Perspective: Understanding the Nature and Measurement of the Lead User Construct

The lead user concept has attracted a lot of attention from scholars and practitioners alike. However, different studies apply different conceptualizations and measures of the lead user construct. Such variation in measurement of the construct make it almost impossible to consolidate findings from prior lead user research, which in turn hampers the accumulation of insights on the concept itself. This is also a challenge with respect to managerial practice: due to different interpretations of the concept, managers and R&D staff find it difficult to identify lead users for workshops and cooperation, and companies are often unable to transfer results from lead user projects to new product and business development. As a result, they only rarely repeat their work with lead users. The aim of this article is therefore to provide some thoughts and guidance on the conceptualization and measurement of the lead user construct.     

A Note on Forecasting Emerging Market Exchange Rates: Evidence of Anti‐herding

Using survey forecasts of a large number of Asian, European, and South American emerging market exchange rates, we studied empirically whether evidence of herding or anti‐herding behavior of exchange‐rate forecasters can be detected in the cross‐section of forecasts. Emerging market exchange‐rate forecasts are consistent with herding (anti‐herding) if forecasts are biased towards (away from) the consensus forecast. Our empirical findings provide strong evidence of anti‐herding of emerging market exchange‐rate forecasters.     

Work ethic,Protestantism, and human capital

Weber's contribution on Protestant work ethic has stimulated numerous social scientists. However, the question whether a Protestant specific work ethic exists at all is still rarely analysed. Our results indicate that work ethic is influenced by denomination-based religiosity and education.     

Does Work Always Pay in Germany?

Abstract. Income redistribution in Germany is the result of a combination of several redistribution instruments: there is a complex income tax law, different obligatory social insurances and supplementary benefits. This paper estimates income redistribution by quantile regression, using German EVS data. Two results are obtained: income after redistribution does not always increase in line with income before redistribution, i.e. for people with a low income before redistribution, it does not make sense to increase their efforts, since more work means less earnings. Further, an increasing redistribution rate for higher incomes is not always observable from the data.     

Tobacco and alcohol: complements or substitutes?

The question of whether alcohol and tobacco are consumed as complements or substitutes is crucial for determining the side-effects of anti-smoking policies. Numerous papers have empirically addressed this issue by estimating demand systems for alcohol and tobacco, and subsequently calculating cross-price effects. However, this traditional approach is often seriously hampered by insufficient price variation observed in survey data. We, therefore, suggest an alternative instrumental variables approach that statistically mimics an experimental study and does not rely on prices as explanatory variables. This approach is applied by means of German survey data. Our estimation results suggest that a reduction in tobacco consumption results in a moderate reduction in alcohol consumption. It is demonstrated that this implies that alcohol and tobacco are complements. Hence, we conclude that successful anti-smoking policies will not result in the unintended side-effect of an increased (ab)use of alcohol.     

Modelling Hospital Admission and Length of Stay by Means of Generalised Count Data Models

For a large heterogeneous group of patients, we analyse probabilities of hospital admission and distributional properties of lengths of hospital stay conditional on individual determinants. Bayesian structured additive regression models for zero‐inflated and overdispersed count data are employed. In addition, the framework is extended towards hurdle specifications, providing an alternative approach to cover particularly large frequencies of zero quotes in count data. As a specific merit, the model class considered embeds linear and nonlinear effects of covariates on all distribution parameters. Linear effects indicate that the quantity and severity of prior illness are positively correlated with the risk of hospital admission, while medical prevention (in the form of general practice visits) and rehabilitation reduce the expected length of future hospital stays. Flexible nonlinear response patterns are diagnosed for age and an indicator of a patients' socioeconomic status. We find that social deprivation exhibits a positive impact on the risk of admission and a negative effect on the expected length of future hospital stays of admitted patients. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sovereign debt disputes: A database on government coerciveness during debt crises

This paper measures “debt disputes” between governments and foreign private creditors in periods of sovereign debt crises. We construct an index of government coerciveness, consisting of 9 objective sub-indicators. Each of these sub-indicators captures unilateral government actions imposed on foreign banks and bondholders. The results provide the first systematic account of debt crises that goes beyond a binary categorization of default versus non-default. Overall, government behavior and rhetoric show a strong variability, ranging from highly confrontational to very smooth crisis resolution processes. In a preliminary analysis on the determinants of coercive behavior, we find political institutions to be significant, while economic and financial factors play a lesser role. These results open up an agenda for future research.     

Trans‐Tasman Transmission of Government Spending Shocks

This paper investigates the international transmission of fiscal shocks between two closely‐linked, open economies. We estimate impulse response functions using a semi‐structural vector auto regressive (VAR) model and quarterly data from Australia and New Zealand for the period 1973:3–2008:4. We compare our empirical results with impulse response functions from a calibrated two‐country international real business cycle model with habit formation and adjustment costs to investment. We show that a positive shock to Australian government consumption leads to an increase in Australian output initially and then to a decline in the medium term, while the New Zealand output is negatively affected both in the short and medium term. This result is in line with the recent literature that reports beggar‐thy‐neighbour effect of positive government spending shocks.     

„Zahnblick“ kann Wunder wirken

Mundpflege im ambulanten Bereich - Zahnschmerzen oder Probleme im Mund geh?ren zu den unangenehmen Erfahrungen. Welche pflegerischen Interventionen stehen zur Verfügung, um diese Probleme zu beheben? Und: Wann muss der Zahnarzt eingeschaltet werden?