GROWTH, INEQUALITY, AND POVERTY: A CAUTIONARY NOTE

Economic growth had less impact on poverty rates in the 1980s than in the 1960s. Could this be explained by Locke Anderson's observation that the higher median income, the greater the amount of growth needed to achieve a percentage point fall in the poverty rate? No, higher poverty rates are due instead to the rise in income inequality. With higher inequality, however, trickle down could be as effective in the 1990s as it was in the late 1960s. More generally, assessments of anti-poverty policy must recognize that inequality is as vital to changes in the poverty rate as growth in mean income.     

Fractional cointegration and the term structure

According to the expectations theory of the term structure of interest rates, the yield spread between long-term and short-term interest rates is an optimal predictor of future changes in short rates over the long-run. Results concerning the empirical validity of this hypothesis are not unanimous. These contradictions may be due to the fact that the traditional concept of cointegration is too restrictive. We refer here to the concept of fractional cointegration introduced by Granger (1986). We study the expectations theory by testing for the existence of a (fractional) cointegration relationship between short-term and long-term interest rates. There is evidence of fractional cointegration between interest rates for the G7 countries, with the exception of Germany.First version received: July 2002 / Final version received: July 2003We thank two anonymous referees for very helpful and detailed comments.     

The LeChatelier principle: the long and the short of it

Summary. Using ordinary calculus techniques, we investigate the conditions under which LeChatelier effects are signable for finite changes in parameter values. We show, for example, that the short run demand for a factor is always less responsive to price changes than the long run demand, provided that the factor of production and the fixed factor do not switch from being substitutes to being complements (or vice versa) over the relevant range of the price change. The absence of a sign change in the complementarity/substitutability relation holds under conditions that are considerably more general than supermodularity of the production function.     

Statistical Regularity and Free Will: L.A.J. Quetelet and P.A. Nekrasov

In the 19th century, causes of empirically observed stability of averages in settings relating to human behaviour were a topic of intense discussion in western Europe. This followed an extensive study of empirical stability by the founder of modern statistics (and of the International Statistical Institute) L.A.J. Quetelet, published in 1835, in what he called "Social Physics". The eminent mathematician of strong probabilistic and philosophical inclination and Russian Orthodox religious belief, P.A. Nekrasov, took up and modified Quetelet's Social Physics in 1902, with (social) independence seen as prime cause of statistical regularity. Our paper focuses on the role free will plays in the statistical writings of Quetelet and of Nekrasov. The work of the latter has remained little known in general, mainly for politico-ideological reasons.     

Aligning ERP systems with companies’ real needs: an ‘Operational Model Based’ method

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems offer standard functionalities that have to be configured and customised by a specific company depending on its own requirements. A consistent alignment is therefore an essential success factor of ERP projects. To manage this alignment, an ‘Operational Model Based’ method is proposed. It is based on the design and the matching of models, and conforms to the modelling views and constructs of the ISO 19439 and 19440 enterprise-modelling standards. It is characterised by: (1) a predefined design and matching order of the models; (2) the formalisation, in terms of modelling constructs, of alignment and misalignment situations; and (3) their association with a set of decisions in order to mitigate the misalignment risk. Thus, a comprehensive understanding of the alignment management during ERP projects is given. Unlike existing methods, this one includes decisions related to the organisational changes an ERP system can induce, as well as criteria on which the best decision can be based. In this way, it provides effective support and guidance to companies implementing ERP systems, as the alignment process is detailed and structured. The method is applied on the ERP project of a Small and Medium Enterprise, showing that it can be used even in contexts where the ERP project expertise level is low.     

Skewed Normal Variance-Mean Models for Asset Pricing and the Method of Moments

Financial returns (log-increments) data, Y _t , t = 1,2,…, are treated as a stationary process, with the common distribution at each time point being not necessarily symmetric.
We consider as possible models for the common distribution four instances of the General Normal Variance-Mean Model (GNVM), which is described by Y | V ∼ N ( a ( b + V ), c ²V + d² ) where V is a nonnegative random variable and a, b, c and d are constants. When V is Gamma distributed and d = 0, Y has the skewed Variance-Gamma distribution (VG). When V follows a Half Normal distribution and c = 0, Y has the well-known Skew Normal (SN) distribution. We also consider two cases where V is Exponentially distributed. Bounds for skewness and kurtosis in each case are found in terms of the moments of the V . These are useful in determining whether the Method of Moments for a given model is feasible. The problem of overdetermination of parameters via estimating equations is examined. 5 data sets of actual returns data, chosen because of their earlier occurrence in the literature, are analysed using each of the 4 models.     

