USING RANDOMIZED CONTROL DESIGNS IN EVALUATING SOCIAL SECTOR PROGRAMS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

Seven case studies—from Bolivia, Colombia, Indonesia,Mexico, Nicaragua, Taiwan (China), and Turkey—demonstratethe feasibility of conducting rigorous impact evaluations indeveloping countries using randomized control designs. Thisexperience, covering a wide variety of settings and social programs,offers lessons for task managers and policymakers interestedin evaluating social sector investments. The main conclusions are: first, policymakers interested inassessing the effectiveness of a project ought to consider arandomized control design because such evaluations not onlyare feasible but also yield the most robust results. Second,the acute resource constraints common in developing countriesthat often make program rationing unavoidable also present opportunitiesfor adopting randomized control designs. Policymakers and programmanagers need to be alert to the opportunities for buildingrandomized control designs into development programs right fromthe start of the project cycle because they, more than academicresearchers or evaluation experts, are in the best positionto ensure that opportunities for rigorous evaluations are exploited.      

Banks and bubbles: How good are bankers at spotting winners?

This paper examines the bank lending relations of a large sample of technology and nontechnology firms that went public during the 1996–2000 period. We use a unique hand-collected data set to examine the characteristics of firms that establish pre- Initial Public Offering (IPO) bank lending relations and whether post-IPO performance is related to the existence and size of pre-IPO banking relations. We find that the majority of IPO firms have banking relations before they go public. Firms with banking relations are older, more profitable or, in the case of tech firms, have lower losses, and are more likely to have funding from venture capitalists than firms without banking relations. We also find that banks lent aggressively to technology firms in the sense that current earnings and cash flows were significantly less important in determining banking relations for technology firms than for nontechnology firms. Consistent with the importance of so-called soft information in lending decisions, we find that, controlling for ex ante observable risk measures, there is a positive and significant relation between improvements in post-IPO operating performance and the existence and size of pre-IPO banking relations. Overall, our results indicate that firms with the best current and future prospects establish banking relations. Our findings provide an explanation as to why investors could interpret lending relations as a positive signal of firm quality.     

Examining the process of performance measurement system design and implementation in two Italian public service organizations

In the last two decades, the adoption of new public management (NPM) practices in the public sector has increased as public sector organizations seek to improve efficiency, effectiveness and public accountability. We present case study findings of a NPM initiative to implement balanced scorecard (BSC) performance measurement systems in two Italian public sector organizations. This study considers the question of whether the BSC development process can be effectively translated into the public sector context. Our findings highlight the importance of aligning the development of performance management systems with a greater understanding of the internal and external environment of public sector organizations. Our results further emphasize the significant role of emergent stakeholders and management culture for the success of NPM performance management initiatives.     

Time,space and accounting at Nonantola Abbey (1350–1449)

Accounting historians have provided several accounts of monastic life and accounting's role in it, considering important settings such as Montecassino and San Pietro abbeys in Italy and Durham Cathedral Priory in England. Research has shown how their governance arrangements and common values enabled the Benedictines to manage their monasteries in an efficient manner which was essential in tackling the misappropriation of resources by organisational actors, including abbots. Other studies have shed light on the use of practical and effective accounting practices by the Benedictines to manage their considerable wealth and pursue their spiritual and temporal goals. Nevertheless, this body of literature is yet to explicitly consider the dimensions of time and space and their relationship with accounting practices. This study begins to address this oversight by analysing the surviving accounting records of the Benedictine abbey of Nonantola in northern Italy from 1350 to 1449. In the accounting books of Nonantola Abbey linear and cyclical conceptions of time coexisted and had an impact on the way in which transactions were reflected in the accounts. At the same time, the abbey was at the centre of a complex network of accountabilities which included lay accountants, farmers and the lessees of the abbey's properties. The main characteristic of this system was not the accuracy of the records in detailing the assets, liabilities, expenses and revenue of the abbey but the maintenance of a control system to administer an extensive agricultural network and the identification of the relationships between the abbey and the stakeholders inhabiting its space.     

The employee selection interview: A fresh look at an old problem

This article takes a fresh look at employee selection interviews as they are practiced in most organizations. Interviewers' selection decisions are demonstrated to be idiosyncratic and it is concluded that variation in interviewers' decision processes jeopardizes organizational effectiveness. Practical recommendations for improving employment interviews are offered. © 1996 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Is Private R & D Spending Sensitive to Its Price? Empirical Evidence on Panel Data for Italy

In this paper empirical evidence is presented on theelasticity of private R & D spending on its price. Acensored panel-data regression model with random effectsis applied to a balanced panel of 726 Italian firms overthe 1992–1997 period. Implied estimates point out thatItalian firms' response to policy measures (including taxcredits), aimed at reducing the user cost of R & D capital,is likely to be substantial (1.50–1.77). Furthermore, wealso find that the elasticity of R & D spending is higherin recession (2.01) than in expansion (0.87).     

Patient intensity in an ambulatory oncology research center: A step forward for the field of ambulatory care--Part II

Nursing leaders in ambulatory care need to objectively quantify patient intensity to balance patient care needs and nursing resources. In this three-part series, current literature on acuity/intensity tools will be reviewed, and the development of an Ambulatory Intensity System (AIS) to objectively quantify nursing care will be described. In this article, the ongoing implementation of the system, its incorporation into the organization's established computerized appointment system, reliability measures, and related performance improvement activities will be discussed.     

Are the BRIC countries overtaking intermediate countries in the race for international R&D? The case of Spain

The emergence of Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) as international locations for foreign direct investment in R&D is a sign that multinationals are relocating their technological activities to new territories. This trend may weaken the supremacy of the developed countries until now considered leaders in innovation, and may mean the loss of the competitive advantages enjoyed by the countries considered intermediate innovators. This paper examines the situation of Spain as a typical intermediate economy and compares it to its main competitors among the BRICs. Based on eight case studies of subsidiaries with R&D centres in Spain, we conclude that the policies adopted by certain emerging economies to develop their national innovation systems are proving effective and that these countries now pose a threat to intermediate economies. However, the BRICs still lag behind in terms of the security of their institutional framework; this situation leaves intermediate countries in an advantageous position.     

What money buys: clients of street sex workers in the US

The article presents a review of current theoretical and empirical approaches to sex work, followed by the presentation of an original theoretical framework (Della Giusta et al., 2006), which is tested with an econometric model of the characteristics of demand for sex services by a sample of clients of street sex workers in the US. We present findings in relation to stigma and the relationship between paid and unpaid sex that corroborate our model's hypotheses and are in line with findings from other empirical studies. Furthermore, we identify in our sample two diametrically opposite profiles: one for clients whom we label ‘experimenters’, and one for more experienced ones that we name ‘regulars’, we also estimate attitudes toward risk, and draw implications in terms of both policy and future theoretical and empirical research.