Masakhane case studies

The Masakhane Campaign in South Africa has received a fair amount of criticism, largely because its high media profile has not been accompanied by delivery and improvement of services at the local level. Contrary to this generally negative perception, there are a number of local authorities that have greatly improved the situation in their areas through pragmatic strategies and programmes under the banner of Masakhane. This article presents information on the current status of the campaign in a sample of local authorities, and attempts to interpret this information so as to ascertain those factors that influence on the success or failure of local authorities as service providers.     

The economic performance of cities: A Markov-switching approach

This paper examines the determinants of employment growth in metro areas. To obtain growth rates, we use a Markov-switching model that separates a city's growth path into two distinct phases (high and low), each with its own growth rate. The simple average growth rate over some period is, therefore, the weighted average of the high-phase and low-phase growth rates, with the weight being the frequency of the two phases. We estimate the effects of a variety of factors separately for the high-phase and low-phase growth rates. Growth in the high phase is related to both human capital and industry mix, while growth in the low phase is related to industry mix only, specifically, the relative importance of manufacturing. Overall, our results strongly reject the notion that city-level characteristics influence employment growth equally across the phases of the business cycle.     

Estimation of time-varying price elasticity in 1970–1997 Japanese raw milk supply by structural time-series model

The price elasticity of raw milk supply in Japan is estimated over time by a structural time-series model in state space form, and the changes in elasticity are tested by the diagnosing test of de John and Penzer in 1998. The supply function is modeled with a local linear trend and a strictly exogenous autoregressive distributed lag price. The seasonality in the data is adjusted by a structural time-series model. In the 1970–1997 period, there were major dairy policy changes in Japan: a production adjustment, related penalties, and two-tier pricing. Hokkaido is the region that mainly provides the supply of raw milk for milk products, while Tofuken is the region that mainly produces drinking milk. The estimated price elasticity in Hokkaido became stable after imposition of the production adjustment. On the other hand, price elasticity in Tofuken became stable after the inflation of the mid-1970s. Price elasticity is estimated to be more inelastic as well as more likely to converge in inelasticity in Hokkaido than in Tofuken. We discuss the relationship between changes in dairy policy and changes in price elasticity.     

The influence of executive cognition on competitive dynamics

Prior competitive dynamics research has drawn on theories of information processing to model the subjective antecedents of executives' retaliation choices. This prior work has made great progress in developing our understanding of the retaliation choices most firms will make to a given type of attack. What the information processing perspective has not been able to do is explain firm‐specific behavior to predict which competitive moves individual firms will challenge, or explain why individual firms differ in the types of actions that they are most likely to challenge. The goal of this paper is to sharpen the theoretical and empirical focus on predicting firm‐level retaliation proclivities. We leverage managerial cognition research to examine the relationship between firm‐level differences in the cognitive frameworks that executives possess, and firm‐level differences in whether and how quickly firms challenge a market move. Results from a longitudinal study of the airline industry suggest that the addition of a cognitive perspective provides important insights into competitive retaliation. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Incorporating vintage differences and forecasts into Markov switching models

This paper incorporates vintage differences and forecasts into the Markov switching models described by Hamilton (1994). The vintage differences and forecasts induce parameter breaks close to the end of the sample, too close for standard maximum likelihood techniques to produce precise parameter estimates. A supplementary procedure estimates the statistical properties of the end-of-sample observations that behave differently from the rest, allowing inferred probabilities to reflect the breaks. Empirical results using real-time data show that these techniques improve the ability of a Markov switching model based on GDP and GDI to recognize the start of the 2001 recession.     

European works councils: the challenge for labour1

Drawing on survey evidence, this paper explores the quality of information and consultation at European works councils and developments in the support infrastructure available to representatives. The paper highlights that European works councils are an institution in process. As such, wide‐ranging developments have been implemented to improve their performance, but many of these will have to be extended in coverage if European work councils are to be exploited to better effect by labour.     

Reflexive Interdisciplinary Research: The Making of a Research Programme on the Rural Economy and Land Use

This paper provides an account of the origins and formation of the UK Research Councils’ Rural Economy and Land Use (RELU) programme and its approach to promoting interdisciplinary working between social and natural scientists. The programme is set in the context of broader developments in science policy, including a policy discourse centred upon sustainable development and the knowledge economy and associated demands for greater accountability in science. Interdisciplinarity promises research that will be more relevant and responsive to public needs and concerns. In describing the provenance of the RELU programme, therefore, the paper seeks to lay out the different stages in its initiation and design to show how, to varying degrees, these were open to external scrutiny and influence. The process of developing the programme illustrates that it is not straightforward to make research agendas and funding more transparent and accountable. It also provides insights into the challenges that interdisciplinarity and accountability present to established science institutions.     

INTRODUCTION: MINING HISTORY IN CONTEXT

This article introduces the theme and the articles in this special issue of the Australian Economic History Review on mining history. It puts the subject of the articles in the context of current changes in the global mining industry and notes the themes that may be explored in further research.