Global growth to 2024: reversion to which mean?

• We expect global GDP growth to average 3.5% per year (at PPP exchange rates) over the next ten years. This is lower than the 3.8% recorded in 2000–14 though not dramatically so. There will be a modest recovery in advanced economy growth ‐ but not to pre‐crisis rates. Emerging market (EM) growth will slow but remain faster than growth in the advanced economies. And with EM's share in world GDP much increased from 10–15 years ago, EMs will continue to provide a large proportion of world growth.
• EM growth is expected to run at around 4.5% per year in 2015–24, well down on the 6% seen in 2000–14. This includes a slowdown from around 10% to 5–6% in China ‐ but China's share in world GDP has risen so much that China's contribution to world growth will remain very substantial.
• Advanced economies are forecast to grow by 1.9% per year in 2015–24, a big improvement from the 1% pace of 2007–14 (which was affected by the global financial crisis) but below the 1990–2014 average. Indeed, the gap between forecast G7 GDP and GDP extrapolated using pre‐crisis trends in potential output will remain large at 10–15% in 2015–24.
• Global growth will remain relatively strong compared to much longer‐term averages: growth from 1870–1950 was only around 2% per year. But a return to such low growth rates looks unlikely; China and India were a major drag on world growth until the 1980s but are now fast growing regions.
• Our forecast is relatively cautious about key growth factors; the contribution of productivity growth is expected to improve slightly, while those from capital accumulation and labour supply fall back. Demographics will be a more severe drag on growth from 2025–40. Overall, risks to our long‐term forecasts look to be skewed to the downside.

     

‘Escaping to the gallery’: understanding the motivations of visitors to galleries

• Whilst market research and academic studies by sociologists have identified the personal and socio-cultural factors that influence visits to galleries, there has been less attention to the area of motivational research. Understanding motivations is important as it reveals the underlying reasons why visitors choose to participate in specific leisure activities. This paper focuses on the motivations of two groups of visitors at events at an art gallery. A pre-tested motivational scale built around three factors, learning, social/family interaction and Escapism explained 71.5% of variance. Escapism explained 29.4% of that variance and was the core motivation. The findings of the research are important to both academics and practitioners as previously learning was thought to be the main motivation. This study should be replicated in other settings to evaluate whether gallery and museum managers need to re-consider the purpose, content and marketing of their programmes in a post-modern society.

Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Skill: the solution to low wage work?

During the UK Labour government's 13 years in power, raising skill levels was seen as the principal mechanism to improve the position of workers stuck in low wage jobs. This article draws together research undertaken in low wage sectors to question the assumptions that underlay Labour's approach to low pay.     

Responses to work intensification: does generation matter?

Work intensification can be an organisational tool to increase the productivity of an existing workforce. We investigate employee reactions to three levels of sustained extensive work intensification (long work hours over two consecutive time periods) of the two most prevalent generational groups in the labour market: Generation X and Baby Boomers. Boomers have been characterised as ‘workaholics’ who ‘live to work’, while Gen Xers are ‘slackers’ who ‘work to live’. We investigate, using a nationally representative sample of employees, whether these generational differences in work attitudes impact employee reactions (measured by employee reports of job satisfaction and work–life balance) to sustained extensive work intensification. The results show that perceptions of job satisfaction and work–life balance are reduced by sustained extensive work intensification but the differences between the two generations are minimal, suggesting that organisations do not need to tailor their employment practices to fit the work values of different generations.     

Market orientation: an option for universities to adopt?

• The primary objectives of this exploratory paper are to test the concept of market orientation adapted from related literature in the education context and to examine the effects of market orientation as a second‐order factor on university student satisfaction. The revised scale, validated through exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis, constitutes a good fit. Specifically, the new scale is statistically and positively related with student satisfaction, indicating that market orientation is an important factor that leads to higher student satisfaction. The findings show that the degree to which students are satisfied with their choice of university depends significantly on how market oriented the university is. In other words, the effective application of market orientation strategy relates to student satisfaction and to the decisions they make when selecting a university. To that end, market orientation is an option for universities to adopt. The empirical results add to the meager and emerging literature on marketing and branding of universities and will be of interest of university administrators and marketing and branding managers of universities. The paper concludes by discussing conclusions, implications, limitations, and future research.

Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fetal protection policies: A threat to employee rights?

