Nonparametric Estimation of Households’ Duration of Residence from Panel Data

In this paper we present a method that estimates the total duration of permanency for residential households starting from the lengths of stay declared by families in a micro panel survey. Throughout this study Spanish data are taken from the European Household Panel established between 1994 and 2001. The inference is based on those households surveyed in 1994 and onwards, including those who moved into their 1994-current residence after 1979. The follow-up of the household is conducted until the house is vacated or the sample observed in (year 2001) is finalized. We distinguish amongst owners, renters, and rent-free occupants or squatters (others), since these groups of households are known to exhibit a different pattern regarding residence time. Our approach for estimation is purely non parametric. This is an interesting feature, since we show that the renewal processes which represent the households’ mobility have a non-constant rate over the period 1980–1994 for owners and rent-free occupants. This fact invalidates the method of inference based on the equilibrium equation proposed by Anily et al. J Bus Econ Stat 17:373–381, 1999) in order to estimate the lengths of stay in each household.     

Vertical specialization across the world: A relative measure

This article investigates the dynamics and the international distribution of vertical specialization (VS) - the use of imported inputs to produce goods that are afterwards exported. We propose a relative measure of VS-based trade that combines information from Input-Output matrices and international trade data, producing results for a large sample of countries with a detailed product breakdown. We illustrate this measure by showing the evolution of VS activities at the world level over the 1967-2005 period. The results are consistent with partial evidence existing in the literature, pointing to a substantial increase of VS in high-technology products and in East Asia.     

Semiparametric three‐step estimation methods for simultaneous equation systems

This paper proposes a new method for estimating a structural model of labour supply in which hours of work depend on (log) wages and the wage rate is considered endogenous. The main innovation with respect to other related estimation procedures is that a nonparametric additive structure in the hours of work equation is permitted. Though the focus of the paper is on this particular application, a three‐step methodology for estimating models in the presence of the above econometric problems is described. In the first step the reduced form parameters of the participation equation are estimated by a maximum likelihood procedure adapted for estimation of an additive nonparametric function. In the second step the structural parameters of the wage equation are estimated after obtaining the selection‐corrected conditional mean function. Finally, in the third step the structural parameters of the labour supply equation are estimated using local maximum likelihood estimation techniques. The paper concludes with an application to illustrate the feasibility, performance and possible gain of using this method. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A SPECIALIST'S QUOTED DEPTH AS A STRATEGIC CHOICE VARIABLE: AN APPLICATION TO SPREAD DECOMPOSITION MODELS

Although there is a sizable literature demonstrating that liquidity and transaction costs are multidimensional, researchers continue to estimate adverse‐selection costs using only prices. We present a model of a profit‐maximizing specialist who posts prices and depths. The model is simulated to measure changes in the adverse‐selection component of the spread that result under different levels of informed trading. We find that spread decompositions fail to capture the full extent of adverse‐selection risk when specialists choose depth. We recommend that researchers use adverse‐selection measures that account for depth as well as spread to mitigate this problem.     

Economic role, Property rights, Labour skills and Technology in the Portuguese Wine Co-Operatives

Agricultural markets are characterised by thinner margins, greater price and income volatility. Despite these changes, agricultural raw material markets are increasingly characterised by the vertical co-ordination of farmers and processors. The organisational form of a marketing co-operative is a common means adopted by farmers to achieve this end. In a world increasingly concerned with the importance of the separation of ownership and user, the survival and growth of agricultural co-operatives (in which the primary users of the services are also the main owners) is linked to their economic role, to how members exercise their property rights, and how inputs are used by the co-operative. This paper provides a function that summarises the economic role of agricultural co-operatives and goes on to analyse the contribution to the economic performance of Portuguese wine co-operatives (PWCs) made by the use of property rights, and the skills of the human resources and technology employed. The results of a multinomial logit model show that PWCs would indeed be able to improve their economic performance through the application of integrated management strategies to solve common property and horizon problems, as well as increasing their recruitment of skilled professionals in the areas of management, wine production and marketing, and by the adoption of new technologies of production and packaging.     

