Going green,going clean: Lean‐green sustainability strategy and firm growth

Despite the widespread recognition of the paybacks of “going green” and “going clean,” limited research has focused on the impact of lean‐green strategy on firm growth. In this study, we contribute to strategy and environmental sustainability literatures by investigating the possibility that the influence on lean‐green strategy and firm growth is driven by different levels of industry competition, managerial power, and family ties. Using panel data from 732 firms in four major industrialized economies (the United States, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom), we found that lean‐green strategy positively relates to firm growth and this relationship is amplified at higher levels of competition, managerial power, and family ties. Theoretical and practical implications of the study are also discussed.     

Multiple Imputation in Multivariate Problems When the Imputation and Analysis Models Differ

Bayesian multiple imputation (MI) has become a highly useful paradigm for handling missing values in many settings. In this paper, I compare Bayesian MI with other methods – maximum likelihood, in particular—and point out some of its unique features. One key aspect of MI, the separation of the imputation phase from the analysis phase, can be advantageous in settings where the models underlying the two phases do not agree.     

Kicking a crude habit: diversifying away from oil and gas in the twenty-first century

Abstract

This article investigates the correlates of diversification away from oil and natural gas dependence in the context of the twenty-first century resource boom (and bust). In a sample of 40 oil- and gas-dependent economies, the majority showed significant sectoral diversification of GDP, but exports remained highly concentrated in fuel exports. Regression analysis indicates that countries that began the boom with higher levels of oil and gas dependence, poorer countries, and those with significantly larger- or smaller-than-average populations were more successful in diversifying their GDP during the commodities boom. Governance matters – more effective, capable bureaucratic structures are associated with greater GDP diversification away from oil and gas – though the effects are not uniformly positive. For any given level of government effectiveness, stronger rule of law is associated with less GDP diversification. Education appears to affect GDP and export diversification differentially. Consistent with endogenous growth theory, countries with more educated populations saw greater growth in their nonresource sectors than countries with less educated populations, though education is associated with greater export concentration. Internal economic diversification in the twenty-first century has been less a matter of policy formation and implementation, and more a matter of factors that shape the policy-making environment.     

Sexual Identity,Same‐Sex Relationships,and Labour Market Dynamics: New Evidence from Longitudinal Data in Australia

Using newly collected data on sexual identity from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey, this study examines the relationship between sexual identity and labour market outcomes. Our findings show that gay males are: (i) less likely to be continuously employed than their heterosexual counterparts, and (ii) face an annual earnings penalty of 16–21%. There are also important differences in earnings dynamics for men who transition into (or out of) same‐sex versus opposite‐sex live‐in relationships. Individual fixed effects estimates show that opposite‐sex partnerships are associated with increased earnings for men, while same‐sex partnerships are associated with small declines in earnings that are statistically indistinguishable from zero. For women, we find evidence of an earnings premium for lesbians, driven largely by increased labour supply on the intensive margin.     

Direct and Spillover Effects of Unconventional Monetary and Exchange Rate Policies

This paper explores the direct effects and spillovers of unconventional monetary and exchange rate policies. We find that official purchases of foreign assets have a large positive effect on a country’s current account that diminishes considerably as capital mobility rises. There is an important additional effect through the lagged stock of official assets. Official purchases of domestic assets, or quantitative easing (QE), appear to have no significant effect on a country’s current account when capital mobility is high, but there is a modest positive impact when capital mobility is low. The effects of purchases of foreign assets spill over to other countries in proportion to their degree of international financial integration. We also find that increases in US bond yields are associated with increases in foreign bond yields and in stock prices, as well as with depreciations of foreign currencies, but that all of these effects are smaller on days of US unconventional monetary policy announcements. We develop a theoretical model that is broadly consistent with our empirical results and that highlights the potential usefulness of domestic unconventional policies as responses to the effects of foreign policies of a similar type.     

Political Pressure: An Examination of U.S. Senators’ Actions in Restricting Canadian Softwood Lumber Imports

Over the past 30 years the U.S.–Canadian softwood lumber trade dispute has resulted in three managed trade agreements that have not been voted on in the U.S. Congress. Nevertheless, U.S. Senators have played an important role in shaping the political environment that has nurtured these agreements. In this paper we construct a lumber influence index based on 14 known events between 2001 and 2006 and analyze what factors influenced a senator's decision to publically call for restricting Canadian lumber imports and to adopt the 2006 Softwood Lumber Agreement. Our results show that the size of the wood products manufacturing industry in a state, campaign contributions, logrolling, and ideology played a significant role and that interest group politics is prevalent in this dispute. Au cours des 30  dernières années, le différend commercial entre le Canada et les États‐Unis au sujet du bois d’?uvre résineux s’est soldé par trois  accords de commerce administré qui n’ont pas été mis au vote du Congrès des États‐Unis. Néanmoins, les sénateurs américains ont joué un rôle important dans le façonnement du climat politique dans lequel ces accords ont été préparés. Dans le présent article, nous avons mis au point un indice de l’influence fondé sur 14 événements connus qui se sont déroulés entre 2001 et 2006, et nous avons analysé les facteurs qui ont influencé un sénateur à préconiser publiquement des restrictions sur les importations de bois d’?uvre canadien et à adopter l’Accord sur le bois d’?uvre résineux en 2006. Les résultats de notre étude montrent que la taille de l’industrie de la fabrication des produits en bois dans un État, les contributions aux campagnes, les alliances politiques dans un but intéressé et l’idéologie ont joué un rôle considérable et que l’influence des groupes d’intérêt a été un facteur apparent dans ce différend.     

Firm Efficiency Differences and Distribution in the Kenyan Manufacturing Sector

Abstract: This article provides empirical evidence on technical efficiency differences and efficiency distribution for three Kenyan manufacturing subsectors, namely food, metal and textile, using an unbalanced panel data covering two periods. Econometric production frontiers are estimated for each subsector in each period. The confidence predictions for these efficiencies were, however, found to be quite wide. The results indicate variation of technical efficiency estimates of the sampled firms in each period. The technical efficiency distribution for each subsector changed not only in relation to itself, but also in relation to the other subsectors across the two periods of analysis. The efficiency distribution of the firms for both food and textile (metal) subsectors improved (declined) during the study period but with the food subsector firms remaining relatively inefficient. The improvement of the technical efficiency distribution for both the textile and food subsectors is an indication of intra‐plant improvement during the period of analysis. The decline of the technical efficiency distribution for the metal subsector suggests that the market orientation during the structural reform period did not promote firm efficiencies or the firms were slow in responding to the reforms.