The equivalence of superadditivity and balancedness in the proportional tax game

Under the regulation that the single public good is to be financed through proportional taxation of the single private good, it is proved that a weak notion of superadditivity is equivalent to the balancedness of the induced game.     

A simulation study of income tax evasion

In a game-simulation context, tax evasion behavior of 15 subjects was observed. Large fines were found to be more effective deterrents than frequent audits. The decision to underreport income appears to be influenced by different factors than the magnitude of underreporting. Tax evasion behavior differed widely among individuals.     

How does beta explain stochastic dominance efficiency?

Stochastic dominance rules provide necessary and sufficient conditions for characterizing efficient portfolios that suit all expected utility maximizers. For the finance practitioner, though, these conditions are not easy to apply or interpret. Portfolio selection models like the mean–variance model offer intuitive investment rules that are easy to understand, as they are based on parameters of risk and return. We present stochastic dominance rules for portfolio choices that can be interpreted in terms of simple financial concepts of systematic risk and mean return. Stochastic dominance is expressed in terms of Lorenz curves, and systematic risk is expressed in terms of Gini. To accommodate for risk aversion differentials across investors, we expand the conditions using the extended Gini.     

Continuous Time Models of Collective Action and Political Change

This paper presents continuous time models for an analysis of dynamic systems using them to examine the complex dynamics of collective action and political change. The study concentrates on the mutual dependence and behavior of two variables over time: the number of citizens participating in collective action, and the amount of resources mobilized by the government to combat such collective action. The models presented highlight the key components that determine outcomes, and allow for planning, of particular dynamics of collective action and political change. Specifically, the proposed models analyze the impact of collective action on the transition toward democracy as well as possible dynamics of revolution.     

Agility and flexibility in international business research: A comprehensive review and future research directions

This study explores 134 articles on agility and flexibility research published in the top-nine international business (IB) journals. Accordingly, we critically analyze, map and structure flexibility and agility research in IB, and synthesize the findings into an integrative framework. The paper identifies a wide range of definitions of the concept and a lot of work on its conceptualization. However, studies at the individual and institutional levels of analyses are scarce, and the concept is under-theorized, as there is a dearth of real theoretical underpinnings in this research stream. Thus, in addressing this gap, more qualitative and interdisciplinary research is needed.     

The role of HR practices in developing employee resilience: a case study from the Pakistani telecommunications sector

Abstract

There has been increasing interest in understanding the factors that contribute to the development of employee resilience. Despite such interest, there is a dearth of research examining the contributory role played by HR practices in enhancing employee resilience. Looking at the context of Pakistan’s telecommunications sector and deploying a qualitative methodology, this paper examines the impact of HR practices on employee resilience. The findings indicate that four key areas of HR practices – job design, information sharing and flow within an organisation, employee benefits (monetary as well as non-monetary), and employee development opportunities – enable the development of employee resilience. Consequently, the effective implementation of HR practices in these areas has been the key factor for the development of employee resilience.     

Sociocultural Integration in Mergers and Acquisitions: Unresolved Paradoxes and Directions for Future Research

Despite decades of research, the key factors for success in mergers and acquisitions (M&As) and the reasons why M&As often fail remain poorly understood. While attempts to explain M&A success and failure have traditionally focused on strategic and financial factors, an emergent field of inquiry has been directed at the sociocultural and human resources issues involved in the integration of acquired or merging firms. This research has sought to explain M&A performance and underperformance in terms of the impact that variables such as cultural fit, management style similarity, the pattern of dominance between merging firms, the acquirer's degree of cultural tolerance, and the social climate surrounding a takeover have on the postmerger integration process. In this article, we attempt to take stock of, and synthesize, the findings from research on sociocultural and human resources integration in M&A, to identify conflicting perspectives and unresolved questions as well as several underresearched areas, and then use our analyses to propose an agenda for the next stage of research in this field. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Critical Success Factors through the Mergers and Acquisitions Process: Revealing Pre‐ and Post‐M&A Connections for Improved Performance

The mergers and acquisitions (M&A) literature is vast, spanning over half a century of research endeavor and drawing upon multiple disciplinary perspectives. Despite this wealth of material, the field suffers from a lack of connectedness. There is limited and compartmentalized understanding of the complexities of the M&A process, as the various streams of M&A research are only marginally informed by one another. As a result, the existing body of knowledge on M&A research remains fragmented. There is a need to establish links between existing approaches to M&A and the critical success factors they each promote. In this article, the need for a pluralistic and holistic explanatory framework that reflects the multidisciplinary nature of M&A is highlighted. The article shows that dynamic relationships between different perspectives on M&A and critical success factors matter. Identifying these relationships may help to further our understanding about M&A performance outcomes. Thus, the paper focuses on both relationships within each stage and between stages of the M&A process. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

THE MEAN‐GINI EFFICIENT PORTFOLIO FRONTIER

A main advantage of the mean‐variance (MV) portfolio frontier is its simplicity and ease of derivation. A major shortcoming, however, lies in its familiar restrictions, such as the quadraticity of preferences or the normality of distributions. As a workable alternative to MV, we present the mean‐Gini (MG) efficient portfolio frontier. Using an optimization algorithm, we compute MG and mean‐extended Gini (MEG) efficient frontiers and compare the results with the MV frontier. MEG allows for the explicit introduction of risk aversion in building the efficient frontier. For U.S. classes of assets, MG and MEG efficient portfolios constructed using Ibbotson (2000) monthly returns appear to be more diversified than MV portfolios. When short sales are allowed, distinct investor risk aversions lead to different patterns of portfolio diversification, a result that is less obvious when short sales are foreclosed. Furthermore, we derive analytically the MG efficient portfolio frontier by restricting asset distributions. The MG frontier derivation is identical in structure to that of the MV efficient frontier derivation. The penalty paid for simplifying the search for the MG efficient frontier is the loss of some information about the distribution of assets.     

The “Make‐up” of a Regression Coefficient: Gender Gaps in the European Labor Market

We provide a comprehensive picture of the relationship between labor market outcomes and age by gender in the 28 European countries covered by the European Statistics on Income and Living Conditions. The analysis is based on a somewhat unconventional approach that refers to concentration curves in the Gini regression framework. It allows identification of ranges in the explanatory variables where local slopes change sign and/or size, i.e. the components that “make up” a regression coefficient. Gender is a crucial factor differentiating participation among workers, although employment–age profiles do not substantially differ. Relevant differences in age profiles concern working‐hours patterns: some countries are characterized by an almost specular behavior in men and women; other countries instead show similar patterns. Generally, earnings increase with age for both men and women. However, local regression coefficients are not monotonic over the entire age range and can even be locally negative in some countries.