Modeling the diffusion of public policy innovations among the U.S. States

This paper describes and validates a general model of state diffusion of public policy innovations. The model can be used to identify whether new policies are likely to become fully adopted into the system of states and the time horizon over which this is likely to occur. Limitations and extensions of the model are also concluded.     

Networks,weak signals and technological innovations among SMEs in the land-based transportation equipment sector

On apprend plus par la conversation des Doctes,

que par la lecture de leurs livres

Les épistres de Seneque

Translation by François de Malherbe,

Paris, Anthoine de Sommaville, 1639, p. 21

Small and medium-sized enterprises, because of their limited resources, use a variety of sources and are linked to different networks to obtain the information they need to develop their strategy and then to gradually organize their environment. Among other things, networks keep them up-to-date with changes in the economy and allow them to take advantage of opportunities to innovate, thus remaining ahead of their competitors. The networks – personal or business – with which these firms interact the most are usually geographically or sociologically close by, embedded in the environment, and are known as strong tie networks. They generally supply signals in a familiar language, based on habit as well a good reciprocal knowledge, which are easy to understand. In addition to this, however, the most dynamic firms also have contacts with weak tie networks, which are further removed from the usual behaviours of entrepreneurs and provide weak signals that, while difficult to grasp and decode, nevertheless offer new, pre-competitive information that can support major innovations. Very little empirical research has been done so far to test the probability of this theory. This paper reports on the results of a survey involving 147 SMEs, all in the land-based transportation equipment sector. It confirms the importance of weak tie networks as opposed to other types of networks, recognizing their complementary contribution to technological innovation. The organization's absorptive capacity is also found to be a significant intermediary factor in taking advantage of weak tie networks.     

Towards a microscopic analysis of industrial innovations: From diffusion curves to technological integration through participative management

This paper traces the development of ever more microscopic analyses of the industrial innovation process and presents these as progressive stages in a gradual coming to terms with the real-life complexities of this process. Begining with the macroscopic, diffusion perspective inherited from rural sociology, it reveals how more user-centred models have emerged. The changing image of the user is traced from “passive adopter” to “managerial problem solver” and finally, to “innovative designer”. The paper then turns to the difficulties involved in understanding the nature of the firm's infrastructure and the implications it has for innovation management and industrial relations problems. Research in this area is identified as a crucial source of the new management tachniques that are required to solve the growing problems of resistance to technology implementation. A socio-psychological analysis drawing upon the concepts of the ethogenic approach is proposed and seen to recommend a participative management style similar to that used so successfully by the Japanese.     

适应市场经济体制转变地方政府职能

地方政府作为国家政权组织的一个重要组成部分,如何按照市场经济的要求,加快职能转变,既是深化经济体制改革的需要,也是中国即将加入世界贸易组织的新形势对政府自身改革的需求.本文从市场经济条件下地方政府职能定位出发,对转变政府职能、深化政府自身改革作一些粗浅的思考和探讨.     

城市政府在生态城市建设中的主导作用

随着高度工业化与城市化进程的加快 ,生态城市建设倍受关注。城市政府应发挥其独特功能 ,加强在城市战略调整、规划制定和建设管理三环节上的主导作用 ,促进生态城市理想的实现     

Aligning adoption messages with audiences' priorities: A mixed-methods study of the diffusion of enterprise architecture among the US state governments

Prior studies on the diffusion of complex Information Systems (IS) innovations have leaned on the rhetoric of persuasion perspective to formulate rhetorical strategies that can persuade adopters to engage in adoption behaviors. Yet, most of them ignore the shifting priorities and changing identity of the audience. To address this gap, we extend the perspective by examining how innovators need to evolve the adoption message of an innovation by aligning it with the audience's diverse and shifting priorities (and related identities). We trace rhetorical changes that the National Association of State CIOs (NASCIO) introduced to promote the diffusion of enterprise architecture (EA) between 2000 and 2012 among the 50 US states. We conduct a mixed methods analysis: first we qualitatively discern changes in the content of the rhetoric (message change); then we use a latent semantic analysis to measure the frame resonance between NASCIO's shifting rhetoric and the audience's changing priorities (alignment with audience priorities). Our findings highlight the importance of: 1) frame ambiguity that renders a complex IS innovation appealing to varied audiences over its diffusion trajectory; and 2) listening to the community members' priorities and aligning the adoption message with their dominant beliefs. Our analysis posits the rhetoric of identification as a complementary lens to account for the co-evolution of shared priorities and identity alignments between innovators and their audiences.     

