Foreign direct investment and small firm employment in northern Mexico: 1987-1996

This study analyses the impact of foreign direct investment on small business employment along the border in Mexico between 1987 and 1996. During this period, unprecedented levels of foreign direct investment flowed to Mexico, most notably to the northern border region. At the same time, it appears that internal migration of workers from the interior to the border occurred in response to employment generated by this investment. Utilizing 1987 and 1996 data from the Encuesta Nacional de Empleo Urbano, bivariate probit models of employment and small/ large firm employment for the border and interior regions are estimated. The results suggest that the increased employment share captured by large firms in the border may have hindered growth in the small business sector. A better understanding of the impact of FDI flows on small businesses may help policymakers in developing countries as they strive to create broad-based economic growth.     

Regulatory Rules and Estimating Economic Growth: Two Perspectives on Expensing Employee Stock Options

Business Economics - Government economic statistics generally diverge from statistics based on private sector or regulatory agency data, and they are subject to being updated over time as more tax...     

VOLATILITY AND COVARIATION ESTIMATION WHEN MICROSTRUCTURE NOISE AND TRADING TIMES ARE ENDOGENOUS

This paper considers practically appealing procedures for estimating intraday volatility measures of financial assets. The underlying microstructure model accommodates the inherent properties of ultra high‐frequency data with the assumption of continuous efficient price processes. In this model, microstructure noise and trading times are endogenous but do not only depend on the prices. Using the (observed) last traded prices of the assets, we develop a new approach that enables to approximate the values of the efficient prices at some random times. Based on these approximated values, we build an estimator of the integrated volatility and give its asymptotic theory. We also give a consistent estimator of the integrated covariation when two assets (asynchronous by construction of the model) are observed.     

Longitudinal effects of job insecurity on employee outcomes: The moderating role of emotional intelligence and the leader-member exchange

The longitudinal study reported herein examines the buffering effects of individual and social resources (emotional intelligence and the leader-member exchange relationship) on the relationships between job insecurity and employee reactions (somatic complaints and organizational commitment) and the relationships between employee reactions over time. The results of this study, which was based on data drawn from 157 nurses employed by three hospitals in China, indicate that emotional intelligence moderates the relationship between job insecurity and somatic complaints at both Time 1 (T1) and Time 2 (T2) and that the leader-member exchange relationship (LMX) buffers the effects of somatic complaints at T1 on organizational commitment at T2. Overall, the findings reveal that the ability of employees to deal with their emotions and their relationships with their supervisors is an important resource that serves to protect employee outcomes when job security is uncertain.     

Nudging the financial market? A review of the nudge theory

A systematic review of the nudge literature and an examination of its applications across different domains reveals that: (i) a nudge, in the sense of using choice architecture to push people to choose desired results, works well; and (ii) a nudge, in the sense of pushing people to choose desired results so that people will be better off, remains questionable. In financial markets, regulators and financial intermediaries currently use nudge theory to: (i) adjust how investment choices are presented to investors; and (ii) provide information in a selective way. Besides nudging investors, it is also possible for regulators to nudge financial intermediaries towards making more ethical decisions.     

Science-policy interfaces for sustainable climate-smart agriculture uptake: lessons learnt from national science-policy dialogue platforms in West Africa

Connecting science with policy has always been challenging for both scientists and policymakers. In Ghana, Mali and Senegal, multi-stakeholder national science-policy dialogue platforms on climate-smart agriculture (CSA) were setup to use scientific evidence to create awareness of climate change impacts on agriculture and advocate for the mainstreaming of climate change and CSA into agricultural development plans. Based on the platforms' operations and achievements, we used semi-structured questionnaire interviews and reviewed technical reports produced by the platforms to analyse how their modes of operation and achievements improve understanding of the science-policy interfaces between agricultural and climate change decision making. Results showed that these platforms constitute an innovative approach to effectively engaging decision-makers and sustainably mainstreaming climate change into development plans. Effective science-policy interaction requires: (a) institutionalizing dialogue platforms by embedding them within national institutions, which improves their credibility, relevance and legitimacy among policymakers; (b) two-way communication, which contributes substantially to the co-development of solutions that address climate change vulnerabilities and impacts; and (c) relevant communication products and packaging of evidence that aligns with country priorities, which facilitates its uptake in policy-making processes. We conclude with a framework of sustainable operation for such platforms based on lessons learnt in the three countries.     

The Constraints Experienced and Negotiation Strategies Attempted by Nonparticipants of a Festival Event

The leisure constraints and negotiation model was used to examine nonparticipation in a large festival event. A purposive sampling survey was conducted with 502 event nonparticipants. The results indicated that the hierarchical leisure constraints model is a useful framework for understanding the constraints to attendance at special events. Consistent with previous research on constraints to participation, structural constraints were the greatest category of constraint, followed by interpersonal and intrapersonal constraints. Further, nonparticipants who experienced intrapersonal constraints were least likely to attempt negotiations relative to time, partners, or finances. Additionally, this study compared the constraints of nonparticipants who were interested and disinterested in attending the event and found disinterested nonparticipants perceived greater intrapersonal, interpersonal, and structural constraints than those interested in attending, suggesting that constraints create amotivation. Disinterested event nonparticipants were also less likely to negotiate constraints to participation, especially barriers related to lack of time and partners with whom to participate. Finally, interested nonparticipants who experienced intrapersonal constraints were less likely to attempt to negotiate constraints. This study broadens the scope of the constraints and negotiation discussion to include the context of a community festival event, as well as differences in constraints and negotiation between interested and disinterested event nonparticipants.     

Managing the Risks of Corporate Political Donations: A Utilitarian Perspective

This paper applies a utilitarian analysis to corporate political donations. Unlike the more common rights-based analyses, it is argued that the optimal policy is the one that best satisfies society’s rational preferences concerning donor influence, adequate financing, donor pressure and the cost of maintaining and enforcing the democratic system. This analysis suggests that a ban is best if it would be generally observed and sufficient financing from other sources is available, otherwise a donation cap is a better option. Further, lobbyists should be banned from donating small gifts and drafting bills for candidates. The impact of disclosure and other risk management mechanisms are also considered.     

Composite Lognormal–Pareto model with random threshold

This paper further considers the composite Lognormal–Pareto model proposed by Cooray & Ananda (2005) and suitably modified by Scollnik (2007). This model is based on a Lognormal density up to an unknown threshold value and a Pareto density thereafter. Instead of using a single threshold value applying uniformly to the whole data set, the model proposed in the present paper allows for heterogeneity with respect to the threshold and let it vary among observations. Specifically, the threshold value for a particular observation is seen as the realization of a positive random variable and the mixed composite Lognormal–Pareto model is obtained by averaging over the population of interest. The performance of the composite Lognormal–Pareto model and of its mixed extension is compared using the well-known Danish fire losses data set.