Changes in behaviour under EMU

Using a simple model of the euro area economy, we explore whether EMU has been associated with changes in behaviour both in the run up to Stage 3 and since it started operating. We find that some behaviour has indeed changed; expectations formation, inflation, country dispersion of behaviour, fiscal policy (although the run up to Stage 3 shows a greater change than within it) and monetary policy (with several caveats). However, EMU does not appear to be associated with changes in the labour markets; employment, output growth and productivity. Substantial caution is needed in attributing these changes to EMU as much of the rest of OECD enjoyed similar changes over the same period.     

On the optimal income taxation: Some further numerical results

Using numerical calculations we show in the optimal income tax model that a realistic value for the elasticity of substitution between consumption and leisure (?=0.5) leads to conclusions different from some of those drawn by Mirrlees (1971) and Atkinson (1973). The marginal tax rates are not so low and the shape of the tax schedule is for a great majority of the population substantially nonlinear. A new feature in our calculations is that both results come out without going to maximin, as done by Atkinson (1973). We study in special cases the locality of the zero limit of the marginal tax rate at the upper end of the ability distribution and we achieve a very definite conclusion: this result is really very local. We also present an interesting approximation result concerning the relationship between the level of the government revenue and the marginal tax rate for individuals with high ability. An important methodological remark analogous to Sen's critique on the ethical measures of inequality is made on the interpretation of optimal income tax calculations.     

Collaborative Problem Solving in a Control Technology Learning Environment, a Pilot Study

We have investigated collaborative problem solving in a teaching experiment, which was organised for 34 eighth-grade pupils in a control technology learning environment. The participating teacher was trained by us and pupils had available kits, interfaces and computers equipped with a novel icon oriented programming tool, Empirica Control. Pupil activities were video recorded and the analysis proceeded through writing video protocols, edited into episodes and then classified into categories. Categories were mainly derived empirically. In the analysis, we used concepts such as collaboration and problem solving, in accordance with social constructivism. The data showed that typical learning processes were collaborative (62% of all episodes) as well as dynamic problem-solving processes, in several stages. Pupils worked quite independently of the teacher, as they learned to use the programming tool autonomously in their technology projects. It appears, however, that more teacher support, such as introducing handbooks, planning tools and advanced programming skills, would have been an advantage. Some ideas about further development of study processes in modern learning environments are discussed. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Inflation and savings: testing Deaton's hypothesis

A ‘money illusion’ savings function in which unanticipated inflation affects the savings ratio positively is tested. This is strongly supported by Finnish data. Goodness-of-fit statistics are quite high and the coefficient estimates are of the expected sign and are highly significant. Standard stability tests of both the Brown-Durbin-Evans type and of the VPR type are generally rather favourable. Finally, cross-country evidence from ten OECD countries gives further support for the suggested specification.     

Frictions in Project-Based Supply of Permits

Emissions trading in climate change can entail large overall cost savings and transfers between developed and developing countries. However, the search for acceptable JI or CDM projects implies a deviation from the perfect market framework used in previous estimations. Our model combines the search market for projects with a frictionless permit market to quantify the supply-side frictions in the CO₂ market. We also decompose the effects of frictions into the effects of search friction, bargaining, and bilateralism. A calibration using previous cost estimates of CO₂ reductions illustrate changes in cost savings and allocative implications.     

Measuring to understand intangible performance drivers

The present qualitative study explores what eleven Swedish organizations have systematically worked at to increase the understanding of the importance of intangibles as performance drivers. The present analysis is accomplished using a combination of evolutionary theory, knowledge-based theory and organizational learning. The results indicate that assets in an accounting sense seem to be of less interest than perceptions of activities that enable future performance. These “enablers” are often customer and employee perceptions of individual, organizational and relational competence. The way for the firms to ascertain a continuous organizational learning process with respect to the value creation chain is to measure intangibles as well as to maintain organizational routines that ensure the transformation of measurement results into action.     

A model for outsourcing and governing of maintenance within the process industry

Many industrial firms motivate structural changes by an increased focus on core activities and reduced ownership of non-core activities. However, classifying maintenance activities as either core or non-core can be difficult, since maintenance is a support function strongly linked to the production core within a manufacturing firm. Based on a multiple case study that included four buying firms and four suppliers within the process industry, this paper investigates how the relative capabilities of the firms affect the governance decision about maintenance outsourcing. A conceptual framework built on a distinction between core-close and core-distant maintenance and between different maintenance capabilities is presented. The subsequent empirical analysis illustrates how the developed framework can be used for both analyzing and guiding firms’ decisions about outsourcing and governance regarding maintenance.     

Management priorities of digital health service start-ups in California

International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal - Digitalisation has revolutionised health service delivery, which has provided global business opportunities for start-ups that specialise in...