On the peer effects of star students

We estimate the effect that star students have on their siblings’ learning outcomes, measured by their high school grade point average (GPA) and their math grades. To this end, we couple administrative school data on grades with an unusual natural experiment in Peru that generates exogenous variation in the presence of star students at home. We find that star students increase their siblings’ GPA by 0.33 SDs and their math grades by 0.22 SDs. The effect size is inversely related to number of siblings, suggesting that the remaining siblings act as substitutes for the star student.     

Skill transferability and the earnings of immigrants

Using data on immigrants from the Canadian Census, we compare immigrants who received a bachelor's degree from a Canadian university to immigrants who receive a bachelor's degree in their home country, in order to investigate the returns to skills acquired in Canada versus skills acquired abroad. Our measure of skill is based on postsecondary fields of study linked to the O*NET matrix of skills and competencies. We find that immigrants educated in Canada receive higher returns to their communication skills than those educated abroad. To a lesser degree, they also receive higher returns to their logical and technical skills. These gaps in skill returns explain the entirety of Canadian-educated immigrant's 10% earnings advantage. Our results are robust to controlling for the quality of universities in the immigrant's country of study and for occupation and industry choice. The gaps are stable across time and across quantiles of the immigrant earnings distribution.     

Integrating retirement and permanent disability in NDC pension schemes

In this article, we develop a theoretical basis for integrating retirement and permanent disability using a generic nonfinancial defined contribution framework. The methodology we use relies on a multistate overlapping generations model that includes the so-called survivor dividend. Currently, this feature can only be found in the Swedish defined contribution (DC) scheme. The results achieved in the numerical example we present endorse the fact that the model works well. Special attention is given to the assumptions made about mortality rates for disabled people and disability incidence rates, which largely determine the contribution rate assigned to disability. The model could be of interest to policymakers because, after some adaptations, it could be implemented without too much difficulty and would uncover the real cost of disability and minimize the risk of disability insurance being used as a vote-buying mechanism.     

Determinants of corporate social responsibility and business ethics education in Spanish universities

The current economic crisis, unsustainable growth, and financial scandals invite reflection on the role of universities in professional training, particularly those who have to manage businesses. This study analyzes the main factors that might determine the extent to which Spanish organizational management educators use corporate social responsibility (CSR) or business ethics stand‐alone subjects to equip students with alternative views on business. A web content analysis and non‐parametric mean comparison statistics of the curricula of undergraduate degrees in all universities in Spain were conducted. The main conclusion of this paper is related to the Bologna effect in Spanish universities. Comparing our results with prior research in this matter, it is demonstrated that the main reason that explains the increase of CSR and ethical education in Spain is the Bologna process and its adaptation to the European Higher Education Area. Also, private universities in Spain are more likely to require an ethics course than public universities. Other factors, such as size, political orientation, or related to CSR chairs are not statistically explanatory of CSR and ethical education.     

Institutional environment and firms' sources of financial capital in Central and Eastern Europe

The external business environment is a major determinant of which sources firms select to obtain financial capital. We examine how the regulatory, political, and financial dimensions of the institutional environment influence the extent to which firms rely on informal sources of financial capital. The analyses of data from 2869 firms in twenty-six transition economies in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) indicate that ineffective regulatory system, underdeveloped financial system, and government corruption are strong determinants of firms' reliance on informal channels for financial capital. We also find that smaller firms are more vulnerable when the local financial system is underdeveloped and the regulatory institutions are less effective in these transition economies. A subgroup analysis of firms' forms of establishment shows that private firms are sensitive to the level of development of the local financial system and state-owned enterprises are particularly sensitive to the degree of corruption.     

A model to study the organizational culture of the family firm

The results of research of the utilitarian type on the culture of the family firm is reported here. A model is built and defined on the basis of the main arguments supporting the following theories: general systems theory, neoinstitutional theory, transformational leadership theory, field theory, learning theory, and group dynamics theory. The resulting model is an instrument that can be used to deepen our understanding of the organizational culture of this type of firm. It should prove to be a powerful tool to exploit the competitive potential of this culture, which has often been noted in the literature.