Chaos and the exchange rate

Chaotic exchange rate models are structural models built in discrete time (difference equations), and show that with orthodox assumptions (PPP, interest parity, etc) and introducing plausible nonlinearities in the dynamic equations, it is possible to obtain a model capable of giving rise to chaotic motion. However, none of these models is estimated, and the conclusions are based on simulations: the empirical validity of these models is not tested. In this paper, a continuous time (the exchange rate is obviously a continuous variable) exchange rate model is built as a non-linear set of three differential equations and its theoretical properties (steady state, stability, etc,) analysed. The model is then econometrically estimated in continuous time with Italian data and examined for the possible presence of chaotic motion. This paper also shows that the continuous time estimation of economic models built as systems of nonlinear differential equations is a very powerful tool in the hands of the profession.     

East-west intra-industry trade dynamics

Conclusions Trade liberalization, integration and catching-up with the developed countries are often associated with an increase in intra-industry trade. We showed in the literature survey that the reduction of trade barriers is associated with the growth of intra-industry trade. We currently observe that the trade of the selected EU countries (Austria, Germany, Italy, Sweden and the Netherlands) with the CEECs (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia) follows this pattern as well. However, the increase of intra-industry trade is not uniform, but reflects different patterns of integration and progress of industrial restructuring.     

R&D Investment timing,default and capital structure

Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting - This paper investigates the interaction between R&D investment timing, probability of default, and capital structure. In particular we are...     

The interplay between stakeholders,resources and capabilities in climate change strategy: converting barriers into cooperation

This article investigates how organizations deal with drivers and barriers to the adoption of low‐carbon operational (LCO) practices and, accordingly, we propose a framework for relationships with stakeholders to guide organizations in orchestrating stakeholders, resources and capabilities to meet the challenges and opportunities arising from climate change. Data was collected through interviews with experts working within companies participating in the Carbon Disclosure Program and the Brazilian GHG Protocol Program. Our findings show that the level of willingness of stakeholders influences how companies select mechanisms to deal with drivers and barriers to LCO practices. Our results, qualified by stakeholder relationships theory and the natural resource‐based view, introduce an analytical approach called ‘mechanisms of responses’ to understand how organizations deal with drivers and barriers in the context of climate change in order to guide companies to adopt LCO practices, strengthen co‐operation with stakeholders and develop the required organizational capabilities.     

Immigration,uncertainty and macroeconomic dynamics

This paper examines the macroeconomic effects of rising migration uncertainty in four advanced economies (i.e. US, UK, Germany and France). Migration uncertainty is first captured by the Migration Policy Uncertainty (MPUI) and the Migration Fear (MFI) news-based indexes developed by Baker et al. (Immigration fears and policy uncertainty, 2015), and then by a novel Google Trend Migration Uncertainty Index (GTMU) based on the frequency of Internet searches for the term ‘immigration’. VAR investigations suggest that the macroeconomic implications of rising migration uncertainty differ across countries. Moreover, news-based and Google search-based migration fear shocks generate different macroeconomic effects. For instance, in the US (France), MPUI, MFI and GTMU shocks all improve (undermine) production and labour market conditions in the medium run. For Germany and the UK, mixed evidence is found, suggesting that increasing media attention on migration phenomena and rising population's interest in migration-related issues influence people's mood differently. The observed heterogeneity in the macroeconomic effects of rising migration uncertainty can be explained by cross-country gaps in (a) the level of labour market rigidity, (b) the degree of people's happiness and life satisfaction and (c) the percentage of graduates.     

Breaking ties in collective decision-making

Decisions in Economics and Finance - Many classic social preference (multiwinner social choice) correspondences are resolute only when two alternatives and an odd number of individuals are...     

Antecedents and consequences of the quality of e-customer-to-customer interactions in B2B brand communities

The opportunities that interactions in business-to-business (B2B) brand communities offer companies as well as brand community members have already been recognized by B2B firms, but are still an underexplored field of B2B academic marketing research. To provide a first step in analyzing B2B brand communities, we develop a conceptual framework of the quality of customer-to-customer (C2C) interactions in B2B brand communities by drawing on several theories and concepts (e.g., social exchange theory, uses and gratifications approach and value-in-the-experience). Based on an online survey (n = 330) spanning three virtual B2B brand communities in the IT-sector, we test our framework using structural equation modeling. Our results reveal that brand trust has a positive impact on brand community trust. Brand community trust leads to an increase in the quality of C2C interactions in B2B brand communities. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the quality of C2C interactions in B2B brand communities has a positive impact on functional, experiential, and symbolic brand community benefits, which, in turn, foster brand loyalty.     

Sustainability with Uncertain Future Preferences

A feature of the sustainability problem is that the preferences of future generations are uncertain. In this paper, we put forward a fairness-based definition of sustainability that takes this uncertainty into account. We analyze the implications of this definition in the context of a model of project evaluation. We show that our definition encompasses the concepts of non-declining welfare and of weak and strong sustainability. Furthermore, we show that preference uncertainty has a substantial influence on the implications of sustainability. We are indebted to two anonymous referees whose comments helped considerably to improve the paper. All remaining errors are ours.