On causality and the monetary approach to the balance of payments: The European experience

Using Sims causality test it is shown that the negative relationship between the rate of domestic credit creation and the rate of change of foreign exchange reserves is consistent with the direction of causality proposed by the monetary approach to the balance of payments and it is not simply the result of central bank sterilization or private bank credit policy. Evidence of such opposite causality is present in Sweden and the United Kingdom but it is part of a two-way feedback structure still consistent with the monetary approach.     

New models for measuring the R&D performance and identifying the productivity of public research institutes

Research evaluation of public institutes is important for measuring the performance of the science sector and improving the cost effectiveness and efficiency of public resource allocation. The purpose of this article is to construct a means of classifying publicly-funded R&D institutions and their performance (high or low). The main findings are two research performance functions, created using discriminant analysis with direct and Wilks methods, which have been successfully applied to 200 public research institutes belonging to the Italian National Research Council. The large number of indicators used within the models creates a macro index that produce, as output, the research performance score. The data analysed is from the 2001 period. The results show that 22.5% of public labs fall into the 'high performance institute' bracket and that they have a site larger than 'low performance institutes'. The models are useful tools for decision making within the research bodies and for reducing X-inefficiency.     

Managing commitments and flexibility by real options

In the past, transaction cost economics (TCE) literature has largely stressed the benefits of contractual commitments in relationships. TCE traditionally recommends safeguarding specific assets against holdup, thus reducing behavioral uncertainty. In contrast, the reverse side of the coin has been disregarded for a long time. Firms may lose some of their flexibility and thus the opportunity to benefit from future emerging business activities due to prior contractual commitments. Flexibility becomes especially important in dynamic environments where there is rapid technological change. To manage the emergent trade-off between contractual commitments and flexibility in dynamic markets, the authors propose a real options approach. The value of a firm's flexibility to switch to a new trading partner is represented by a real switching option. It can be shown how contractual commitments directly affect the value of the switching option. To clarify, the authors numerically analyze the respective trade-off and derive implications for an optimal choice of contractual commitments.     

The dynamic effects of monetary policy: A structural factor model approach

A structural factor model for 112 US monthly macroeconomic series is used to study the effects of monetary policy. Monetary policy shocks are identified using a standard recursive scheme, in which the impact effects on both industrial production and prices are zero. The main findings are the following. First, the maximal effect on bilateral real exchange rates is observed on impact, so that the “delayed overshooting” puzzle disappears. Second, after a contractionary shock prices fall at all horizons, so that the price puzzle is not there. Finally, monetary policy has a sizable effect on both real and nominal variables.     

Brand-anchored discrete choice experiment (BDCE) vs. direct attribute rating (DAR): An empirical comparison of predictive validity

The image of a brand provides a key driver of brand equity. To build and control a strong brand image though, brand managers require a valid procedure to measure it. This article empirically compares the predictive validity of two measurement techniques to assess brand image: First, a brand-anchored discrete choice experiment (BDCE) which is based on a brand-anchored conjoint approach where brands serve as the levels for any attribute and which was originally introduced as ranting-based approach by Louviere and Johnson Journal of Retailing, 66, 359–382 (1990) and further extended to a BDCE by Eckert et al. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 29, 256–264 (2012). Second, a direct attribute rating (DAR) approach which is commonly used for commercial applications of brand image measurement. An empirical study using a representative sample of the German beer market shows that BDCE shows significantly higher levels of predictive validity (i.e., higher correlations with the actual market shares of the brands under investigation) than the widely used DAR method.     

Techno-economics for multi-service fixed access networks

The paper presents techno-economic results for fixed access networks which have been achieved within the IST MUSE (Multi Service Access Everywhere; http://www.ist-muse.org) integrated project in the first phase. The article summarises the results from studies of two major use cases, Network Migration Cases and the Native Ethernet approach. The results are based on a common framework. A specific attention is paid to the first mile deployment scenarios including Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTCab) and Point-to-Point optical networks (PtP). It has been observed that the migration from a best effort access network to a Quality of Service (QoS) enabled multi-service architecture based on Ethernet or IP forwarding is favourable in comparison with an ATM-based evolution scenario. Service enabling new network functionalities like Quality of Service (QoS), multicast and Internet (IP) based auto-configurations are moving closer to subscribers. This leads to an increased intelligence in access networks and related potential Capital Expenditures (CAPEX) savings of about 25% in aggregation networks.     

Ideational item Avoiding the pitfalls of managementThink

Productive, structured, and efficient thinking is often the only kind encouraged by companies—at least, until they notice that such thinking can harden into unimaginative and rigid patterns. Every manager and every company needs to take time to try out new thinking patterns and look at possibilities in new ways.     

Looking For a Network Organization: The Case of GESTO

We present ten propositions to explore an ideal type of network organizations with emphasis on internal structure relating properties to organizational structure and processes. Network organizations are flat, flexible structures, with high reachability and high information access enabling learning. Based on an exploratory case study we use network analysis and find that this organization has the properties of a network organization. The employees participate in several networks, work is done in project groups that are initiated and organized by the employees. Oligarchy or hierarchy are not distinct features of the organization; the flexibility of the structures is demonstrated by showing that the members change network position in project networks over time. Tenure, the most important integrating mechanism, influences centrality measures, skill levels, and the ability to propose and organize projects.     

Wealth and Income Inequality in Europe

While it has long been apparent that global levels of wealth and income inequality have been steadily increasing since the 1970s, the issue received scant attention in Europe until the recent fi nancial crisis and the resulting Great Recession illuminated for the general public just how great the chasm between the very rich and everybody else had grown. This realisation was coupled with an increased focus on inequality among economists and other academics, leading to a fresh drive for policy ideas to remedy the alarming trend. This Forum comprises a diverse range of viewpoints on the recent history and dynamics of inequality within Europe, each striving to defi ne the root causes in the various countries being examined. The defi nition of these causes, of course, can inform the direction of policies aimed at alleviating the growing inequality in many European countries and thereby curtail one of the major political and social issues of our time.     

Mindestlohn in Deutschland,Großbritannien und in den USA

In Germany, there is an ongoing debate on whether the new statutory minimum wage has had negative employment effects. First evaluation results point at a fairly modest job loss. However, long-run effects are difficult to estimate. While the German minimum wage might be adjusted by an economically sound growth rate, minimum wages in Great Britain and some US states have been increased beyond the level that existing evidence would suggest is necessary.