Real wages,quantity constraints and equilibrium unemployment: Belgium, 1955–1988

This paper examines the determinants of equilibrium wage and unemployment rates in Belgium within the framework of a quantity rationing, right-to-manage model with decentralised wage-setting. Empirical results are obtained by first using the Johansen maximum-likelihood procedure for the analysis of cointegration among the variables of interest. The information from this stage is then used to estimate a three equation econometric model explaining the wage share, the unemployment rate and the capital gap. The slowdown in world trade is depicted as the most important factor explaining the rise in unemployment in Belgium, with dampening effects due to wage control policies imposed in the eighties. Because we obtain only two cointegrating relations, for three endogenous variables, our results are compatible with the hypothesis of path dependency and multiple equilibria.     

Technological leadership and sectorial employment growth: A spatial econometric analysis for U.S. counties

This paper studies the determinants of technological catch‐up considering spatial and sectoral aggregation of industries. We investigate how geographical and technological proximity to the technology leader impact regional employment growth. We model technological progress by means of a hierarchical process of catch‐up to the technology leader. We also incorporate measures for knowledge spillover effects to test the roles of competition, specialisation, and diversity at the industry level. Empirical results using data at the county level for different economic sectors (2‐dig NAICS) for the United States indicate that human capital plays a crucial role in promoting sectoral employment growth. The association between technological/geographical distance to the technology leader and employment growth varies across sectors.     

Structural Changes in the Labor Market and the Rise of Early Retirement in France and Germany

The rise of early retirement in Europe is typically attributed to the European system of taxes and transfers. A model with an imperfectly competitive labor market allows us to consider also the effects of bargaining power and of matching efficiency on pre‐retirement. We find that lower bargaining power of workers and declining matching efficiency have been important determinants of early retirement in France and Germany. These structural changes, combined with early retirement transfers and population aging, are also consistent with the employment and unemployment rates, labor share and seniority premia.     

Predicting bear and bull stock markets with dynamic binary time series models

Despite the voluminous empirical research on the potential predictability of stock returns, much less attention has been paid to the predictability of bear and bull stock markets. In this study, the aim is to predict U.S. bear and bull stock markets with dynamic binary time series models. Based on the analysis of the monthly U.S. data set, bear and bull markets are predictable in and out of sample. In particular, substantial additional predictive power can be obtained by allowing for a dynamic structure in the binary response model. Probability forecasts of the state of the stock market can also be utilized to obtain optimal asset allocation decisions between stocks and bonds. It turns out that the dynamic probit models yield much higher portfolio returns than the buy-and-hold trading strategy in a small-scale market timing experiment.     

Place in Entrepreneurial Storytelling: A Study of Cultural Entrepreneurship in a Deprived Context

We extend the cultural entrepreneurship perspective by investigating how entrepreneurs in deprived contexts gain legitimacy by leveraging proprietary and public places in their entrepreneurial storytelling. Inspired by the sociology of place, we present a longitudinal study of ten new venture journeys over four years in Kasoa, Ghana. We identify three distinct ways places are used in entrepreneurial narratives: projective significance of place, connective significance of place, and authoritative significance of place. We show how impoverished entrepreneurs construct and communicate places in diverse ways, not only as locations, but also as material and symbolic resources that provide legitimacy for their venturing activities. Drawing from our findings, we generate a model of place-based cultural entrepreneurship and elaborate place as a central resource in cultural entrepreneurship and new venture creation in deprived contexts.     

The effect of governance modes and relatedness of external business development activities on innovative performance

This study examines how different governance modes for external business development activities and venture relatedness affect a firm's innovative performance. Building on research suggesting that interorganizational relationships enhance the innovative performance of firms, we propose that governance modes and venture relatedness interact in their effect on innovative performance. Analyzing a panel of the largest firms in four information and communication technology sectors, we find that degree of relatedness for corporate venture capital investments, alliances, joint ventures, and acquisitions influences their impact on innovative performance. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.