Occupational diversification as an adaptation to rainfall variability in rural India

Occupational diversification among household members in rural India is investigated as an adaptation strategy against the risks arising from the variability of local rainfall. Nationally representative household‐level survey data are combined with the coefficient of variation of rainfall constructed based on historical rainfall data at the district level. The analysis finds that high rainfall variability has significant negative effects on the agricultural specialization of within‐household occupational choices. This result is reinforced by the finding that improved access to irrigation, education, credit, roads, and postal services, is associated with a lower occupational diversification within families and a greater specialization of household members in agricultural‐related employment.     

Risk-type density diagrams by crash type on two-lane rural roads

The research presented here aims to plot density diagrams per road crash risk type to identify all possible scenarios where driving is less than safe. The starting point was the prediction of injury crash rate on horizontal homogeneous segments of two-lane rural roads for three main injurious crash types (head-on/side collisions, rear-end crashes, and single-vehicle run-off-road crashes) as observed on the network. A careful analysis of the database shows that a wide variety of factors appear to be influenced or associated with the crash dynamic, as follows: the road scenario (combination of infrastructure and environmental conditions found at the site at the time of the crash), mean lane width, the horizontal curvature indicator (measurement of the curvature change rate), and mean speed. Crashes recorded from 2003 to 2010, of which 1597 were injurious, and 645 resulted only in damage to property, were analyzed on more than 3700?km of road network in Southern Italy. Generalized estimating equations with a negative binomial distribution were implemented. Risk-type density charts were plotted to thoroughly identify all possible combinations of existing explicative variables producing hazardous conditions on the road. The different shades in the diagrams represent different ranges of injurious crash rates: the white band shows low levels, while a black band shows high values. It is not possible to consider working on an explanatory variable to reduce hazardous conditions on the road network without also considering how this variation might affect the influence of the remaining explanatory variables on crash phenomena and, consequently, on the predictive model. The risk maps make it possible to keep under control in a simple and immediate approach the way each variable as a result of variations of a part or of all.     

Attitudinal loyalty and trust in entrepreneurship: building new relationships

This paper studies the impact of attitudinal loyalty and trust in entrepreneurship, following a client-focused strategy. In this context, trust and commitment are the cornerstone of relationship marketing, and contributes positively to achieving attitudinal loyalty, which is suitable for the maintenance of relationships over time. This variable also acts as a facilitator or mediator on the influence satisfaction has on loyalty. We show that satisfaction has a positive impact on trust and attitudinal loyalty. Following structural equation modelling methodology we test all the relationships in a sample composed by travel agency customers.     

Government Size,the Role of Commitments*

We explore the hypothesis that long‐term commitments affect the dynamics of government expenditure. With the aid of a simple median‐voter model we interpret the pattern of increasing‐then‐constant tax rates observed in OECD countries in the second half of the last century: persistence of public expenditure and a lower bound on new interventions will push government size upward, and preferences of the electorate put a halt to this growth at some point. In this view, the fiscal policy variable is seen to consist of only a part of the total expenditure, the rest being predetermined by its past level.     

Firm financing and growth in the Arab region

This paper documents how firms in Arab countries use equity, corporate bond and syndicated loan markets to obtain financing and grow. Working with a new dataset on issuance activity in domestic and international markets and firm performance, the paper finds that capital raising through these markets has grown rapidly since the early 1990s and involved an increasing number of firms. Whereas the amounts raised in equity and loan markets (relative to gross domestic product) stand well relative to international standards, bond issuance activity lags behind. However, bond financing has gained importance over time. Equity issuances take place primarily in domestic markets, whereas bonds and loans are mostly issued internationally, display long maturities and entail low levels of credit risk. Issuing firms from the Arab region are very large compared to international standards. They also tend to be larger, faster growing and more leveraged than non-issuing firms in Arab countries.     

Network formation with sequential demands

This paper introduces a non-cooperative game-theoretic model of sequential network formation, in which players propose links and demand payoffs. Payoff division is therefore endogenous. We show that if the value of networks satisfies size monotonicity, then each and every equilibrium network is efficient. The result holds not only when players make absolute participation demands, but also when they are allowed to make link-specific demands.     

