Selecting successful students? Undergraduate grades as an admission criterion

In Europe’s reformed education system, universities may be forced by law to consider undergraduate grade point average (UGPA) as the primary admission criterion in the selection of graduate students. In this article, we investigate whether UGPA predicts graduate student performance in order to discuss its usefulness as an admission criterion. In our theoretical framework, we show that undergraduate students may choose slower study progress in favour of receiving higher grades and conclude that UGPA is a relatively good (weak) predictor for graduate grade point average (study progress). Having data from a cohort of students whose selection was in clear conflict with the legal requirement, we empirically confirm our theoretical predictions by exploiting a unique opportunity for assessing educational policies. Discussion of our findings leads to some important conclusions concerning the Bologna reforms and the lawmakers’ idea of giving some independence to universities, but not too much of it.     

Brain drain in the age of mass migration: Does relative inequality explain migrant selectivity?

Brain drain is a core economic policy problem for many developing countries today. Does relative inequality in source and destination countries influence the brain-drain phenomenon? We explore human capital selectivity during the period 1820–1909.We apply age heaping techniques to measure human capital selectivity of international migrants. In a sample of 52 source and five destination countries we find selective migration determined by relative anthropometric inequality in source and destination countries. Other inequality measures confirm this. The results remain robust in OLS and Arellano–Bond approaches. We confirm the Roy–Borjas model of migrant self-selection. Moreover, we find that countries like Germany and UK experienced a small positive effect, because the less educated emigrated in larger numbers.     

Doing the Right Thing Right: The Role of Sociological Research and Consulting for Corporate Engagement in Development Cooperation

The purpose of this article is to illustrate the role of sociology in the field of corporate social responsibility (CSR). It presents a case study conducted by a research group consisting of two University partners in association with a Swiss SME. This project attempted to draw conclusions from a specific sociological consultancy research project on the general possibilities and opportunities of sociology in applied research and operational sustainability consulting. On the basis of the project findings, the article reflects on the extent to which sociology could profitably intervene, on the limitations for sociological research and consultations in this field and on the conclusions that can be drawn for future analyses.     

Regulatory disclosure via the internet: does it make financial markets more efficient?

In line with the regulatory framework of the majority of the European capital markets, the Portuguese Securities Market Commission imposes to security issuers the disclosure of any event that could influence share prices in a material way. These events are classified as “Price Sensitive Events”. Through the analysis of market reaction to this kind of event, this study attempts to assess the appropriateness of this disclosure rule. Additionally, since the regulator defines its website as the appropriate manner to disseminate this publishable information through the market, we will also be providing evidence about the efficiency of this system.      

Insolvency practice in the field of football

This paper is concerned with UK insolvency practice. It considers how the field of insolvency has developed since the passing of the Insolvency Act 1986 through a Bourdieusian theoretical lens. The case of the administration of Gretna football club is presented as a “special case of what is possible” to enable one to consider “the deepest logic of the social world” (Bourdieu, 1998, p. 4). Football is a field with its own complex insolvency rules which are incommensurable with the Insolvency Act. The case therefore presents an opportunity to reveal that whether insolvency laws are applied or not is determined by a complex socio-political process. Through revealing the socio-political process the paper problematises the notion that insolvency practice is neutral.     

Genderless Fashion: A (Still) Binary Market

Gender is commonly associated with two distinct and opposing sexes. Over time, such binarity has engendered stereotypes commonly observed in the fashion market. However, something called genderless fashion has recently gained prominence in the media. This research first posits that discourse in specialized media can influence the issues of power; we then seek to understand how the business and factual media discourse in Brazil describe the genderless fashion market through a critical discourse analysis. The results revealed essentially that the genderless fashion market still reproduces the stereotypes and gender patterns of the binary perspective.