Combining Probability Distributions by Multiplication in Metrology: A Viable Method?

In measurement science quite often the value of a so‐called ‘output quantity’ is inferred from information about ‘input quantities’ with the help of the ‘mathematical model of measurement’. The latter represents the functional relation through which outputs and inputs depend on one another. However, subsets of functionally independent quantities can always be so defined that they suffice to express the entire information available. Reporting information in terms of such a subset may in certain circumstances require aggregating probability distributions whose arguments are interrelated quantities. The option of aggregating by multiplication of distributions is shown to be susceptible of yielding inconsistent results when the roles of inputs and outputs are assigned differently to the quantities. Two alternatives to this practice that do not give rise to such discrepancies are discussed, namely (i) logarithmic pooling with weights summing to one and (ii) linear pooling, of which the former appears to be slightly more favourable for applications in metrology. An example illustrates the inconsistency of results obtained by distinct ways of multiplying distributions and the manner in which these results differ from a logarithmically pooled distribution.     

Systemic risk measures: The simpler the better?

This paper estimates and compares two groups of high-frequency market-based systemic risk measures using European and US interbank rates, stock prices and credit derivatives data from 2004 to 2009. Measures belonging to the macro group gauge the overall tension in the financial sector and micro group measures rely on individual institution information to extract joint distress. We rank the measures using three criteria: (i) Granger causality tests, (ii) Gonzalo and Granger metric, and (iii) correlation with an index of systemic events and policy actions. We find that the best systemic measure in the macro group is the first principal component of a portfolio of Credit Default Swap (CDS) spreads whereas the best measure in the micro group is the multivariate densities computed from CDS spreads. These results suggest that the measures based on CDSs outperform measures based on interbank rates or stock market prices.     

Neoliberal and neostructuralist perspectives on labour flexibility,poverty and inequality: A critical appraisal

Numerous recent reports by non-governmental organisations (NGOs), academics and international organisations have focused on so-called ‘climate refugees’. This article examines the turn from a discourse of ‘climate refugees’, in which organisations perceive migration as a failure of both mitigation and adaptation to climate change, to one of ‘climate migration’, in which organisations promote migration as a strategy of adaptation. Its focus is the promotion of climate migration management, and it explores the trend of these discourses through two sections. First, it provides an empirical account of the two discourses, emphasising the differentiation between them. It then focuses on the discourse of climate migration, its origins, extent and content, and the associated practices of ‘migration management’. The second part argues that the turn to the promotion of ‘climate migration’ should be understood as a way to manage the insecurity created by climate change. However, international organisations enacts this management within the forms of neoliberal capitalism, including the framework of governance. Therefore, the promotion of ‘climate migration’ as a strategy of adaptation to climate change is located within the tendencies of neoliberalism and the reconfiguration of southern states' sovereignty through governance.     

Distribution Channel Relationships: The Conditions and Strategic Outcomes of Cooperation between Manufacturer and Distributor

The purpose of this paper is to carry out an empirical examination of the antecedents of cooperation between manufacturer and distributor. A further objective is to study the levels of satisfaction with the strategic outcomes of such cooperation. We analyze the extent to which cooperation requires not only complementary resources and capabilities of the partners but also goal congruence, trust and relational norms. Cooperation between manufacturer and distributor also involves reciprocal commitment and joint investment in specific assets. Finally, manufacturers and distributors should not only gain satisfaction from the economic, psychological or social benefits of cooperation, but should also gain competitive advantage, profits and strategic outcomes that help to compete in the market more efficiently.     

A mediation model between dimensions of social capital

Our paper contributes to the growing research by examining the interrelations between the dimensions of capital and their effects on the international market share of multinational companies in the global contractors industry. Previous works on social capital have failed to study the interrelationships between its dimensions or have proposed models with direct relationships. The current study proposes a multiple mediating model and tests the mediation. In particular, we posit that the relational and resource dimensions play a mediating role in the structural dimension-international market share relationship. A variance-based structural equation modeling (Partial Least Squares) has been applied to a sample made up of 225 global contractors. Our analysis lends support to the importance of the central positions of a firm and their influence on international market share. Moreover, mediation hypotheses posit how the relational and resource dimensions play a critical mediating role in the structural dimension – international market share relationship. Analysis of the data suggest that the dimensions of social capital are interrelated in such a way that the relational and resource dimensions: (a) fully mediate the effect of centrality (structural dimension) on the international share market and (b) exert significant influence on the international market share of each company.     