Corporations utilizing toxic substances in the workplace are faced with the possibility that the use of those substances will cause reproductive damage in their employees. In the face of complex and confusing government regulation on the issue and scientific uncertainty about the effects of many substaces, several major corporations have sought to minimize legal liability for any potential reproductive damage by excluding the fertile female worker from the workplace, Yet, by adopting such fetal protection policies, corporations have opened themselves up to a host of new problems and threatened the rights of workers.     

Understanding constant connectivity to work: How and for whom is constant connectivity related to employee well-being?

Over the past few decades, the widespread use of mobile work devices (MWDs: e.g., laptops and smartphones) has enabled constant connectivity to work. This study advances previous work on the effects of constant connectivity for employees by focusing on how and for whom constant connectivity might be related to employee well-being. Additionally, organizational-level antecedents of constant connectivity are investigated. This paper reports on two survey studies that a) operationalize constant connectivity and its organizational antecedents and b) investigate the relationship between constant connectivity and employee well-being. The findings demonstrate that constant connectivity is negatively related to employees' well-being due to the inability to disengage from work. Moreover, this negative association exists independently of employees' boundary preferences. The findings further suggest that perceived alignment between perceived functional, physical, and symbolic connectivity aspects of MWDs and occupational identity, susceptibility to social pressure, and the visibility of co-workers' communication practices all contribute to constant connectivity in the workplace.     

Line managers’ AMO to manage employees’ performance: the route to effective and satisfying performance management

Abstract

Performance management systems are used to increase employees’ performance with the ultimate aim of increasing organizational performance. Organizations rely on line managers to implement performance management systems and to engage in a continuous process of goal-setting, feedback, coaching and performance appraisal with their employees. Drawing on the AMO theory, we predict that the effectiveness of performance management implementation will be a function of three factors. First, line managers should have the Ability to enact the activities that are involved in performance management. Secondly, they should be Motivated to perform these activities. Thirdly, line managers should have sufficient Opportunity to fulfill these activities on top of the demands from other organizational. If not, they could experience role conflict. We developed several cross-level hypotheses. The data came from 71 line managers and 318 employees working in Flemish education. Hierarchical linear modelling found that line managers’ AMO to implement performance management systems was positively related to employees’ satisfaction with the system. These relationships were mediated by employees’ perceptions that the performance management system is strong. A strong system signals that its features are salient across employees and that the system is clear and understood. This study has several theoretical and practical implications.     

Organizational response to environmental regulation: punctuated change or autogenesis?

Theory predicts that when faced with threatening new conditions, managers often attempt to preserve the status quo by creating a buffer between the organization and the outside world. This paper presents evidence that in response to new water pollution regulation, managers indeed created buffers of technology and personnel, but in some organizations this very equipment and personnel initiated a process of incremental change that led to better environmental protection, more efficient production, and in a few cases, entirely new product and production strategies. For public policy, this research suggests that environmental regulators should allow companies time and flexibility to learn and experiment. For organizational theory, this research suggests a link between punctuated‐equilibrium models of organizational dynamics ( Tushman and Romanelli, 1985 ) and theories of self‐organizing systems ( Drazin and Sandelands, 1992 ). That is, management may respond to external changes by attempting to preserve the status quo, but in so doing influence internal deep structures that then cause organizations to gradually evolve to different behaviours and shapes. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. and ERP Environment     

Spanish Internal Migration: Is there Anything New to Say?

Abstract

Spanish internal migration has long been resistant to traditional economic explanations. However, this paper examines the data for the period 1999–2006 after considerable changes in the Spanish economy. Moreover, it examines migration at the disaggregated level of Spanish provinces rather than regions, the usual unit of measurement. Using a spatial error model as well as a spatial autoregression model it finds the differentials in wages and unemployment between provinces to be significant explanatory variables. House prices are also important in accounting for the dynamics of internal migration.

Les migrations internes en Espagne: qu'y a-t-il de nouveau?

Les migrations internes en Espagne résistent, depuis toujours, à des explications économiques traditionnelles. Cependant, la présente communication examine les données relatives à la période 1999–2006, dans le sillage des changements considérables qui sont survenus dans l’économie espagnole. Elle se penche également sur la migration au niveau désagrégé de provinces espagnoles plutôt que de régions, unité de mesure traditionnelle. En utilisant un modèle d'erreur spatiale ainsi qu'un modèle à autorégression spatiale, elle en conclut que les différences sur le plan des salaires et du chômage entre les différentes provinces constituent des variables explicatives significatives. En outre, le prix de l'immobilier résidentiel joue également un rôle important dans l'examen de la dynamique des migrations internes.

