INSTITUTIONS AND (SHORT-RUN) MACROECONOMIC PERFORMANCE

Abstract. This paper reviews the growing interest in institutions. It argues that the explanation for this interest is a fresh awareness of how institutions affect economic performance. This connection arises because many economic interaction take the form of one or other of three 'classic' games (prisoners' dilemma, coordination and chicken) and the outcome in these games (and hence performance of the economy) is influenced by the institutional context of these interactions. The paper provides a detailed illustration of this argument with a survey of the literature which relates unemployment performances to the institutions of wage setting in OECD countries.     

Commercial Real Estate Market Property Level Capital Expenditures: An Options Analysis

The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics - Option pricing theory predicts that capital improvement expenditures are positively linked with high or increasing market lease rates. Ceteris...     

Real‐time forecast combinations for the oil price

Baumeister and Kilian (Journal of Business and Economic Statistics, 2015, 33(3), 338–351) combine forecasts from six empirical models to predict real oil prices. In this paper, we broadly reproduce their main economic findings, employing their preferred measures of the real oil price and other real‐time variables. Mindful of the importance of Brent crude oil as a global price benchmark, we extend consideration to the North Sea‐based measure and update the evaluation sample to 2017:12. We model the oil price futures curve using a factor‐based Nelson–Siegel specification estimated in real time to fill in missing values for oil price futures in the raw data. We find that the combined forecasts for Brent are as effective as for other oil price measures. The extended sample using the oil price measures adopted by Baumeister and Kilian yields similar results to those reported in their paper. Also, the futures‐based model improves forecast accuracy at longer horizons.     

Lease Maturity and Initial Rent: Is There a Term Structure for UK Commercial Property Leases?

Seminal work by Grenadier (J. Financ. Econ. 38:297–331, 1995) derived a set of hypotheses about the pricing of different lease lengths in different market conditions. Whilst there is a compelling theoretical case for and a strong intuitive expectation of differential pricing of different lease maturities, to date the empirical evidence is inconclusive. Drawing upon a substantial database of commercial lettings in central London (West End and City of London) over the last decade, we investigate the relationship between rent and lease maturity. In particular, we test whether building quality, credit risk and micro-location variables omitted in previous studies provide empirical results that are more consistent with the theoretical and intuitive a priori expectations. It is found that initial leases rates are upward sloping with the lease term and that this relationship is constant over time.

The Effect of Corruption on Exports and Imports in Latin America and the Caribbean

International trade, in particular exports and imports, are regarded as important factors that can increase the economic development of the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries. However, little is known whether the ability of these countries to strengthen their global positions in trade can be affected by the pervasiveness of local corruption. The objective of this study is to analyze the impact of corruption on exports and imports in LAC countries. Our empirical results from the gravity model indicate that local corruption strongly reduces exports in the region. Thus, we conclude that LAC would be able to achieve more export growth if corruption in the region was effectively reduced.     

We Used to Get and Give a Lot of Help: Networking,Cooperation and Knowledge Flow in the Hunter Valley Wine Cluster

The Hunter Valley, New South Wales, is both Australia's oldest continually producing wine region and a highly functioning wine business cluster. New generation cluster actors perceive that the region's concentration of historic family‐based firms has contributed to its strength. We have used rarely consulted and newly accessioned evidence from the 1820s to the 1920s to qualitatively test the extent to which early networking created pathways for knowledge flow in the region. Our cross‐disciplinary research into the historic depth of embedded cooperation reveals a little known feature of early Australian business history and complements the more commonplace breadth approach in cluster studies.     

Do I Really Want to Work Here? Testing a Model of Job Pursuit for MBA Interns

Job pursuit refers to the intentions, decisions, or behaviors indicative of a candidate's interest in a particular employer. This study develops and tests a process model of job pursuit for MBA interns with data collected before, during, and after their internships. Our model integrates theory from the person‐environment fit and organizational socialization literature. Results show pre‐entry person‐organization (P‐O) fit and social aspects tactics jointly motivate proactive information seeking about the employer (from those inside and outside the assigned department) during the internship, and interactively motivate information seeking outside the assigned department. Yet, only information seeking inside the assigned department is related to learning about the employer. Learning about the employer also predicts job‐acceptance intentions, which in turn predicts job‐acceptance decisions. The model developed in this study should serve as a guide to help human resource managers understand job pursuit and acceptance in internships and other similar employment relationships. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Self‐Determined Feedback Seeking: The Role of Perceived Supervisor Autonomy Support

We use self‐determination theory (SDT) as a framework for investigating how perceived autonomy‐supportive supervision positively influences conditions that motivate newcomer subordinates to engage in feedback seeking. Based on data collected from MBA interns at two time periods, perceived autonomy support predicted task autonomy, informal supervisor feedback, and subordinate relationship building, and the latter two mediated the relationship between autonomy support and feedback seeking. Our study provides an SDT perspective on newcomer socialization by highlighting the important role supervisor support for autonomy can play in motivating feedback seeking as a proactive socialization tactic. Organizations and human resources management professionals should consider including training around autonomy support in supervisory training programs. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Line Managers’ Rationales for Professionals’ Reduced‐Load Work in Embracing and Ambivalent Organizations

This study examines line managers’ rationales regarding reduced‐load work (RLW), an emerging talent management practice allowing professionals to reduce their workload and take a pay cut, while actively remaining on a career path. Unlike flextime and telework, RLW addresses professionals’ core problems of rising work hours and workloads. Interviews with 42 managers in 20 North American employers suggested that managers were more likely to support RLW for employees whom they saw as (1) high‐performers, (2) flexible in their use of RLW, and (3) doing conducive jobs. Interviews with 20 HR experts and 24 senior executives revealed four dimensions of organizational support, two cultural (senior management support and discourse on career penalties) and two structural (adaptation of HR systems and organizational diffusion). In embracing organizations there was a higher frequency of more supportive managers than there was in ambivalent organizations. Managers’ rationales were connected to their organizational contexts, albeit loosely, suggesting managerial implementation agency. The same rationales were more likely to be used in supportive ways in embracing contexts and in less supportive ways in ambivalent contexts. This study suggests that managerial and organizational support for flexible talent management practices dovetail in nuanced and important ways. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The Impact of Dividend Reinvestment Plans on Firm Payout Choices—Evidence from Real Estate Investment Trusts

This study investigates whether firm dividend payout choices are influenced by the presence of a Dividend Reinvestment Plan (DRIP). Given that DRIPs help retain capital, we show that dividend‐paying firms with a DRIP will tend to pay a high dividend and maintain a stable payout policy. Using a multinomial logistic model, we show that in comparison to REITs without DRIPs, REITs with DRIPs have a higher payout ratio and are less likely to: (1) pay regular dividends with extra dividends and share repurchases, (2) distribute extra dividends, repurchase shares, yet omit regular dividends and (3) omit all payouts. In addition, we find that REITs with a capital‐retaining DRIP invest more aggressively and such increased investment activities are undertaken without raising the reliance on external financing.