Lambs to Slaughter: Potential for Crises in Smaller Nations of the European Union

The Minsky (1992) model links inflation during economic expansion to the potential for subsequent reversal. This model was tested in the European economic region using logistic regression, which indicated inflation had the greatest contribution toward potential for crisis. Three equations included inflation with other selected macroeconomic indicators tracked by the World Bank. GDP growth, GDP/GNI ratio, and adoption of the Euro demonstrated positive effects. Predictions based on the chosen indicators suggest that the newer members of the European Union may be vulnerable to crisis following periods of high inflation; recent slowing of economic activity in Europe has actually improved the predicted outcomes.     

Explaining the entrepreneurial orientation–performance relationship in emerging economies: The intermediate roles of absorptive capacity and improvisation

Research has established the relevance of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) to firm performance but skepticism remains because of the ambiguity surrounding how EO might improve firm performance. We examine the key concepts of absorptive capacity and improvisation as two alternative learning modes serving as intermediate steps between EO and firm performance. Locating our study within manufacturing SMEs in Malaysia, we find that absorptive capacity enhances the EO–performance relationship, both as a moderator and a mediator. In contrast to expectations, however, improvisation showed no such effects but conferred its own separate benefits instead. We further discuss the different effects of these learning modes on high performance and low performance groups.     

HETEROGENEOUS LABOUR AND ≪CLASSICAL≫ THEORY

That labour is heterogeneour is obvious, as is the significance in many dimensions, of that heterogeneity. Yet the real-world importance of heterogeneous labour is not always reflected in economic theory, “classical” or other: the purpose of this paper is therefore to develop somewhat further the brief discussions of heterogeneous labour contained in my Marx after Sraffa (1977, pp. 88-94, 18-9)¹. The paper will be divided into two parts. The first is formal and will be non-controversial — if it contains no logical errors. In the second, however, some wider issues — involving matters of interpretation — will be raised, to encourage discussion.