An economic analysis of the possibility of reducing pesticides in French field crops

The paper aims to study the effects of reducing pesticide use by farmers in the arable sector in France and the feasibility of a policy target of reducing pesticide use by half. The originality of the approach is to combine statistical data and expert knowledge to describe low-input alternative techniques at the national level. These data are used in a mathematical programming model to simulate the effect on land use, production and farmers' income of achieving different levels of pesticide reduction. The results show that reducing pesticide use by 30% could be possible without reducing farmers' income. We also estimate the levels of tax on pesticides necessary to achieve different levels of reduction of pesticide use and the effect of an incentive mechanism combining a pesticide tax with subsidies for low-input techniques.     

The reluctance of construction purchasers towards project partnering

While the literature argues that there are several benefits for construction purchasers who join forces to co-develop the project with contractors and to increase cooperation between the various project stakeholders (construction partnering), little research has been done on the reasons for the lack of extensive diffusion of such methods in the construction industry. This paper aims at understanding the rationale behind the reluctance of construction purchasers for this coordination mechanism in France. In particular the paper investigates the impact of the characteristics of the project but also of the characteristics of the purchasing companies in their project procurement behaviour. The findings reveal that the characteristics of the purchasing companies in terms of purchasing strategy, structure and culture seem more explanatory of their procurement behaviour than of the project characteristics. The paper suggests that the lack of diffusion and understanding of construction partnering may be due to the resistance of purchasers who feel threatened by the structural changes it involves in their purchasing habits.     

Financialization,Globalization and the Management of Skilled Employees: Towards a Market‐Based HRM Model in Large Corporations in France

The article analyses the transformation of HRM policies for skilled employees in large corporations in France over the last decade in relation to changes occurring in governance patterns and competitive strategies. First, we highlight a shift towards globalization and financialization in the strategic management of large corporations in France, entailed by the diffusion of a shareholder form of capitalism in that country. Second, we characterize the market‐based HRM model applied to skilled employees under these new strategic orientations and the diversity of ways in which these transformations are perceived depending on employees' age and level of responsibility within the firm.     

Why are social enterprises good candidates for social innovation? Looking for personal and institutional drivers of innovation

The last few years witnessed theoretical and practical contributions to the field of social innovation and social enterprise. However, analysis of the interplay between these two different realms is still limited. This article aims to fill some gaps in this respect. We deal with historical reconstruction of the concept of Social Enterprise and Social Innovation, and their conceptual premises. We consider the process of creation of social innovation in social enterprises. As members’ motivations, ownership rights and governance rules in social enterprises create a new relational context and new routines, which are germane to the production of social knowledge and deliberation, social innovation can be considered one of the main outcomes of this setting. Social motivations, collective action of a cooperative kind, multi‐stakeholder governance and socialization of resources, and their interplay are singled out as main drivers of innovation. Social innovation is seen as akin to novelty in social interaction, a non‐standardized and non‐standardizable outcome of the operation of this organizational form.     

Is Fiscal Policy Procyclical in the Euro Area?

We test the relationship between the cyclically adjusted primary balance and alternative indicators of cyclical conditions for the euro area and 18 OECD countries over the period 1970–2009. A countercyclical stance of discretionary fiscal policy is found during bad times after 1999 in the euro area as a whole and in a few member countries only (France, Ireland and The Netherlands). It is also associated with high public deficits or low public debts. There is no significant case of procyclical fiscal policy after 1999, neither in good times nor in bad times.     

The use of Zostavax in Spain: the economic case for vaccination of individuals aged 50 years and older

Background Population aging brings up a number of health issues, one of which is an increased incidence of herpes zoster (HZ) and its complication, post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN). Zostavax vaccine has recently become available to prevent HZ and PHN. This study evaluates the cost-effectiveness of vaccination against HZ in Spain considering a vaccination of the population aged 50 years and older and comparing this to the current situation where no vaccination is being administered.

Methods An existing, validated, and published economic model was adapted to Spain using relevant local input parameters and costs from 2013.

Results Vaccinating 30% of the Spanish population aged 50 years and older resulted in €16,577/QALY gained, €2025/HZ case avoided, and €5594/PHN case avoided under the third-party payer perspective. From a societal perspective, the ICERs increased by 6%, due to the higher price of the vaccine. The number needed to vaccinate to prevent one case was 20 for HZ, and 63 for PHN3. Sensitivity analyses showed that the model was most sensitive to the HZ and PHN epidemiological data, the health state utilities values, and vaccine price used.

Conclusion Considering an acceptable range of cost-effectiveness of €30,000–€50,000 per QALY gained, vaccination of the 50+ population in Spain against HZ with a new vaccine, Zostavax, is cost-effective and makes good use of the valuable healthcare budget.     

Implementing optimal procurement auctions with exogenous quality

In this paper, we consider the implementation of the optimal procurement auction outcome when there is a trade-off between price and quality for the buyer. The quality proposals of the competing firms are assumed to be exogenous and common knowledge. After defining the optimal auction, we characterize the discriminatory first score auction and the modified second score auction implementing it when the buyer is assumed to have the same information as the firms. Then we consider an auction which requires no specific information from the buyer and show that a second score auction followed by a negotiation stage can implement the optimal auction outcome under this more realistic assumption. Received: 30 March 2001 / Accepted: 14 December 2001 I am grateful to the anonymous referees for comments on an earlier version of this paper. The usual disclaimer applies.     

Private Equity Finance as a Growth Engine: What It Means for Emerging Markets

Entrepreneurship has long been considered crucial for economic development. An important element of entrepreneurship is the willingness and ability to mobilize private capital from both domestic and foreign sources. The private equity sector in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) illustrates the role that private capital can play in the development of emerging markets. Data on the employment generation and growth performance of private equity provide evidence that it is an important driver of economic growth globally. This paper draws on initial evidence from the MENA region to illustrate the sector's potential there and in emerging markets generally. It then recommends a new generation of reforms to fuel this growth engine. A survey of MENA’s private equity industry survey conducted for this paper assesses these developments and the sector's need for proactive reforms to support it. It also shows that international financial market interest in private equity finance does not seem to have abated with the recent market bust. The paper concludes by identifying priority areas for future policy and research. JEL Classification O160     

The cost of childhood injury in France

Injuries are a major public health problem worldwide. In the USA, injuries cause 146, 400 deaths annually, with 31 million non-fatal injury visits to emergency departments (EDs). EDs thus represent an important source of injury data. The primary objective of the current study was to describe the epidemiology of injury-related ED visits and assess injury-related utilization of health care resources in an inner-city hospital in Indiana, using data stored in a computerized medical record system. It involved a retrospective review of the records for injury visits to EDs and injury admissions over a 3-year period. The variables extracted and analysed included patients' demographics, external cause of injury, diagnosis, length of stay, ED and hospital charges. A total of 60,470 injury-related ED visits were made, the majority of patients were male (61.6%), uninsured (63.1%), treated in ED and discharged (98.4%). The leading causes of injury were falls (18.8%), motor vehicle crashes (18.4%), assaults (17.6%), being struck (11.2%) and overexertion (10.6). Firearms caused most injury deaths (32.4%; n = 314); motor vehicle crashes were the leading cause of hospitalization (26.6%; n = 642) and also the most expensive to treat as inpatients (mean charge $19,190). The mean charge per patient treated and discharged was $150 compared to $11,116 for patients admitted. These findings demonstrate the value of computerized medical records in capturing and storing E-coded injury data. The system generates data that can be used for epidemiological surveillance and injury prevention at the local level, and for assessment of impact of specific injuries on health care resources.