Exploring the link between research and economic growth: an empirical study of China and USA

In this paper, we explore the link between scientific and technical research and economic growth in China and USA over the sample period 1981–2012 using the extended Cobb–Douglas model with capital per worker and the quantity of scientific and technical journal articles (research publications) per worker. We examine the cointegration relationship and present the short-run and long-run results using the autoregressive distributed lag bounds procedure. Further, we examine the direction of causality between research publications per worker results and economic growth variables using the Toda and Yamamoto (J Econom 66(1–2):225–250, 1995) procedure. Our results indicate for both countries research publications per worker positively influence the output per worker both in the short-run and the long-run. The causality results for China indicate a bi-directional causality between research publications per worker and output per worker, duly emphasizing the mutually reinforcing effect. In case of USA, we note a unidirectional causation output per worker to research publications per worker indicating that output Granger cause research publications.     

Macroeconomic policy and output comovement: The formal and informal sectors in India

Is the informal sector different from the formal sector? We present an aggregative analysis of the formal and informal sectors in India to investigate the extent to which the two can be viewed as broadly homogeneous. Using a macroeconometric framework, the paper analyzes over past three decades the behavior of the two sectors with respect to each other and several government-related policy variables. It is found that the formal and informal sectors display markedly different attributes in terms of their relationship to policy variables. Furthermore, the informal sector appears to be decoupled from the rest of the economy.     

Overall justice,work group identification and work outcomes: Test of moderated mediation process

This study examined an integrated model of the antecedents and outcomes of organisational and overall justice using a sample of Indian Call Centre employees (n = 458). Results of structural equation modelling (SEM) revealed that the four organisational justice dimensions relate to overall justice. Further, work group identification mediated the influence of overall justice on counterproductive work behaviors, such as presenteeism and social loafing, while conscientiousness was a significant moderator between work group identification and presenteeism and social loafing. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Microfinance Traps and Relational Exchange Norms: A Field Study of Women Entrepreneurs in Tanzania

In interdependent social groups, microfinance traps occur when conflicts arise between borrowers’ affective ties related to family needs and instrumental ties related to obligations toward their loan group. Thus, the social capital that facilitates microfinancing can lead to conflicting obligations toward business needs and economic obligations toward family. Building on an inductive field study among female entrepreneurs in Tanzania, we conceptualize microfinance traps. By using relational contract theory to interpret the qualitative data, we argue that microfinance traps can be reduced by balancing role integrity, preserving norms and reciprocity, and harmonizing the social matrix toward the family and loan group.     

Racial Differences in the Returns to Financial Literacy Education

We examine financial literacy and the returns to financial literacy education, specifically focusing on the racial financial literacy gap. We confirm evidence that whites have higher financial literacy scores relative to minorities and that financial literacy increases with participation in financial literacy education. However, we find the benefit of participation in financial literacy education is higher for whites than that for minorities. Thus, the impact of being white alone persists, indicating a racial financial literacy and/or behavioral difference despite financial literacy education. Our findings have implications for policymakers interested in narrowing the racial wealth gap via financial literacy education.     

Measuring entrepreneurial passion: Conceptual foundations and scale validation

Along with other affective and emotional dimensions, passion is at the heart of entrepreneurship. Yet past research on entrepreneurial passion (EP) has been hindered by the lack of a sound measurement instrument. Through a series of empirical studies conducted with samples from relevant populations, we develop and validate an instrument to capture EP and its inherent dimensions. We show that the task-specific dimensions of EP (intense positive feelings toward the domains of inventing, founding and developing, and the centrality of these domains to entrepreneurs' self-identity) are conceptually and empirically distinct from one another, and from other emotions and cognitions known to play a role in entrepreneurship. Our theory and results indicate that proper measurement of entrepreneurial passion incorporates the interaction between entrepreneurs' feelings and identity centrality for each domain. We discuss the implications of our model, instrument and findings for future research on the affective components of innovation and entrepreneurship. We also develop specific guidelines for using our validated instrument in future research.     

Firm Adaptation,Preadaptation, and Sequential Ambidexterity in Firm Boundaries During an Era of Ferment and an Era of Incremental Change

We explore the relation between firms’ internal skills and knowledge from past applications and the mechanism they use to adapt during an era of ferment and then to an era of incremental change in a new technological domain. We extend current research on incumbent firms’ success at facing radical technological change by studying dynamic firm boundaries of incumbents within the industry along a new technological trajectory. We use the concepts of problem, search, and solution from the knowledge‐based view and foundational view of knowledge recombination to develop our theoretical framework. We propose that preadapted firms—the ones with accumulated internal skills and knowledge from past applications that prove relevant by chance to the new technological domain—are more likely to choose internal technology sourcing during an era of ferment (than nonpreadapted firms). Subsequently, firms that choose internal sourcing during an era of ferment are more likely (than firms that source externally) to choose external sourcing during an era of incremental change leading to greater market acceptance for their innovation. Analysis of a longitudinal data set of 161 U.S. banks provides support for our hypotheses. The findings of this study indicate an important temporal dependency between internal and external sourcing, thus contributing to the sequential ambidexterity literature. Our theoretical framework provides support to the foundational view of knowledge recombination and contributes to the knowledge‐based view of the firm.     

THE MARKET'S PRICING OF DEBT IPOs

Based on the authors' recent study published in the Journal of Financial Economics , this article summarizes new evidence on the first-day and aftermarket price performance of a firm's first public offer of bonds after its equity IPO. Unlike equity IPOs, such bond IPOs are not underpriced on average. However, bonds that are more equity-like (junk bonds) are underpriced at the initial offer whereas high-grade debt is actually overpriced. This finding supports the view that riskier debt issues have a larger equity component and, as a consequence, a higher degree of information asymmetry.
The authors' study also showed that less prestigious underwriters are associated with more underpriced offers, and that the issuer's stock market listing plays an important role in determining the first-day price performance of bond IPOs. The degree of underpricing is lower for bonds issued by firms whose equity is listed on NYSE/AMEX than for bonds issued by firms listed on Nasdaq. Finally, the aftermarket performance for the full sample and various subsamples is consistent with bond market efficiency in the sense that, once prices adjust after the first day of trading, there are no clearly exploitable opportunities for excess returns.     

New Directions: Cambridge–Maastricht Symposium 2001

The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics -