Social and Environmental Filters to Market Incentives: The Persistence of Common Land in Nineteenth‐Century Spain

The regional diversity of communal persistence in nineteenth‐century Spain has been well documented by historiographers. Although the explanation of this divergence has been attributed to the social and environmental context, together with the prevailing market incentives, that characterized the different rural societies of this period, there has been no clear assessment of the role played by each of these factors. Through a comparative study of the historical data at the provincial level, this paper analyses the relative contribution of these elements to that divergence. The results diminish the significance of market signals and show how the social and environmental conditions interacted to limit, or promote, the dismantling of the common lands. Apart from the greater need to resort to the commons when it was necessary to increase agricultural production in dry regions, this paper highlights the role of unequal levels of access to land in promoting enclosure. The Spanish case illustrates the limitations of the theories that predict the inevitable drift towards individual property rights.     

Meta-analysis of consumer's willingness-to-pay premiums for certified wood products

Consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) price premiums for environmentally certified wood products has been frequently estimated using stated preference methods. Estimates of WTP premiums for certified wood products over non-certified options reported in the literature range from 1.0% to 39.3%. This paper describes a meta-analysis used to determine the key factors associated with WTP price premium estimates by examining data from 19 different studies conducted around the world. Results of Bayesian hierarchical models show that frequently purchased wood products and wood products with lower base prices tend to capture higher percentage premiums. Survey administration method was also a statistically significant factor influencing variations in WTP estimates. Results show that conjoint analysis elicited inflated WTP estimates toward certified wood products compared with contingent valuation methods. Reported WTP estimates have increased in recent years. Recommendations to reduce the error of WTP estimates toward certified wood products and improve the validity of experimental studies are provided.     

Polychoric versus Pearson correlations in exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis of ordinal variables

Given that the use of Likert scales is increasingly common in the field of social research it is necessary to determine which methodology is the most suitable for analysing the data obtained; although, given the categorization of these scales, the results should be treated as ordinal data it is often the case that they are analysed using techniques designed for cardinal measures. One of the most widely used techniques for studying the construct validity of data is factor analysis, whether exploratory or confirmatory, and this method uses correlation matrices (generally Pearson) to obtain factor solutions. In this context, and by means of simulation studies, we aim to illustrate the advantages of using polychoric rather than Pearson correlations, taking into account that the latter require quantitative variables measured in intervals, and that the relationship between these variables has to be monotonic. The results show that the solutions obtained using polychoric correlations provide a more accurate reproduction of the measurement model used to generate the data.     

Internationalisation speed and technological patterns: A panel data study on Spanish SMEs

The last ten years has seen a proliferation of works attempting to explain why some firms internationalise rapidly, rather than following a sequential process. Many of these works have focused on the role of technology as the driving force behind the phenomenon. Following this argument, this work studies the effect that different technological patterns have on firms' internationalisation speed. In order to observe this effect, a sample of 945 SMEs was used over a 17-year period (1990–2006). By undertaking a micro-level analysis, we explain the possible effect of sectoral technological intensity on internationalisation speed, observing significant differences between technology-intensive and non-intensive sectors, and identify which technological parameters have a greater effect on the acceleration of internationalisation in each of these sectors.     

Virtual Design,Problem Framing,and Innovation: An Empirical Study in the Automotive Industry

This paper studies how problem framing by research and development groups, in particular the extent of problem decomposition, impacts knowledge replication processes conducted through the use of virtual simulation tools (VSTs). It presents the results of a comparative study of two research and development groups working on the design of hybrid propulsion systems. The research contributes to the literature on strategy and innovation in four ways. First, we identify three organizational and strategic factors affecting the problem framing decision. Second, we analyse the impact of problem framing on the use of VSTs and the related effect on knowledge replication processes. Third, we show the emergence of a new VST‐driven knowledge replication process, i.e. functional replication. Fourth, we explain how VST‐driven knowledge replication processes can attenuate the dangers related to the adoption of modular design strategies and address the replication vs. imitation dilemma.     

Determinants of Capital Structure: United Kingdom Versus Continental European Countries

In this paper, we analyze how country‐specific differences influence capital structure indirectly through firm‐specific variables. We apply a system Generalized Method of Moments technique to a panel data sample of companies from five countries (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) during the period 1998–2008. As the different financial systems of European economies (bank‐oriented or market‐oriented) may influence capital structure differently through firm‐specific variables, we first examine the determinants of capital structure for each country separately and we then analyze whether the observed differences between the United Kingdom and the continental European countries are relevant. The results show that there are substantial differences in the capital structure choices of firms across five major European countries. These differences are motivated by the type of financial systems of the countries (bank‐oriented and market‐oriented) and influence the capital structure indirectly through the firm‐specific variables. Overall, our results support the relevance of the differences in the capital structure choices of firms across five major European countries, and in particular, the singularity of the United Kingdom (a market‐oriented economy) as opposed to continental European countries (bank‐oriented economies).     

Linear SAM models for inequality changes analysis: an application to the Extremadurian economy

Social accounting matrices are adequate databases for the economic modelling. These matrices emphasize the role of households in the economy, and so, they usually disaggregate the household sector into several groups. This disaggregation allows social accounting matrices to be used for diverse income distribution analysis. The objective of this work is to use the linear SAM models to study how inequality is modified by several exogenous injections of income. The set of multipliers and indicators presented is applied to the economy of Extremadura – a region situated in the southwest of Spain. In particular, together with the accounting multipliers, two redistributed income matrices are presented to show how changes in final demand and in income transfers cause opposite effects in inequality. For contrasting these results, Gini and Theil indices are also used. Finally, a major reduction in both would result from an appropriate re-allocation of transfers.     

Analysing the determinants of US direct investment in Mexico

In this paper a simple model of foreign direct investment is developed and tested on investment flows from the USA to Mexico between 1967 and 1994 using cointegration analysis. Domestic demand and relative factor costs are found to influence direct investment flows, suggesting support for both the ‘cheap labour’ and ‘market size’ hypotheses. The short-run dynamics of the model indicate that exchange rate movements have an effect on the timing of the investment decision.     

The macroeconomic effects of fiscal policy in Spain

This paper focuses on the effects of fiscal policy in Spain analysed in a VAR context. Fiscal shocks are found to involve significant effects on GDP, private consumption, private investment, interest rates and prices. Non-Keynesian effects are observed. Moreover, evidence on the channels highlighted in the literature for such effects to arise is found, notably the effects of permanent income on consumption and investment on the demand side, coupled with the response of the equilibrium wage on the supply side affecting entrepreneurial profits and investment. The response of interest rates seems to reinforce both effects. Furthermore, the different readings of spending or taxes do not affect macroeconomic variables homogeneously.