Hidden links in the warranted rate of growth: the supermultiplier way out

Post Keynesian models consider growth to be demand-led – a logical consequence of Keynes's principle of effective demand. After Harrod's seminal paper in 1939 Harrod, R. F. 1939. An essay in dynamic theory. Economic journal, 49, 14–33.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar] they try to unearth the hidden variables that might allow the adaptation of the warranted rate, determined from the supply side, to demand-growth expectations that supposedly have an autonomous source. The purpose of this paper is to show that an investment function based on the accelerator and integrated in a supermultiplier is able to shape the warranted rate in consonance with the autonomous trend. The supermultiplier reveals itself as a stable and stabilising mechanism when demand is split into permanent and transient. Hopefully the paper will build bridges with other Keynesian, Kaleckian and Sraffian strands that have so far dismissed the supermultiplier solution because of its apparently inherent instability.     

Asset Pricing with a Bank Risk Factor

This paper studies how the state of the banking sector influences stock returns of nonfinancial firms. We consider a two‐factor pricing model, where the first factor is the traditional market excess return and the second factor is the change in the average distance to default of commercial banks. We find that this bank factor is priced in the cross section of U.S. nonfinancial firms. Controlling for market beta, the expected excess return for a stock in the top quintile of bank risk exposure is on average 2.83% higher than for a stock in the bottom quintile.     

Spatial ability learning through educational robotics

Several authors insist on the importance of students’ acquisition of spatial abilities and visualization in order to have academic success in areas such as science, technology or engineering. This paper proposes to discuss and analyse the use of educational robotics to develop spatial abilities in 12 year old students. First of all, a course to introduce robotics to 6th grade primary school students was designed. The key intention was to prepare practical and motivating sessions in order to foster the students’ involvement in hands-on learning. Hence, during the sessions of the course, challenges were provided for the students, in order to develop their capabilities as proficient problem solvers. The teacher assisted and guided the students, and the students were encouraged to solve the problems by themselves, working in 3-members teams. The main goal of this paper is to discuss and analyse the potential usefulness of educational robotics to develop spatial abilities. To carry out the analysis, students were randomly divided into an experimental group (EG), which participated in the robotics course, and a control group (CG), which did not take part in the robotics course. The extensive existing literature for spatial ability evaluation was analysed and reviewed and a pre-test and a post-test were prepared for use in the research study. Initially, the spatial ability of both EG and CG students was assessed with the pre-test. Then, after finishing the robotics course, the same sets of students were tested with the post-test. An extensive analysis of the results is provided in the paper. Results show that the positive change in spatial ability of the participants in the robotics course (EG) was greater than change evident in the students who did not join the course (CG). The improvement was statistically significant. The results also show that the overall performance of the students depends on the instruments used to evaluate their spatial abilities. Hence, this study manifests clearly the importance of the selection of those instruments.     

Trade Credit,the Financial Crisis,and SME Access to Finance

Mounting evidence indicates that firms, particularly SMEs, suffered from a significant credit crunch during this crisis. We analyze for the first time whether trade credit provided an alternative source of external finance to SMEs during the crisis. Using firm‐level Spanish data we find that credit constrained SMEs depend on trade credit, but not bank loans, and that the intensity of this dependence increased during the financial crisis. Unconstrained firms, in contrast, are dependent on bank loans but not on trade credit.     

Implications of Keeping‐Up‐with‐the‐Joneses Behavior for the Equilibrium Cross Section of Stock Returns: International Evidence

This paper tests the cross‐sectional implications of “keeping‐up‐with‐the‐Joneses” (KUJ) preferences in an international setting. When agents have KUJ preferences, in the presence of undiversifiable nonfinancial wealth, both world and domestic risk (the idiosyncratic component of domestic wealth) are priced, and the equilibrium price of risk of the domestic factor is negative. We use labor income as a proxy for domestic wealth and find empirical support for these predictions. In terms of explaining the cross‐section of stock returns and the size of the pricing errors, the model performs better than alternative international asset pricing models.     

The vulnerability of destinations to climate change: A comparative analysis of contextual socio-political factors

Climate change affects tourism and tourism affects climate change. Thus, both adaptation and mitigation strategies are needed to guarantee the sustainability of destinations. As well as the direct impacts of climate change, the effectiveness of these strategies determines the vulnerability of destinations. This paper compares the Riviera Maya (Mexican Caribbean) and Alt Maresme (Spanish Mediterranean) to identify the contextual socio-political factors that influence the vulnerability of destinations to climate change. Thirty-six semi-structured interviews were conducted with key stakeholders from tourism and the environment, public organizations, NGOs, and different levels of the public administration at both destinations. This research focuses on the perception of risk and agenda setting, the stakeholders’ involvement and the limitations of public action. The results show that awareness is greater, climate change is more important to the tourism agenda and private organizations are more involved in the Riviera Maya than in Alt Maresme. Five socio-political aspects are identified and discussed to explain the results: the destination’s evolution; the characteristics and evolution of tourism policy; extreme meteorological events as breaking points for policies; the socioeconomic context and the dependence on tourism; and the characteristics of the tourism offer, such as the dependence on natural resources and seasonality.     

Autonomy in trip planning and overall satisfaction

ABSTRACT

Tourists increasingly rely on Internet-based, autonomous resources to gather information, book, and pay for their trips; this increasing autonomy may affect their overall satisfaction. Using data about how Spanish tourists search for information and complete their bookings, this study analyzes the influence of tourist autonomy on overall satisfaction with the trip, as well as the effects of moderating characteristics related to both tourists and their trips. The results indicate a direct relationship between tourists’ autonomy and their overall satisfaction, as well as positive moderating effects of tourists’ previous travel experience and education, but negative moderating effects of trip complexity.     

¿Conduce la flexibilización a menor desempleo? Un análisis empírico del mercado laboral español

En España se llevaron a cabo dos grandes reformas laborales (2010 y 2012) bajo el supuesto de que la flexibilización del mercado laboral y la descentralización de la negociación colectiva conducirían mecánicamente a reducir el desempleo (hipótesis flexibilizadora). Este artículo destaca la centralidad de la demanda y de la composición sectorial de la economía para explicar el comportamiento de esta variable (hipótesis estructural). Mediante un análisis con datos de panel a escala subnacional, evaluamos la capacidad de ambas hipótesis para explicar la evolución del desempleo. Nuestros resultados cuestionan los supuestos de la hipótesis flexibilizadora y subrayan la importancia de los factores cíclicos y estructurales.