How to create information management capabilities through web 2.0

Over the last two decades investment in information technologies (IT) has been sufficiently high to be considered economically relevant. However, it has not been easy to prove that there are positive effects of these investments on organisational performance. This study questions the validity of directly relating web 2.0 initiatives to firm performance without taking into consideration other complementary assets such as managerial skills in IT, organisational restructuring and a culture of change. If these factors are not present, IT may not in fact produce any benefits whatsoever. The authors approach this problem using the resource-based view and propose the construct information management capability as a measure to gather the integration of the various co-specialised and complementary capabilities, whether technological or human and organisational, necessary in order to obtain competitive advantages in information use. A scale is created to measure this construct, the reliability and validity of which are demonstrated.     

NEW LIGHTS ON THE ROBBINSIAN THEORY OF WORK SUPPLY

We assess the actual relevance of Robbins' paper ‘On the elasticity of Demand for Income in terms of Effort’ to the theory of work supply. First, we show that the paper is the first application of income and substitution effects to this branch of economic research. Next, we analyse Robbins' economic terminology, especially his definition of work. We find that the concept of work he uses could seem vague as he may be considering both the length and intensity dimensions of this activity. To verify this possibility, we formally reassess Robbins' original proposal by introducing this wider definition of work into the mathematical framework he proposes. The resulting model shows that this reading (i) is compatible with his diagrammatic analysis; (ii) clarifies the meaning of the other vague economic concepts the author uses; and (iii) illuminates his verbal explanations. Additionally, we derive all the relevant results of both the income‐leisure and the more recent effort‐extraction models from this Robbinsian model of work supply. This last outcome allows us to state that Robbins' model comprises current theories of work supply.     

Resampling and bootstrap algorithms to assess the relevance of variables: applications to cross section entrepreneurship data

Empirical Economics - In this paper, we propose an algorithmic approach based on resampling and bootstrap techniques to measure the importance of a variable, or a set of variables, in econometric...     

Sources of strategic fit in high-tech firms

This study analyses the concept of strategic fit as a factor explaining organisational performance. We propose that strategic fit should include aspects of environment perception as well as the gap between planning processes and strategic implementation. Studying the firm's capacity to reduce this gap, we identify various organisational capabilities and analyse their relationships. Through managers’ responses from a sample of firms in European high-technology sectors, we find sufficient empirical evidence to affirm that strategic fit facilitates improvement in organisational performance. We also observe that strategic flexibility, real options and organisational learning are sources of strategic fit. So-called learning organisations facilitate generation of options that give the organisation the strategic flexibility needed to achieve fit with the environment. Strategic flexibility is defined in both the adaptive and anticipative sense. Our article thus offers a new perspective to contribute to better understanding of strategic fit and its antecedents.     

The Political Uses of Some Economic Ideas: The Trade‐Off Between Efficiency and Equality

The notion of a trade‐off between efficiency and equality is pervasive in many disciplines across the social sciences. Moreover, an imprecise notion of this well‐known dilemma is an integral part of the discourse of politicians and policy‐makers. The scientific status of the idea of a trade‐off between efficiency and equality is, however, a matter of contention. Philosophical dissections of the idea have already deflated the analytical cogency of most of its versions, while the economic literature trying to assess the empirical relation between growth and equality has shown contradicting results. This article, by focusing on the role this idea plays both in the discourse and strategy of social‐democratic parties, and in the social science explanations of their trajectories, argues that the pervasiveness of the notion of the trade‐off between efficiency and equality is best explained in terms of the political functions it can fulfill.