The Determinants of Foreign Direct Investment in the CEECs: New evidence from sectoral patterns

This paper investigates the determinants of European Union FDI in the CEECs at sectoral level. The aim is to understand whether and to what extent FDI undertaken in different sectors reacts to the characteristics of the host countries. The analysis is based on a dataset created specifically for this purpose. It concentrates on the manufacturing sectors, classified according to the Pavitt taxonomy. Firstly, data summarizing the recent trend of FDI in the CEECs is presented and then empirical evidence given to account for differences between sectors. The estimated model is a generalization of a three-way fixed effect model incorporating 'classic' variables, such as labour costs as well as country-specific variables, i.e., the stage reached in the transition process. The results confirm the presence of heterogeneity at sector level.     

Does size matter? The state of the art in small business ethics

In this paper the exclusive focus on large firms in the field of business ethics is challenged. Some of the idiosyncrasies of small firms are explained, and links are made between these and potential ethical issues. A review of the existing literature on ethics in small firms demonstrates the lack of appropriate research, so that to date we can draw no firm conclusions in relation to ethics in the small firm. Recommendations are made as to the way forward for small firm business ethics research. Questions for investigation are suggested using micro, meso and macro perspectives. Much exploratory work needs to be done to lay the groundwork for this important area of social and commercial research in the future.     

Evaluating the Impact of Conditional Cash Transfer Programs

Several developing economies have recently introduced conditionalcash transfer programs, which provide money to poor familiescontingent on certain behavior, usually investments in humancapital, such as sending children to school or bringing themto health centers. The approach is both an alternative to moretraditional social assistance programs and a demand-side complementto the supply of health and education services. Unlike mostdevelopment initiatives, conditional cash transfer programshave been subject to rigorous evaluations of their effectivenessusing experimental or quasi-experimental methods. Evaluationresults for programs launched in Colombia, Honduras, Jamaica,Mexico, Nicaragua, and Turkey reveal successes in addressingmany of the failures in delivering social assistance, such asweak poverty targeting, disincentive effects, and limited welfareimpacts. There is clear evidence of success from the first generationof programs in Colombia, Mexico, and Nicaragua in increasingenrollment rates, improving preventive health care, and raisinghousehold consumption. Many questions remain unanswered, however,including the potential of conditional cash transfer programsto function well under different conditions, to address a broaderrange of challenges among poor and vulnerable populations, andto prevent the intergenerational transmission of poverty.      

Books: Knowledge Management: in Search of the Philosophers' Stone

Books reviewed in this article:
T.H.Davenport, Working Knowledge: How Organizations Manage What They Know
G.von Krogh, J.Roos, and D.Kleine (eds), Knowledge in Firms: Understanding, Managing and Measuring Knowledge
R.C.Huseman and J.P.Goodman, Leading with Knowledge: the Nature of Competition in the 21st Century
Various authors, Harvard Business Review on Knowledge Management     

Slow boom, sudden crash

Many asset markets exhibit slow booms and sudden crashes. This pattern is explained by an endogenous flow of information. In the model, agents undertake more economic activity in good times than in bad. Economic activity generates public information about the state of the economy. If the economic state changes when times are good and information is abundant, asset prices adjust quickly and a sudden crash occurs. When times are bad, scarce information and high uncertainty slow agents’ reactions as the economy improves; a gradual boom ensues. Data from U.S. and emerging credit markets support the theory.     

Consumer-perceived risk model for the introduction of genetically modified food in Spain

Since the last part of the 20th century, the search for new forms of cultivation and food has basically centred on the application of biotechnology, giving rise to GM foods. Consumer acceptance is conditioned by the risk that they perceive from introducing food into their consumption habits processed through technology that they hardly understand. Besides, information is insufficient in the consumer ambit and moreover, it is influenced by ideological and ethical determining factors. The factors were analysed that influence this consumer-perceived risk through a structural equation model. This study was conducted in Spain, concretely in the province of Alicante, located in the southeast of this country.     

Modelling the sectoral allocation of labour in open economy models

Indivisible labour is not the only type of non‐convexity affecting labour supply decisions. Another type of non‐convexity arises in economies with sectors whenever individuals can work in only one sector at a time. I introduce this restriction into an open economy model with a tradeable and a non‐tradeable sector, and I use lotteries to convexify the consumption possibilities set. This approach implies that the aggregate elasticity of labour supply becomes infinite. I compare the performance of the model with an analogous model in which the labour supply elasticity is finite. I find that there is a disconnect between the response of wages to monetary shocks and the open economy variables. The labour supply elasticity plays a more important role in the transmission of technology and government expenditure shocks to the real exchange rate and the terms of trade.     

Marriage equality and interstate migration

This study examines the impact of state imposed, marriage equality laws on interstate migration prior to the 26 June 2015 U.S. Supreme Court ruling to legalize same-sex marriage in all states. Results of the estimation of a series of probit models suggest that all head of households are more likely to leave states without marriage equality. This estimated impact is significantly larger for household heads in same-sex relationships. When examining the migration choices separately by both sex and relationship type, this result remains significant for female heads of households in different-sex relationships and male heads of households in same-sex relationships. Simulations, using the results of the probit estimations, the analysis of regional trends, and recent rebellions against the Supreme Court ruling indicate that state level, marriage equality laws may be aggravating the imbalanced distribution of same- and different-sex couple households across the country.