Demographic transition,education and economic growth in Tunisia

This paper provides empirical evidence supporting the interaction between fertility, education and economic growth through the underlying mechanism behind that correlation in accordance with Becker's theory. In consistency with the theory, the key explanatory variables in Tunisia's fertility model are real GDP per capita, infant mortality, contraceptive use ratio, and education. As opposed to most empirical works, the present study takes into consideration three educational levels, i.e., primary, secondary and higher. Also unlike most empirical research, this study attempts to analyse the impact of fertility transition on education and economic growth. To deal with too little or incomplete data, time series data for Tunisia are computed over 45 years. A multivariate cointegration analysis is carried out and shows that a long-term triangular relationship exists. A short dynamic run analysis based on the vector correction error model displays results in coherence with and close to those of the long term. Among our key results, education is found to trigger fertility transition both in the short and long run. In addition, education has relatively fostered economic growth but hardly boosted it through its dynamic interaction with fertility. Furthermore, the variance decomposition and the impulse function show that the fertility transition has produced a feedback effect on both education and economic growth.     

Fish as the “bank in the water” – Evidence from chronic-poor communities in Congo

Small-scale fisheries in developing countries are often perceived as being a low-productivity and backward informal sector. As a result they are rarely considered in poverty reduction programmes and rural development planning. In this paper, we investigate the dual role of fish as a food and cash crop through data collected in river fisheries in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Fishing in this very remote rural region of DRC is operated both by men and women, as part of a household multiple activity livelihood strategy. The data shows that poor households rely heavily on fishing for their supply of protein-rich food, in particular through women’s subsistence catches. Fishing also appears to be the main source of cash-income for the majority of households, including local farmers. Based on these findings and a review of the literature, the paper argues that small-scale fisheries can play a fundamental role in local economies, especially in remote rural areas where they strengthen significantly the livelihoods of people through their role in both food security and cash-income generation.     

Optimal control of linear econometric models with intermittent controls

Dynamic Programming is used to derive the optimal feedback solution to the minimization of a quadratic welfare loss-functional subject to a linear econometric model, when the value of some instrument variables can not be optimized in every model period, but only in single ones. In this way, the relative inertia of fiscal policy-making, as compared to monetary policy-making, can e.g. be taken into account. Analytical expressions are derived for the optimal feedback rules and for the minimum expected losses, and iterative schemes are proposed for their numerical computation. It is suggested that a numerical analysis of the economic gain to be realized by making more frequent adjustment of fiscal policy variables than is actually undertaken could yield valuable information for policy-makers.     

Leslie Berlin. The Man behind the Microchip: Robert Noyce and the Invention of Silicon Valley. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005. xi + 402 pp. ISBN 0-19-516343-5, $30.00.

The last few years have seen a number of books on the rise ofSilicon Valley. Martin Kenney’s Understanding SiliconValley (2000), Ross Bassett’s To the Digital Age (2002),Frederick Terman at Stanford by C. Stewart Gillmor (2004), andmy own book on Making Silicon Valley (2006) are notable examples.Another addition to this literature is The Man behind the Microchip:Robert Noyce and the Invention of Silicon Valley by     

Sandwich-Course Training in Higher Education as a Major Strategic Thrust Regional Policy of Professional Training： Lessons Learned From the Pioneering Example of the University Institute of Technology Corsica

Corsica is an island economy marked by the complete absence of any of the big holdings and multinationals that fuel and forge the worldwide economy. Equally absent is any of the kind of medium-sized enterprises servicing big business that have spearheaded local economies in other regions like Lombardy. Corsica＇s economic fabric is essentially made up of small and home businesses, farm smallholdings, artisans, and small-scale retail. Given how public-sector capital investment is already hypertrophied, a policy of investment in human capital could be a compelling new opportunity to trigger a dynamic regional development impetus. Leading the way, the University Institute of Technology Corsica, Corsica University＇s affiliated school of applied vocational technologies, is demonstrating its ability to act as a structurally engaged facilitator of island-wide spatial planning and regional branding. As a founding pillar in pioneering the emergence of a sandwich-course training system in higher education in Corsica, in 2010 the university made its entire training curriculum fully accessible to all through the signature of apprenticeship training or vocational qualifications agreements. This grass-roots programme is the outcome of a committed core strategy to develop partnerships with the island＇s key social and economic communities （businesses, community groups, and local authorities）, and it plays a fundamental role in shaping and selling the most vital valued assets that typify a regional territory emerging into a structured destination-brand identity （simultaneous growth in the employability and quality of school-to-work transition shown by its human capital, mass shift in the degree of skill acquisition directly tied to the regional territory＇s own organic needs, fluidity of knowledge transfer fully controlled through sandwich placements, deep sustainable entrepreneurship education etc.）. After highlighting the specific features of the sandwich training policy development process in Corsica as a shaper of the Regional Vocational Development Programme, this paper brings an analysis of the lessons learned from the pioneering example of the University Institute of Technology Corsica as a dynamic engineer of structured future and regional brand for Corsica.     

Improving Environmental Performance: A Challenge for Romania

The transition process in Central and Eastern Europe was associated with growing environmental awareness. This paper analyses the determinants of pollution abatement and control expenditure at plant level in the case of Romania using survey data and a multilevel regression model. Our findings suggest that, although Romania has improved its environmental performance, formal and informal regulations are still only partially developed owing to the difficulties of economic transition, and heterogeneity across regions remains considerable.     

Billboard and cinema advertising: Missed opportunity or spoiled arms?

Advertising remains one of the most popular marketing instruments, and many studies have studied its sales effectiveness. However, prior research has either looked at the total spending of a brand/firm, or has focused on the most popular media, especially TV advertising. Even though huge amounts are also spent on “smaller” media such as billboards and cinema, little is known on their effectiveness.