Information linkages between emission allowance and energy markets

We employ a rational expectations framework similar to that proposed by Fleming et al. (1998) to examine the source, and nature of, information linkages between the emission allowance and energy markets as gauged by the correlation of return volatilities. Estimating the model for bivariate pairings of securities suggests that market linkages arise from sensitivities to common information rather than from indirect spillovers, with emission allowances most strongly linked to the crude oil market.     

INCOME-GENERATING FUNCTIONS IN A LOW INCOME COUNTRY: COLOMBIA

Income generating functions are statistical tools used to explain income inequality and other economic outcomes and behavior. These functions are often associated with a strict human capital framework, but they need not be. Instead, they may be viewed as a reduced form equation summarizing the relationship between income and various personal and locational characteristics. Following this latter interpretation, we develop the regression and analysis of variance approaches to income generating functions and estimate them empirically using micro-economic data from one low income country, Colombia. Proceeding to increasingly parsimonious specifications of income generating functions, insights are gained into the structure of incomes in Colombia.     

The Feminist Competition/Cooperation Dichotomy

Feminist literature sometimes posits that competition and cooperation are opposites. This dichotomy is important in that it is often invoked in order to explain why mainstream economics has focused on market activity to the exclusion of non-market activity, and why this fascination or focus is sexist. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that the competition/cooperation dichotomy is false. Once the dichotomy is dissolved, those activities which are seen as competitive (masculine) and those which are seen as cooperative (feminine) are no longer mutually exclusive but are, in fact, dependent upon one another. It is shown that the outcome of competition (more and better knowledge) enhances, and in some cases makes possible, cooperation. The function of battle is destruction; of competition, construction. Ludwig von Mises     

An examination of factors associated with the integration of human resource management and strategic decision making

Conceptually, a central aspect of “strategic HRM” is the integration of the HR function with strategic decision making. Little is known, however, about the factors that influence integration or its subsequent effects. Using data from 148 diverse organizations, it was found that strategic type and whether or not top management views employees as strategic resources were associated with integration, but that labor market munificence and organizational growth were not. The results concerning the relationship between integration and performance were surprising; integration was associated with a lower evaluation of the HRM function by top management. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Health and schooling investments in Africa.

This paper first outlines an organizing framework for considering how health and schooling affect labor productivity and growth, and how household and community factors can in turn affect the demand for these human capital investments. Both cross-country growth models and various aspects of microeconomic studies of individual productivity as related to education and health are discussed. The conclusion offers some tentative leads for policy in this area based on existing research, and an agenda for future research.     

Models and methods in motion: Declining the dogma dance

I take a communicative pragmatist and realist approach to futures studies. This implies a sensitivity to understanding what the audience can absorb and using futures methods effectively to create spaces for new futures. While Wilber's work affords us with new insights to engage with methodology, is not the only path. Indeed, it is intellectual bigotry to demand that everyone master the tools one personally deems most appropriate. Critical conversations about futures must remain open, where post-modernist and integral thinking widen our horizons, they are welcomed, where they straitjacket our thoughts, they are not.     

The Mixed Blessings of Technological Innovativeness for the Commercial Success of New Products

This study addresses the contradiction that, although technological innovativeness of new products is often seen as a major driver of competitive advantage and commercial success, empirical research is not always able to show a significant performance influence. In order to find an explanation, the effects of technological innovativeness are decomposed as its influence on the market, the innovating firm, and the firm's environment is considered. The proposed model is tested on a sample of new product development projects. In order to avoid systematic biases, this paper uses a longitudinal survey design with two informants and a sample that includes both incremental and highly innovative projects. The results show that technological innovativeness has both positive and negative effects on the commercial success of new products. On the one hand, technological innovativeness can increase customer value, which in turn has a positive effect on success. On the other hand, incorporating new technologies into new products also implies changes in the innovating firm and potentially in its environment. These changes have a negative impact on commercial success. The positive and negative effects compensate for each other, so that the total effect of technological innovativeness on commercial success is close to zero. The findings imply that firms developing new products through incorporating radically new technologies often seem to underestimate the inherent complexities with respect to both internal and external changes. Developing and introducing new products with a radically changed technology also implies anticipating the need for new competences, processes, structures, and network partners. Social and political resistance against technological changes, large investments in new infrastructures, and the long duration of these changes additionally become frequent features of such innovation endeavors. Hence, firms embarking on a path of exploiting radically new technologies should consider those complexities very carefully when making their new product development decisions.