Identifying the scope effect on a meta-analysis of biodiversity valuation studies

Insensitivity to scope is an issue of much debate in contingent valuation (CV) even today. Although the literature about insensitivity to scope is abundant, the reasons for it are not yet well known. Through a meta-analysis of CV studies of biodiversity, the treatment of the different possible measures of the quantity of the good is explored in relation to scope sensitivity. Overall, the findings suggest that CV results are sensitive to the amount of the good being valued, although the result depends on how the environmental change is measured. Results support the use of absolute sizes when conducting CV studies.     

Does Ethnic Discrimination Vary Across Minority Groups? Evidence from a Field Experiment*

We conduct a large‐scale field experiment to measure labour market discrimination in Australia, one quarter of whose population was born overseas. To denote ethnicity, we use distinctively Anglo‐Saxon, Indigenous, Italian, Chinese and Middle Eastern names. We compare multiple ethnic groups, rather than a single minority as in most other studies. In all cases we applied for entry‐level jobs and submitted a CV indicating that the candidate attended high school in Australia. We find significant differences in callback rates: ethnic minority candidates would need to apply for more jobs in order to receive the same number of interviews. These differences vary systematically across ethnic groups.     

Do the Rich Stay Unemployed Longer? An Empirical Study for the UK

This paper investigates the impact of individual asset holdings on the probability of leaving unemployment. According to the theory, higher levels of financial wealth will result in higher reservation wages and longer unemployment durations. I estimate the impact of financial assets on the hazard rate, using data for Great Britain. The empirical findings indicate that individual asset holdings affect significantly the escape rate out of unemployment. In particular, negative (positive) levels of wealth increase (reduce) the hazard of leaving unemployment. The size of the impact is, however, rather small. Increasing by 100% the level of wealth of a representative individual, with net wealth and other individual characteristics equal to the sample mean, increases the duration of the unemployment spell by half a week.     

How do UK Banks React to Changing Central Bank Rates?

This paper explores the interest rate transmission mechanism using a broad disaggregated sample of UK deposit and credit products. For a large proportion of rates the adjustment speed is time-varying, switching among four regimes according to the direction of the policy rate and its effect on the disequilibrium gap. In general, this sign asymmetry implies faster adjustment to the long run path when the policy rate revision widens the gap. There is evidence of curvature in the catch-up effect towards equilibrium, namely, large gaps entail a disproportionately faster correction although mainly for deposits. The size of the policy rate change also impacts the adjustment speed. The notable heterogeneity found across financial institutions/products regarding the presence of these nonlinear patterns raises important questions on how to assess the effectiveness of monetary policy. The cross-section heterogeneity uncovered can be explained to some extent by diversification, profit volatility, product range, market concentration and menu costs.     

Merit and Evaluation Models for Managers in the National Health System： An Empirical Study

The national health system （NHS） complexity increase requires a review of the managerial human resources evaluation and recruiting methods, considering that nowadays doctors need to improve not just their clinical capabilities, but also managerial competences. At this end it is important to develop performances control models and to identify appropriate results indicators, with the aim of introducing an effective doctors selection system for managerial roles. The paper considers the Italian situation and tests the current evaluation and selection methods, by analysing the literature and the existing legislation and by interviewing experts. Moreover, in order to reach an innovative model, complex organizations have been taken into account as benchmarks. Three different categories of experts have been interviewed and texted： national health care organizations managers, companies managers, and business consultants. The 137 interviewed experts have been asked about four main questions concerning the evaluation for hiring managers as chief medical director, department director, and head of complex units. The conducted research suggests four different options in order to evaluate and to select heads of complex unit for the most strategic roles. By consequence, the analysis shows that required characteristics must be managerial attitudes as well as clinical capabilities.     

Regret in auctions: theory and evidence

The sealed-bid first-price auction of a single object in the case of independent privately-known values is the simplest auction setting and understanding it is important for understanding more complex mechanisms. But bidders bid above the risk-neutral Nash equilibrium theory prediction. The reasons for this “over bidding” remain an unsolved puzzle. Several explanations have been offered, including risk aversion, social comparisons, and learning. We present a new explanation based on regret and a model that explains not only the observed over bidding in sealed-bid first-price auctions, but also behavior in several other settings that is inconsistent with risk aversion. The authors gratefully acknowledge support from the National Science Foundation.     

Resource determinants of strategy and performance: The case of British exporters

This study adopts the RBV of the firm in order to identify critical advantage-generating resources and capabilities with strong positive export strategy and performance implications. The proposed export performance model is tested using a structural equation modelling approach on a sample of 356 British exporters. We examine the individual as well as the concurrent (simultaneous) direct and indirect effects of five resource bundles on export performance. We find that four resources/capabilities: managerial, knowledge, planning, and technology, have a significant positive direct effect on export performance, while relational and physical resources exhibited no unique positive effect. We also find that the firm's export strategy mediates the resource–performance nexus in the case of managerial and knowledge-based resources. The theoretical and methodological grounding of this study contributes to the advancement of export related research by providing better specification of the nature of the effects – direct or indirect – of particular resource factors on export performance.     

Client–consultant interaction: Capturing social practices of professional service production

Based on the investigation of seven consultancy projects within an international technical consulting firm, we identify three major practices that characterize client–consultant interaction – shaping impressions, problem-solving, and negotiating expectations – and discuss their respective characteristics, activities, and contingencies. Our discussion of these practices provides not only a more differentiated picture of client–consultant interaction but also uncovers the critical role that clients play in these practices.