Adopt the euro? The GME approach

The objective of this paper is to evaluate the degree of financial integration achieved in the European Union based on covered interest parity and using Generalized Maximum Entropy. EU countries are divided into two groups according to their current situation with respect to the adoption of the euro. Financial integration before the adoption of the euro is analyzed for the countries that adopted the euro in 1999. Similarly, current financial integration is evaluated for non-euro EU countries. Besides the importance of comparing the situation of the non-euro EU countries with the situation of the euro EU countries previous to the euro adoption, which may be useful to evaluate an eventual decision of the non-euro members to adopt the euro, it is interesting to analyze the performance of Generalized Maximum Entropy. Generalized Maximum Entropy has the ability to estimate the parameters of a regression model without imposing any constrains on the probability distribution of errors and it is robust even when we have ill-posed problems. Overall our results suggest that the degree of financial integration on non-euro countries is lower than the degree of financial integration that existed among euro adopting countries before the adoption of the euro.     

Human capital and economic growth in Spain, 1850–2000

We investigate human capital accumulation in Spain using income- and education-based alternative approaches. We, then, assess human capital impact on labor productivity growth and discuss the implications of its alternative measures for TFP growth. Trends in human capital are similar with either measure but the skill-premium approach fits better Spanish historical experience. As education is a high income elastic good, human capital growth computed with the education-based approach seems upward biased for the recent past. Human capital provided a positive albeit small contribution to labor productivity growth facilitating technological innovation.     

Convergence in per capita CO2 emissions: A robust distributional approach

This paper investigates the convergence hypothesis for per capita CO₂ emissions with a panel of 166 world areas covering the period 1960–2002. The analysis is based on the evolution of the spatial distributions over time. Robust measures of dispersion, asymmetry, peakedness and two nonparametric distributional tests – shape equality and multimodality – are used to assess spatial time differences. A robust normal reference bandwidth is also applied to estimate Markov’s transition laws and its subsequent ergodic (long-run) distributions. Our results point toward non-stationary, flattening and right-skewed spatial distributions before the oil price shocks of the 1970s and more stable and symmetric shapes between 1980 and 2000 at the world level and for many country groupings (similar income, geographic neighbors, institutional partners). In the latter period, group-specific convergence patterns emerge with the clearest single-peaked and compact density shapes being reached in the wealthy, well-integrated and European countries during the last years of the panel. No significant multimodality is formally detected in the world distribution over the whole period. The Markov analysis suggests more divergence and larger per capita emissions for the world in the long run, with a doubling in median emissions and stable pollution gaps during the first 50 years of the transition. A variety of steady state distributions are identified in the country subsets.     

Rail access charges and the competitiveness of high speed trains

This paper examines rail access charges for high speed trains on new high speed lines in Europe and the impact these have on the market position of high speed rail. It examines the latest evidence on the marginal infrastructure and external costs of high speed rail, finding that the best evidence is that these are both not more than 2 €/train-km. However, current legislation states that environmental costs should not be charged for unless they are charged for on competing modes. Mark ups based on Ramsey pricing principles might reasonably raise prices by 100–200%, given that infrastructure charges are only a part of the final price of rail. The paper then examines the actual prices charged in the main European countries operating high speed trains and the impact these are likely to have on traffic levels and mode split. It is found that mark ups often exceed even the optimal Ramsey levels, with a significant impact on rail volumes and market share. It is concluded that, whilst it is not surprising that governments wish to recover some of the construction costs of new high speed rail lines from users, they should consider carefully whether the level of charges is actually significantly reducing traffic on and benefits from these lines.     

The Euro as a Monetary Anchor in the CEECs

We study whether Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs) have an incentive to use the euro as a monetary anchor. Adapting a cross-section estimation method initiated by Bayoumi and Eichengreen, we show that, compared to an optimum currency area standard, the CEECs have paid too much attention to the USD in the past and should prefer the euro to the dollar as a nominal anchor. Through a theoretical model that takes external constraints into account, we then show that the CEECs should also have an incentive to stabilize their currencies in real terms against a basket where the euro would be prominent.     

Internal Embeddedness,Headquarters Involvement,and Innovation Importance in Multinational Enterprises

In this paper we apply a business network perspective to investigate the effects of internal embeddedness and headquarters involvement on subsidiaries' innovation‐related competencies, and on the perceived importance of innovation in multinational enterprises. A model framed in the innovation context is developed and six hypotheses are tested on 85 innovation projects in 23 multinational enterprises using partial least squares based structural equation modelling. The results suggest that, contrary to predictions of the business network perspective, headquarters involvement in the innovation development process improves subsidiary competencies while internal embeddedness does not. Headquarters involvement, driven by subsidiary internal embeddedness, enhances the innovation impact on the subsidiary, which in turn influences innovation importance at corporate level. Thus, the business network perspective is challenged but at the same time expanded in terms of highlighting the role of, and interplay between, different internal corporate actors, particularly the role of headquarters, in developing competencies and creating competitive advantage.     

A conditional distribution approach to uniform sampling on spheres and balls in Lp spaces

Liang and Ng (Metrika 68:83–98, 2008) proposed a componentwise conditional distribution method for L _p -uniform sampling on L _p -norm n-spheres. On the basis of properties of a special family of L _p -norm spherical distributions we suggest a wide class of algorithms for sampling uniformly distributed points on n-spheres and n-balls in L _p spaces, generalizing the approach of Harman and Lacko (J Multivar Anal 101:2297–2304, 2010), and including the method of Liang and Ng as a special case. We also present results of a numerical study proving that the choice of the best algorithm from the class significantly depends on the value of p.     

Headquarters involvement and efficiency of innovation development and transfer in multinationals: A matter of sheer ignorance?

We compare two theoretical perspectives on the knowledge situation of headquarters (HQ) in multinational corporations: the bounded rationality perspective and the sheer ignorance perspective. We claim that these perspectives lead to different expectations when it comes to HQ's role and the effects of HQ involvement in innovation processes at the subsidiary level. More specifically, we examine the impact of HQ involvement on the efficiency of 71 subsidiary innovation projects. The findings show that HQ involvement in innovation development and transfer has a negative rather than a positive impact on efficiency in both processes. We contribute by showing and suggesting that the sheer ignorance perspective might provide a more accurate portrayal of the HQ knowledge situation than the bounded rationality perspective does. This study furthers understanding of the role of HQ in the contemporary, knowledge-creating multinational.     

Aplicación de bicorrelación cruzada al rendimiento diario del precio del café

This paper uses the cross bicorrelation methodology, which can capture nonlinear trascendence periods through window functions and third-order moments. It applies to the return of four sets of commodities of coffee traded on the New York market (Arabica Colombian, mild Arabica, Arabica Brazilian and Other Arabicas), during the 20/06/1997 - 27/10/2010 period. The results conclude that there is a cross bicorrelation among the four series, with Brazilian type coffee being the leader and a lower bicorrelation with other Arabicas. This complicates decisions for investors in such series.     

Un análisis de la gestión por competencias en la empresa española De la teoría a la práctica

This paper is about the competency management, a technique for human resources management aimed at improving the performance of employees and organization performance. Specifically, there are concerns about the high degree of implementation of this technique and its relationship with management performance in specific industries with various economic outcomes.