The fiscal behavior of municipal governments: 1905–1930

This report discusses a new set of annual U. S. municipal expenditure estimates. These estimates deal with the 1905–1930 period. While these expenditures are seen to be influenced by urbanization and price inflation, it is clear that real per capita spending rose substantially during the period. The distribution of municipal spending between current and capital accounts is seen to be associated with relative price change. A model of the structure of budget decisions—emphasizing an incremental budgeting format—is developed. Estimates of the structural parameters suggest that this model adequately represents the data; and that municipal decision makers responded in a regular and rational fashion to shifts in relative prices and nominal sources of funds.     

国企技术创新误区探析

文章描述并分析了人们对技术创新的普遍误解及技术发展的常见障碍,以帮助大家掌握技术创新动态,促进国有企业革新。     

国企技术创新误区探析

文章描述并分析了人们对技术创新的普遍误解及技术发展的常见障碍，以帮助大家掌握技术创新动态，促进国有企业革新。     

Driving sectoral sustainability via the diffusion of organizational eco‐innovations

Using insights from institutional literature, the resource‐based theory of the firm, and internationalization, we explain variations in the diffusion of organizational eco‐innovations. Studies have previously reported that the drivers of eco‐innovation are regulatory pressures, technology push, market pull, and firm factors. But relatively little attention has been paid to nontechnological forms of eco‐innovation, such as environmental management systems (EMS). Consequently, how exactly to encourage EMS adoption across sectors is still unclear. We attempt to address this question by combining sectoral panel data (2009–2014) from a number of sources in Spain. The econometric analysis reveals that environmental policy is driving the adoption of ISO 14001 largely due to differences across sectors in energy and pollution intensity. In addition, the adoption of ISO 9001 increases the use of ISO 14001 in industry because of complementarities between the two systems. Third, in highly internationalized sectors, firms adopt a greater amount of ISO 14001.     

Certificate-of-need regulation and the diffusion of innovations: A random coefficient model

In this paper, we examine empirically the effect that certificate-of-need regulation by state health planning organizations has had on the speed of diffusion of a relatively new medical technology—haemodialysis. Specifically, we test the hypothesis that a requirement that investments be subject to certificate-of-need review has significantly slowed the rate of adoption of this particular treatment modality. In subjecting this hypothesis to empirical verification, we estimate a random coefficient model. This approach allows us to make more efficient use of the available data than the traditional two-stage approach to modelling diffusion processes wherein separate logistic functions are first estimated over the time series observations followed by hypothesis tests conducted over the cross-sectional observations. We find evidence that certificate-of-need regulation slows the spread of haemodialysis technology.     

Spatial aspects of ticket scalping

We develop a simple insurance model of the secondary market for tickets to account for some of the observed spatial patterns of prices. Beyond ticket markets the model draws attention to the existence of subtle insurance fees in market prices that may be incorrectly attributed to breakdown of the law of one price or attributed solely to a cost‐based rationale. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Regulation and technological change in the American meat industry

The effects of regulation upon technological change in the American meat industry in the period between 1950 and 1978 are examined in terms of the relationship between three alternative models — neoclassical, X-efficiency, and technological exogeneity —and the behavior of regulatory agencies. The paper is based upon patent data, equipment approvals by the United States Department of Agriculture and interviews with meat equipment and meat processing firms. Each theory was found to account for some of the observed transactions between regulation and technological change. Conversely, no single theory encompasses all observed effects.Regulations have added to the cost of developing new products. Increased uncertainty in the late 1970s over the standards sought by regulatory agencies have similarly increased the uncertainties of the profitability of R&D in selected product lines. This uncertainty was also found to be inducing firms to substitute product development via mergers for their own R&D. The Humane Slaughter Act was the proximate spur for technological advances that lead to a rationalization of production processes. The innovations that resulted from this act and from other regulatory standards highlighted, in accordance with the X-efficiency framework, technological opportunities that existed prior to and independent of changes in regulatory standards. Much of the momentum for technological change in the industry was shaped by an initial set of technological advances and the subsequent working through of production bottlenecks in an interrelated production system. These advances were largely independent of and unaffected by regulatory standards.Indeed, there is reason to believe that regulatory standards may themselves have an element of endogeneity in terms of the feasible set of best practice techniques. Thus at any particular time, technological change may serve to generate a production frontier towards which a regulatory agency might seem to propel an industry.Overall, our judgment is that regulation had little discernible impact on the pace of technological change related to the production and distribution of ground beef in the period between 1950 and 1978. If there has been any net effect, regulation probably served more to stimulate than to inhibit technological change.     

