Lobbying for Education in a Two‐Sector Model

Firms specialized in two different sectors lobby to induce the government to subsidize the type of education complementary to their production. Lobbying is endogenous. We show that, if lobbying is not costly, both sectors will lobby in equilibrium and the education policy will induce the same skill composition that would be chosen by the social planner. However, if lobbying is costly and there is sufficient asymmetry between the sectors, only one sector will exert pressure on the policy‐maker in the attempt to direct resources toward the type of education required by its production. Which sector will engage in lobbying depends on relative size, productivity, and price. We also provide some preliminary evidence that lobbying activity by firms may influence the production of skills needed by those firms.     

STABILIZATION POLICY AT THE ZERO LOWER BOUND

We construct a monetary economy with aggregate liquidity shocks and heterogeneous idiosyncratic preference shocks. In this environment, not all agents are satiated at the zero lower bound (ZLB) even when the Friedman rule is the best interest‐rate policy the central bank can implement. As a consequence, central bank stabilization policy, which takes the form of repo arrangements in response to aggregate demand shocks, temporarily relaxes the liquidity constraint of impatient agents at the ZLB. Due to a pecuniary externality, this policy may have beneficial general equilibrium effects for patient agents even if they are unconstrained in their money balances.     

The role of banks in CESEE countries: exploring non-standard determinants of economic growth

This paper explores the finance–growth nexus in 14 countries from Central, Eastern and South-eastern Europe (CESEE) over the 1995–2015 period. It investigates whether including two ‘non-standard’ variables, i.e. a credit cycle dummy and foreign bank relevance, deepens our understanding of the role of a typical financial determinant of economic growth, i.e. bank credit. We find evidence of a negative impact of bank credit on economic growth and the significance of cyclical fluctuations of bank credit. In contrast, a higher market share of loans granted by foreign-owned banks in a cyclical upswing and stock market capitalisation are found to have a proactive effect on growth.     

Inbound open innovation in biopharmaceutical firms: unpacking the role of absorptive capacity

In this study, we extend recent attempts to clarify the role of antecedents of absorptive capacity in realising purposive inflows of external knowledge in the biopharmaceutical industry. By assuming that internal R&D resources contribute to absorptive capacity as a multidimensional concept, we propose a framework for the integrated analysis of the interactions between the different antecedents of absorptive capacity and inbound open innovation of biopharmaceutical firms. Our analysis relies on a set-theoretic approach and uses fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to study a set of selected Italian biopharmaceutical firms. The analysis reveals that biopharmaceutical companies with a diversified R&D business domain and an extended entrepreneurial scientific network are likely to adopt an inbound open innovation strategy.     

Economies of scale and scope in the European banking sector

In this article, using the data of 2008, we try to describe the impact of scale and product differentiation in 282 European banks. While evidence of the economies of scale is less clear, the results obtained using a translogarithmic function system show that significant economies of scope do exist even for new banking products like derivatives.

A signalling model of school grades under different evaluation systems

We examine the role of school grades as a signal of worker productivity under different examination systems in relation to errors that may affect student performance. Firms use school grades as a signal of workers’ effective skills, taking into account that these evaluations are effected by stochastic shocks. We show that more precise evaluation systems, being associated with a higher reactivity of wages to school grades, induce students to provide more effort. Low ability students tend to react less than high ability students. Moreover, individuals with low abilities may prefer less accurate evaluation systems. Nevertheless, when productivity increases, these systems become less convenient and the number of individuals preferring them diminishes. Our analysis highlights an important trade-off between centralised and decentralised evaluation systems. On the one hand, frequent evaluations, typical of decentralised systems, weaken the impact on grades of those errors which influence student performance and, so, reduce signal noise, while, on the other hand, different teachers generally adopt different performance assessment standards, leading to noisier evaluations.     

The Effect of Disagreement on Noncooperative Bargaining

A seemingly mild assumption of the standard alternating offers bargaining model under risk is that the breakdown event is not strictly worse than the worst agreement. When this assumption is relaxed the structure of the equilibrium set of agreements changes in an interesting way. We analyse the effect of disagreement on equilibrium, and relate our result to a class of outside option models. Journal of Economic Literature Classification Number: C78.     

The emergence of new networked business models from technology innovation: an analysis of 3-D printing design enterprises

Technology does not have intrinsic value: obtaining competitive advantage from it and transforming it into profits requires a business model based on the application of competencies and dynamic capabilities, and the ability to select and apply appropriate resources. Innovative 3-D printing technology appears to be dependent on a new business model based on the ability to structure and integrate creative inputs, crowdsourcing processes, and market distribution networks. This new business model is being used by design enterprises that employ 3-D printing technology in order to enrich their service portfolio or to inaugurate completely new business lines. This paper analyzes how the use of new 3-D printing technology in design enterprises is coupled with proper business model components. Through a qualitative analysis of three cases - Quirky, i.materialise and Fab-Lab - the authors develop four propositions on a number of factors that contribute to business model effectiveness in design ventures using 3-D printing technology.     

Exploring the firm and country determinants of the voluntary adoption of integrated reporting

Information used to manage the business and support the decision‐making of stakeholders is being subject to an evolution. In this context, traditional financial reporting is considered not sufficient anymore. This has translated into a sharp increase in the number of firms that have begun to adopt emerging reporting practices. This study aims to examine the influence that both firm‐ and country‐specific characteristics have on the voluntary uptaking of integrated reporting internationally. In order to do so, it analyses a sample of 71 international listed companies that have adopted this reporting form in 2016. The results show that firms are more likely to implement integrated reporting if they are located in countries with a higher level of corruption perception and a better risk rating and that are considered as relatively more collectivist and feminist and with a long‐term orientation. Legal system has resulted to be not significant. As for firms' characteristics, large size, profitability, market‐to‐book ratio, and the size of the board are found to be significant variables. Moreover, the results indicate that the adoption of integrated reporting is not influenced by a higher level of leverage, firm efficiency and board diversity and independence.     

The ever‐declining role of gender equality in the European Employment Strategy

This article analyses the changing position of gender in the European Employment Strategy (EES) since its 2005 relaunch. Overall, we find a picture of mixed progress towards gender equality goals across Member States. There is evidence of the EU soft law approach leading to positive developments as the use of targets in conjunction with Country‐Specific Recommendations and Points‐to‐Watch have had some influence in promoting gender equality policies among Member States. However, the weakened position of gender mainstreaming in European‐level initiatives has led to gender being marginalised or ignored in national and EU policy responses to the crisis. The prominence of gender has declined further in the 2010 revision of the EES under the 2020 banner. This introduces new risks as the emphasis on gender equality falls further down the list of priorities in the streamlining of the Lisbon Process.