Breaking with the Notion of Social Contract: Constitutions as Based on Spontaneously Arisen Institutions

The newly emerging subdiscipline of constitutional economics is dominated by adherents to social contract theory although this approach has been severely criticized many a time. In recent years, an alternative approach in which constitutions are conceptualized as conventions has emerged. It is argued here that this alternative approach is a step in the right direction but still does not go far enough. The central hypothesis of the paper is that conceptualizing constitutions as based on spontaneously arisen institutions can help to solve some of the problems left unanswered by the constitutions-as-conventions view.     

Do Ukrainian Firms Benefit from FDI?

All countries are eager to attract as much foreign direct investments (FDI) as possible. At the same time FDI may have not only positive, but also negative economic effects for receiving countries. Positive effects are associated with technology transfer, efficient allocation of resources, and training of domestic workers. However, the entry of foreign firms could, e.g., lead to a decrease of labor productivity at domestic firms, which is a negative effect. The main purpose of this paper is to estimate direct and indirect effects of FDI. First, we test for direct influence of foreign direct investments on firms performance, where the latter is estimated alternatively as labor productivity and as exports. FDI notably increases both labor productivity and export volumes. Second, we look for spillover or indirect effects. There is statistical evidence that the levels of FDI in certain regional industries are associated with higher performance indicators of firms not receiving FDI in those same regional industries.JEL Classification: L1, L6, F2     

In Dirty Chains? Purchasing and Greener Manufacturing

Against the backdrop of an increasing importance of the purchasing function in manufacturing companies, this paper introduces the notion of a "green multiplier effect" and suggests that purchasing could become an important agent for change regarding environmental initiatives in the supply chain. The literature offers some support for this concept. However, a study into purchasing in Scottish manufacturing companies produces a less optimistic picture, as environmental initiatives involving the supply chain are rare. Where they occur, they are mostly undertaken in a passive fashion, with the main motivation being compliance with legislation. Above-average environmental initiatives are reported from three industries: paper making, chemicals and electronics. Explanations of the discrepancy between anticipated and actual results point to the reactive nature of purchasing and to performance measurement systems that focus on economic criteria.     

Density versus Quality in Health Care Provision: Using Household Data to Make Budgetary Choices in Ethiopia

Usage of health facilities in Ethiopia is among the lowest inthe world; raising usage rates is probably critical for improvinghealth outcomes. The government has diagnosed the principalproblem as the lack of primary health facilities and is devotinga large share of the health budget to building more facilities.But household data suggest that usage of health facilities issensitive not just to the distance to the nearest facility butalso to the quality of health care provided. If the qualityof weak facilities were raised to that currently provided bythe majority of facilities in Ethiopia, usage would rise significantly.National data suggest that given the current density and qualityof service provision, additional expenditure on improving thequality of service delivery will be more cost-effective thanincreasing the density of service provision. The budget allocationrule presented in the article can help local policymakers makedecisions about how to allocate funds between improving thequality of care and decreasing the distance to the nearest healthcare facility.     

Integration Deficits of IT Controlling

The paper is based on the thesis that IT controlling suffers from two integration deficits with regard to its methods base: On the one hand, this is a lack of synchronization between research on IT controlling methods and developments in practice; on the other hand, a lack of integration of IT controlling methods with methods of business and information systems engineering (BISE). Based on this assumption, the paper investigates historical developments in IT controlling research and practice to derive theses about the present state of method integration. The analysis finds indications for further potential for method integration and identifies these potentials. Requirements towards method integration are derived from an analysis of the identified integration potentials and two examples illustrate how to realize further integration. Accepted after two revisions by the editors of the special focus. This article is also available in German in print and via http://www.wirtschaftsinformatik.de: Strecker S, Kargl H (2009) Integrationsdefizite des IT-Controllings – Historischer Hintergrund, Analyse von Integrationspotenzialen und Methodenintegration. doi: 10.1007/s11576-009-0175-9.     

Beschäftigungswachstum durch effizientere Allokation auf dem Arbeitsmarkt

Die positive Entwicklung des deutschen Arbeitsmarkts führt zu einer zunehmenden Diskussion über die Qualit?t des Besch?ftigungsaufbaus. Kritiker beanstanden die Zunahme flexibler Besch?ftigungsformen und fordern mehr Regulierung. Aus ?konomischer Sicht würde die Wiedereinschr?nkung der in den vergangenen Jahren hinzugewonnenen ?ffnungsspielr?ume die Allokationsfunktion des Arbeitsmarkts schw?chen. Dabei l?sst sich der Besch?ftigungsaufbau wesentlich auf die Arbeitsmarktreformen der letzten Jahre zurückführen. Durch flexible Besch?ftigungsformen und eine besch?ftigungsorientierte Tarifpolitik wurden die Wettbewerbselemente des Arbeitsmarkts gest?rkt.     

Investment in Africa's Manufacturing Sector: A Four Country Panel Data Analysis

Firm level data for the manufacturing sector in Africa, presented in this paper, shows very low levels of investment. The importance of profit effects on investment is investigated using a flexible accelerator, a specification based on the Euler equation and a simple generalisation of these specificiations. There are controls for firm fixed effects. It is shown that the profit effect is very similar for both the accelerator and Euler equation specifications. A comparison with other studies shows that, for small firms, the effect is much smaller in Africa than for other countries. Reasons for the relative insensitivity of investment to profits in African firms are suggested. For the most general specification tested there are no significant differences in the size of the profit effect across the four countries in the study.     

The European initiative EUREKA

The European initiative for cooperation in research and development, known as EUREKA, began to take shape at the conference of 18 European countries and the EC Commission held in Hanover at the beginning of November 1985. Lutz G. Stavenhagen, Minister of State in the Foreign Office of the Federal Republic of Germany, and Otto Wolff von Amerongen, President of the German Industrial and Trade Association, discuss below the aims of the EUREKA programme and assess its chances of success.