The effect of violent conflict on calorie consumption and dietary quality in Iraq

By combining 2012 Living Standard Measurement Survey cross-sectional survey responses and georeferenced conflict data, this study quantifies the effect of violent conflict on food security and dietary quality in Iraq. Specifically, it estimates the effect of physical insecurity on different food security dimensions, including caloric consumption and household dietary diversity. Because disrespecting war-related foreign national cemeteries is a war crime that discourages nearby fighting, instrumenting conflict intensity by the exogenous variation in distance between these sites and household place of residence addresses potential sources of bias. The instrumental variable analysis confirms the positive (negative) effect of conflict—deriving from state, non-state and one-sided violence (e.g., attacks by the Islamic State)—on per capita caloric consumption (household dietary diversity), which although counterintuitive is unsurprising given Iraq's relatively high-income levels and changes in dietary pattern. Given that the primary driver of conflict's positive effect on calories is increased consumption of carbohydrates and, to a lesser extent, saturated fat, these results suggest that in countries transitioning to Western-style diets, violent conflict may drive the population toward an unhealthier diet, contributing heavily to a growing national prevalence of nutrition-related non-communicable diseases.     

New evidence on the link between ethnic fractionalization and economic freedom

Economics of Governance - Among the determinants of economic freedom, the presence of different ethnic groups within a country has sometimes been explored by the empirical literature, without...     

Determinants of the satisfaction of firms with the competencies of university students: a Spanish case study

Spanish universities pay little attention to business demands with regard to workforce training and to the research that has been developed in this area. The present study analyses the effect of various factors on firms’ satisfaction with the education provided by universities. The factors include the content of the student's major subject of study and social, methodological and participation skills. The data were obtained from a survey of businesses. Although the results obtained show that all of the factors have an impact on overall satisfaction, they are not of equal importance. University managers may be able to use the information obtained from this study as a basis for designing and implementing action that might improve employers’ level of satisfaction, which has considerable positive consequences. Moreover, the study's methodology could be applied to other outputs of universities, such as the research performed.     

Understanding Firm, Physician and Consumer Choice Behavior in the Pharmaceutical Industry

This paper argues that the pharmaceutical industry represents an exciting opportunity to carry out academic research. The nature of the industry allows researchers to answer new questions, develop new methodologies for answering these questions as well as to apply existing methodology to new data. The paper opens with some industry background, then provides a brief overview of some important research areas and discusses the open questions in each area. Issues of data type and availability are also discussed. This paper is based on a session (with the same title and participants) that was part of the Sixth Invitational Choice Symposium hosted by the University of Colorado and held at Estes Park, Colorado during June 4–8, 2004.     

The Effects of Corporate Ethical Values and Personal Moral Philosophies on Ethical Intentions in Selling Situations: Evidence from Turkish, Thai, and American Businesspeople

The goals of this study are to test a pattern of ethical decision making that predicts ethical intentions of individuals within corporations based primarily on the ethical values embedded in corporate culture, and to see whether that model is generally stable across countries. The survey instrument used scales to measure the effects of corporate ethical values, idealism, and relativism on ethical intentions of Turkish, Thai, and American businesspeople. The samples include practitioner members of the American Marketing Association in the U.S., and full-time businesspeople enrolled in executive MBA programs in Thailand and Turkey. The study is positioned within a fairly new stream that assesses patterns across countries, rather than differences between them, in a way that might be called “culture free.” The results show a generally positive influence between cultural ethical values and ethical intentions. The results also indicate that the positive effect of corporate ethical values on ethical intentions is greater for managers with low idealism and high relativism. We also discuss the implications of our results for managers of international businesses.     

Beyond Size: Predicting Engagement in Environmental Management Practices of Dutch SMEs

This study focuses on the prediction of the engagement of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in environmental management practices, based on a random sample of 689 SMEs. The study finds that several endogenous factors, including tangibility of sector, firm size, innovative orientation, family influence and perceived financial benefits from energy conservation, predict an SME’s level of engagement in selected environmental management practices. For family influence, this effect is found only in interaction with the number of owners. In addition to empirical research on SMEs’ environmental behavior, this article draws on the ecological modernization literature as well as the theory of planned behavior.     

Subsidizing technology: How to succeed

Examining the database of applications to the Regional Government of Valencia's Institute for Small and Medium-sized Industries (Spain) for subsidies to aid technological development in small and medium-sized enterprises, this study seeks to explain the approval or rejection and the success or failure of projects that look to receive state funding. The independent variables in the database are particularly concerned with reliance on path dependence. The variable length of membership of the Institute, the number of previous applications, technology level, or belonging to a particular geographical area relate to the accumulation of experience and correspond to the study hypotheses. The study highlights the importance of accumulated experience and firm path dependence for application approval and success of funded projects.