Long memory in US real output per capita

This article analyses the long memory properties of quarterly real output per capita in the US (1948Q1–2008Q3) using non-parametric, semi-parametric and parametric techniques. The results vary substantially depending on the methodology employed. Evidence of mean reversion is obtained in a parametric context if the underlying disturbances are weakly autocorrelated. We also examine the possibility of a structural break in the data and the results indicate that there is a slight reduction in the degree of persistence after the break that is found to occur in the second quarter of 1978.     

Consumers’ response to the EU Quality policy allowing for heterogeneous preferences

Using dry-cured ham as an anchor product, consumers’ preferences for EU Quality Certification schemes, region of origin and price have been investigated with conjoint analysis. In order to achieve this aim, a mixed rank-ordered logit which allows for the investigation of heterogeneous preferences and their sources has been estimated. In particular, we have analysed to what extent consumers’ socio-demographic traits affect their price-sensitiveness and whether consumers’ sensory (hedonic) valuations and attitudes towards ham with a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) affect the preferences for specific attributes. Results show that consumers with a low-medium age and income are more price sensitive. Consumers more inclined sensorially towards the regional specialty (with or without PDO) are more likely to purchase this product, and consumers with a more favourable attitude towards PDO ham are also more prone to purchase cured ham with quality certification. Findings also suggest that although the PDO scheme attracts a segment of consumers, the origin by itself is still a more powerful signal of quality, and more specifically the region of origin.     

Institutional quality and capital taxation

We describe the preferred taxation regime in a small economy with uncertain institutional quality. We obtain that a preferential taxation regime in which taxes can be matched to the mobility of the tax base may be worse off than a non-preferential taxation regime in which taxes are constant across bases with distinct mobility. Since the small economy takes foreign taxes as given, our result is not driven by a downward pressure on revenues caused by unconstrained tax competition. It is instead related to the ability of a non-preferential taxation regime to credibly convey information about the institutional quality of the small economy. We present some empirical evidence which corroborates our results.     

Differentiable strategy-proof mechanisms for private and public goods in domains that are not necessarily large or quasi-linear

In this paper, we develop a differentiable approach to deal with incentives in a, possibly small, subset of a general domain of preferences in economies with one public and one private good. We show that, for two agents, there is no mechanism which is efficient, strategy-proof and where consumption of both goods is positive for all agents. For the case of two or more agents the same result occurs when nondictatorship is replaced by Individual Rationality. We are very grateful to Atila Abdulkadiroglu, Carmen Beviá, Xavier Calsamiglia, Marco Celentani, Bernardo Moreno, Antonio Romero-Medina, William Thomson, Walter Trockel, an associate editor, three anonymous referees and participants at seminars at Universities of Alicante, Autónoma de Barcelona and Rochester and the Spanish Economic Association meeting in Sevilla for very helpful comments and suggestions.     

Nonlinearities and Fractional Integration in the US Unemployment Rate*

This paper proposes a model of the US unemployment rate which accounts for both its asymmetry and its long memory. Our approach introduces fractional integration and nonlinearities simultaneously into the same framework, using a Lagrange multiplier procedure with a standard null‐limit distribution. The empirical results suggest that the US unemployment rate can be specified in terms of a fractionally integrated process, which interacts with some nonlinear functions of labour‐demand variables such as real oil prices and real interest rates. We also find evidence of a long‐memory component. Our results are consistent with a hysteresis model with path dependency rather than a non‐accelerating inflation rate of unemployment (NAIRU) model with an underlying unemployment equilibrium rate, thereby giving support to more activist stabilization policies. However, any suitable model should also include business cycle asymmetries, with implications for both forecasting and policy‐making.     

Validating a model for forecasting the project termination phase using existing business cases

Studies on project failure and its subsequent termination phase are scarce; studies that use a quantitative approach are almost nonexistent. This is most likely because organizations usually do not collect data on project failures, are unable to share such data, or a combination of both. The contribution of this article is twofold: to (1) showcase a methodology to validate a model using actual business cases and (2) validate a project termination phase forecast model (PTPFM) using the methodology. The model is validated through four business cases, comparing the results from the model to the decisions made in reality.     

Optimizing transit maintenance and rehabilitation to support human development and sustainability: A case study of Costa Rica’s railroad network

Public transportation plays a critical role in improving human development and consequently the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by United Nations. Convenient and efficient transit enable inhabitants to reach labor markets, access social support facilities as well as health and education services. This study develops a decision-making support framework for transit agencies to select optimum maintenance, rehabilitation, and upgrade alternatives to accomplish good levels of service and improve human development and sustainability indexes. A case study of Costa Rica’s great metropolitan area is used to illustrate the study with various budget scenarios. The results show that the proposed system can accomplish significant improvements on both level of service and human development. It is also confirmed that the explicit consideration of human development and sustainability made a significant difference as compared to the classical approach, which only considers the level of service (LOS). The proposed model could be used by other public transit systems.     

Relations between technological and non-technological innovations in the service sector

In the economic literature, there is a debate on whether technological and non-technological innovations share the same determinants. As a result of this debate, two opposing views have emerged: the distinctive view argues that the determinants of both technologies are different; on the contrary, the integrative view considers that both types of technologies share determinants. The main objective that we pursue in this study is to test which of the two views is prevalent in the service sector of the Spanish economy. Analyses were performed using data from Spanish Technological Innovation Panel for the period 2008–2012. To perform hypothesis tests, the approach of complementarity was used. Our findings indicate that neither of the two approaches has been fully accredited, although the distinctive view is more prevalent. However, this radiography of relations tells us that companies can achieve further increases in productivity if technological innovation and non-technological innovation are implemented simultaneously.