Dismantling the myths about managerial (in)capabilities in micro-firms. SEAM intervention-research to develop management practices

Extant literature on SMEs currently offers an incomplete and deterministic characterisation of micro-firms (M-Fs) that are not growth-oriented start-ups, so very little is known about the actual functioning and internal challenges that hinder the adoption of management practices of these companies, and how to facilitate their management development. Using the Socio-Economic Approach to Management (SEAM) as theoretical lens and SEAM intervention-research as methodology, the study uncovers myths in the managerial characterisation of micro-firms and suitable patterns of change management practices for them. Our research contributes to the study of M-Fs by being the first study specifically devoted to mature M-Fs, and by proposing a theoretical framework that shows the dynamic nature of the characteristics associated with M-Fs.     

环渤海地区市场一体化进程及影响因素研究

基于价格指数,运用"价格法"构建测度环渤海地区市场一体化的指标,与我国东南沿海地区进行比较,可以看出,1985年以来,环渤海地区市场一体化程度逐步提高,但进程缓慢。对外开放水平、地方政府行为、国有化经济比重等是环渤海地区市场一体化程度的影响因素。     

窃取他人信用卡开卡邮件并激活使用行为之定性

窃取他人信用卡开卡邮件并激活使用行为的定性问题,在风险社会的语境下不能一概而论,理应遵从刑法机能主义,考察影响结果的核心要素。若银行在设置卡的有效使用流程时具有过错,譬如,在设置开通方式过于简单、银行工作人员在审核时存在过错的情况下,那么,窃取他人信用卡开卡邮件并激活使用行为造成卡内资金损失的,应以信用卡诈骗罪认定;倘若银行已经充分谨慎,因信用卡申领人在申领与激活过程中存在不当操作,致使卡内资金损失的,则应以盗窃罪论处。     

What Happened to Kapp’s Theory of Social Costs? A Case of Metatheoretical Dispute and Dissent in Economics

In the early 1970s Wilfred Beckerman and K. William Kapp engaged in a serious dispute. Although it focused on social costs, the dispute raised issues about the very foundations of economics. The differences in approach to social costs that this dispute exposed were so deep-rooted as to preclude (or at least hinder) any possibility of constructive dialogue. This article argues that the subsequent ‘conspiracy of silence’ against Kapp should be understood in terms of Kapp’s very different conception of economics as a social science. This issue is relevant to a broader discussion about the boundaries of pluralism in economics—how these boundaries are drawn and the conditions for a constructive dialogue among economists and with other social scientists.     

Stock-bond decoupling before and after the 2008 crisis

In this article, we analyse the co-movements of daily stock prices and government bond prices during the last 25 years, in major Western stock markets, extending previous results to take into account the impact of the current crisis. Our results confirm that bonds are viewed as instruments for improving portfolio diversification in periods of high volatility and falling stock market levels, which is when such diversification is most needed. The possibility of using government debt in portfolios as a means of hedging during times of financial crisis became especially apparent in the crises of 1997, 2001 and 2008. Nevertheless, during the current one, this diversification quality of bonds has disappeared in countries like Italy or Spain, which are also affected by sovereign debt issues.     

Non-elective C-sections in public hospitals: capacity constraints and doctor incentives

Using administrative records of births from the Perinatal Surveillance System of the Peruvian Social Security System (ESSALUD), we test whether high admissions of pregnant women affected non-elective caesarean section (C-section) rates in the ESSALUD public hospitals during 2005–2006. We present a basic theoretical model that considers physician preferences for leisure and hospital capacity constraints, and test the model predictions. We find that physician demand for leisure increases the probability of C-sections in small and medium-size hospitals, while hospital capacity constraints set a limit on them. We discuss the policy implications as well as the policies implemented to avoid unnecessary C-sections.