Factors affecting the effectiveness and acceptance of electronic selection systems

There has been a rise in the use of electronic selection (e-selection) systems in organizations. Given the widespread use of these systems, this article reviews the factors that affect their effectiveness and acceptance by job applicants (applicant acceptance), and offers directions for future research on the topic. In particular, we examine the effectiveness and acceptance of these systems at each stage of the selection process including (a) job analysis, (b) job application, (c) pre-employment testing, (d) interviewing, (e) selection decision-making, and (f) evaluation and validation. We also consider their potential for adverse impact and invasion of privacy. Finally, we present some implications for e-selection system design and implementation.     

Ethnic diversity on top corporate boards: a resource dependency perspective

This paper examines the presence of ethnic minority (EM) directors on FTSE 100 company boards, following the 2003 Higgs Review, which strongly recommended that more efforts should be made to find talented non-executive directors with diverse backgrounds, including EM individuals. The 20 companies with EM directors are significantly more likely than other boards to have higher market capitalization, a larger workforce and a larger, more independent and gender-diverse board. Their sectors are banking and life assurance, media, pharmaceuticals, energy, chemicals, mining, telecoms, and food and beverage production. The 27 EM directors hold 28 seats, representing 2.4 per cent of all FTSE 100 directorships, almost the same as in 2001, indicating little impact of the 2003 Higgs recommendations. Next, drawing on resource dependency theory, this paper considers the human and social capital of EM directors. They have high levels of human capital, particularly advanced education and considerable social capital from connections to important resources. Even executive directors provide links to public bodies and community influence. Boardroom expertise and linkages acquired through these appointments fit well with challenges faced by companies in the sectors where EM directors have been appointed, particularly relating to globalization, post-colonialism, increased regulation, importance of CSR, reputation, learning and increased connectedness, supporting the resource dependency explanation.     

Constructing identities in Indian networks: Discourses of marketing management in inter-organizational relationships

This paper explores business-to-business (B2B) marketing values and knowledge systems in India and their impact on identity construction in industrial networks. Our study moves methodological approaches into more interpretive territory by acknowledging the processes of social construction in networks as articulated by the IMP Group. We bring an interdisciplinary perspective to B2B marketing studies by recognizing cultural influences on managers' constructions of Indian modernity and explore what these linguistic moves may mean for the management of buyer–seller relationships. We highlight the dexterity with which individual actors discursively position themselves, their (and other) firms and countries by drawing upon a range of interpretive repertoires in their accounts of relationship management. Our chief contribution is to conceptually synthesize some of the discursive forces at work in identity processes within Indian business networks and to empirically illustrate the inherent tensions within managers' talk as they construct individual, organizational and national identities.     

Full circle support: unpacking the relationship between women entrepreneurs’ family-to-work support and work interference with family

With an anchoring in conservation of resources theory, this study examines the mediating role of women entrepreneurs’ work-related emotional exhaustion in the relationship between their family-to-business support and work interference with family, as well as the moderating role of the entrepreneurial character of their company’s strategy in this process. Survey data collected from women entrepreneurs in Argentina indicate that a notable reason that business support received from the family diminishes work interference with that same family is that it abates the sense of being overburdened by work. This benefit of reduced exhaustion is especially prominent to the extent that women entrepreneurs pursue an energy-consuming, entrepreneurial strategy for their business. For entrepreneurship scholars and practitioners, this research accordingly reveals a critical channel through which supportive family relationships can decrease the probability that women entrepreneurs bring work challenges home (i.e., diminished depletion of work energy), and it shows how this explanatory factor varies with the strategic profile they adopt for their business.