USING FUNCTIONINGS TO ESTIMATE EQUIVALENCE SCALES

Equivalence scales are used to enable welfare comparisons across heterogeneous households. In this paper, we propose to use the achievement of a certain level of functioning as the identifying assumption for the derivation of equivalence scales. This will allow us not only to deal with welfare comparisons between households of different size and composition, but will also enable us to incorporate other characteristics (such as location and employment status) in the creation of equivalence scales for welfare comparisons. The paper applies this approach to create equivalence scales for the functioning “shelter” using Belgian and Italian data. The analysis shows that the income differences associated with different characteristics only play a small role in explaining differences in functionings. An important policy message is therefore that compensating people for functioning shortfalls in monetary terms may not be sensible.     

Back to Basics: Remittances in the Keynesian Macroeconomic Framework

This paper examines a remittance multiplier based on the short-run Keynesian equilibrium approach and shows how income may be affected by remittance inflows. We explore this through the equilibrium in the goods and money markets, where remittances can affect both consumption and the demand for real money balances. We present this simple theoretical model utilizing a standard Keynesian framework. The short-run Keynesian equilibrium approach provides insight into how remittances affect output and income, and its potential multiplier effects. The model used is indicative of a positive relationship between the marginal propensity to consume out of remittances and the multiplier. The framework also shows that remittances will have a greater impact if its marginal propensity to consume is greater than that for standard disposable income.     

A methodology based on the Analytic Hierarchy Process for the quantitative assessment of emergency preparedness and response in road tunnels

The paper presents and discusses a methodology to judge the effectiveness of the preparedness activities in case of accidents in road tunnels by considering the system from several points of view (i.e. structural/technical, organizational/human, and contextual). Due to the different nature of the criteria involved in the assessment activity, we chose to apply the Analytic Hierarchy Process methodology (Saaty, T.L. (2006). Fundamentals of Decision Making and Priority Theory with the Analytic Hierarchy Process, RWS Publications, Pittsburgh) that allows comparing and appraising quantitatively variables that are incommensurable and that may originate from distinct and separate areas. The paper identifies the hierarchic structure necessary to measure both the performance of the emergency response system for road tunnel accidents and the weights for assessing their relative importance. Finally, the methodology is applied to a case study on a transnational road tunnel between Italy and France to show a feasible evaluation of the sensitivity of the structure to the input variables in order to find the most valuable enhancing and improving actions.     

When work and family collide: ‘Resource Caravans’ of personal and contextual resources in remote work

Research on remote work remains without consensus as to its benefits, with continued questions about which factors may enable it to be more beneficial to employees working remotely. Applying Conservation of Resources theory, we explore the impact of ‘resource caravans’ on ‘work–family balance’ and subsequent ‘well-being’ in a sample of 446 remote workers. Our findings contribute to ongoing sociological debates by showing exactly how flexibility and control play a role in the remote workplace. Specifically, our model revealed that ‘sense of control’ over home was most beneficial for ‘work–family balance’ among experienced remote workers who had high levels of ‘schedule flexibility’, whereas ‘work–family balance’ benefited from lower levels of ‘schedule flexibility’ among new remote workers. Resources from the home domain were most critical for ‘work–family balance’, which mediated the effects of the ‘resource caravan’ from the home domain on overall employee ‘well-being’.     

From sustainability to thrivability: A novel framework for entrepreneurial ecosystems

International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal - The present research proposes a theoretical framework for a thrivable entrepreneurial ecosystem in which thrivability is a novel...     

Volatilidad en los ingresos y en el mercado de trabajo de los jóvenes en Europa

Los autores ofrecen nuevos datos empíricos sobre la volatilidad en los ingresos y en el mercado de trabajo (incluyendo entradas y salidas del empleo) de los jóvenes en Europa durante la Gran Recesión. Los datos de EU‐SILC para el periodo 2004–2013 revelan grandes disparidades al respecto entre los países europeos. La Gran Recesión incrementó la volatilidad entre los jóvenes. Mediante un ejercicio de descomposición de la varianza se observa una mayor rotación laboral en el sur de Europa. Según un modelo de efectos fijos, un mayor nivel de prestaciones de desempleo y de protección del empleo se asocia con una reducción de la volatilidad.     

Are freelancers a breed apart? The role of protean and boundaryless career attitudes in employability and career success

Recent economic and organisational changes have fostered an increasing diversification of the workforce, among whom freelancers are an under‐represented population in the literature. This study aimed at examining the role of protean and boundaryless career, professional commitment, and employability activities in fostering freelancers' subjective career success. Data were collected via an online survey among a sample of 425 Italian freelancers and analysed through structural equation modelling. Results partially confirmed several hypotheses: higher self‐directed career management and boundaryless mindset predicted higher employability activities and professional commitment; moreover, employability and professional commitment acted as mediators between career attitudes and subjective career success. The study provides support for the importance of such variables to freelancers' career success, as well as for the significance of protean and boundaryless careers among nontraditional occupational groups. Interventions aimed at fostering such attitudes could support freelancers in improving their attainment of professional progress and perception of career success.     

Factors influencing repeat visits to a destination: The influence of group composition

This paper is an analysis of the likelihood for repeat visits to a sun and sand destination by tourists. For this purpose, an empirical study was conducted using tourists who had visited the destination. The analysis took into account the travelling group composition. The results showed that, for the total tourist sample, overall satisfaction had the biggest influence on the decision of whether to revisit a destination, while the least important influence was the tourist's perceived image. These influences varied, however, when different travelling group compositions were considered. The results are of vital importance in tourism management policies, because they can contribute to the better design and development of tourism promotion strategies.     

Convex duality and Orlicz spaces in expected utility maximization

In this paper, we report further progress toward a complete theory of state‐independent expected utility maximization with semimartingale price processes for arbitrary utility function. Without any technical assumptions, we establish a surprising Fenchel duality result on conjugate Orlicz spaces, offering a new economic insight into the nature of primal optima and providing a fresh perspective on the classical papers of Kramkov and Schachermayer. The analysis points to an intriguing interplay between no‐arbitrage conditions and standard convex optimization and motivates the study of the fundamental theorem of asset pricing for Orlicz tame strategies.     

Identifying business opportunities for sustainable development: Longitudinal and experimental evidence contributing to the field of sustainable entrepreneurship

Which factors facilitate the identification of business opportunities for sustainable development? To answer this question, we develop a process model of sustainable opportunity identification. We argue that sustainable opportunity identification is a process with transitions from problem to solution identification and from solution to sustainable opportunity identification. Moreover, the transitions are facilitated by two factors—awareness of adverse consequences and entrepreneurial attitude—providing motivation and direction in the process. We tested our model in a field study (N = 107) and two experiments (N = 53 and N = 69). Our findings show that awareness of adverse consequences and entrepreneurial attitude influence the process of sustainable opportunity identification, explaining under which conditions people are more likely to identify business opportunities for sustainable development. Our study thus contributes to the field of sustainable entrepreneurship.