Dynamic Olley‐Pakes productivity decomposition with entry and exit

We propose an extension of the Olley and Pakes ( 1996 ) productivity decomposition that accounts for the contributions of surviving, entering, and exiting firms to aggregate productivity changes. We argue that the other decompositions that break down aggregate productivity changes into similar components introduce some biases in the measurement of the contributions of entry and exit. We apply our proposed decomposition to Slovenian manufacturing data and contrast our results with those of other decompositions. We find that, over a five‐year period, the measurement bias associated with entry and exit is substantial, accounting for up to 10 percentage points of aggregate productivity growth.     

The role of work characteristics in enhancing older employees' performance: evidence from a post-Soviet country

This paper showcases the contextual development of age diversity in one post-Soviet country – Lithuania – and explores the theoretical grounding and empirical evidence of the role of work characteristics (work-scheduling autonomy (WSA), decision-making autonomy and social support) in the age–individual performance linkage. The individual performance was conceptualized in terms of task, adaptive and proactive performance. Based on empirical findings from multisource data (non-managerial employees and their direct supervisors), this study contributes to the existing literature by showing that high WSA and social support can buffer the negative age effect on performance and that the age–performance pattern depends on the performance criteria used and is not universal.     

Export characteristics and output volatility: comparative firm-level evidence for CEE countries

The literature shows that openness to trade improves long-term growth but also that it may increase exposure to high output volatility. In this vein, our paper investigates whether exporting and export diversification at the firm level have an effect on the output volatility of firms. We use large representative firm-level databases from Estonia, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia over the last boom–bust cycle in 2004–2012. The results confirm that exporting is related to higher volatility at the firm level. There is also evidence that this effect increased during the Great Recession due to the large negative shocks in export markets. We find that export diversification mitigates volatility only in some cases. Exporting more products or serving more markets does not necessarily result in higher stability of firm sales.     

Pay me Right: Reference Values and Executive Compensation

This paper examines the importance of reference values for executive compensation contracts. We rely on a quasi‐experimental setting (the adoption of pay guidelines), and a well‐defined measure of individual‐specific reference values to provide evidence on how a change in CEO reference compensation leads to subsequent changes of actual pay. We find that executive compensation adjusts gradually towards the new reference values, and that the speed of the adjustment depends on the corporate governance characteristics: the firm ownership structure, the role of the State and of the employees in the firm decision making. These results provide empirical support for theoretical models of bargaining that take into account reference values.     

Aspects of complexity in citizen–bureaucrat corruption: an agent-based simulation model

In this paper, the complexity-based approach is used to analyse corruption and its internal economics and dynamics. To better understand the drivers of corruption, we employ an agent-based model with heterogeneous agents (bureaucrats and citizens), the interactions of which determine the level of corruption in a society. The emergence of a prevailing social norm of corruption is shown to be significantly influenced by the initial conditions (i.e., history and habits). A cost analysis demonstrates that a relatively limited financial investment is required for the phase transition from the corrupt to the non-corrupt state. The concept of opportunity costs is used to express the value of information shared within an agent’s social group that improves agent decision-making. Incomplete information and uncertainty in the legal system help to reduce corruption by promoting a fear of engaging in corruption in a society. The results of this research may offer useful insights for informing an effective anti-corruption policy.

     

Improving the financial sustainability of nonprofit organizations through tourism-related activities

One of the greatest problems facing nonprofit organizations (NPOs) is the lack of funding, which directly jeopardises their work. NPOs working in tourist destinations have the opportunity of satisfying this need through tourism, by linking the objectives of their own activities to the objectives of tourist destinations. This article aims to establish whether NPOs working in tourism have capitalised on tourism as a means for increasing their own income. In other words, do NPOs that more frequently conduct tourism-related activities have a higher level of financial sustainability, reflected in a higher share of income from self-funding activities than from donations and grants? To this end, primary research was conducted using a questionnaire on a sample of 205 NPOs whose activities impact tourism and which operate in one of the four most developed tourist destinations in Croatia with regard to tourist traffic in the past 10 years (Poreč, Rovinj, Dubrovnik and Medulin). Research results indicate that an increase in the frequency of conducting activities directly impacting tourism is paralleled by an increase in the share of income generated by active self-funding (income from selling products and providing services) and other types of self-funding (income from memberships fees and assets), with a decrease in the share of income from donations and grants. This study contributes to the existing knowledge by connecting NPOs with the tourism system and by identifying and defining opportunities for NPO self-funding through tourism as a means of improving NPO financial sustainability.