Determinants of the growth aspiration: a quantitative study of Venezuelan entrepreneurs

The article examines the determinants of the growth aspiration of Venezuelan entrepreneurs. We use the GEM database and build an econometric model based on a set of exogenous variables grouped into three large categories: contextual or environmental factors, individual factors and business variables. Given the Venezuelan specific characteristics, we place a particular focus on understanding the differences between entrepreneurs belonging or not to the BoP. The primary findings of this work are the identification of the variables that explain growth aspiration, namely, belonging to the BoP, gender, education, motivation and years of study and some additional variables where individual factors interact with the contextual factor BoP. The second finding is that there are significant differences for the entrepreneurs belonging and not belonging to the BoP, with a threshold where the entrepreneurs of the BoP become averse to continuing to aspire to growth. Practical and policy implications are elaborated with the results.     

Human Capital Spillovers and Regional Development

This paper introduces technological interdependence into the theoretical framework of Gennaioli et al. (Quarterly Journal of Economics 2013; 128 : 105–164). This extension leads to an expression for regional development with spatial effects that motivates the incorporation of the geographical dimension into their newly constructed database and empirical analysis. Our estimation results corroborate both the necessity of accounting for the presence of spatial dependence to study the determinants of regional income per capita and the importance of educational attainment in explaining regional development differences. Furthermore, we provide evidence that human capital generates positive spatial spillovers. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Loan Supply Shocks and the Business Cycle

This paper provides empirical evidence on the role played by loan supply shocks over the business cycle in the euro area, the UK and the USA from 1980 to 2011 by estimating time‐varying parameter vector autoregression models with stochastic volatility and identifying these shocks with sign restrictions consistent with the recent macroeconomic literature. The evidence suggests that in all three economic areas loan supply shocks appear to have a significant effect, with clear signs of an increasing impact over the past few years. Moreover, the role of loan supply shocks is estimated to be particularly important during recessions. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Social Capital: A Roadmap of Theoretical and Empirical Contributions and Limitations

The general idea of social capital is that relationships matter. In this sense, the trust, cooperation and reciprocity involved in these relationships can have a positive impact on the wealth of society by reducing transaction costs, facilitating collective actions, and lowering opportunistic behavior. This work sheds light on the different theoretical and empirical problems that a scholar is likely to face in dealing with social capital research and analysis. We propose a critical roadmap of the social capital theories and applications for a general audience, nonusers included, with particular attention to the works of political and social economists. We provide a critical debate on the different definitions and measures produced, the theoretical frameworks developed, and the empirical techniques adopted so far in the analysis of the impact of social capital on socio-economic outcomes. We turn to the limitations of these techniques and suggest some basic strategies to reduce the magnitude of these limitations.     

The Relationship between Delegation and Incentives Across Occupations: Evidence and Theory

A large literature suggests that incentive pay and delegation of worker authority are positively related. Using data from a large cross section of British establishments, we show that the positive relationship found in the empirical literature masks a stark difference across jobs. Classifying jobs into two categories (complex jobs, including professional, technical and scientific occupations, and simple jobs, consisting of all other non‐managerial occupations) we find a positive relationship for simple jobs and a negative relationship for complex jobs. To explain this negative relationship, we develop a model where stronger incentives distort a worker's decisions towards low risk‐return tasks.     

Pacioli's Example Entries—a Conundrum Resolved?

This paper discusses the nature of the 10 example paragraph entries at the end of Pacioli's bookkeeping treatise. It concludes that these are entries from fledgling banking operations involving one account holder and one borrower who, along with two others, has financial transactions with the account holder. The widely held assumption that they are examples of entries in the Ledger is set aside and it is concluded that, on the basis of the available evidence, they are examples of entries in a Ricordanze, a record book Pacioli described as being used to record items of this type.