Export specialization and economic growth around the world

This paper empirically investigates the extent to which technological characteristics in exports affect the patterns of trade-led economic growth across countries. Data of the Balassa index, which captures a country's revealed comparative advantage, are obtained for industries classified by technological intensity. Regression results based on a sample of 71 countries since 1970 suggest that economies have tended to grow more rapidly when they have increasingly specialized in exporting high-technology as opposed to traditional or low-technology goods. The findings are robust to the presence of various control variables as well as the consideration of parameter heterogeneity and in the endogeneity of export structures.     

A framework to measure the relative socio-economic performance of developing countries

This research develops a framework to estimate the relative efficiency of developing countries in utilizing both their domestic and external resources to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. The analysis highlights distinct efficiency differences across lending groups and geographic regions e.g. between Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. The performance of regions exposed to natural disasters and political violence need to be analyzed individually and risk management ought to be an integrated part of development policy. The gap between the Millennium Development Goals and human rights approaches is then examined. Finally, we qualify a country's performance level as potentially sustainable in terms of human, social and environmental welfare, in turn searching for realistic benchmarks and intermediate targets for the relatively inefficient countries. Principal component analysis in combination with data envelopment analysis was applied to solve the problem of efficiency overestimation with multi-dimensional scaling used to present the issue graphically. In summary, the aim of this work is not to rank countries in a league table rather to provide a framework that combines economic, environmental and social issues in order to search for sustainable, pragmatic benchmarks, pushing the boundaries of the Human Development Index.     

A new relative skill measure for games with chance elements

An interesting aspect of games is the relative extent to which a player can positively influence his results by making appropriate strategic choices. This question is closely related to the issue of how to distinguish between games of skill and games of chance. The distinction between these two types of games is definitely interesting from a juridical point of view. In this paper we present a modification of an existing measure of the skill level of a game, which has served as a juridical tool for the classification of games. The main difference is that this new definition does not automatically classify incomplete information games without chance moves as games of skill. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Vertical integration vs. specialization: a nonparametric conditional efficiency estimate for the global semiconductor industry

Journal of Productivity Analysis - This paper applies a two-stage nonparametric approach to compare companies operating in different business models in the global semiconductor industry. Using...     

Gender fluidity across the world: a Multilevel Item Response Theory approach

The concept of gender identity refers to the intrinsic self-identification of personal femaleness and maleness. Starting from 1970s, in the framework of gender studies, a theoretical and conceptual demarcation between sex and gender has been proposed. The term “gender” starts being referred to social and cultural constructions of masculinities and femininities, not to the state of being male or female. Recent studies on gender identity suggest that the binary notion of gender identity is changing, recognizing that there are different views on how gender may be performed or experienced. The purpose of our research is to provide accounts of gender code transformation around the world and identify differences in feelings, attitudes, beliefs and behaviors associated with gender across different identity profiles. Using a web-based survey, 1,600 respondents were recruited by a snowball sampling procedure. Based on the intersections of the responses given by participants on three basic dimensions (biological sex, gender self-identification and sexual orientation) the individuals have been categorized into nine groups. To comply with the aims of this study, a two-parameter Multilevel Item Response Theory model has been employed as an appropriate statistical tool for considering both person and item effects on the response data and assessing the effect of group membership on the overall variability.     

Servitization across countries and sectors: Evidence from world input-output data

This paper uses the supply tables underlying WIOT data to explore the provision of services by manufacturing. The service shares differ substantially across countries and sectors, while they remain largely stable over time. A latent class analysis assigns broadly defined manufacturing sectors to economy-wide growth models, differentiating between service- and manufacturing-driven models in catching-up and developed economies. Servitization increases with labor productivity. The service intensities in the sectoral production mix are lower in countries with higher manufacturing shares. This holds for both catching-up and developed economies. However, servitization is largely unrelated to productivity and employment growth. We therefore argue that the degree of servitization is contingent on and an attribute of the respective economic model in which a sector operates.     

德鲁克：一个影响了世界的人

给《大师的轨迹(》TheWorldAccordingtoPeterDrucker)写序不是一件容易的事。杰克·贝蒂(JackBeatty)是研究德鲁克的权威人士。他曾做过美国《大西洋月刊》的编辑,为了撰写《大师的轨迹》一书,他研究了大量的关于的德鲁克的史料,而且还多次登门拜访德鲁克以求证一些事件的细节。该书对德鲁克的研究从1914年到1994年,地点从奥地利、德国、英国,到美国和日本,内容涉及德鲁克25本主要著作,涵盖了德鲁克在政治、经济、社会和管理等方面的思想。所以我认为,用“大师的轨迹”来概括该书丰富的内容是合适的。我第一次看到这本书,是2000年在德鲁…     

A non-parametric test for industrial specialization

We introduce a non-parametric microdata based test for industrial specialization and apply it to a single urban area. Our test employs establishment densities for specific industries, a population counterfactual, and a new correction for multiple hypothesis testing to determine the statistical significance of specialization across both places and industries. Results highlight patterns of specialization that are extremely varied, with downtown places specializing in a number of service sector industries, while suburban places specialize in both manufacturing and service industries. Business service industries are subject to more specialization than non-business service industries while the manufacturing sector contains the lowest representation of industries with specialized places. Finally, we compare results for specialization with localization and show that both measures contribute to our understanding of industry and place specific agglomerative forces.     

