Sport as a cultural system: sports policies and (new) ethnicities in Lyon and Birmingham

‘Sport promotes integration’: this idea seems to be commonly accepted both in France and in the UK, even though the authorities in each country see the issue of ‘ethnic minorities’ very differently. This article draws on research based on interviews with the main actors of ‘socio–sports’ policies in the cities of Lyon and Birmingham and on analysis of consultation procedures and official documents, to show that sport provides a set of symbolic markers that helps the authorities, professionals and ‘ethnic minorities’ to get their bearings in an uncertain multicultural situation. Although ‘ethnic minorities’ try to control the direction of sports policies in pursuit of their own objectives, their strategies tend to be ‘routinized’ around markers legitimized by the authorities in response to the success of certain sporting practices. Sports policies, therefore, promote ‘security’ of identity for these ‘minorities’ by ‘mapping’ their environment using the values and principles of sport. ‘Le sport favorise l’int´gration’: cette idée semble communément admise en France et en Grande–Bretagne alors même que leurs autorités respectives envisagent de manière très différente la question des ‘minorités ethniques’. À partir d’une recherche fondée sur des entretiens avec les principaux acteurs des politiques ‘socio–sportives‘ des villes de Lyon et de Birmingham, et sur l’analyse des procédures de concertation et des documents officiels, l’analyse montre que le sport trace des repères symboliques qui permettent aux pouvoirs publics, aux professionnels et aux ‘minorités ethniques’ de s’orienter dans une réalité multiculturelle incertaine. Mais si ces dernières tentent de contrôler l’orientation des politiques sportives de manière à poursuivre leurs propres objectifs, leurs stratégies tendent également à se ‘routiniser’ autour des repères que les pouvoirs publics ont légitimé pour répondre au succès des pratiques sportives. Les politiques sportives favorisent dès lors la ‘sécurisation’ identitaire de ces ‘minorités’ en ‘cartographiant’ leur environnement à l’aide des valeurs et des principes du sport.     

Stable mixture GARCH models

A new model class for univariate asset returns is proposed which involves the use of mixtures of stable Paretian distributions, and readily lends itself to use in a multivariate context for portfolio selection. The model nests numerous ones currently in use, and is shown to outperform all its special cases. In particular, an extensive out-of-sample risk forecasting exercise for seven major FX and equity indices confirms the superiority of the general model compared to its special cases and other competitors. Estimation issues related to problems associated with mixture models are discussed, and a new, general, method is proposed to successfully circumvent these. The model is straightforwardly extended to the multivariate setting by using an independent component analysis framework. The tractability of the relevant characteristic function then facilitates portfolio optimization using expected shortfall as the downside risk measure.     

Firm-network characteristics and economic robustness to natural disasters

This article proposes a theoretical framework to investigate economic robustness to exogenous shocks such as natural disasters. It is based on a dynamic model that represents a regional economy as a network of production units through the disaggregation of sector-scale input-output tables. Results suggest that disaster-related output losses depend on direct losses heterogeneity and on the economic network structure. Two aggregate indexes - concentration and clustering - appear as important drivers of economic robustness, offering opportunities for robustness-enhancing strategies. Modern industrial organization seems to reduce short-term robustness in a trade-off against higher efficiency in normal times.     

Shipment frequency of exporters and demand uncertainty

This paper examines how exporting firms adapt to the uncertainty stemming from demand volatility. By using monthly customs data from France, we decompose exports into different extensive and intensive margins including two novel margins: the number of months the firms exported (frequency) and the average export value per month. We establish four empirical patterns. First, firms export less to markets with higher demand volatility. Second, this effect is mainly explained by the frequency margin. Third, volatility affects the frequency margin through two channels: indirectly through lower trade volume and directly through logistics re-optimization. In particular, our results suggest that firms send less frequent, larger shipments to more uncertain markets conditional on total exports. Fourth, the effect of demand volatility is magnified on markets with longer time-to-ship. We propose that these observations are in line with simple stochastic inventory management approaches.     

On farmland prices and rents in Japan

Historically, the Japanese farmland market has been strongly regulated, although fundamental changes in policy were introduced in 1967 and 1980. This article examines the relationship between farmland prices and rents in Japan for 1955–2000 using the cointegration procedure of Johansen et al. (2000) , which admits structural breaks. Results show the presence of a cointegrating relationship with a significant break in 1980. There is Granger‐causality from prices to rents, which suggests that rents are determined within an institutional setting according to farmland prices. The rent–price elasticity is unity, which supports the notion of efficiency in the farmland market.     

Tariff Liberalization and Trade Integration of Emerging Countries

This paper investigates how tariff liberalization has affected exporting at the product‐destination level in emerging countries. We use a highly disaggregated (six‐digit level of the harmonized system—HS—classification) bilateral measure of market access to compare tariffs applied in 1996 and 2006, which includes the timing of the Uruguay Round and episodes of bilateral liberalization. Our econometric estimations consider impacts of tariff cuts on three components of the trade margins: extensive margin of entry (new trade relationships at the product‐destination level), extensive margin of exit (disappearance of existing relationships) and intensive margin of trade (deepening existing relationships). Our main estimates indicate that a reduction of bilateral applied tariffs of 1 percentage point increases the extensive margin of entry by 0.1% and the intensive one by 2.09%, while it reduces the extensive margin of exit by 0.25%.     

Simulating World Trade in the Decades Ahead: Driving Forces and Policy Implications

Notwithstanding the current slowdown, the geography and composition of international trade are changing fast. We link a macroeconomic growth model and sectoral computable general equilibrium framework in order to project the world economy forward to the year 2035 and assess to what extent current trends in trade are expected to continue. Constructing fully traceable scenarios based on assumptions grounded in the literature, we are also able to isolate the relative impact of key economic drivers. We find that the stakes for developing countries are particularly high: the emergence of new players in the world economy, intensification of South–South trade and diversification into skill‐intensive activities may continue only in a dynamic economic and open trade environment. Current trends towards increased regionalisation may be reversed, with multilateral trade relationships gaining in importance. Hypothetical mega‐regionals could slow down, but not frustrate the prevalence of multilateralism. Continuing technological progress is likely to have the biggest impact on future economic developments around the globe. Population dynamics are influential as well: for some countries, upskilling will be crucial; for others, labour shortages may be addressed through migration. Several developing countries would benefit from increased capital mobility; others will only diversify into dynamic sectors, when trade costs are further reduced.     

Relational Goods and Associational Participation

Abstract *** :  In this paper, we focus on the role of interpersonal contact and the possibility of a relational motive to explain participation and volunteering in associations. Drawing on the relational goods theory, we show that associational activities are favorable to production and consumption of such goods. So, associational participants are expected to have more personal interactions. This theoretical hypothesis is tested using a cross‐sectional data set conducted in France in 1999. Our econometric analysis, which controls for endogeneity of associational participation using a simultaneous equations model, emphasizes a significantly positive relationship between this participation and preferences for relational goods .