The impact of fiscal centralization policies on education expenditure among Chinese local governments

Quality & Quantity - In 1994, the education policy goal for the Chinese government was that the education expenditure as a share of GDP should be at least 4% of GDP. However, this educational...     

National governments under the discipline of global forces

Globalisation, in particular the increasing multinationalisation of businesses, has forced government suppliers into direct (in the form of parallel governments) or indirect (in the form of free trade) competition. However, the growth of supranational organisations such as the EU threatens the power of exit which is so vital to competition: overlapping government functions create waste and encourage further the growth of centralisation.     

Spatial Aspects of Contagion among Emerging Economies

Abstract

A spatial model is used to specify and then test for the existence of contagion among emerging market economies. We consider both trade and regional channels of contagion. Our results suggest that contagion is a statistically significant factor in foreign exchange markets and, furthermore, its effects are not uniform across the countries considered. Our results also suggest that trade links are significant channels of contagion transmission; on the other hand, geographic distances do not appear to be significant channels of contagion transmission. We also report results which indicate the extent of contagion. These results relate to effects which emanate from one country to another.

Aspects spatiaux de la contagion parmi les économies émergentes

Résumé?Nous faisons usage d'un modèle spatial pour spécifier, puis tester, l'existence d'une contagion parmi les économies des marchés émergents. Nous nous penchons sur les vecteurs commercial et régional de cette contagion. Nos résultats indiquent d'une part que la contagion est un facteur significatif sur le plan statistique dans les marchés à commerce extérieur, d'autre part que ses effets ne sont pas uniformes dans les pays examinés. Nos résultats nous permettent d'affirmer également que les relations commerciales sont des vecteurs significatifs de transmission de la contagion; par contre, les distances géographiques ne semblent pas être des vecteurs significatifs de transmission de la contagion. Nous présentons également des résultats qui soulignent l’étendue de la contagion: ces résultats portent sur les effets émanant d'un pays à un autre.

Aspectos espaciales del contagio entre economias emergentes

Résumén?Se utiliza un modelo espacial para especificar, y luego se comprueba la existencia de contagio entre las economías de mercados emergentes. Consideramos canales de contagio, tanto comerciales como regionales. Nuestros resultados sugieren que el contagio es un factor estadísticamente significativo en los mercados de divisas, así como que sus efectos no son uniformes a través de los países considerados. Nuestros resultados también sugieren que los lazos comerciales son canales significativos para la transmisión de contagio; por otra parte, las distancias geográficas no parecen ser canales significativos de transmisión de contagio. También incluimos resultados que indican la extensión del contagio. Dichos resultados se relacionan con efectos que emanan de un país a otro.

     

城市公共品供给中各级政府事权与财权的划分

政府在城市公共品供给中需要考虑如何合理划分各级政府的事权与财权.城市公共品的特性是各级政府事权划分的基础,而事权与财权相统一的原则是各级政府财权划分的理论依据.通过对我国城市公共品供给中各级政府间财政关系进行实证研究发现,各级政府在事权划分上存在模糊、重复、越位和缺位的情况,而财权的划分则没有能够实现与相应事权的匹配.因此,需要重新界定各级政府的事权与财权,从而完善政府的城市公共品供给职能.     

Environmental regulation, technological diversity, and the dynamics of technological change

Inducing technological progress is an important objective of environmental regulation. We investigate under which conditions regulation-induced technological progress pursues the best technological option. We analyze a setting with vertical and horizontal technological progress, cost uncertainty, time-limited patent protection, and a case that is typical for some emissi4on-intensive industries, like electricity generation or the chemical industry. Under taxes and standards, only the current least-cost technology is used and developed, implying a lock-in into a possibly inferior technology. Tradable permits yield slower progress but can facilitate the simultaneous development of technologies, rendering lock-ins less likely.