A framework to measure relative performance of Indian technical institutions using integrated fuzzy AHP and COPRAS methodology

There are many opportunities and challenges in area of Indian technical education due to liberalization and globalization of economy. One of these challenges is how to assess performance of technical institutions based on multiple criteria. This paper is focused on performance evaluation and ranking of seven Indian Institute of Technology (IITs) in respect to stakeholders’ preference using an integrated model consisting of fuzzy AHP and COPRAS. Findings based on 2007–2008 data show that performance of two IITs need considerable improvement. To the best of our knowledge it is one of few studies that evaluates performance of technical institutions in India.     

A specialization of the convex simplex method to cubic programming

This paper presents a specialization of the Convex Simplex method to cubic objective functions. The algorithm selects a direction of improvement by looking at the partial derivative. An optimal step is chosen by maximizing the objective function in that direction. This involves considering quadratic derivatives and selecting the appropriate step size. The pivoting is done by either a simple Simplex pivoting or by addition of a constraint as in Beale's algorithm. The convergence and the computational efficiency of the algorithm are presented in the last section of the paper, with several examples of application of cubic programming.

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Riassunto Si presenta un adattamento del metodo «Convex Simplex» per risolvere problemi la cui funzione obiettivo è cubica. L'algoritmo analizza le derivate parziali della funzione obiettivo e indica la direzione e la variazione ottimali per procedere poi in analogia all'algoritmo di Beale. Vengono infine analizzate l'efficenza e la convergenza del metodo e considerati vari esempi pratici di applicazione della programmazione cubica.

     

Vertical Disintegration: A Dynamic Markovian Approach

In a model where a monopolistic downstream firm (assembler) negotiates simultaneously with each of its intermediate‐input suppliers the prices of the complementary components which enter its product, we analyze the process by which the assembler separates from its suppliers as a Markov Perfect equilibrium. Due to a negative strategic effect (the prices and profits of independent suppliers decrease when their number increases), the assembler’s marginal return from keeping an upstream subsidiary is lower than the market value of an independent supplier. Separation is immediate when the downstream firm’s initial number of upstream subsidiaries is below a critical level. It is progressive in the reverse case and eventually leads to a mixed strategy whereby the assembler keeps all the remaining subsidiaries with some probability, and sells all them off in one go with the complementary probability.     

世界本就如此

一个小孩正在河边走着,忽然看到水边有一只陷在网里的鳄鱼。鳄鱼也看到了男孩,求道：“你能可怜可怜我,把我救出去吗？     

A relative mobility table

In this paper a tool of representation of the relative mobility is presented, that couples to the ordinary mobility table as a means of representation of the absolute mobility. From the statistical point of view it is connected to the tradition of “ransacking” mobility tables through odds ratios (Goodman, 1969), whereas the sociological inspiration came from the work of Goldthorpe (1980) on relative mobility. The first section presents the underlying logic and the simple computations involved in the construction of the “relative mobility table” and shows the main properties of the coefficients (“generalized odds ratios”) here used for the study of the “mobility regime”. The second section discusses some other uses of the ralative mobility table data.     

郭凡生商海无涯细品味

枕边一本书,睡前翻一翻,使他的生活更加惬意。徜徉在书的世界里,就像与很多思想家在交谈,他永远不会寂寞     

Spatial distribution of the specialization of arts

The hypothesis is that the major source of concentration of arts in different regions is due to agglomeration effects of specialized talents, city size, income, and quality of life. Twenty-nine large metropolitan areas are ranked and assessed for enhancing the climate for arts activity. Data on metropolitan areas in the United States on cost of living, transportation, employment, education, climate, crime, health care, recreation, city size, and per capita income are used as explanations for predominance of art in the 29 metropolitan areas. The results indicate that cities with larger populations and higher per capita income have greater concentrations of artistic activity. Other explanatory variables include factors associated with the quality of life. (JEL RIO, R23)     

Vertical integration: A comparative analysis of performance and risk

Hofer's (1973) argument for strategy analysis by matched pairs forms a central methodological feature in this examination of vertical integration. With twenty matched pairs of companies we have sought to eliminate the major extraneous factors that have precluded consensus among previous research findings. Our results show that vertical integration (via whole ownership) is performance and risk-neutral. Support is generated for the fundamental notion that successful strategy selection, and subsequent performance, is a function of firm-specific competencies and opportunities. Consequently, we urge that research on vertical integration move forward to consider ex ante conditions of fit rather than continuing to pursue ex post rationalizations of performance and risk.     

Recruiting across cultures: A value-based model of recruitment

With globalization intensifying, knowledge of cultural differences becomes increasingly critical. In the area of recruitment, a cross-cultural knowledge base is vital as the demand for international talent poses escalating challenges to effectively attracting desirable applicants. However, we know very little about the effectiveness of recruitment practices across cultures because most studies have been conducted in the U.S. We propose a theoretical framework of recruitment exploring how cultural values influence the effectiveness of recruitment practices in different cultural contexts. We argue that cultural values may moderate relationships between recruitment practices and recruitment outcomes across all phases of the recruitment process and suggest implications for future research directions.