Cost of doing business index in Latin America

Quality & Quantity - The World Bank's Ease of Doing Business Index (EDBI) has been widely used in analyzes of attracting investments and formulating public policies. Despite its importance...     

Understanding Price Stickiness: Firm‐level Evidence on Price Adjustment Lags and Their Asymmetries

We study the speed of price reactions to positive and negative demand and cost shocks. Our findings suggest that price adjustment lags vary in line with the predictions of optimal price setting models. Moreover, we find that the firms' reactions are asymmetric, and that these asymmetries cannot be fully explained by any single theoretical model of asymmetric price adjustment. Overall, these results suggest that the reaction to monetary policy shocks may depend on which firms or sectors are particularly affected by them and, therefore, that richer models are needed to fully understand the effects of monetary policy.     

The Influence of Image Valence on the Attention Paid to Charity Advertising

Non-governmental charities operate in a competitive market and survive with funding from membership fees and donations from supporters. Knowing and motivating potential donors has become increasingly important. Advertising is one of the key means of communication used by these organizations. This paper reports a pilot study to explore the influence of image valence in advertising on one’s attention and intention to donate. The study consists of an experiment wherein data processing is based on eye tracking and an electroencephalogram. The results show that negative images get more attention than text and logos. No differences were found with regard to gender and intention to donate in terms of attention paid to the advertising images. However, women do show greater willingness to make a donation. Finally, strategies adapted to charitable NGOs are discussed in the conclusions.     

The Impact of Service Recovery Processes on Consumer Trust and Loyalty in Car Repair Services

ABSTRACT

Although researchers and managers are increasingly paying attention to customer satisfaction, trust, loyalty and service recovery, not much is known about how these constructs interrelate with one another. Previous research has examined the interrelationships among subsets of these constructs. The authors extend this previous research by developing and testing a conceptual framework, considering all of these constructs (complaint encounter-specific evaluations and relational constructs) within a business/consumer environment. The findings show that distributive and interactional justice perceptions of the service recovery impact the satisfaction with the way the complaint is handled, which, in turn, influences the consumer's level of trust. Finally, consumer loyalty is affected by satisfaction, trust and perceived value.

RESUMEN. A pesar del creciente interés demostrado por los investigadores y gerentes en la satisfacción, confianza lealtad y recuperación del servicio del cliente, es poco lo que se conoce sobre cómo estas condiciones se interrelacionan entre sí. Investigaciones anteriores examinaron la interrelación entre los subgrupos de estos elementos. Los autores ampliaron la investigación anterior, desarrollando y poniendo a prueba un marco conceptual, considerando todos estos elementos (las quejas tienen evaluaciones específicas y elementos relacionales) dentro del entorno negocio - consumidor. Los hallazgos muestras que las percepciones de la justicia distributiva e interreaccional de la recuperación del servicio, impactan la satisfacción debido a la forma en que se manipula la queja que, a su vez, influye sobre el nivel de confiabilidad del consumidor. Finalmente, la lealtad del consumidor también se ven afectados por el grado de satisfacción, confianza y el valor que ellos le atribuyen.

RESUMO. Embora pesquisadores e gerentes venham prestando cada vez mais atenção à satisfação, confiança e fidelidade dos clientes e à recuperação de serviço (Service Recovery), pouco se sabe sobre como esses construtos se inter-relacionam. Pesquisas anteriores examinaram as inter-relações entre subconjuntos desses construtos. Os autores estendem essas pesquisas anteriores, desenvolvendo e testando uma estrutura conceitual, considerando todos esses construtos (avaliações de reclamações específicas aos encontros e construtos relacionais) dentro de um ambiente empresa/consumidor. As descobertas mostram que as percepções da justiça distributiva e interacional da recuperação de serviço impactam a satisfação com a forma como a reclamação é manuseada, o que, por sua vez, influencia o nível de confiança do consumidor. Finalmente, a fidelidade dos consumidores é afetada pela satisfação, confiança e valor percebido.     

Estimation of default probabilities using incomplete contracts data

This paper develops a count data model for credit scoring which allows the estimation of default probabilities using incomplete contracts data. The main advantage of the proposed approach is that it permits a more efficient use of the data, including that for the most recent clients. Moreover, because the probability of default is specified as a function of the age of the contract, the model provides some information on the timing of the defaults. The model is based on the beta-binomial distribution, which is found to be particularly adequate for this purpose. A well-known dataset on personal loans is used to illustrate the application of the proposed model.     

Comparison of Classical and Bayesian Approaches for Intervention Analysis

Intervention analysis has been recently the subject of several studies, mainly because real time series present a wide variety of phenomena that are caused by external and/or unexpected events. In this work, transfer functions are used to model different forms of intervention to the mean level of a time series. This is performed in the framework of state-space models. Two canonical forms of intervention are considered: pulse and step functions. Static and dynamic explanation of the intervention effects, normal and non-normal time series, detection of intervention, and study of the effect of outliers are also discussed. The performance of the two approaches is compared in terms of point and interval estimation through Monte Carlo simulation. The methodology was applied to real time series and showed satisfactory results for the intervention models used.     

KEYNES' WAGE–PRICE DYNAMICS

The paper presents a simple loglinear macroeconomic model designed to discuss the essentials of Keynes' dynamic analysis in the General Theory and in the Treatise on Money. The model has a conventional static Aggregate Demand—Aggregate Supply block plus a three‐dimensional dynamic system involving the money wage and the expected level and rate of change of the output price. It illustrates Keynes' ideas, in particular on the nature of unemployment and on the stabilizing nature of money (as opposed to real) wage stickiness. It also allows to reconcile with empirical observations Keynes' (false) conjecture on the negative correlation of money and real wages.     

How Latin American Students Perceive American Advertising

The study reported here was designed to examine the attitudes of Latin American students toward American advertising. The attitudes of 188 Latin American students were investigated, and comparisons were made with a matched sample of 193 American students. The results showed that the Latin American students' attitudes toward advertising were different from those of their American counterparts. Latin American students were more likely to have stronger attitudes, both favorable and unfavorable, toward specific social and economic dimensions of advertising. Attitudes expressed by Latin American students were not related to their length of stay in the United States.     

Women nascent entrepreneurs and social capital in the process of firm creation

The main objective of this research is to study gender differences in the process of firm creation, especially in the gestation stage of that process when nascent entrepreneurs carry out the promoter behaviours. A second objective is to analyse if the cognitive and structural endowments of social capital exert an influence on the promoter behaviours and on the kind of firms created by entrepreneurs of both genders. To reach the objectives, firstly, a theoretical framework will be developed and secondly, an empirical analysis starting from a sample of nascent entrepreneurs in the Seville province (southern Spain) will be carried out. Due to women entrepreneurs being considered nowadays essential for growth and development everywhere, results obtained could help to improve the efficiency of policies that lead to the promotion and consolidation of the female participation rate in entrepreneurial activity.      

Export Productivity and Specialisation: A Disaggregated Analysis

The paper analyses export productivity and trade specialisation in China, Brazil, India and South Africa. The investigation calculates a time‐varying export productivity measure using highly disaggregated product categories. The modelling shows that export productivity is determined by real income and human capital endowments. But the empirical analysis also reveals significant differences in export productivity and specialisation for countries with comparable per capita income levels.