The Breakdown of Idiosyncratic Volatility Into Expected and Unexpected Components and Its Effects on Stock Returns in Brazil

Based on studies of idiosyncratic volatility developed in the recent literature, this study analyzes its relation with expected returns through the breakdown of idiosyncratic volatility in the Brazilian stock market and presents evidence of the importance of expected idiosyncratic volatility for asset pricing. We study the impact of the expected and unexpected components of idiosyncratic volatility on the returns of shares listed on the BOVESPA between 2004 and 2011. The results show a strong positive and significant relation between expected idiosyncratic volatility and returns. This evidence is highlighted when we use unexpected idiosyncratic volatility to control for unexpected returns. Additional robustness tests, controlling for size and momentum effects, also have positive and significant coefficients, corroborating previous findings.     

The entrepreneurial motivation in academia: a multidimensional construct

In this paper we propose a model to analyse the motivation of academic entrepreneurs that comprises six dimensions: personal, relating to the entrepreneurial opportunity, to scientific knowledge, to the availability of resources, to the incubator organization, and to the social environment. The model is tested based on information from a survey administered to 152 Spanish academic entrepreneurs. Our results show that entrepreneurial opportunity is not part of the entrepreneurial motivation, but is of the utmost importance to academic entrepreneurs. Also, we find the scientific knowledge is the main driver of entrepreneurial activity in the academia.     

Innovation and productivity in knowledge intensive business services

This paper studies empirically the relationship between the sources of knowledge, innovation and productivity in Knowledge Intensive Business Services using French micro data and sheds some new light on the production of knowledge and on effects of innovative output on firm productivity. Both an innovation function and a production function augmented with dummy endogenous innovation are estimated. Three estimators which control for endogeneity of the dummy innovation are employed: the first is a maximum likelihood estimator of the equations’ system while the other two are built in the instrumental variables framework. These estimators give useful complementary information because of the usual efficiency-robustness tradeoff comparing system-equations and single-equation estimators. We find that innovation is frequent in Knowledge Intensive Business Services and has a strong and positive effect on productivity. As in manufacturing, the main determinant of innovation is formal knowledge resulting from R&D or from acquisitions of equipment, patents or licenses.     

The impact of European firms＇ economic conditions and financial performance on accounting quality

In this study the authors analyse the possible effect of firms＇ economic conditions and financial performance on accounting quality. Bradshaw, et al. （2004）, Gelos ＆ WEI （2005） stated that financial reporting quality is fundamental for investors and it affects international capital movements. Following Schipper ＆ Vicent （2003）, the authors estimated accounting quality by abnormal accruals and earnings persistence. The authors＇ contribution consists of investigating a huge number of firms from 17 European countries using unbalanced panel data. The authors found evidence that economic conditions affect accounting quality： big firms and those with high current earnings exhibit better financial information. These results are robust because they do not depend on the accounting quality proxy, even when the authors estimated regression with economical and financial factors alone or together. Financial performance does not seem to affect accounting quality. However, this relation is not linear because in high leveraged firms, the capital structure becomes determinant.     

Intergenerational occupational dynamics before and during the recent crisis in Spain

The relationship between the socio-economic status of parents and children is referred to by the literature as intergenerational social mobility. Low mobility implies that human capital, skills and talent can be misallocated. As a consequence, the workers’ efforts, their motivation and productivity could be negatively affected, causing adverse effects on economy growth and competitiveness. This paper attempts to study the evolution of intergenerational social mobility before and during the recent economic crisis in Spain. The methodology applied consists in analysing the movements along the occupational scale of children with respect to their parents. This involves associating the National Classification of Occupations with the New International Socio-economic Index of Occupational Status. Statistic and econometric methods are used to assess these occupational transitions and to analyse the covariates’ effects on them. Data used corresponds to the 2005 and 2011 Living Condition Survey (INE 2005, 2011).     

Complementarity,Linkages between Firms,and the Effect of Entry Costs on Productivity

In a general equilibrium model where firms are heterogeneous in terms of productivity, we introduce differentiated goods in production that are not perfect substitutes, as well as intermediate inputs needed to produce those goods. We show that an increase in either the complementarity of differentiated goods or the share of intermediate inputs in gross output, significantly increases the negative effect of entry costs on total factor productivity (TFP) and output per worker. We also find that the effect of complementarity is quantitatively stronger. If we assume an empirically plausible value for the elasticity of substitution between differentiated goods, then the model considerably improves its ability to reproduce the observed negative relationship between entry costs and TFP or output per worker.     

The effect of nonreciprocal preferential trade agreements on benefactors’ exports

Over the last decades, developed countries have provided developing countries with preferential market access via trade policies in the form of nonreciprocal preferential trade agreements (NRPTAs). Despite the lack of reciprocity of this kind of agreements, certain criteria for designating eligible countries refer to the commercial interests of benefactor countries. This paper examines for the first time the effect of NRPTAs on benefactors’ exports to beneficiary countries. Using recent developments in the econometric analysis of the gravity equation, we find robust evidence that nonreciprocal agreements have had an economically significant effect on exports not only for beneficiary countries but also for benefactor countries.     

Firm Performance and Women on the Board: Evidence from Spanish Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

ABSTRACT

This study examines gender diversity on boards of directors in a sample of nonfinancial Spanish small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) for 2003–8, finding that the probability of women on the board increases with firm performance, defined as return on assets, and family ownership, but diminishes with corporate ownership and firm risk. It also finds, when examining the full sample, a positive effect of the presence of women board members on firm performance. The study also obtains a similar positive effect in most subsamples, including in firms with corporate ownership, where family connections play less role in the election of board members, and in firms in the secondary and tertiary sectors, which are characterized by having greater proximity to final consumers than those in the primary sector.