Mindfulness,Money Attitudes,and Credit

Consumer credit is a central feature of modern living, having been an important topic of research for some time. In contrast, mindfulness has only recently gained research prominence. Our study develops a model that links individuals' mindfulness with their credit intentions/use, and that further proposes money attitudes as a mediator variable. Broad support for the model is provided by a sample of students from a Portuguese University and a second sample composed of adult US residents. The results suggest that mindfulness might play a significant role in shaping consumers' money attitudes and credit intentions/use. Additionally, the study suggests that the relationships of mindfulness and money attitudes with credit are only significant when credit is directed toward the purchase of nonbasic products. These results yield a number of considerations for future research and for institutions promoting financial education, which could lead to improved debt management and greater financial well‐being.     

Clustering of Angolan entrepreneurs: an analysis of their entrepreneurial posture

This paper aims to contribute to the debate concerning whether entrepreneurial posture (consisting of innovativeness, risk taking, proactiveness, competitive aggressiveness, and internal locus of control) is a unidimensional or multidimensional construct. Furthermore, it identifies the profile of Angolan entrepreneurs in terms of their entrepreneurial attitude, and investigates how this profile enhances business performance. The findings suggest that entrepreneurial posture is a multidimensional construct. However, they also suggest that the three entrepreneurial clusters behave differently. Implications for Government and decision-makers, and suggestions for future research are given in the concluding section.     

Brazil’s economic reform roads

Business Economics - In 2015–2016, Brazil endured the deepest recession in its history. GDP fell by 7.3% in 2 years. Unlike recent crises in other emerging markets, characterized by a balance...     

Knowledge transfer among the small businesses of a Brazilian cluster

This study verifies how knowledge is transferred among small businesses operating in industrial clusters, how this competitive resource circulates and is accessed within the cluster. Interfirm cooperation, industrial support institutions, workforce mobility and social ties, concepts highlighted in the literature as dimensions of the knowledge transfer process, were used to structure the survey instrument, which was applied in the cluster that leads Brazilian furniture exports. Questionnaire responses were received from 198 firms and submitted to factor analysis. Conclusions and theoretical contributions of the study are that: (i) the knowledge transfer process is multi-dimensional; (ii) knowledge transfer can occur in clusters even in the absence of interfirm cooperation; (iii) the dimensions of the process can be combined in various ways to facilitate knowledge transfer; (iv) this combination may differ from cluster to cluster; and (v) producers are more likely than suppliers to perceive and access knowledge available in the cluster.     

Inframarginal values and demand: Contra Dwight Lee

Happiness studies show that there has been no discernable rise in happiness in the United States between 1959 and 2004, yet the same period saw per capita income nearly triple. Dwight Lee modifies the theory of consumer demand to resolve this apparent conflict. Using the concepts of consumer surplus and rising incomes causing demand shifts, Lee posits that the law of downward sloping demand only fleetingly applies. He hypothesizes that the values of all units consumed become the same as the value of the last unit soon after the change in income. This makes the demand curve horizontal for all units consumed, and that makes the existence of consumer surplus ephemeral. There are difficulties with this; some are: (1) His formulation gives rise to predictions that are at odds with commonly observed market phenomena; (2) The attempted resolution is quixotic because the theory of demand and consumer surplus holds time, place, and circumstances constant, while happiness surveys do not and, indeed, cannot hold things constant over decades; and (3) because standard economic theory is timeless it is inapplicable to many phenomena that occur over extended periods.     

Water losses and hydrographical regions influence on the cost structure of the Portuguese water industry

Despite the growing research about water utilities, some questions still remain to be solved on the supply side, which are frequently absent from empirical studies based on the estimation of cost functions. This paper aims to fill to some extent this gap in the literature by focusing the consequences of water losses reduction and the management of water resources based on their availability at an integrated river basin level. Major findings derived from the estimation of a multiproduct cost function suggest advantages from reducing water losses, given that an adjusted measure of economies of scope, adapting the fact that water lost cannot be sold, reveals that there are small diseconomies of scope. In addition, generally the variables related to the hydrographical regions used have significant effects on water costs. Since the outcomes also reveal the existence of economies of scale, more concentration in the Portuguese water industry at the retail level would be beneficial.