Estimating the effects of regional political climate on Russian tourists to Spain

Regional political climate has become an increasingly significant force influencing travel behaviour in many tourist destinations. This paper attempts to address impacts of regional political stability on Russian inbound tourism into Spain within a demand model framework and using a cointegration approach. The results show that visa openness as well as political instability and civil unrest in substitute destinations attract more Russian tourists, boosting economic growth and reducing unemployment rates in Spain. On the contrary, international political confrontation results in disadvantage to Russian tourism demand to Spain.     

Minsky’s financial fragility: an empirical analysis of electricity distribution firms in Brazil (2007–2015)

This article applies Hyman P. Minsky’s insights on financial fragility to analyze the behavior of electricity distribution firms in Brazil from 2007 to 2015. More specifically, it builds an analytical framework to classify these firms into Minskyan risk categories and assess how financial fragility evolved over time, in each firm and in the sector as a whole. This work adapts Minsky’s financial fragility indicators and taxonomy to the conditions of the electricity distribution sector and applies them to regulatory accounting data for more than 60 firms. This empirical application of Minsky’s theory for analyzing firms engaged in the provision of public goods and services is a novelty. The results show an increase in the financial fragility of those firms as well as of the sector throughout the period, especially between 2008 and 2013.     

Assessment of banking service quality perception using the SERVPERF model

The purpose of this article is to evaluate the quality of the services provided by the two most important banks that operate in Mexico, using as case study those branches that are located in the four main cities of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec: Ixtepec, Juchitán, Tehuantepec and Salina Cruz. The methodological strategy of this investigation resided in the application of a modified version of the SERVPERF model, one of the most important in this type of studies, which assesses the perception of the clients based on five criteria: reliability, responsiveness, safety, empathy and tangible elements. Strictly speaking, these criteria or dimensions jointly define the quality of the service received. The results found indicate that, in general terms, the assessment of the clients of both banks regarding their services is high, which could be explained by the establishment of very low expectations by the users according to the specific socioeconomic variables. Additionally, significant differences were found regarding the assessment between groups of people according to the different analyzed variables, such as occupation, level of education and age range.     

Evaluación de la percepción de la calidad de los servicios bancarios mediante el modelo SERVPERF

The purpose of this paper is to assess the quality of the services provided by two major banks in Mexico. The case study is with reference to the branches located in the four major cities of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec: Ixtepec, Juchitán, Tehuantepec and Salina Cruz. The strategic method adopted for this research was the application of a modified version of the SERVPERF model, one of the most important models in this type of study. The SERVPERF model assesses customers’ perceptions according to five criteria: reliability, responsiveness, security, empathy, and tangible factors. Strictly speaking, these criteria or dimensions combined define the quality of the services. The results indicate that the overall customers’ valuation of both banks with regard to their services is high; these results might respond to very low expectations according to specific socioeconomic variables. Additionally, significant differences in users’ perception among groups of people according to various analyzed variables such as occupation, education, and age ranges were found.     

Customer satisfaction and brand equity

The study here examines the interaction between shareholder value and customer satisfaction, as well as the impact on a firm's brand equity. Customer satisfaction may have a positive effect on brand equity, except when managers show excessive customer orientation, in which case the effect is negative because of reductions in shareholder value. The empirical analysis uses incomplete panel data pertaining to 69 firms from 11 nations during the period 2002-2005 and supports the theoretical contentions. This result warns of the perverse effect on brand equity of implementing policies focused exclusively on satisfying customers at the expense of shareholders' interests.     

Changes in Public Service Delivery in the EU Countries

In the 1990s, a number of EU countries adopted New Public Management (NPM) techniques to restructure their public sectors. Countries have been widely 'deconcentrating' (moving delivery away from the centre) and 'externalizing' (using the private sector, either totally or in part) their public services. The authors chart the extent of this change and highlight some of the problems—for example the difficulty countries are experiencing in developing value for money audits. The article questions whether current methods of delivery and audit are appropriate for 21st–century public services.     

Trade in the Triad: how easy is the access to large markets?

Abstract. In this paper, we measure market access between the United States, the EU, and Japan (the Triad), using the effect of national borders on trade patterns. We investigate overall and industry‐level trends of bilateral trade openness and provide explanations for those using proxies for bilateral observed protection (tariffs and NTBs), home bias of consumers, product differentiation, and levels of FDI. The explanations related to actual protection, home bias and substitutability of goods put together explain a large part of the border effect between blocs of the Triad, although they do not explain the whole of the border effect puzzle. JEL classification: F12, F15     

Performance-based Incentives and the Behavior of Accounting Academics: Responding to Changes

Abstract

When laws change the rules of the game, it is important to observe the effects on the players' behavior. Some effects can be anticipated while others are difficult to enunciate before the law comes into force. In this paper we have analyzed articles authored by Spanish accounting academics between 1996 and 2005 to assess the impact of a change in the Spanish university regulation. Results indicate a switch from publishing professional papers to academic ones and also to change research methodologies in order to meet the new requirements. This was to be expected due to the explicit mention of the law in favor of academic journals. However, we have also detected a significant decrease in the publication of professional papers. These side-effects could have a negative impact on the transmission of knowledge from university to society putting the relationship between accounting research and professional practice in jeopardy.     

Institutions,Governance and Economic Growth in the EU: Is There a Role for the Lisbon Strategy?

While European economic integration and in particular the single European market often appear to be only a smallest common denominator in the EU, they condition the economic policy framework facing Member States and have been instrumental in putting governance patterns into motion. The Lisbon Agenda is a case in point. Motivated by competitiveness concerns, it outlines an economic and social strategy meant to relaunch the EU within the changed setting of world-wide competition and a knowledgebased economy. Its success ultimately hinges on whether the necessary coordination to implement policies with an EU rationale can be achieved so as to realise the efficiency properties of the internal market. *and Research Fellow at IEEI **and National Institute for Public Administration (INA). This paper stems from the authors' joint research and teaching on European Economics at the University of Victoria, Canada, at INA and at the University of Aveiro in 2005 and 2006 and is part of an FCT research project on Economic Growth, Convergence and Institutions (research grant POCI/EGE/55423/2004, partially funded by FEDER).     

The productivity paradox and the new economy: The Spanish case

This paper studies the impact of the information and communication technologies (ICT) on economic growth in Spain using a dynamic general equilibrium approach. Contrary to previous works, we use a production function with six different capital inputs, three of them corresponding to ICT assets. Calibration of the model suggests that the contribution of ICT to Spanish productivity growth is very relevant, whereas the contribution of non-ICT capital has been even negative. Additionally, over the sample period 1995–2002, we find a negative TFP growth and productivity growth. These results together aim at the hypothesis that the Spanish economy could be placed within the productivity paradox.