Banking market integration in the SADC countries: evidence from interest rate analyses

This study investigates the state, development and drivers of banking market integration in the member countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). A Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of national retail interest rates indicates increasing integration in loan and deposit markets. These integration processes are not developing uniformly and we can identify a convergence club. When investigating the interest rate pass-through from central bank onto retail rates for this convergence club, we find both, genuine and monetary-integration driven processes though the latter dominate. We thus conclude that a selective expansion of the Common Monetary Area (CMA) is possible.     

The relationship between economic development and business ownership revisited

This paper revisits the two-equation model of Carree, van Stel, Thurik and Wennekers (2002) where deviations from the ‘equilibrium’ rate of business ownership play a central role in determining both the growth of business ownership and that of economic development. Two extensions of the original set-up are addressed: using longer time series of averaged data of 23 OECD countries (up to 2004) we can discriminate between different functional forms of the ‘equilibrium’ rate and we allow for different penalties for being above or under the ‘equilibrium’ rate. The additional data do not provide evidence of a superior statistical fit of a U-shaped ‘equilibrium’ relationship when compared to an L-shaped one. There appears to be a growth penalty for having too few business owners but not for having too many.     

Uncertainty avoidance and the rate of business ownership across 21 OECD countries, 1976–2004

Persistent differences in the level of business ownership across countries have attracted the attention of scientific as well as political debate. Cultural as well as economic influences are assumed to play a role. This paper deals with the influence of cultural attitudes towards uncertainty on the rate of business ownership across 21 OECD countries. First, the concepts of uncertainty and risk are elaborated, as well as their relevance for entrepreneurship. An occupational choice model is introduced to underpin our reasoning at the macro-level. Second, regression analysis using pooled macro data for 1976, 1990 and 2004 and controlling for several economic variables, yields evidence that uncertainty avoidance is positively correlated with the prevalence of business ownership. According to our model, a restrictive climate of large organizations in high uncertainty avoidance countries pushes individuals striving for autonomy towards self-employment. Regressions for these 3 years separately show that in 2004, this positive correlation is no longer found, indicating that a compensating pull of entrepreneurship in countries with low uncertainty avoidance may have gained momentum in recent years. Third, an interaction term between uncertainty avoidance and GDP per capita in the pooled panel regressions shows that the historical negative relationship between GDP per capita and the level of business ownership is substantially weaker for countries with lower uncertainty avoidance. This suggests that rising opportunity costs of self-employment play a less important role in this cultural environment, or are being compensated by increasing entrepreneurial opportunities.

Economic Development and Business Ownership: An Analysis Using Data of 23 OECD Countries in the Period 1976–1996

Small Business Economics - In the present paper we address the relationship between business ownership and economic development. We will focus upon three issues. First, how is the equilibrium rate...     

Scaling and institutionalization within agricultural innovation systems: the case of cocoa farmer field schools in Cameroon

The farmer field school (FFS) concept has been widely adopted, and such schools have the reputation of strengthening farmers’ capacity to innovate. Although their impact has been studied widely, what is involved in their scaling and in their becoming an integral part of agricultural innovation systems has been studied much less. In the case of the Sustainable Tree Crops Programme in Cameroon, we investigate how a public–private partnership (PPP) did not lead to satisfactory widespread scaling in the cocoa innovation system. We build a detailed understanding of the key dimensions and dynamics involved and the wider lessons that might be learned regarding complex scaling processes in the context of agricultural innovation systems. Original interview data and document analysis inform the case study. A specific analytical approach was used to structure the broad-based exploration of the qualitative dataset. We conclude that scaling and institutionalization outcomes were impeded by: the lack of an adaptive approach to scaling the FFS curriculum, limited investments and genuine buy-in by extension actors, a failure to adapt the management approach between the pilot and the scaling phase, and the lack of strategic competencies to guide the process. Our findings support suggestions from recent literature that pilots need to be translated and adapted in light of specific contextual and institutional conditions, rather than approached as a linear rolling-out process. These findings are relevant for the further spread of similar approaches commonly involved in multi-stakeholder scaling processes such as innovation platforms.     

The value of views and open space: Estimates from a hedonic pricing model for Ramsey County,Minnesota, USA

We examined how environmental amenities, particularly views and open space access, impact residential home sales prices in Ramsey County, MN using a hedonic pricing model. Home sale prices increase with closer proximity to parks, trails, lakes, and streams. Proximity to lakes produced the greatest impact on home sale value of these distance variables, followed by parks, trails, and streams. Increasing view areal extents as well as increasing the amount of water and grassy land covers in views also resulted in increased sale prices. Increased view richness in terms of the number of different land cover types in a view reduced home sale prices. These results illustrate the importance of these environmental amenities to single-family homeowners and can be used to inform land use planning and policy decisions aimed at their preservation.