End of life vehicle management in areas of low technology sophistication. A case study in Greece

This paper was based on the findings of a study aimed at identifying and evaluating appropriate investment strategies in the area of end of life vehicle management (ELVM), especially against the emerging policy framework, as outlined by the recent EU legislation (2000/53 EG directive). The study was carried out for OMPM SA (Organisation for the Management of Public Material), a Greek organization, with many years' involvement in the management of ELVs. The departure point of the work was the critical review of available best practices, mostly compiled by means of a considerable number of on the spot visits to diverse ELVM processing facilities in the Northern EU. These experiences and practices were critically adapted to the very different local circumstances, characterized by an underdeveloped market and a low operational sophistication. In this way, the recommendations of the study, also reported in this work, are of a wider relevance to areas where the main priority is rather the development and rationalization of the ELVM business itself, before getting on to the subtler fine tuning and optimization issues that may be on the agenda in more mature environments. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

A Resource-based View of Innovativeness in Small Firms

The resource-based view is presented here as the theoretical framework for empirical research on the determinants of technological innovativeness in small firms. These determinants include the characteristics of the owner/manager (O/M) and the firm and some technological assets (resources and capabilities). Evidence based on case studies is used for the evaluation of their effect on innovativeness and their interaction. The study highlights the key role of the O/M and the importance of some of his/her characteristics. It also shows the impact of certain resources and capabilities. The O/M emerges as the orchestrator of resource accumulation and capability development in the innovative firms.     

Optimal Discretion

We investigate the desirability of adopting a rule in favor of discretionary monetary policy in a model exhibiting Kydland and Prescott's dynamic inconsistency problem but no fundamental incompatibility between the policymaker's price stability and full employment objectives. We show that if discretion provides a policy flexibility benefit, then a rule is optimal only when inflation exceeds an endogenously determined threshold. This gives rise to a discretionary policy zone for inflation with the central bank taking more drastic action towards stabilizing inflation when inflation veers outside the zone. Imperfect credibility narrows the scope for discretion and enhances the benefits of adopting a rule.
JEL classification : E 58; D 82; C 72     

How did the Sarbanes–Oxley Act affect managerial incentives? Evidence from corporate acquisitions

Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting - We examine the impact of incentive compensation on the riskiness of acquisition decisions before and after the passage of the Sarbanes–Oxley...     

Fiscal policy and financial market movements

This paper estimates fiscal policy reaction function in order to investigate the links between financial market movements and fiscal policy outcomes. An increase in asset prices affects in a positive and significant manner primary balances, with the response reflecting both an increase in government revenues and a fall in government spending. The most important impact on fiscal balances is due to changes in residential property prices. Changes in equity and commercial property prices are also important determinants of fiscal balances. Our findings suggest that the steepening of the slope of the yield curve contributes to expenditure based fiscal discipline.     

Co-ordinated environmental regulation: controlling non-point nitrate pollution while maintaining river flows

Environmental policy often addresses multiple targets, yet much economic analysis of pollution control is based on a single-target objective. In this paper, we present an analysis of policies to control non-point source nitrate pollution in the presence of minimum river flow restrictions. A non-linear bio-physical economic optimisation model of an intensively cultivated Scottish agricultural catchment was constructed. The presence of minimum river flow controls in the catchment was found to reduce nitrogen pollution. However, by themselves, river flow controls were found not to be a cost effective means to reduce non-point pollution. We quantify the improved social welfare from coordinating the environmental regulation of river flows and pollution, and determine the conditions under which such coordination is beneficial. The paper also investigates whether the benefits of such coordination can be sustained under wetter (winter) weather conditions implied by current climate change predictions.