The effect of ownership on sustainable development and environmental policy in urban waste management: An explicatory empirical analysis of Italian municipal corporations

This paper investigates the effect of ownership on sustainable development and environmental policy in Italian municipally owned corporations (MOCs) dealing with urban waste management, trying to understand if multiple ownership can generate better performance compared to single ownership and if the presence of private partners could be crucial in this. The research question is answered by analyzing 41 MOCs of the largest Italian cities operating in urban waste management. In this specific sector, public administrations have tried to improve their offer in terms of sustainable development, environmental policy, and efficiency. The paper covers the Italian case study, where urban waste production per capita is higher than the European average figure. The waste cycle management service is operated in Italy at local level through totally publicly owned companies (monoadministration or multiadministration), mixed (public–private) companies, or via a full externalization achieved by means of public tenders. Through a multinomial ordered probit panel, we show that MOCs with multiple owners perform better than those having a single owner and perform much better with the presence of a private partner, confirming those academic findings according to which collaborative arrangements can increase efficiency, do better than public sector bureaucracy, and lower the costs of service provision. The results of this paper can be used by academics, practitioners, and policy makers alike. To the best of our knowledge, this is the only study that applies this perspective to the analysis of the current international waste management scenario with relation to MOCs having multiple ownerships.     

Industry risk and market structure

This paper examines the relationship between industry risk and industry profitability. A three-equation model is employed in which profits, profit variability (total risk) and debt (financial risk) are simultaneously determined. One of the main findings of the study is that risk, as measured by profit variability, is not related to industryprofitability. One possible explanation is that risk-reducing strategies reduced profit variability and thus profit variability had little, role to play in explaining interindustry profitability. A second reason suggested by the results of the profit equation is that the equity/asset variable may be a better measure of risk.     

Examining the effect of novelty seeking,satisfaction, and destination image on tourists’ return pattern: A two factor,non-linear latent growth model

With many destinations relying on repeat business, intention to revisit has become an important research topic. As revisit intention changes over time, this paper proposes the use of a latent growth curve to model the developmental trajectory of return behavior. The proposed model was tested in two steps in AMOS 16.0 using SEM methodologies to investigate the effects of novelty seeking, destination image and overall satisfaction levels across intent to revisit trajectories using data collected among French, English, and German travelers. Findings indicate that both novelty seeking and low satisfaction among travelers temper immediate intent to return. Conversely, a positive image of the destination enhances both immediate and future intentions to return.     

The Influence of Funding Approaches,Growth Expectations,and Industry Gender Distribution on High‐Growth Women Entrepreneurs

This study examines three key aspects of entrepreneurship associated with women business owners and their ability to achieve high growth: debt versus equity financing, growth expectations, and industry gender distribution. We present a number of theoretical lenses spanning disciplines such as gender studies, entrepreneurship, social psychology, and finance. Using longitudinal data from U.S. startups over an eight‐year period, our research reveals a number of interesting findings. We find that, proportionally, high‐growth women entrepreneurs are more likely to finance their growth with personal and business equity funding. Additionally, women‐owned firms in “feminine industries” are more likely to achieve high growth than women‐owned firms in “non‐feminine industries.”     

DOES GOVERNMENT SPENDING AFFECT INCOME INEQUALITY? A META-REGRESSION ANALYSIS

In this paper findings of a meta-regression analysis are presented exploring the effects of government spending on income inequality, with a particular focus on low- and middle-income countries. We identify a total of 84 separate studies containing over 900 estimates of the effect of one or more measures of spending on one or more measures of income inequality. The results show some evidence of a moderate negative relationship between government spending and income inequality, which is strongest for social welfare and other social spending, and when using the Gini coefficient or the top income share as the measure of inequality. However, both the size and direction of the estimated relationship between government spending and income inequality is affected by a range of other factors, including the control variables and estimation method used. We also find evidence of publication bias, in that negative estimates of the relationship appear to be under-reported in the literature.     

A Base Model for Multifactor Specifications of the Term Structure

In this article, we aim to show that most of the recent multifactor specifications of the term structure can be traced back to a common general equilibrium model, based on an economy of the Cox, Ingersoll and Ross type. This base model of the term structure has a very general form and includes both square root and Gaussian dynamics of the underlying state variables. We establish a direct link among the state variables used in the different specifications of many multifactor models and analyse the structure of the resultant implied relationships. This technique has relevant implications from a practical point of view, as it can allow one to recover from the estimated coefficients of one model the implied value of the coefficients of other models. Moreover, it provides a way of recovering from the term structure the values of such unobservable variables as the real short rate and the expected inflation rate.
(J.E.L.: E43, G12).     

U.S. community foundations: building a generous society in challenging times

Community foundations are nonprofit organizations promoting philanthropy for projects useful in a defined geographic area. This paper aims to highlight how U.S. community foundations are building a generous society with the engagement of multiple stakeholders. Our study analyses the marketing strategies of a sample of 100 of the largest U.S. community foundations in 2010 and 2013. A cluster analysis examines financial performance, average number of recipients, and related organizations to discover the level of philanthropic activities and relationships, revenue diversification, and the level of competition on the fundraising side.