Technology development in developing countries: The case of a private R & D institution in Brazil

Research Development (RD) is concerned with the conversion of inventions (i.e. new ideas) into innovations (i.e. new products, processes and services in the market-place). Empirical evidence indicates that the rate of success of RD is small. In the innovation chain of events the scientific or technical accomplishment is but one link, a necessary but not sufficient condition of success. Often the market is the decisive factor.
Many research and development organizations (R & DOs), especially those funded privately, allocate their resources with a strong orientation towards satisfying perceived market needs. If this incentive persists during the R & D work the RD effort will probably be much facilitated.
In the light of the above concepts, the Brazilian R & D and RD experiences are reviewed with practical examples and emphasis on the efforts of Centro de Tecnologia Promon—CTP (Promon Technology Center). CTP works on non-conventional energy, industrial process development and telecommunication product development.
The experience reported is not intended to serve as a general solution to R & D or RD problems in the developing world. The purpose is rather to suggest alternative pathways and to point out the importance of a diversified approach to the tough task of closing the innovation loop.     

A model of dumping and protectionism in the United States

Zusammenfassung Dumping und Protektionismus in den Vereinigten Staaten-ein Modell. — Der Autor untersucht die Beziehung zwischen Antidumpingma\nahmen und dem neuen Protektionismus, reformuliert und erweitert die Theorie des Dumping und sch?tzt ein Modell mit simultanen Gleichungen, um die Ursachen und Wirkungen von Antidumpingma\nahmen in den Vereinigten Staaten zu überprüfen. Der empirische Test des Modells zeigt, da\ die Durchdringung des amerikanischen Marktes mit Importwaren negativ korreliert ist mit dem Prozentsatz der erfolgreichen Antr?ge auf Antidumpingma\nahmen, aber positiv mit der überbewertung des Dollar und dem Grad an Offenheit der US-Wirtschaft. Die Zahl der registrierten Antidumpingantr?ge steht in direktem Verh?ltnis zum wirtschaftlichen Wachstum der Vereinigten Staaten im Vergleich zu anderen Industriel?ndern, und der Prozentsatz der erfolgreichen Antidumpingantr?ge ist negativ korreliert mit der Handelsbilanz, der H?he des Volkseinkommens und der Anzahl der registrierten Antidumpingantr?ge.

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Résumé Un modèle du dumping et du protectionisme aux Etats-Unis. — Cette étude examine les relations entre l’action anti-dumping et le nouveau protectionisme, revise et étend la théorie du dumping et estime un modèle d’équations simultanées pour examiner les causes et les effets de l’action anti-dumping aux Etats-Unis. Le test empirique du modèle démontre que la pénétration de l’importation dépend (i) de sens inverse du rapport des requêtes anti-dumping déposées, mais couronnées de succès et (ii) de sens positif de la surévaluation du dollar et du degré que l’économie américaine est ouverte. Le nombre des requêtes anti-dumping déposées dépend directement du croissance économique des Etats-Unis en relation aux autres pays industriels. Le rapport des requêtes anti-dumping dépend de sens inverse de la balance commerciale, du niveau du produit domestique et du nombre des requêtes anti-dumping déposées.

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Resumen Un modelo de dumping y proteccionismo para los EE UU. — Este trabajo examina la relatión entre una medida antidumping y el nuevo proteccionismo, reformula y extiende la teoria del antidumping y estima un modelo de ecuaciones simultáneas para estudiar las causas y efectos de medidas antidumping en los EE UU. El test empirico del modelo muestra (1) que la penetration con importaciones esta inversamente relacionada con el porcentaje de peticiones antidumping exitosas registradas y afectadas positivamente por la sobrevaluación del dólar y el grado de apertura de la economia de los EE UU, (2) que el numéro de peticiones antidumping registradas esta relacionado directamente con el credimiento de los EE UU relativo al de otros pa?ses industriales, y (3) que el porcentaje de peticiones antidumping exitosas está inversamente relacionado con el balance comercial, el nivel de ingreso nacional real y el núméro de peticiones antidumping registradas.

     

THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS OF PAY‐AS‐YOU‐GO DEFINED‐CONTRIBUTION PENSION SCHEMES

The paper inquires into notional defined contribution pension schemes, which retain the pay‐as‐you‐go financing method while adopting the award and indexation formulas typical of funded, defined‐contribution systems. It examines the properties of the new arrangement and compares them with those of the traditional defined‐benefit pay‐as‐you‐go schemes.