Migracin interior espaola: Queda algo nuevo por decir?

La migración interior española lleva mucho tiempo resistiéndose a las explicaciones económicas tradicionales. No obstante, este artículo examina los datos de 1999–2006, después de considerables cambios en la economía española. Asimismo, examina la migración al nivel desagregado de provincias españolas, en lugar de regiones, que representa la unidad típica de medida. Utilizando un modelo de error espacial, así como un modelo de autorregresión espacial, se descubre que los diferenciales en salarios y empleo entre las provincias son importantes variables explicativas. Los precios de la vivienda también son importantes a la hora de comprender la dinámica de la migración interior.

     

Regulatory Uncertainty: A Reason to Postpone Investments? Not Necessarily

There is a polarity in the literature as to whether companies do or do not postpone investment decisions in the light of regulatory uncertainty. In the case of flexible regulation characterized by a high degree and discontinuous resolution of uncertainty, we show that companies do not necessarily postpone investment decisions. We trace this observation back to three motivations: securing competitive resources, leveraging complementary resources, and alleviating institutional pressure. We connect these motivations to fundamental principles of the resource-based view and institutional theory and further show the existence of a regime where institutionally motivated and resource-based actions are not necessarily decoupled. We base our research on a case study covering 80 per cent of the German power generation industry which faces regulatory uncertainty from the European CO₂ Emission Trading Scheme.     

State competition in higher education: A race to the top,or a race to the bottom?

How does competition affect higher education? This paper explores this question for public and private universities. Theory indicates that competition can push higher education policy in one of two different directions. On the one hand, competition may increase spending. For states, this would occur if states treat higher education as developmental; for private universities this would occur if they view spending as a means to attract students and prestige. On the other hand, competition may decrease spending if states treat higher education spending as redistributive, and competition may decrease spending by private schools if lower spending enhances their ability to attract students with low tuition. To determine which of these perspectives is most valid, we examine higher education policy choices in the 1980s and 1990s. We find that states appear to act as if higher education funding is redistributive while private schools appear to compete more on the basis of tuition than spending. These results demonstrate the important effects competition and governance structure have on higher education.Received: August 2001, Accepted: May 2002, JEL Classification: I2, I22, H72, I3     

Multiple Institutional Logics in Health Care: ‘Productive Ward: Releasing Time to Care’

Health care organizations are often confronted with multiple institutional logics. In this study, a longitudinal case study method was used to gain insights into the adoption decision-making and implementation process of an apparently hybrid innovative practice when multiple logics are present. The case study focuses on the adoption and implementation of ‘Productive Ward: Releasing Time to Care’ in a Dutch hospital. This is a quality improvement programme developed by the National Health Service (NHS) in the United Kingdom. The results show that institutional logics complicate the adoption and implementation process.     

Reforming public services: does service logic have anything to offer?

ABSTRACT

This article discusses what service management and the logic of service (SL) can offer to public service management. There are no real inbuilt differences between public and private service organizations and no reasons why public service organizations (PSOs) would be less efficient and less service-focussed and oriented towards service users than private service organizations. Good service management rather than privatization is required to make a PSO more efficient and effectively outward-oriented. Service-focussed value creation management and how service logic can be applied by PSOs to enable them to transform to outward-focussed service organizations are discussed. A change framework is presented.     

Accountability and performance management: citizens’ willingness to monitor public officials

ABSTRACT

In recent decades, the operating mechanisms of states and societies have transformed from traditional hierarchical relationships into a more horizontal structure. In this new setting, citizens may have a critical role in monitoring public accountability. This article explores citizens’ willingness to monitor public officials’ accountability and the factors that may influence it. Using a survey distributed in Israel in 2016, the analysis indicates that citizens view these interactions in terms of collective action problems aimed at minimizing freeriding. Government policy in these areas is irrelevant to citizens’ calculations.     

Database segmentation: An alternative to recency,frequency, value?

This paper argues that recency, frequency, value (RFV), the engines of database segmentation in the voluntary sector, are by no means the only profitable approaches to database segmentation. The use of response models based on core statistical theorems offers an alternative to RFV that may be more discriminatory in targeting both those who are most likely to respond (the people we want to communicate with), and also those least likely to respond (the people we want to avoid).     

Correlating Lévy processes with self-decomposability: applications to energy markets

Decisions in Economics and Finance - Based on the concept of self-decomposability, we extend some recent multidimensional Lévy models built using multivariate subordination. Our aim is to...