Economic Development and Business Ownership: An Analysis Using Data of 23 OECD Countries in the Period 1976–1996

Small Business Economics - In the present paper we address the relationship between business ownership and economic development. We will focus upon three issues. First, how is the equilibrium rate...     

The role of behavioural factors and opportunity costs in farmers' participation in voluntary agri-environmental schemes: A systematic review

Agri-environmental schemes (AESs) are increasingly implemented to promote the adoption of environmentally friendly practices by farmers. We use a systematic review to explore the role of behavioural factors and opportunity costs in farmers' decisions to participate in AESs in Australia, Europe and North America. Behavioural factors influence how farmers value and perceive options, while opportunity costs relate to farmers' forgone utility when choosing to participate in schemes. We synthesise insights from 79 articles and over 700 factors explaining the participation in AESs. We find that a set of behavioural factors seem consistently connected to participation, including agricultural training, advice and having positive attitudes towards AESs. Moreover, several factors related to opportunity costs also have a rather consistent relationship with AES participation, including market conditions, implementation efforts, profitability, and management and contract flexibility. However, many relationships of behavioural factors and opportunity costs with AES participation are not as consistent and generalizable as sometimes portrayed and require context-specific interpretation. Those factors with mixed results can still provide insights into farmers' participation decisions as several of them are either ‘positively and insignificantly’ or ‘negatively and insignificantly’ related to participation, such as environmental attitude, trust and farm size. These results suggest that their relationship with AES participation depends on other factors or the setting, highlighting interactions and raising important new research questions. Overall, our results provide several entry points for both researchers and policy-makers, highlighting uncertainties in relationships between factors and participation that should be considered when designing policies.     

Flip a coin or vote? An experiment on the implementation and efficiency of social choice mechanisms

Experimental Economics - Corporate boards, experts panels, parliaments, cabinets, and even nations all take important decisions as a group. Selecting an efficient decision rule to aggregate...     

An efficient graph-based peer selection method for financial statements

Comparing companies can be useful for various purposes. Despite the widespread use of industry classification systems as a peer selection standard, these have been criticized for various reasons. Financial statements, however, offer a promising alternative to such classification systems. They are standardized, widely available, and offer deep insights into the nature of the company. In this paper, we present a graph distance metric for financial statements using the earth mover's distance. When using the distance metric on real-world tasks such as peer identification and industry classification, it shows promising results in terms of accuracy and computational efficiency.     

Time to Include Blue Carbon from Seaweed in Voluntary Carbon Removal Certification

The EU has proposed a voluntary framework for certification of carbon removals which remains vague on blue carbon and in particular, carbon removal through use of seaweeds. Seaweed is considered an emerging blue carbon option. Various studies have confirmed the potential of seaweed to contribute to long-term carbon removal, storing it away from the atmosphere for 100 years and more. Certification of seaweed carbon sequestration is promoted, even in other EU communications. This article reviews early experiences with certification of carbon and nutrient removal by aquaculture using the QU.A.L.ITY criteria proposed by the EU. Examples reviewed include the Seaweed Company, Venice Bay, Yokohama Bayside marine, and Chesapeake Bay in the USA. After reviewing these examples, we call on the European Commission to move forward towards certification of blue carbon. If the EU is to lead global climate mitigation efforts, including carbon removal, it should take seaweed blue carbon seriously and include it in its voluntary framework. To enhance the awareness of the relevance and the acceptance of the carbon credits from seaweed, a methodology has to be developed that, building on experiences gained, deals with inherent uncertainties.     

The Pricing Structure of Legal Services: Do Lawyers Offer What Clients Want?

Review of Industrial Organization - We analyze clients’ contract choices in auctions where Dutch law firms compete for standard cases such as labor disputes for individuals and collecting...