The influence of variables of attitude on collective entrepreneurship

In the current global corporate climate that surrounds us, firms would do well to encourage the talent and creativity of their employees in order to achieve success. This is achieved, not by giving priority to individual talent, but by optimizing the collective as a whole and the firm’s activity based on team work and joint effort. Heads of organizations might benefit from creating a favorable context for the birth and growth of collective internal cooperation, which is understood to be the collective ability to create and innovate on the part of the team, the firm or the organization. Having contrasted our hypotheses through research on Spanish firms, we have concluded that job satisfaction and commitment to the team are factors that have a direct and positive effect on collective entrepreneurship.     

Does the quality of public-sponsored training programs matter? Evidence from bidding processes data

This paper analyzes the link between training quality and labor-market outcomes. Multiple proxies for training quality are identified from bidding processes in which public and private training institutions compete for limited public funding in Peru. Information about exact dates of program enrollment is analyzed to show whether the first-come-first-served assignment rule randomized eligible individuals across courses of varying quality. Generalized propensity score (GPS) is implemented to estimate dose–response functions in the context of multiple treatments. We find that beneficiaries attending high-quality training courses show higher earnings and better job-quality characteristics than either beneficiaries attending low-quality courses or nonparticipants. The returns are particularly robust for women, making the provision of high-quality training services cost-effective. Furthermore, the most important training attribute is expenditures per trainee. Class size and infrastructure are weakly related to the expected impacts, while teacher experience, curricular activities, and market knowledge seem to bear no relationship with the expected impacts. External validity was assessed by using five cohorts of individuals over an eight-year period.     

A Note on Tests for Market Integration in a Multivariate Non‐Stationary Framework

In this note relationships among agricultural prices are studied to offer a guide to the degree of market integration. Unlike many previous studies, which examine market integration using pairs of prices, we conduct testing in a multivariate framework to exploit the information embodied in the indirect price linkages. We focus on the formulation of hypotheses that identify the cointegration space using time series data on European pork and lamb markets. Results indicate that the national markets for pork are more closely integrated than those for lamb. Extraneous market information is exploited in an attempt to identify the cause of this segmentation in the European lamb market, although results do not support any of the hypotheses proposed.     

Fund Advisor Compensation in Closed-End Funds

This paper examines the relation between the premium on closed-end funds and organizational features of the funds and advisors, including the compensation scheme of the investment advisor. We find that the fund premium is larger when: (a) the advisor's compensation is more sensitive to fund performance; (b) the assets managed by the advisor are concentrated in the fund in question; (c) the advisor manages other funds with low compensation sensitivity to performance and with low concentration of assets managed by the advisor; and (d) the advisor's compensation contract evaluates performance relative to a benchmark.     

How supply chain oriented is the port sector?

The current literature recognizes the relevance of supply chain orientation for ports and terminals. However, there is very little empirical study on the issue, particularly in relation to whether in fact ports are supply chain oriented. This paper contributes to the empirical literature by considering the port of Incheon as a case in point and by measuring the degree of its supply chain orientation based on certain valid indicators drawn from the current literature. Further, unlike the previous empirical literature, this paper examines both operator and user perspectives. The findings of this study have significant strategic policy implications and shed more light on the role of supply chain orientation in practice.     

The Euro Changeover and Numerical Intuition for Prices in the Old and New Currencies

This study examines how numerical intuition for prices in euros and in the Portuguese currency escudos developed in Portugal after the euro changeover. Estimates of prices of 40 different products were collected in the two currencies and at four different times from November 2001 to April 2004. The results regarding price estimates in euros were more in accordance with a relearning hypothesis considering that price estimates become progressively more accurate by a process that is related to purchase frequency. It was also suggested that this is a very slow process and that prices in the former currency are not simply forgotten. On the contrary, the escudos remained a general benchmark for an extended period. The results regarding estimated price intuition and use of intuition in estimating prices are also consistent with a slow adaptation process. Implications for future euro changeovers are discussed.     

Multivariate partial adjustment of financial ratios: a Bayesian hierarchical approach

In this paper we propose a multivariate extension of the partial adjustment model of financial ratios. To that end, we use a dynamic factor model which assumes that financial ratios measuring, essentially, the same economic–financial dimension of the firm evolve in a similar way, reflecting the evolution of the common factor. The proposed model is hierarchical with three levels. The first describes the relationship between each ratio and its common factor; the second describes the evolution of the common factors over time by means of Lev's ( 1969 ) partial adjustment model; and the third analyzes the similarity of firms' adjustment coefficients, taking into account their characteristics. The methodology is applied to the analysis of a set of financial ratios related to the business and financial structure of the firm. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Semi‐nonparametric competing risks analysis of recidivism

In this paper we specify a semi‐nonparametric competing risks (SNP‐CR) model of recidivism, for misdemeanors and felonies. The model is a bivariate mixed proportional hazard model with Weibull baseline hazards and common unobserved heterogeneity. The distribution of the latter is modeled semi‐nonparametrically, using orthonormal Legendre polynomials on the unit interval, and integrated out to make the two durations dependent, conditional on the covariates. The SNP‐CR model involved corresponds to a Logit model for felony arrest; hence the validity of the SNP‐CR model can be tested by testing the validity of the implied Logit model. The latter will be done by using the integrated conditional moment (ICM) test. In the first instance we have estimated and tested two versions of the SNP‐CR model, without and with fixed state effects. However, the ICM test rejects these models. Therefore, we have estimated and tested the model for each state separately. These state models are not rejected by the ICM test. Indeed, the estimation results vary substantially per state. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Olympic Games: No legacy for sports

Countries whose cities host the Summer Olympic Games increase significantly their success during the competition. We study whether such effect is lasting or not. We compute the effect of hosting on the total number of medals in the subsequent games. To confront the issue that the selection of the host city is endogenous, we use a natural counterfactual: countries whose cities also bid for the Olympics but were not selected by the International Olympic Committee. In all cases, we find that Olympic success on medals fades away immediately after hosting.