Do rental agents discriminate against minority customers? Evidence from the 2000 Housing Discrimination Study

This study examines the incidence and causes of housing discrimination in qualitative treatment by rental agents, using national audit data from the 2000 Housing Discrimination Study. Using the fixed-effects logit method described by [Review of Economic Studies 47(1) (1980) 225–238], we control for unobservable factors that are shared by audit teammates and conduct hypothesis tests for the incidence and causes of discrimination. We find evidence that rental housing discrimination has declined since 1989 but continues to exist in several important types of housing agent behavior. We also find evidence that this discrimination is caused by agents’ own prejudice and by their response to the prejudice of white clients.     

Do Landlords Discriminate? The Incidence and Causes of Racial Discrimination in Rental Housing Markets

Discrimination in housing markets occurs when equally qualified people are treated differently because of their membership in a particular group. This study focuses on racial and ethnic discrimination in qualitative actions by landlords, such as making an advertised housing unit available for inspection by a customer. The data come from the Housing Discrimination study, which conducted over 1500 rental housing audits in 25 metropolitan areas in 1989. Each audit consists of a visits to a landlord by a white person and either a black or Hispanic person with similar socio-economic characteristics. Using Chamberlain's fixed-effect logic estimation, we develop a nationally representative measure of the incidence of discrimination in landlord behavior and conduct hypothesis tests on the incidence and causes of discrimination. The results indicate widespread discrimination across several types of landlord behavior and support the hypotheses that landlords discriminate both out of personal prejudice and in response to the prejudice of present and future white clients.     

Do SMEs in deprived areas find it harder to access finance? Evidence from the UK Small Business Survey

Encouraging enterprise in deprived places is an important objective of the UK government policy. Evidence on the perceptions of entrepreneurs suggests that access to finance may be harder for firms in deprived areas, who may have fewer contacts, less collateral or worse access to mainstream banks. Yet there is little empirical evidence on whether this is actually the case. This paper investigates whether firms in deprived areas are more likely to find it hard to access finance than other firms, using a sample of around 3500 UK small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). We find that firms in deprived areas are more likely to perceive access to finance is a problem. However, controlling for SME characteristics, firm growth, credit scores and selection effects, we find no evidence that they actually do find it harder to obtain. The results suggest that geographical disparities in access to finance are unimportant for the average firm.     

Do (Fe)Male Auditors Impair Audit Quality? Evidence from Going-Concern Opinions

Recent research indicates that there may be a relationship between the characteristics of the audit engagement partner and audit quality. In this paper, we examine the relationship between audit quality and the presence of a female or male audit engagement partner. We use the likelihood that an auditor issues a going-concern opinion (GCO), conditional on the client's financial situation, as an indicator of audit quality. Using a sample of 7105 financially distressed, private Belgian companies, we find that female auditors are, ceteris paribus, more likely to issue GCOs than male auditors. Our results also show that this effect is stronger when clients are either important (i.e. represent a material portion of the auditor's revenues) or high-risk (i.e. associated with increased uncertainties and risks). Collectively, these results indicate higher audit quality by female auditors.     

Do institutional investors monitor management? Evidence from the relationship between institutional ownership and capital structure

We examine the dynamic relations between institutional ownership and a firm's capital structure. We find that a firm's leverage decreases when institutional ownership increases. This result implies that a firm reduces its debt level as institutional investors substitute for the monitoring role of debt. More importantly, we find that a firm's suboptimal leverage decreases when the institutional ownership increases, and institutional ownership decreases when a firm's suboptimal leverage increases. This finding shows that institutions not only effectively monitor a firm's capital structure but they also passively sell their shares when dissatisfied with it. In addition, we find that the monitoring evidence on a firm's leverage and suboptimal leverage are more pronounced when the institutional investors are less likely to have business relationships with a firm or the information asymmetry is high in the market.     

Do landlords discriminate in the rental housing market? Evidence from an internet field experiment in US cities

This paper tests for racial discrimination in the rental housing market using matched-pair audits conducted via e-mail for rental units advertised on-line. We reveal home-seekers’ race to landlords by sending e-mails from names with a high likelihood of association with either whites or African Americans. Generally, discrimination occurs against African American names; however, when the content of the e-mail messages insinuates home-seekers with high social class, discrimination is non-existent. Racial discrimination is more severe in neighborhoods that are near “tipping points” in racial composition, and for units that are part of a larger building.     

Public-private partnerships in health care services: Do they outperform public hospitals regarding quality and access? Evidence from Portugal

Public-private partnerships (PPPs) are widely spread long-term arrangements between governments and strategic private partner(s). One of their objectives is to reduce the financial pressure on the public treasury with regard to new investments. PPPs have been employed within the health care sector which, in turn, carries a huge social burden. In Portugal, for instance, PPPs in health care concern bundling hospital infrastructure and clinical services management. Notwithstanding the need to ensure sustainability and efficient use of hospital resources, it is clearly compulsory to guarantee that patients receive appropriate and timely care, with maximum security, and equitable manner. Still, little or even no attention has been paid in the literature to the clinical response capacity of PPP hospitals and to the populism arguing that these entities have a lower social performance than typical public hospitals. This study uses robust benchmarking methodologies alongside recent data about Portuguese hospitals (FY2012-FY2017) to demystify this idea and to demonstrate that, actually, PPP hospitals can deliver health care services with social performance levels at least as good as public hospitals.     