PARADIGM DEPLETION,KNOWLEDGE PRODUCTION AND RESEARCH EFFORT: CONSIDERING THOMAS KUHN'S IDEAS

This paper deals in a Stackelberg differential game with Kuhn (1962) ideas of paradigm depletion and resiliency. Paradigm is considered as potential knowledge, as a stock of ideas that can be harvested to produce science. The results are: (i) paradigm depletion can be optimal, (ii) the optimal editor's shadow price of potential knowledge must be non‐positive, if it is positive, the editor is a keeper of the orthodoxy rather than a scientist, (iii) editor's and/or researcher's impatience is bad for science, and (iv) in equilibrium editor's behavior does not matter for research effort, while only editor's behavior matter for the paradigm.     

Factors Affecting Skepticism toward Green Advertising

Abstract

Despite the growth of green marketing, there is a shortage of studies on green communication. Thus, this research aims to understand whether consumers who are concerned about the environment conserve resources and have environmentally friendly buying habits and whether they are skeptical about the green communications conveyed by companies. Using a proposal of a model about skepticism toward green advertising, several hypotheses are tested. The results indicate that the more environmentally concerned an individual is, the more skepticism he or she will be toward green claims exhibited on packages or featured in ads. In addition, results indicated no significant differences between men and women regarding this skepticism.     

Biotechnology Development in Spain: A Change of Paradigm?

This article presents a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the Spanish biotechnology sector, including its scientific, business, policy and social aspects. The study differentiates two sub-sectors, considered to be the most representative: Biopharma and Agro-food. The results show that biotechnology development in Spain has entered a new phase. Traditionally, research and development in Spain followed an unstructured path built around regional spaces and driven by factors and influences external to Spain. However, the emergence of a fast-growing sector of spin-off companies from the public research system, specifically in the Biopharma sector, points to a change of model of development of the industry, on the national as well as the regional level. The data also show the key role which public policy plays in creating a suitable framework for innovation and point to the need of analyzing the influence of social and cultural factors on the development of the biotechnology sector.     

Analysis of the Visitors of Superagüi National Park,Brazil

The present work consists of the analysis of the visitors' profile of the Superagüi National Park, located on the north coast of the State of Paraná, Brazil. During the season 1998/1999 94 interviews were analysed. It was verified that most of the visitors can be considered as 'ecotourists', because their profile fits the one commonly proposed in literature. Visitors' preferences related to activities and infrastructure and critics are valuable indicators for the park's future management.     

Ordered to Innovate: A Longitudinal Examination of the Early Periods of a New Product Development Process Implementation in a Manufacturing Firm

Firms can generate rather long‐lasting growth spurts through continuous innovation. Moreover, literature suggests that, when growing organically, firm performance is enhanced through a revenue expansion emphasis encompassing new‐to‐the‐world or new‐to‐the‐firm physical goods or service augmentations. This organic approach usually outperforms cost‐reduction programs, which often yield minor improvements to existing products; or an emphasis on simultaneous revenue expansion and cost reduction. While this finding has the major implication that firms should focus and generate more radical new products for long‐term success, there is need for research that investigates how firms should implement the strategy change to organic growth via innovation. The authors present a case study, which suggests that in the short run, it might be better to commence a revenue expansion strategy by focusing on incremental new product development (NPD) efforts, rather than focusing too much on new‐to‐the‐world or new‐to‐the‐firm products. Moreover, analyses of the rich, multimethod data, collected over a two‐and‐a‐half‐year interaction with the focal firm, illustrates that to increase success prospects of an organic innovation strategy, managers should not only engage incrementally innovative new product projects initially, but also ensure proficiency in commercializing the new product with cross‐functional NPD teams. Thus, in early stages of organization transformation, the merits of the organic growth strategy will be swiftly demonstrated, the cross‐functional teaming skills are learned and tested, and the new strategy becomes institutionalized. While somewhat contradictory to other studies on this topic, this more evolutionary exploration provides a new perspective for organizational change, especially when a firm is ordered to innovate. In conclusion, the insights gleaned in this study shed light on the journey from stagnating firm to a successful serial innovator via formalized NPD process implementation.