Large-scale mortality shocks and the Great Irish Famine 1845–1852

This paper considers the consequences of a large scale mortality shock arising from a famine or epidemic for long run economic and demographic development. The Great Irish Famine of 1845–1852 is taken as a case-study and is incorporated as an exogenous mortality shock into the type of long-run unified growth theory pioneered by Galor and Weil (1999, 2000), and modelled by Lagerlöf (2003a,b) among others. Through calibration, the impact of such a mortality shock occurring on the cusp of a country's transition from a Malthusian to a Modern Growth regime is then depicted.     

Perceived justice of service recovery strategies: Impact on customer satisfaction and quality relationship

This article aims to build on previous research analyzing the effects of perceived justice on customers' satisfaction with service recovery and the attitudinal consequences of the recovery strategies firms adopt after service failures occur. The results obtained from a conceptual model developed for the mobile‐phone sector support the idea that justice perceptions positively influence satisfaction with service recovery. Other findings are that satisfaction with service recovery positively affects trust and commitment, and that these two variables, in turn, positively affect overall customer satisfaction. Finally, the results also suggest that positive past experiences mitigate the effects of inadequate service recovery strategies on the quality of the relationship with the customers. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Entrepreneurial types and economic growth

Most literature on economic growth focuses on expenditure in research and development (R&D) because of its ability to produce technological change. Models based on this principle, however, fail to account for the exceptional growth exhibited in recent year by country such as China where R&D expenditure is virtually non-existing and for the lack of growth observed in countries such as Japan where R&D expenditure is significant. We propose a model in which entrepreneurs may be research-based (those incurring R&D expenditure) or imitators (those not incurring R&D expenditure) and show that, when the returns to R&D expenditure are low, such as in many emerging economies, the presence of a high number of imitative entrepreneurs who increase competition and product supply is sufficient to generate economic growth regardless of the distribution of activity between research-based and imitative and in spite of low R&D expenditure.     

Stock picking,market timing and style differences between socially responsible and conventional pension funds: evidence from the United Kingdom

As far as we are aware, this study presents the first comparative analysis of the stock picking and market timing abilities of managers of conventional and socially responsible (SR) pension funds, and of their use of superior information. For the United Kingdom, the results obtained show a slight stock picking ability on the part of SR pension fund managers (although it disappears if multifactorial models are considered), and a negative market timing ability on the part of both SR and conventional pension fund managers (these results hold for multifactorial models controlled by home bias). In relation to the management styles, both conventional and SR pension funds usually invest in small cap and growth values, although it is the SR pension funds that are the most exposed to these styles. We also observed that, while conventional pension fund managers make certain use of superior information to follow stock picking strategies, managers of SR pension funds use superior information to follow market timing strategies.     

Length of stay and economic consequences with rivaroxaban vs enoxaparin/vitamin K antagonist in patients with DVT and PE: findings from the North American EINSTEIN clinical trial program

Objective:

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) (deep vein thrombosis [DVT] and pulmonary embolism [(PE]) represents a substantial economic burden to the healthcare system. Using data from the randomized EINSTEIN DVT and PE trials, this North American sub-group analysis investigated the potential of rivaroxaban to reduce the length of initial hospitalization in patients with acute symptomatic DVT or PE.

Methods:

A post-hoc analysis of hospitalization and length-of-stay (LOS) data was conducted in the North American sub-set of patients from the randomized, open-label EINSTEIN trial program. Patients received either rivaroxaban (15?mg twice daily for 3 weeks followed by 20?mg once daily; n?=?405) or dose-adjusted subcutaneous enoxaparin overlapping with (guideline-recommended ‘bridging’ therapy) and followed by a vitamin K antagonist (VKA) (international normalized ratio?=?2.0–3.0; n?=?401). The open-label study design allowed for the comparison of LOS between treatment arms under conditions reflecting normal clinical practice. LOS was evaluated using investigator records of dates of admission and discharge. Analyses were carried out in the intention-to-treat population using parametric tests. Costs were applied to the LOS based on weighted mean cost per day for DVT and PE diagnoses obtained from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project dataset.

Results:

Of 382 patients hospitalized, 321 (84%), had acute symptomatic PE; few DVT patients required hospitalization. Similar rates of VTE patients were hospitalized in the rivaroxaban and enoxaparin/VKA treatment groups, 189/405 (47%) and 193/401 (48%), respectively. In hospitalized VTE patients, rivaroxaban treatment produced a 1.6-day mean reduction in LOS (median?=?1 day) compared with enoxaparin/VKA (mean?=?4.5 vs 6.1; median?=?3 vs 4), translating to total costs that were $3419 lower in rivaroxaban-treated patients.

Conclusion:

In hospitalized North American patients with VTE, treatment with rivaroxaban produced a statistically significant reduction in LOS. When treating DVT and PE patients, clinicians should consider newer anti-coagulants with less complex treatment regimens.     

Mobility of public researchers, scientific knowledge transfer, and the firm's innovation process

The present study provides evidence on the mobility effects of researchers from the public R&D system with regard to firm's innovation process. This issue is particularly novel and important as these researchers contribute to the production and transfer of knowledge previously developed and accumulated in the public R&D system. The findings confirm that scientific knowledge which public researchers provide has a positive influence on both inputs and outputs of the firms' innovation process. The fact that firms have access to additional knowledge which is complementary to that they already hold represents a spur for exploiting and applying this new knowledge. The firms in this study continually increased their in-house R&D investments. As a result of these investments firms create new knowledge of a unique and valuable type. The study draws two important conclusions geared to providing a greater efficiency in human resource management and to improve the design of technology policies.     

Non-cooperative bargaining in apex games and the kernel

This paper studies non-cooperative bargaining with random proposers in apex games. Two different protocols are considered: the egalitarian protocol, which selects each player to be the proposer with equal probability, and the proportional protocol, which selects each player with a probability proportional to his number of votes. Expected equilibrium payoffs coincide with the kernel for the grand coalition regardless of the protocol. The equilibrium is in mixed strategies and the indifference conditions can be reinterpreted in the language of the kernel.     

The Impact of Innovation on Employment in Services: Evidence from Italy

This article investigates the employment impact of innovation in services, using the data gathered through the 1993-95 Italian innovation survey. The empirical evidence shows that the impact of innovation on employment varies greatly across industries and according to the level of qualification of the labour force. Among small firms and in less than a half of the service sectors considered, the employment impact of innovation is positive, particularly in industries that have a strong scientific and technological base. A negative impact of innovation on employment is, on the contrary, found among large firms, capital-intensive industries and in all financial-related sectors (banking, insurance and other financial services). In these industries the labour-saving effect of innovation seems to be linked to the widespread use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) which displace the least qualified employees. In the case of Italy, an overall negative impact of innovation on employment is found. It is argued that this result is affected by the Italian economy's specialisation in the most traditional service industries.