Variations in Farm Performance in Transitional Economies: Evidence from the Czech Republic1

This paper revisits the literature on farm restructuring in the CEECs by analysing the variations in farm performance in the Czech Republic a decade after the start of the transition process. It identifies seven clusters of farms that differ in their productivity and profitability usng data from 1998 and 1999. The analysis reveals that the vast majority of farms are unprofitable, and there is no strong evidence that individual farms perform better than corporate farms. In fact, there are large numbers of individual farms that are loss‐making on their agricultural activity with low factor productivity. Producer co‐operatives and limited liability companies suffer from debts inherited from the reform process. Future restructuring is likely to occur in all clusters rather than affecting just corporate farms.     

Jump Tail Dependence in the Chinese Stock Market

The article examines the characteristics and implications of jump tail dependence in the Chinese stock market with high-frequency data. The results indicate that jumps contribute significantly to tail dependence between individual stocks and the aggregate market. Jumps are more tail dependent than raw returns and account for an average of 17 percent of the daily tail-dependence coefficient. We also find that jump tail dependence is asymmetric and substantially stronger in the lower tail than in the upper tail. Ignoring jump tail dependence may lead to underestimation of risks and produce inaccurate conclusions about the tail neutrality of a portfolio.     

COVID on campus: An empirical analysis of COVID infection rates at U.S. colleges and universities

We provide an empirical analysis of the determinants of cumulative COVID infection rates at 1069 U.S. colleges and universities during the 2020–21 academic year. We propose that financially constrained educational institutions faced a trade-off between the reduction of COVID infection risks and an institution's educational, social, reputational, and financial goals. We find that cumulative infection rates are higher at wealthier institutions, measured by higher endowments per student or higher tuition rates. Institutions with lower enrollment yields in admissions also have higher COVID infection rates, perhaps reflecting the greater influence of student preferences on decision making at these institutions. Economies of scale in COVID mitigation emerge gradually over the course of the year. Finally, COVID infection rates do not differ significantly for otherwise similar public and private institutions in states with Democratic governors, but they are significantly higher for public institutions in states with Republican governors.     

A travel demand model for Mainland Chinese tourists to Hong Kong

The purpose of the study was to determine what exogenous variables best explained the travel demand for Mainland Chinese tourists to Hong Kong. The 12 years (1984–1995) annual time series data of ‘number of Mainland Chinese tourist arrivals’, ‘China disposable income per capita’, ‘consumer price indices in Hong Kong and China’ and ‘exchange rates’ was used to develop a travel demand model. Seven exogenous variables were selected for the model through a literature review. An OLS multiple regression analysis was performed to identify the ‘best’ subset of seven exogenous variables to determine the demand model. The results showed that travel demand for Mainland Chinese tourists to Hong Kong could be explained by ‘disposable income per capita’ and ‘relaxation of visa requirements’.     

Empowerment Through Participation? Conceptual Explorations and A Case Study

Economic inequalities have been increasing between and within nations, regions and cities, but questions of redistribution have to some extent been displaced by those of recognition, empowerment and diversity in urban and regional inquiry and policy. A conceptual framework drawing upon Nancy Fraser's and Iris Marion Young's ideas about economic and cultural injustice is proposed for evaluating local empowerment initiatives, which is then drawn upon to explore the nature and effectiveness of participation with reference to one specific New Deal For Communities partnership scheme in the London Borough of Hackney, Shoreditch – Our Way, concerned with regeneration. Our findings suggest that while participation is certainly a necessary condition for moving towards a more egalitarian society, current policies are valuable but limited in terms of the degree of representation and the extent of control. They are part of an affirmative agenda – that is, they tackle symptoms but not causes of deprivation. We conclude that if long‐term remedies are desired, then transformative solutions which address both economic and political injustice are necessary. Les inégalités économiques se sont creusées entre et au sein des nations, régions et villes mais, dans les études et dans les politiques urbaines et régionales, les questions de redistribution ont, dans une certaine mesure, été supplantées par celles de reconnaissance, empowerment et diversité. L'article propose un cadre conceptuel inspiré des idées de Nancy Fraser et Iris Marion Young sur l'injustice économique et culturelle afin d'évaluer les initiatives locales d'empowerment. Cette évaluation permet ensuite d'explorer la nature et l'efficacité de la participation en évoquant un programme de régénération en partenariat de type New Deal for Communities, à Shoreditch, dans la banlieue londonienne de Hackney (Our Way). Les résultats suggèrent que, si la participation est bien sûr une condition nécessaire pour aller vers une société plus égalitaire, les politiques actuelles, quoique précieuses, sont limitées en termes de degré de représentation et niveau de maîtrise. Elles s'inscrivent dans une démarche antidiscriminatoire en traitant les symptômes, mais pas les causes de l'appauvrissement. En conclusion, si l'on souhaite des solutions à long terme, il faut des transformations remédiant aux injustices tant économiques que politiques.     

Technical and scale efficiency of crop and livestock farms in Poland: does specialization matter?

The technical and scale efficiency of Polish farms is analyzed using data envelopment analysis. Efficiency differences are measured according to farm specialization, in crop or livestock, at two points in time during transition, 1996 and 2000. The efficiency results are reviewed in light of confidence intervals provided by bootstrapping. Livestock farms are found to be, on average, more technically and scale efficient than crop farms. Scale efficiency is high for both specializations. Technical inefficiency appears mostly to be due to “pure technical” rather than “scale” inefficiency, and thus attributable to inefficient management practices. The evidence suggests that the low‐educational attainment of people engaged in agriculture is one important reason for these inefficient practices. In 2000, 64% of livestock farms and 86% of crop farms were operating under increasing returns to scale. Improvements in the land lease legislation and changes to the policy support to farmers' pensions could stimulate the land market and remove the incentives to keep a fragmented operational structure.     

Towards Comparative Research in Strategic Communication: A Systematic Analysis of Cross-National Studies and Future Directions

ABSTRACT

Comparative cross-national research permits scholars to understand how strategic communication is impacted by environmental conditions in different countries. Although the field has burgeoned enormously over the past two decades, there has been little discussion about what comprises an excellent comparative study, and little is known about the state-of-the-art of comparative research in the field of strategic communication. This article suggests a set of general scientific criteria for solid comparative research and applies these to assess the quality of comparative studies in strategic communication. Based on an analysis of 75 studies located through a systematic search in 16 journals, this article sketches the contours of a fast-emerging research field, which is increasingly driven by European and Asian scholars. The results identify common deficiencies and indicate that the potential of comparative research to contextualize and explain strategic communication in different countries has not yet been fully exploited. Future directions for engaging in more advanced comparative strategic communication research are given.