Building pragmatist theories of PM practice: Theorizing the act of project management

This article examines project management through the lens of practice. Drawing on the literature, we develop a typological model that brings together four distinct theoretical types of project management practice. Adopting a deliberately critical perspective, we show that the first three types propose a weak conception of the logical relationship between the theory and practice of project management. In contrast, the fourth type, anchored in a pragmatist conception of the theory‐practice link, provides the potential to build strong theories of project management practice. A specific objective is to elucidate the distinct features of the fourth type of theory.     

Democratization is the driving force for technological and economic change

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the relationship between democratization and technological innovation. In primis, the paper shows, through economic history, that democratization is an antecedent process (cause) to technological and economic change (effect). In particular, the primary finding is that democratization is a driving force for technological change: most free countries, measured with liberal, participatory, and constitutional democracy indices, have a higher level of technology than less free and more autocratic countries. In fact, “democracy richness” generates a higher rate of technological innovation with fruitful effects for the wellbeing and wealth of nations. These findings and predictions lead to the conclusion that policy makers need to be cognizant of positive associations between democratization and technological innovation paths in order to support the modern economic growth and future technological progress of countries.     

The Asymmetric path of Economic Long Waves

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the pattern and behavior of Economic Long Waves over time, using the long-wave chronologies of two driving economies, the USA and the UK. The statistical evidence seems in general to support the hypothesis that Long Waves are not symmetric and their regularity is based on longer periods of upwave than downwave (contraction-skewed), which implies a negative asymmetric path of these waves over time.     

Inequality and criminality revisited: further evidence from Brazil

The objective of this study is to shed light on the determinants of criminality rates in Brazil. A panel data model was estimated using Brazilian states’ data. Our main result suggests that income inequality plays an important role in the determination of the crime rate. Furthermore, there are evidence suggesting that both unemployment and urbanization rates are positively related to crime. Based on a GMM approach we find the existence of an “inertial effect” on criminality. Besides that, the GMM results show that public security spending is effective in reducing criminality rates. Contrary to the common wisdom, we could not find evidence that poverty increases violent crimes. Finally, we have evidence that income inequality Granger causes crime, but not the reverse.     

Economic burden of hospital malnutrition and the cost–benefit of supplemental parenteral nutrition in critically ill patients in Latin America

Abstract

Aim: Disease-related malnutrition (DRM) is a prevalent condition that significantly increases the risk of adverse outcomes in hospitalized patients, particularly those with critical illness. Limited data is available on the economic burden of DRM and the cost–benefit of nutrition therapy in high-risk populations in Latin America. The aims of the present study were to estimate the economic burden of DRM and evaluate the cost–benefit of supplemental parenteral nutrition (SPN) in critically ill patients who fail to receive adequate nutrient intake from enteral nutrition (EN) in Latin America.

Methods: Country-specific cost and prevalence data from eight Latin American countries and clinical data from studies evaluating outcomes in patients with DRM were used to estimate the costs associated with DRM in public hospitals. A deterministic decision model based on clinical outcomes from a randomized controlled study and country-specific cost data were developed to examine the cost–benefit of administering SPN to critically ill adults who fail to reach ≥60% of the calculated energy target with EN.

Results: The estimated annual economic burden of DRM in public hospitals in Latin America is $10.19 billion (range, $8.44 billion–$11.72 billion). Critically ill patients account for a disproportionate share of the costs, with a 6.5-fold higher average cost per patient compared with those in the ward ($5488.35 vs. $839.76). Model-derived estimates for clinical outcomes and resource utilization showed that administration of SPN to critically ill patients who fail to receive the targeted energy delivery with EN would result in an annual cost reduction of $10.2 million compared with continued administration of EN alone.

Limitations: The cost calculation was limited to the average daily cost of stay and antibiotic use. The costs associated with other common complications of DRM, such as prolonged duration of mechanical ventilation or more frequent readmission, are unknown.

Conclusions: DRM imposes a substantial economic burden on Latin American countries, with critically ill patients accounting for a disproportionate share of costs. Cost–benefit analysis suggests that both improved clinical outcomes and significant cost savings can be achieved through the adoption of SPN as a therapeutic strategy in critically ill patients who fail to receive adequate nutrient intake from EN.     

Monitoring the board: should shareholders have direct proxy access?

Motivated by the current discussion to reform shareholder-nominated director elections, this paper presents a model that shows that, when shareholders have direct access to proxy, the quality of the board of directors improves. This is so because more independent directors—regarded as better monitors of managerial activities—will be elected. In the model, a manager maximizes his expected utility by solving the trade-off between reputation and consumption of private benefits. The board can be of high-type (independent, only cares about reputation) or low-type (non-independent, faces a trade-off similar to the manager's). When the board can signal its type at a relatively small cost, giving shareholders direct access to proxy is better than delegating the nomination of outside directors to managers: in the first alternative, only high-type boards will be kept, whereas in the second, low-type boards will predominate.     

Credit supply and corporate innovation

We present evidence that banking development plays a key role in technological progress. We focus on manufacturing firms' innovative performance, measured by patent-based metrics, and employ exogenous variations in banking development arising from the staggered deregulation of banking activities across US states during the 1980s and 1990s. We find that interstate banking deregulation had significant beneficial effects on the quantity and quality of innovation activities, especially for firms highly dependent on external capital and located closer to entering banks. Furthermore, we find that these results are strongly driven by a greater ability of deregulated banks to geographically diversify credit risk.     

Bounds on the estimation error in the chain ladder method

Buchwalder et al. (2006) have illustrated that there are different approaches for the derivation of an estimate for the parameter estimation error in the distribution-free chain ladder reserving method. In this paper, we demonstrate that these approaches provide estimates that are close to each other for typical parameters. This is carried out by proving upper and lower bounds.     

Innovation and Development: The Evidence From Innovation Surveys

In this article we investigate the existing evidence on innovation produced by innovation surveys in developing and emerging countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America. We review the relevant literature, discuss methodological issues, and analyze the results for the countries with the most comparable surveys, considering the well-established findings of innovation surveys for Europe as a benchmark. From the evidence we considered, regional patterns are identified and some stylized facts on innovation and development are proposed, pointing out the specificity of innovation processes in economies engaged in industrialization and catching up.