Advantages of the social stamp for the biodiesel producer companies： The BSBIOS and OLEOPLAN cases

Biofuel has become an alternative source of energy in response to the change of the world＇s energy matrix. In Brazil, biodiesel has a highlighted status because it is obtained from different raw materials including animal or vegetable origins. In this context, trying to stimulate the social inclusion and the regional development, the federal government has been allowing some tax benefits through the Social Fuel Stamp （SCS） to the producer companies of biodiesel, since the purchasing of the raw material is from small farmers. Taking this into account, this article aims at the identification of the advantages perceived between the BSBIOS and the OLEOPLAN-two producer companies of biodiesel, located, respectively, in Rio Grande do Sul, in relation to the use of the social fuel stamp. In this case study, classified as a qualitative and of exploratory style, the data collection was done through the observation of informal conversations, visits in the companies named above, through interviews made with a pre-determined guide that allowed the application of the subject analysis technical. The analysis of the results is organized through the profile of these companies and by the identification of the advantages provided by the social fuel stamp. The results of this study show that the companies consider the social fuel stamp as fundamental and that it provides four advantages： the access to better financial conditions through the BNDES and other financial institutions; the right to compete in auctions for the biodiesel purchasing by the Petroleum National Agency, Natural Gas and Biofuel （ANP）; the exemption of taxes; and, the use of the logo of the stamp showing the social role of the company that does not represent a differentiated factor concerning the marketing strategy.     

Multiple shifts and fractional integration in the US and UK unemployment rates

This paper analyses the long-run behaviour of the US and UK unemployment rates by testing for possibly fractional orders of integration and multiple shifts using a sample of over 100 annual observations. The results show that the orders of integration are higher than zero in both series, which implies long memory. If we assume that the underlying disturbances are white noise, the values are higher than 0.5, i.e., nonstationary. However, if the disturbances are autocorrelated, the orders of integration are in the interval (0, 0.5), implying stationarity and mean-reverting behaviour. Moreover, when multiple shifts are taken into account, unemployment is more persistent in the US than in the UK, implying the need for stronger policy action in the former to bring unemployment back to its original level.     

Inflation and inflation uncertainty in the euro area

This article estimates a time-varying AR-GARCH model of inflation producing measures of inflation uncertainty for the euro area, and investigates their linkages in a VAR framework, also allowing for the possible impact of the policy regime change associated with the start of EMU in 1999. The main findings are as follows. Steady-state inflation and inflation uncertainty have declined steadily since the inception of EMU, whilst short-run uncertainty has stabilised. A sequential dummy procedure provides further evidence of a structural break coinciding with the introduction of the euro and resulting in lower long-run uncertainty. It also appears that the direction of causality has been reversed, and that in the euro period the Friedman-Ball link is empirically supported, consistently with the idea that the ECB can achieve lower inflation uncertainty by lowering the inflation rate.     

User-generated content in the era of digital well-being: A netnographic analysis in a healthcare marketing context

The disruptive strength of digital technologies in healthcare has led to valuable changes in the search for information and the application of these technologies. The introduction of these technologies has altered, sometimes even inverting, the doctor–patient relationship. User-generated content on social media and online communities represents a form of disruptive cooperation that has huge potential benefits for the future growth of society. Using netnographic analysis of smart patients and data from an online survey of Italian oncologists and health professionals, this paper shows the impact of user-generated content on the pursuit of personal well-being. The linkages between new forms of knowledge, business, and innovation are highlighted. Based on an analysis of the emerging concept of systems medicine, this paper focuses on the dimension of participation. A data-driven approach is adopted, and the data, information, knowledge, and wisdom framework is used to explain how people employ user-generated content in their pursuit of well-being. Managerial perspectives and suggestions for future research developments are discussed.     

THE EMPIRICS OF THE MUNICIPAL FISCAL ADJUSTMENT

We summarize the literature that uses the vector error-correction model approach to analyze the dynamics of the municipal fiscal adjustment. The international comparison between samples collected from entire countries and specific regions reveals interesting similarities, but also remarkable differences. The main similarities are the fulfillment of the intertemporal budget constraint, the volatility of the budgetary components, and the importance of the intergovernmental transfers as an adjustment instrument. The most remarkable difference is the preponderant role of the own revenues in the USA, probably reflecting the larger fiscal autonomy of US municipalities. In most cases, the large municipalities seem to be more dependent on grants than their small counterparts, although this pattern is broken in Japan. Finally, partial evidence supporting the existence of moral hazard problems and the flypaper effect is provided.     

DOES GOVERNMENT SPENDING AFFECT INCOME INEQUALITY? A META-REGRESSION ANALYSIS

In this paper findings of a meta-regression analysis are presented exploring the effects of government spending on income inequality, with a particular focus on low- and middle-income countries. We identify a total of 84 separate studies containing over 900 estimates of the effect of one or more measures of spending on one or more measures of income inequality. The results show some evidence of a moderate negative relationship between government spending and income inequality, which is strongest for social welfare and other social spending, and when using the Gini coefficient or the top income share as the measure of inequality. However, both the size and direction of the estimated relationship between government spending and income inequality is affected by a range of other factors, including the control variables and estimation method used. We also find evidence of publication bias, in that negative estimates of the relationship appear to be under-reported in the literature.     

Leadership styles and corporate social responsibility management: Analysis from a gender perspective

Companies' perceptions of corporate social responsibility (CSR) have been only partially analyzed from an individual perspective that focuses on personal characteristics and professional backgrounds. However, a gap exists in the research on manager leadership styles and CSR perceptions from a gender perspective. Therefore, this article analyzes differences in attitudes toward various dimensions of CSR by focusing on the leadership styles—transformational, dominance, and dual perspectives—of male and female managers in Spain. A total of 391 respondents in top management positions in Spain were surveyed. The findings revealed similarities and differences between genders with respect to leadership styles and CSR perceptions by dimension using a univariate analysis. A causal model that employed structural equation modeling was also estimated. The findings suggest that for transformational and dual leadership styles, Spanish women may be more adaptable and effective at pursuing company sustainability than Spanish men. However, dominance leadership was found to be the worst leadership style for deploying a CSR strategy. A number of conclusions for business management can be drawn, and some directions for future research are provided.     

Child Marriage and Female Educational Attainment: A Complex Relationship

Atlantic Economic Journal -     

Asymptotic results for the Fourier estimator of the integrated quarticity

Decisions in Economics and Finance - In this paper, we prove a central limit theorem for an estimator of the integrated quarticity based on Fourier analysis, strictly related to the one proposed in...