Innovation management in organizations

This paper poses the question of how a firm should optimally choose both its organization and its compensation in the pursuit of innovation. One key result is that incentive pay arises as a robust instrument of innovation management both with and without delegation, although in the present model its primary purpose is not to elicit more effort for the creation of new ideas, but to ensure that new ideas are implemented if and only if this is efficient. While without delegation, the firm may “underinvest” in innovation, with delegation the opposite bias may arise as new ideas may be implemented too often (“overinvestment”). The optimal organizational choice trades off these two biases.     

Non-Segmented Equilibria Under Differential Taxation: Evidence from the Canadian Government Bond Market

This paper investigates tax effects in the Canadian governmentbond market during the period 1964—1986. Unlike previousstudies, we apply both statistical and nonstatistical teststoanalyze clientele effects and market equilibria. The resultsdivide the sample into two distinct periods of time, with theend of 1976 marking the division. We find that tax effects arealmost nonexistent in the Canadian government bond market beforethe end of 1976, but are predominant in the post-1976 period.Non-segmented market equilibria cannot be rejected before 1977,but are strongly rejected after 1976. In fact, segmented equilibriawith clientele effects in both quantities and prices characterizethe entire five year period from 1982 to 1986. These findingsare consistent with tax reforms, government deficit financingand interest rate fluctuations in Canada during our sample period.     

Income and religion: a heterogeneous panel data analysis

A recent empirical literature has addressed the relationship between income and religion, but most of the studies are based on microdata. Macroeconomic analysis of the issue has largely ignored the potential heterogeneity between countries. Using retrospective data on church attendance rates for a panel of countries between 1925 and 1990, we apply heterogeneous panel data estimators and reveal that the effect of participation in religious activities on income per capita is mostly non-significant. This is consistent with some of the recent research that casts doubt onto the influence of religion on income, once causality is taken into account.     

Politics matter: changes in unionisation rates in rich countries, 1960–2010

We use the Institutional Characteristics of Trade Unions, Wage Setting, State Intervention and Social Pacts database to examine the changes in collective bargaining coverage and union density among 21 OECD countries over the past 50 years. The observed patterns suggest that national politics are a more important determinant of recent trends in unionisation than globalisation or technological change.     

Der MDK kommt!

Vorbereitung auf die Qualit?tsprüfung — Steht der MDK unangemeldet vor der Tür, kommt es unter den Mitarbeitern h?ufig zu Unsicherheiten, die sich negativ auf die Prüfung auswirken k?nnen. Doch durch klare Aufgabenverteilungen und einen „Handlungsleitfaden“ legen Sie und Ihre Mitarbeiter den Grundstein für ein gutes Prüfungsergebnis.     

Transformations of a city centre in the light of ideologies: the case of Banská Bystrica,Slovakia

This paper is concerned with transformations of the central square in the city of Banská Bystrica, Central Slovakia, from 1918 to the present. This period can be divided into three important eras with respect to the historical development of the square. In the democratic period from 1918–48, the central square was a polyfunctional area where most of the city’s social and cultural events and activities took place. The polyfunctionality of the square in the interwar period was replaced by a dominating traffic function in the communist period, during the years 1948–89. The central square became the arterial road of the city where any social and cultural activities were impossible to organize because of noise and pollution. The situation has changed since the velvet revolution in 1989. Most of the houses on the square have been returned to former owners and transformed into luxurious private shops, restaurants, cafes and banks. In 1994 the complete reconstruction of the square took place. The inhabitants have welcomed the reconstruction with great interest. After long years, the square has become a place of rich social and cultural life, and is considered a symbol of modernization and westernization. The reconstruction of the square has contributed to a revitalization of urban life. It has reinforced the inhabitants’ identity with the city and their pride in the place where they live. mdash; Cet article concerne les transformations de la place centrale de la ville de Banská Bystrica en Slovakie Centrale, de 1918 à nos jours. Cette période peut être divisée en trois époques, importantes quant au développement historique de cette place. Durant la période démocratique de 1918 à 1948, la place centrale était un endroit polyfonctionnel où prenaient place la plupart des activités sociales et culturelles. La polyfonctionnalité de la place entre les deux guerres fut remplacée par la fonction dominante de la circulation durant la période communiste de 1948 à 1989. La place centrale devint l’artère principale de la ville où il était impossible d’organiser des activités culturelles ou sociales à cause du bruit et de la pollution. Cette situation a changé depuis la révolution feutrée de 1989. La plupart des maisons sur la place ont été rendues à leurs anciens propriétaires et transformées en boutiques de luxe, en restaurants, en cafés et en banques. La reconstruction complète de la place que les habitants ont accueilli chaudement et avec grand intérêt, eut lieu en 1994. Après de nombreuses années, la place est devenue un lieu riche de vie culturelle et sociale et est considérée un symbole de modernisation et occidentalisation. La reconstruction de la place a contribuéà la revigoration de la vie urbaine. Elle a renforcé l’identification des habitants à leur ville et leur fierté d’y habiter.     

Technology gaps in European banking: Put the blame on inputs or outputs?

This paper investigates the production efficiency of 12 European banking systems over the period 1997–2004, taking into account possible technology heterogeneity. Using a non-parametric metafrontier framework, efficiency and metatechnology ratio measures are computed and decomposed into input- and output-invariant components. Empirical findings indicate the existence of significant and rather increasing technology heterogeneity within European banking. A typology of the national banking systems is also developed, based on the overall productive performance with respect to the European technological edge, the absorptive capacity and the role of knowledge spillover effects. Decomposition results draw attention to catching up policies focusing on input and/or output scale adjustments.