori. One method assumes that the spatial heterogeneity can be represented by a discrete distribution (a group of regions that share the same coefficient) and the other that the preferences can be represented by a continuous distribution (each region has a different coefficient). The results show that focusing just on the average estimates of compensating variations, as the applied studies have done so far, masks useful local variation. More empirical studies are needed to assess the advantages and disadvantages of both econometric approaches and how their results compare across a wide range of conditions and samples.     

How Endowments, Accumulations, and Choice Determine the Geography of Agricultural Productivity in Ecuador

Spatial disparity in incomes and productivity is apparent acrossand within countries. Most studies of the determinants of suchdifferences focus on cross-country comparisons or location choiceamong firms. Less studied are the large differences in agriculturalproductivity within countries related to concentrations of ruralpoverty. For policy, understanding the determinants of thisgeography of agricultural productivity is important, becausestrategies to reduce poverty often feature components designedto boost regional agricultural incomes. Census and endowmentdata for Ecuador are used to estimate a model of endogenoustechnology choice to explain large regional differences in agriculturaloutput and factor productivity. A composite-error estimationtechnique is used to separate systemic determinants from idiosyncraticdifferences. Simulations are employed to explore policy avenues.The findings suggest a differentiation between the types ofpolicies that promote growth in agriculture generally and thosethat are more likely to assist the rural poor.