Corruption and private participation infrastructure projects: The influence of vicarious experience and national animosity

This paper investigates the influence of vicarious experience and national animosity on the relationship between corruption and the performance of private participation infrastructure projects. Our analysis of 27,264 projects in 114 countries from 1997 to 2013 shows that higher levels of corruption are associated with higher risk of project failure. We also find that this effect is weakened by the presence of other firms from the same industry, as firms may learn from other companies how to deal with corruption. In contrast, we find the effect is strengthened by the presence of other firms from different industries. This result is due to a lower applicability of knowledge and to an increase in national animosity and discrimination from local stakeholders.     

Towards 5G: Techno-economic analysis of suitable use cases

NETNOMICS: Economic Research and Electronic Networking - The evolution of mobile networks towards the Fifth Generation (5G) introduces many concerns from the technical and economic points of view....     

Measuring relative non-motorized accessibility to retail activities

Accessibility planning is a crucial alternative to mobility planning for reaching sustainable outcomes. Although there is a vast literature on accessibility, less attention is paid to accessibility as a relative concept, i.e., its relationship with the socio-economic characteristic of the population. While accessibility is known to vary by location, it also changes as a consequence of differences in individual willingness to reach destinations by certain transport modes. Using the city of Zaragoza, Spain as a case study, this paper evaluates relative non-motorized accessibility (walking and cycling) to three types of retail activities: daily, weekly, and incidental. First, a clustering process is used to identify four population groups according to their socio-economic characteristics (the young employed; the young unemployed; seniors and adults). Second, distance-decay functions based on time-willingness to reach retail destinations by non-motorized modes are compared between the four clusters of population. Third, relative accessibility maps based on gravity-based models are elaborated, highlighting places that exhibit statistical differences between the population clusters. The results indicate that willingness to reach retail stores on foot by seniors (>65?years old) was significantly different from the rest of groups analyzed, providing additional insights on how relative accessibility measurements can anticipate potential social exclusion risks.     

Labor market outcomes of granting full professional independence to nurse practitioners

Journal of Regulatory Economics - Faced with an impending shortage of physicians, the U.S. healthcare industry’s capability and capacity to meet its growing clientele’s needs rely on...     

Renegotiation in Public–Private Partnerships: An Incentive Mechanism Approach

Game theory is an important analytical tool for measuring problems caused by behaviors that deviate from contractual ethics. However, the PPP literature still does little to explore this research topic. This paper analyzes and improves the equilibrium conditions of a renegotiation model of PPPs by introducing the asymmetry of information in the contract. To achieve this goal, the Mechanism Design Theory is used to demonstrate how the correct tracking of the investor directly influences the payoffs of the renegotiation. The study concludes that the lack of incentive constraints in the bidding document, as an ex ante condition, does not provide sufficient information on investor management capability. In this way, this information is only revealed in the renegotiation phase. Consequently, this contract failure results in high political costs to the government due to excessive subsidies.     

Firm heterogeneity and aggregate business services exports: Micro evidence from Belgium,France, Germany and Spain

This paper uses detailed micro data on services exports at the firm–destination–service level to analyse the role of firm heterogeneity in shaping aggregate services exports in Belgium, France, Germany and Spain from 2003 to 2007. We decompose the level and the growth of aggregate services exports into different trade margins paying special attention to firm heterogeneity within countries. We find that the weak export growth of France is at least partly due to poor performance by small exporters. By contrast, small exporters are the most dynamic contributors to the aggregate exports of Belgium, Germany and Spain. Our results highlight the importance of firm heterogeneity in understanding aggregate export growth.     

Attributes of Foreign Subsidiaries and the Location Strategy of Multinational Firms in Global Cities in Latin America

International business research has recently honed in on the subnational dimension of multinational enterprises (MNEs), particularly the city level. Through a binomial logistic regression of data from 254 foreign subsidiaries of 10 Latin American global cities between 2006 and 2012, we found that specific attributes of the firm related to the industrial sector, subsidiary control, and ownership level have a positive effect on the location choice in cities. In addition, we found that in the previous period and during the international financial crisis, MNEs exploited their internalization advantages more intensely by exerting greater control over their subsidiaries in global cities.     

The impact of private vs. public ownership on the level and structure of employment

We examine the effects of private vs. public ownership on the level and structure of employment using uncommonly rich data on the population of Portuguese firms from 1991 to 2009. We find that private ownership is associated with sizeable job losses. This occurs whether we consider privatizations or nationalizations, and the relationship tends to be stronger in the presence of foreign capital. We also find some evidence that private ownership is associated with higher skill utilization, particularly following privatizations and when foreign investment is present. The estimated job losses associated with private ownership are consistent with a theory in which the shift in ownership increases the degree of profit orientation and leads to lower job security.     

HOUSEHOLDS’ BEHAVIOUR AND ENVIRONMENTAL EMISSIONS IN A REGIONAL ECONOMY

Households have significant demand-side potential to drive reductions in atmospheric emissions, including both direct and indirect emissions. Our analysis focuses on the behaviour of a regional economy (Aragon, Spain) and its impact on greenhouse gases (GHG) and sulphur dioxide (SO₂). Using a CGE model, we simulate scenarios and evaluate the environmental impact of adopting changes considered in the Aragonese Climate Change and Clean Energy Strategy. Specifically, we analyse the impact of electricity savings and the promotion of public transport (bus or train) versus private car use. The results indicate that 1 MWh of saving in electricity consumption by households could reduce emissions of GHG by 0.112 kt of equivalent CO₂ and 8.209 kg of SO₂ with a shift in demand preferences and 0.022 kt of equivalent CO₂ and 7.612 kg of SO₂ with an efficiency improvement. Moreover, household changes in demand preferences regarding private/public transport, also contribute to reduce emissions.