Is there a unit root in the inflation rate? Evidence from sequential break and panel data models

Using sequential trend break and panel data models, we investigate the unit root hypothesis for the inflation rates of thirteen OECD countries. With individual country tests, we find evidence of stationarity in only four of the thirteen countries. The results are more striking with the panel data model. We can strongly reject the unit root hypothesis both for a panel of all thirteen countries and for a number of smaller panels consisting of as few as three countries. The non-rejection of the unit root hypothesis for inflation is very fragile to even a small amount of cross-section variation. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Do buyer cooperative actions matter under relational stress? Evidence from Japanese and U.S. assemblers in the U.S. automotive industry

Buyers can create relational stress even as they work cooperatively with suppliers. This study investigates the moderating effects of relational stress on the ability of buyer-initiated cooperative actions to influence a supplier's willingness to invest in technology that will be of benefit to the buyer. Data on 2012 buying situations were collected from Tier 1 suppliers to three U.S. domestic automotive assemblers (Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors) and three Japanese transplant automotive assemblers (Honda, Nissan, and Toyota) over three consecutive years (2003–2005). The results indicate that (1) buyer-initiated cooperative actions of communication, assistance, and supplier involvement increase a supplier's willingness to invest in technology, (2) the relationship-enhancing effect of buyer assistance increases under high relational stress, while the effectiveness of buyer communication decreases, and (3) that the effect of supplier involvement is not significantly influenced by relational stress levels. Furthermore, we found that supplier relations with Japanese transplant assemblers are characterized by higher levels of cooperative actions, lower levels of relational stress, and higher levels of supplier willingness to invest in technology when compared to those of U.S. domestic assemblers.     

How do stock prices respond to fundamental shocks in the case of the United States? Evidence from NASDAQ and DJIA

In this paper, we use both the Dow Jones and NASDAQ indices to test the robustness of Binswanger's (2004c) finding that US stock market dynamics are governed mostly by nonfundamental shocks or speculative bubbles after the 1982 debt crisis. We estimate a total of 72 SVAR models and 36 SVECM models. We determine that the findings are robust indeed and that fundamental shocks have become less and less important over the years, irrespective of which US stock market index is considered.     

Does literacy and numeracy training for adults increase employment and employability? Evidence from the Skills for Life programme in England

The employment effects of participation in adult literacy and numeracy courses are assessed, one year after participation, using a matched comparison, longitudinal design, with difference‐in‐differences analysis. Employability improvements, but no employment effects, are found. Effects on employment may result in the longer term from an increased likelihood of subsequent training.     

Why is the hypothetico-deductive (H-D) method in information systems not an H-D method?

The hypothetico-deductive (H-D) method is reported to be common in information systems (IS). In IS, the H-D method is often presented as a Popperian, Hempelian, or natural science method. However, there are many fundamental differences between what Popper or Hempel actually say and what the alleged H-D method per Hempel or per Popper means in IS. To avoid possible misunderstanding and conceptual confusion about the basic philosophical concepts, we explain some of these differences, which are not mentioned in IS literature describing the H-D model. Due to these distinctive differences, the alleged H-D method per Hempel or per Popper in IS cannot be regarded as the H-D model per Hempel or per Popper. Further, the H-D model is sometimes confused with another model in IS, the deductive-nomological (D-N) model of explanations. Confusing the H-D and D-N methods can also produce stagnation in the fundamental methodological thinking in IS. As one example, the H-D model (per Hempel or per Popper) does not require hypotheses to be based on existing theories or literature. As a result, misunderstanding the H-D model in IS may seriously limit new hypothesis or theory development, as the H-D model in the philosophy of science allows guessing and imagination as the source for hypotheses and theories. We argue that although IS research (1) generally does not follow the H-D method (per Hempel or per Popper), and (2) should not follow the H-D method, (3) we can still learn from the H-D method and criticisms of it. To learn from the H-D method, we outline method of hypothesis (MoH) approaches for further discussion. These MoH approaches are not hypothetico-deductive, but hypothetico-inductive-qualitative or hypothetico-inductive-statistical. The former MoH endeavors to be suitable for qualitative research, while the latter is aimed for statistical research in IS.     

How do trade openness,public expenditure and institutional performance affect unemployment in OIC countries? Evidence from the DCCE approach

This study explores the relationship between trade openness, public expenditure, institutional performance, and unemployment in member countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) (formerly the Organization of the Islamic Conference). The conventional panel data techniques overlook cross-sectional dependence and yield-biased results. A new methodology called dynamic common correlated effects (DCCE) is employed to deal with the issue of cross-sectional dependence. The long-run results demonstrate that trade openness is inversely and significantly associated with overall unemployment and youth unemployment in lower-income as well as all the OIC economies and positively correlated in the higher-income OIC group. Public expenditure has an inverse and significant correlation with unemployment in OIC countries overall and higher-income OIC countries. Moreover, institutional performance and foreign direct investment are negatively related to unemployment in all OIC economies. The research shows the need for the continuation of open trade policies, strong institutions, and higher public expenditure in the OIC countries in order to decrease overall unemployment—in particular, youth unemployment.     

