Why governments sell public firms: The Spanish case

This paper compares the goals that the successive Spanish governments have actually pursued (as deduced from the set of privatizations carried out over the last fifteen years) with the standard hypotheses used in economic literature to explain privatization in general. The results show that the cash-collecting goal appears as the relevant explanatory hypotheses for most of the privatizations carried out. Also, all of the state-owned firms that operated under monopoly conditions have actually been privatized but retain, at least partially, their monopoly position (they involve activities where natural monopoly features are present). This has led to establishing new regulatory rules (reregulation) and that privatization, per se, has not resulted in substantial improvements in competition.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Forty-Eighth International Atlantic Economic Conference, October 7–10, 1999, Montreal, Canada.     

Sustainability drivers in food retail

Sustainability has become a relevant issue for retailers. We develop an integrated model with three drivers of retailer's investments in sustainability. First, the more their processes, human resources and customer driven capabilities are developed, the more investments in sustainability tend to occur. Second, retailers leverage their relationships with suppliers to invest in sustainability. Third, competition and economic instability may also lead to long run investments in social and environmental. We tested three hypotheses by surveying 101 retailers operating supermarkets, hypermarkets and neighborhood stores that focus mainly on food with a limited offering of general merchandise and apparel. Our results show the importance of customer driven capabilities for investments in sustainability. Communication with the supplier also has an impact on investments, while the process and policies of the supplier relationship do not. Retailers invest in sustainability to coordinate this relationship. Our study sheds light on the drivers for sustainability and offers an understanding of how a retailer may invest further in sustainability.     

Determinants of debt: Empirical evidence on firms in the district of Santarém in Portugal

In recent decades, the theme of the capital structure and its determinants has caused some controversy and aroused great interest in the financial domain. Several theories and studies have emerged applying to this domain. This study aims to test the explanatory power of the determinants of debt which have the greatest support in the financial literature, size, growth, business risk, profitability, tangibility and non-debt tax shields and its validity in accordance with the theories of capital structure, on firms in Santarém's district. The sample contains financial data of 6184 firms for the period 2008–2012. The results indicate that firms in Santarém's district in Portugal have a high level of debt, using mainly short-term debt. The growth and profitability have proved to be determinants of debt, confirming the Pecking Order Theory.     

University Company Government Interaction： FAPEMIG as Propeller Agent of the Scientific-Technological Development in Minas Gerais, Brazil

This article aims to present the main indicators for Science, Technology, and Innovation （ST＆l） generated by the Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais （FAPEMIG） in four years （2008-2011）. The methodology used was a case study, with documentary research, held in the annual reports of activities of the foundation. The results showed that all indicators analyzed in aggregate form, evolved gradually. It is concluded that the FAPEMIG comes complying with their mission to induce and encourage research and scientific and technological innovation for the development of the State of Minas Gerais in the southeast region, maintaining the recognition as one of the main agents of development inductors ST＆I in Brazil.     

The determinants of sovereign credit spread changes in the Euro-zone

Using a database of Euro-denominated government bonds covering the period from January 2000 to December 2010, this paper provides an empirical analysis of the determinants of government credit spreads in the Euro-area. The analysis is divided into two sub-periods delimited by the global financial crisis that started in August 2007. We find evidence of a clear shift in the behavior of market participants from a convergence-trade expectation, based on market related factors, before August 2007, to one mainly driven by macroeconomic country-specific variables and an international common risk factor. There is no evidence of a significant role for the liquidity risk before or during the financial crisis period. Overall, our results give support to the Merton-type structural credit risk models and confirm that there are considerable similarities between the factors explaining the dynamics of the credit risk spreads and the factors driving the prices on the government bond markets.     

Cross-validation of segments of credit card holders

This work presents the segmentation of credit cards holders of a Portuguese financial institution. It is focused on the evaluation of the obtained solution via cross-validation. The proposed approach specifically handles a large data set with mixed (numerical and categorical) variables. It provides the evaluation of the internal stability of the segmentation solution and helps in characterizing the segments. Furthermore, it provides classification rules for new credit card holders. Finally, this work presents the credit card holders' segment profiles, helping to support ongoing and future strategic decisions.