Integrating decomposition approaches for the analysis of temporal changes in economic structure: an application to Chicago's economy from 1980 to 2000

This paper presents an attempt to integrate two flow decomposition methods to analyse temporal changes in a region's economic structure. The two methods of structural analysis are push–pull decomposition analysis and structural Q-analysis. Push–pull analysis presents a quasi-optimization decomposition of a set of matrices with actual intersectoral economic flows into a weighted set of matrices, while structural Q-analysis provides a form in which the structure of these decomposed flows can be considered. The paper provides an expository application to Chicago's economic structure over the period of 1980 to 2000, to reveal a complementary perspective of hollowing-out the production process in the Chicago economy that was identified in previous studies.     

Systematic review of sourcing and 3D printing: make-or-buy decisions in industrial buyer–supplier relationships

Management Review Quarterly - Additive manufacturing (AM) is regarded as a technology that has transformative and disruptive potential in nearly all industries. However, AM is not only about new...     

Innovation Offshoring,Institutional Context and Innovation Performance: A Meta‐Analysis

Innovation offshoring (IO) has become a widespread management practice. Yet, evidence on the performance implications is inconsistent, and scattered across disciplines and contexts. We argue that the benefits firms can derive from IO depend on the institutional environment at home. Drawing on recent work on institutional theory in international business, we explore institutions that facilitate reverse knowledge transfer and/or institutional arbitrage with respect to innovation‐related activities. The results of our meta‐analysis that synthesizes evidence from 48 samples show that IO is related positively to innovation performance. As predicted, this relationship is moderated by differences in the institutional environments across countries. Specifically, when national innovation systems are weak at home, IO appears to enable institutional arbitrage strategy whereas Confucian cultures enable more effective reverse knowledge transfer. However, contrary to our expectations, the beneficial effects of IO appear to have diminished over time.     

Monte Carlo Analysis of Score Test-Based Corrections in the Presence of Time-Varying Covariates within the Log-Hazard

Corrections based on the score test for neglected heterogeneity do not appear to have been used previously in the presence of time-varying covariates. This paper uses Monte Carlo analysis to evaluate, for a grouped hazard framework constructed for an empirical application, the efficacy of such corrections.

     

Standardization or localization? Executing corporate philanthropy in international firms

• Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become a key component of a firm's reputation. The reputational vulnerabilities and pressure for CSR are perhaps greatest among international firms with business activities across many countries and cultures. Although the strategies of firms entering new markets have been well researched, the CSR component of the market entry decision has been largely ignored, despite its significant relationship with the financial performance of the firm. Further, previous research has largely considered CSR from an environmental performance point of view, and thus has focused on a minimum level of investment in CSR as opposed to the optimal form of the investment. Our paper seeks to address this gap by examining market entry decisions as they relate to corporate philanthropy.

Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Reducing income transfers to refugee immigrants: Does start-help help you start?

We estimate the effect of lowering income transfers to refugee immigrants in Denmark – labeled start-help – using a competing risk framework. Refugee immigrants obtaining residence permit before July 2002 received larger income transfers than those who obtained their residence permit later. Exploiting this ‘quasi-natural’ experiment, we find that the lower income transfer has a positive effect on the job-finding rate after two years in Denmark. We also find that the exit rate from the labour force is positively affected by start-help during the early phases of the integration process. Finally, we find that those with the poorest labour market prospects are the least responsive to the improvement in economic incentives.     

Dynamics of agricultural groundwater extraction: Comment and correction

In a paper published in this journal, Hellegers et al. [Hellegers, P., D. Zilberman, E. van Ierland, 2001. Dynamics of agricultural groundwater extraction. Ecological Economics, 303-311] analysed a dynamic model of groundwater extraction in which they added the quality dimension of nitrate concentration to an intertemporal model of resource depletion. This contribution shows that the set-up of the model contains a serious mistake which affects the results of the paper and it corrects the results.     

Ecosystem Service Value and Agricultural Conversion in the Amazon: Implications for Policy Intervention

We explore the welfare implications of agricultural expansion in the Brazilian Amazon by comparing spatially explicit estimates of soybean rents and the value of ecosystem services. Although these estimates are generated from different datasets, models, and estimation techniques, the values are comparable, such that the value of ecosystem services is greater than soybean rents for about 61% of the total area and 24% of the area where soybean rents are positive if protected areas are well enforced. Based on the balance between the benefits and costs of conversion, failure to value ecosystem services reduces total social welfare by 7.13 billion dollars annually relative to an optimum. Policy instruments that internalize the value of ecosystem services via protected lands, land conversion taxes, conservation subsidies, or excise taxes can avoid much of this loss. Regardless of intervention regime, policy makers should be cognizant of the diminishing net benefits of converting natural ecosystems to agriculture. Realizing the final 3.8% requires the conversion of an additional 15% natural ecosystems to soybean production.     

Pro-social Motivation and the Delivery of Social Services

This article provides an overview highlighting some major themesof the recent literature on the role of pro-social motivationin the provision of social services. We focus on the insightsobtained from two alternative ways of modelling pro-social motivation;action-oriented and output-oriented altruism. This literaturehas implications regarding the design of optimal incentives,the selection of motivated agents and its interaction with monetaryrewards, and the optimal organizational form required to exploitsuch motivations. We also discuss the implications for governmentprovision of social services from the perspective of a parallelliterature that emphasizes the non-contractible nature of output,and contrast it with the implications derived from work emphasizingthe role of pro-social motivation. (JEL codes: H11, J32, J45,L31, L33)