Trends and cycles in regional economic growth: How spatial differences shaped the Swedish growth experience from 1860–2009

Using a novel dataset of regional GDP per worker from 1860 to 2009, this paper analyzes communalities in regional long-term growth trajectories for 24 Swedish regions. Wavelet Analysis and Principal Component Analysis are used to decompose regional growth trajectories and assess the extent that regional growth patterns share common trends and cyclical properties. The study found that regional growth trends show strong common features among groups of regions in Sweden. Natural-resource-rich regions benefited from the First Industrial Revolution. Contrary to regional development in many other European economies, a growth surge in Sweden later benefited virtually the whole country during the Second Industrial Revolution. The countrywide trend of growth slowed in the 1970s when the metropolitan regions became the main growth engines. In mid- and short-term cyclical movements, regions display more heterogeneous growth patterns, and we find evidence of mid-term, sequential lead–lag patterns in regional growth, especially between urban cores and the periphery.     

Benefit-risk trade-offs in retrospect: how major stakeholders perceive the decision-making process in the Barents Sea oil field development

This study provides an analysis of risk-benefit communication and participation of the siting process for the Norwegian Goliat oil field development, within the context of a revised model of the International Risk Governance Council’s framework. The main objective of the study is a retrospective review of the decision-making process seen through the lenses of the major stakeholders involved in this process. The research design used qualitative methods of empirical research including stakeholder interviews during a five-day period in 2011 in Northern Norway. Results showed that the siting process of Goliat was dominated primarily by the issue of benefit sharing. In view of potential risks to such oil development, local stakeholders felt entitled to some compensation in terms of shared benefits. However, over the course of time the high hopes that these benefits would materialize and provide additional benefits to the communities which would then be fairly distributed among the beneficiaries have been disappointed. We review the reasons behind these results as well as formulate recommendations regarding potential improvements to the risk-benefit communication process in addition to future siting processes.     

The Amount and Timing of Goodwill Write-Offs and Revaluations: Evidence from U.S. and U.K. Firms

This paper investigates criticisms that U.S. GAAP had given firms too much discretion in determining the amount and timing of goodwill write-offs. Using 1,576 U.S. and 563 U.K. acquisitions, we find little evidence that U.S. firms managed the amount of goodwill write-off or that U.K. firms managed the amount of revaluations (write-ups of intangible assets). However, our results are consistent with U.S. firms delaying goodwill write-offs and U.K. firms timing revaluations strategically to avoid shareholder approval linked to certain financial ratios.     

The development of a benchmarking tool for monitoring progress towards sustainable transportation in New Zealand

Creating and maintaining a safe and sustainable transport system is a common challenge for road authorities around the world. The New Zealand government has taken this challenge one step further by incorporating it into country’s legislation. As a consequence all road land transport authorities are committed to implementing initiatives to respond to both the challenge and the legislation. A benchmarking process for the transport sector is one of these initiatives on a national level. Benchmarking is a well known and utilised technology for the measuring of performance for infrastructure, for example within the water provision sector in England. This paper presents the development of a national benchmarking process for the transport sector of New Zealand. This development is part of a strategy to encourage road land transport authorities to improve the performance of transport in achieving sustainability and environmental targets. The development involved a literature review, proof of concept and the full implementation stage. A total of nine key performance indicators were developed to indicate the status of transport sector performance. The project and its outcomes are considered to be of benefit to road land transport authorities across the world who wish to develop a benchmark process of their own.     

Distribution of Integrated Business Applications

New corporate developments, such as globalization, diversification and process orientation, are posing a challenge to the degree of integration of business application software. International standard software designed to meet the requirements of all types of business is acquiring greater strategic significance. The increased need for flexibility, localization, and scalable growth makes it necessary for highly integrated businesses applications to be distributable. Possible scenarios reflect managerial and organizational requirements. Additional mechanisms must be incorporated and business processes adapted to compensate for the increased autonomy of sub-applications. Reprint of an article from WIRTSCHAFTSINFORMATIK 35(5)1993:455–464. This article is also available in German in print and via http://www.wirtschaftsinformatik.de: Kagermann H (2008) Verteilung integrierter Anwendungen. WIRTSCHAFTSINFORMATIK. doi: 10.1007/s11576-008-0134-x.