Sustainability accounting regulation in Spanish public sector organizations

In 2011, the Spanish government made sustainability accounting mandatory for public sector organizations. This paper documents why, despite the new legislation, the quantity and quality of sustainability accounting practices remains low.     

The evolution of world trade from 1995 to 2014: A network approach

This paper employs network analysis to study world trade from 1995 to 2014. We focus on the main connective features of the world trade network (WTN) and their dynamics. Results suggest that countries’ efforts to attain the benefits of trade have resulted in an intertwined network that is increasingly dense, reciprocal, and clustered. However, these features do not correspond to a linear aggregation of the characteristics of its constituents (trade sectors). Trade linkages are distributed homogeneously among countries, but their intensity (i.e. their value) is highly concentrated in a small set of countries. The main connective features of the WTN were not affected by the 2007–2008 international financial crisis. However, we find that the crisis marks a turning point in the evolution of the WTN from a two-group (led by the US and Germany) to a three-group (led by the US, Germany, and China) hierarchical structure.     

IMPACT ON FIRMS OF THE USE OF KNOWLEDGE EXTERNAL SOURCES: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

This study summarizes the main conclusions from a systematic review of the empirical literature regarding the impact on firms of the use of knowledge external sources (universities, research institutes and knowledge intensive business services). With the aim to organize the literature, we classify the different works according to the research question addressed: (i) which firms use knowledge external sources?; (ii) Do firms using knowledge external sources achieve better results?; And (iii) which firms benefit the most from using knowledge external sources? Stylized facts are that larger, more R&D intensive and high tech firms are more likely to use knowledge external sources and that use of knowledge external sources is associated to firms higher technical results. Less attention has been paid to the third question and evidence is not conclusive. Several recommendations for future research emerge. First, to take in greater consideration methodological issues so that potential biases in the results caused by sample selection and endogeneity are handled properly. Second, to pay more attention to heterogeneous outcomes. Third, to use continuous indicators of depth and breadth of links allowing for non‐linear relationships and fourth, to extend evidence for developing countries and service industries.     

Openness of the economy,terms of trade,and arms

It is estimated that world military spending in 2011 amounted to over 2.5% of the world's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This corresponds to a spending of $233 per person in the world at 2010 constant prices, an amount close to the GDP per capita of the poorest country in the world. Therefore, it is important for economists to understand the allocation of resources to this sector of the economy. I present a model that explores the determinants of a country's level of military spending. I show how greater gains from trade can lead to greater military expenditures to protect them. It is also found that expansion in the demand for a country's tradable commodities, that is, an improvement in that country's terms of trade, will impact defense spending. Several other propositions emerge from the model which are then empirically tested using both pooled and time series data. The statistical results support the model's propositions.     

Employee share ownership in a unionised duopoly

Profit sharing schemes have been analysed assuming Cournot competition and decentralised wage negotiations, and it has been found that firms share profits in equilibrium. This paper analyses a different remuneration system: employee share ownership. We find that whether firms choose to share ownership or not depends on both the type of competition in the product market and the way in which workers organise to negotiate wages. If wage setting is decentralised, under duopolistic Cournot competition both firms share ownership. If wage setting is centralised, only one firm shares ownership if the degree to which goods are substitutes takes an intermediate value; otherwise, the two firms share ownership. In this case, if the union sets the same wage for all workers neither firm shares ownership. Therefore, centralised wage setting discourages share ownership. Finally, under Bertrand competition neither firm shares ownership regardless of how workers are organised to negotiate wages.     

Assessing Systemic Importance With a Fuzzy Logic Inference System

Three metrics are designed to assess Colombian financial institutions' size, connectedness and non-substitutability as the main drivers of systemic importance: (i) centrality as net borrower in the money market network; (ii) centrality as payments originator in the large-value payment system network; and (iii) asset value of core financial services. An aggregated systemic importance index is calculated based on expert knowledge by using a fuzzy logic inference system. We use principal component analysis to calculate a benchmark index for comparison purposes. Overall similarities between both indexes put forward that expert knowledge aggregation is consistent with that based on a purely quantitative standard approach. Specific non-negligible differences concur with the nonlinear features of an approach whose intention is to replicate human reasoning. Both indexes are complementary and provide a comprehensive relative assessment of each financial institution's systemic importance in the Colombian case, in which the choice of metrics pursues the macroprudential perspective of financial stability. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Efficiency Determinants and Capacity Issues in Angolan Insurance Companies

This paper describes a variety of approaches used to assess the efficiency of a sample of major insurance companies in Angola between 2003 and 2012. Starting out with the bootstrapping technique, several data envelopment analysis (DEA) estimates were generated, allowing the use of confidence intervals and bias correction in central estimates to test for significant differences in efficiency levels and input‐decreasing/output‐increasing potentials. Previous studies have focused on the measurement and explanation of the factors affecting the performance rather than the prediction. The use of neural networks combined with DEA results as part of an attempt to produce a model for insurance companies’ performance with effective predictive ability is investigated. The findings indicate that older insurance companies with Portuguese origin tend to be more efficient. Results also suggest that opportunities for accommodating future demand appear to be scarce.     

Teaching HRM in contemporary hospitality management: a case study drawing on HR analytics and big data analysis

In this article, we discuss how hospitality students can leverage new technology and new HRM metrics from a combination of a traditional format case study and innovative data spreadsheets. We offer a teaching case study that combines the strategic dimensions of HRM with practice-driven data analysis anchored in HR analytics and HR big data mining. We argue that this combination helps identify, develop, and promote appropriate managerial skills among students.     

Discapacidad y absentismo. Análisis empírico sobre seis países europeos

A partir de datos del Panel de Hogares de la Unión Europea (PHOGUE) sobre Austria, España, Grecia, Irlanda, Italia y Portugal de 1995–2001 se examina la influencia de la discapacidad en el absentismo laboral utilizando tres variables: el estado de salud autoevaluado, el número de visitas al médico y el número de noches de ingreso en hospital. Según los resultados, el absentismo entre los trabajadores con discapacidad es mayor. La gravedad de la discapacidad también tiene influencia. El efecto total de la discapacidad en el absentismo representa un incremento marginal de entre 6 y 26 días de ausencia al año (dependiendo del país).     

Effects of hiring former employees of multinationals in the absorptive capacity of local firms

The attraction of foreign direct investment seeks, among other things, to increase the productivity of local companies through knowledge spillovers. However, the empirical evidence in this regard is contradictory. One influential factor is the absorptive capacity of the local companies. This article analyzes the effect of the presence of former employees of multinational corporations as employees of local companies, on the absorptive capacity of said companies. The study was done in Costa Rica, a country known for its successful strategy in the subject matter. The data come from a survey applied to 1167 companies by the Observatorio Costarricense de las Pymes in 2011. It was found that the hiring of former employees of multinational corporations by local companies has a positive effect on the index of absorptive capacity of companies in all productive sectors. Specifically, this hiring of former employees increases the index of absorptive capacity by nine percentage points, with differences by sector and the size of the company.