Money demand in Hungary and Poland

This paper analyses the determinants and the stability of money demand functions in Hungary and Poland, using an error-correction framework. The null of stable cointegration relationships cannot be rejected in some specifications. The results suggest that long-run parameters are in line with economic theory. While judging the appropriateness of different strategies of monetary policy on the basis of these findings alone would be premature, the paper suggests that money demand functions can serve as a useful reference for monetary authorities.     

The effect of parental background along the sons’ earnings distribution: does one pattern fit for all?

This article sheds light on the differences in the mechanisms generating intergenerational inequality in the four largest Euro Area economies (Spain, Italy, Germany and France) looking at the association between parental background and sons’ earnings along the sons’ distribution. We find that in all countries returns to parental background increase along the sons’ earnings distribution and the probability of ending up in high deciles is significantly correlated with parental background. However, although these findings lend support to the existence of a common mechanism, substantial differences in returns’ steepness question the one-pattern-fits-all story.     

BEST Think Tanks and the Development of Curriculum Modules for Teaching Sustainability Principles

The actualisation of sustainable tourism is possible only if and when managers of tourist destinations and hospitality enterprises both value and know how to implement sustainable development principles and practices. It follows that the concept of sustainable development, with its values and principles, must become part of the mindset of tomorrow's managers to move sustainable development forward from theoretical concepts to the realm of practice. Business Enterprises for Sustainable Travel (BEST) has assumed a responsibility for developing resources for educating future tourism managers about the principles of sustainable development. The goal is not only to instil the values of the principles of sustainability but also to impart the skills and knowledge needed to apply the principles. This report describes BEST's work and recent Think Tanks that have been used to progress that work.     

A simple and effective misspecification test for the double-hurdle model

The commonly-used version of the double-hurdle model rests on a rather restrictive set of statistical assumptions, which are very seldom tested by practitioners, mainly because of the lack of a standard procedure for doing so, although violation of such assumptions can lead to serious modelling flaws. We propose here a bootstrap-corrected conditional moment portmanteau test which is simple to implement and has good size and power properties.     

Value stream mapping implementation in the third sector

An analysis of the development of non-profit organizations highlights critical issues related to the efficiency and strategic capacity of many organizations. To do this, it is necessary to use management models that combine the effectiveness of social solidarity with acceptable levels of efficiency. This study focuses on the application of Value Stream Mapping (VSM) to reorganize the work placement service in one of Italy??s major third sector organizations. A telephone survey, administered to 184 diocesan counseling services, provided an exhaustive overview of the macro-environment and the work placement service features. The process re-engineering is dealt with by an interdisciplinary approach. Implementing the Allison and Kaye model provides an approach specific to non-profit organizations. Furthermore, the use of VSM in the strategic planning enriches the model itself and provides a practical and pragmatic approach typical of re-engineering that focuses on the organization??s objectives. VSM allows the identification of the critical points in the value flow chain, and the suggested actions support the development of the work placement service.     

Transnational labour markets and national wage setting systems in the EU

The article analyses the impact of European regulations of posting on different national wage systems. The article shows that the impact varied across the countries and has been filtered by the national institutions regulating the labour market. In the voluntarist wage setting systems of Germany and even Sweden, they have been a major factor bringing wages back into competition. The ability of national actors to act has been considerably curtailed by the European Court of Justice (EUJ), which has placed free competition above the basic rights of autonomous collective bargaining. Because of the divergent interests of Member States, this weakening of national actors cannot be compensated for by transnational agreements. This ‘negative integration’ brings with it a serious risk that the inclusiveness of European wage systems will be eroded by a series of cumulative effects.     

Careers and wages in the Dutch East India Company

Inter-continental trade brought a novel form of organizing business to early modern Europe: the multinational firm. Headquartered in Europe and operating in Asia, the success of the East India Companies depended largely on the management of overseas outposts and their corresponding labor force. Using a dataset of 115 individuals hired in Europe to work in Asia, I present the internal structure of the careers and wages of civil servants in the Dutch East India Company in the eighteenth century. There were stable career paths, fast tracks in promotions, and sizable returns to tenure. Despite the 300-year-old evidence, the VOC conforms rather well with present personnel practices and theories of internal labor markets.