Do TFP and the relative price of investment share a common I(1) component?

Results from cointegration tests clearly suggest that TFP and the relative price of investment (RPI) are not cointegrated. Evidence on the alternative possibility that they may nonetheless contain a common I(1) component generating long-horizon co-variation between them crucially depends on the fact that (i) structural breaks are, or are not allowed for, and (ii) the precise nature and timing of such breaks. Not allowing for breaks, evidence points towards the presence of a common component inducing positive long-horizon covariation, which is compatible with the notion that the technology transforming consumption goods into investment goods is non-linear, and the RPI is also impacted upon by neutral shocks. Allowing for breaks, evidence suggests that long-horizon covariation is either nil or negative.Assuming, for illustrative purposes, that the two series contain a common component inducing negative long-horizon covariation, evidence based on structural VARs shows that this common shock (i) plays an important role in macroeconomic fluctuations, explaining sizeable fractions of the forecast error variance of main macro series, and (ii) generates ‘disinflationary booms’, characterized by transitory increases in hours, and decreases in inflation.     

Engaged Scholar(ship) in purchasing and supply management (PSM): Creative tension or squeezed in the middle?

Purchasing and supply management research influences practice through the advancement of knowledge and theoretical principles and is positioned as an academic discipline. For the individual researcher, it calls for skills and experience that can be associated with engaged scholarship. This paper explores tensions inherent in engaged scholarship, that arise during the quest to interact closely with professionals to ensure relevance and impact while living up to research quality criteria. The paper concludes that the individual researcher in a field such as PSM is easily left with guidelines that point in multiple directions regarding personal achievement and institutional merits.     

The effect of oil price uncertainty on corporate investment in the presence of growth options: Evidence from listed companies in China (1998–2019)

We empirically investigate the effect of oil price uncertainty on corporate investment in the presence of growth options using the financial data of listed firms in China from 1998 to 2019. We reveal three key findings in this paper. First, we find that oil price uncertainty has a U-shaped nonlinear effect on corporate investment. In periods of low uncertainty, oil price uncertainty negatively influences corporate investment. However, in periods of high uncertainty, oil price uncertainty positively influences corporate investment. Second, research has found that the U-shaped nonlinear effect is moderated by the irreversibility and growth opportunities of investment decisions. Third, further analyses reveal that this U-shaped nonlinear effect can be changed by a firm’s characteristics. Specifically, this nonlinear effect can only be observed in non-state-owned enterprises and small firms. We test the robustness of our findings and propose several policy suggestions.     

Does oil price variability affect the long memory and weak form efficiency of stock markets in top oil producers and oil Consumers? Evidence from an asymmetric MF-DFA approach

This study examines the asymmetric multifractality and the market efficiency of the stock markets in the countries that are the top crude oil producers (USA, KSA, Canada and Russia) and consumers (Brazil, China, India, and Japan) using an asymmetric multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis (A-MF-DFA) method. The results show evidence of an asymmetric multifractal nature for all markets. Moreover, the multifractality is stronger in the upward movement of the market returns, except in China. The degree of efficiency of the stock markets is shown to be time-varying and experienced a decrease during the 2008 global financial crisis (GFC), but an upside trend occurred during the recent oil price crash followed a significant decline during COVID-19. The stock markets have an anti-persistent feature during GFC and COVID-19, whereas they exhibit a long-term persistent feature during oil price crash. More interestingly, the efficiency of the stock markets of crude oil producers is lower in general than that of oil consumers. Furthermore, the efficiency of the stock market is lower in the downward movement of the market returns than in the upward movement. Asymmetry and oil price uncertainty index are the key driver of the stock markets and can serve as predictor of the stock market dynamics of top oil producers and top oil consumers particularly during COVID-19 and oil price crash.     

How does(n't) Urban Shrinkage get onto the Agenda? Experiences from Leipzig,Liverpool, Genoa and Bytom

This article discusses the question of how urban shrinkage gets onto the agenda of public‐policy agencies. It is based on a comparison of the agenda‐setting histories of four European cities, Liverpool (UK), Leipzig (Germany), Genoa (Italy) and Bytom (Poland), which have all experienced severe population losses but show very different histories with respect to how local governments reacted to them. We use the political‐science concepts of ‘systemic vs. institutional agendas’ and ‘policy windows’ as a conceptual frame to compare these experiences. The article demonstrates that shrinkage is hardly ever responded to in a comprehensive manner but rather that policies are only implemented in a piecemeal way in selected fields. Moreover, it is argued that variations in institutional contexts and political dynamics lead to considerable differences with regard to the chances of making shrinkage a matter of public intervention. Against this background, the article takes issue with the idea that urban shrinkage only needs to be ‘accepted’ by policymakers who would need to overcome their growth‐oriented cultural perceptions, as has been suggested in a number of recent writings, and calls for a more differentiated, context‐sensitive view.