Testing the hypothesis of the natural suicide rates: Further evidence from OECD data

This paper provides further evidence on the hypothesis of the natural rate of suicide using the time series data for 15 OECD countries over the period 1970–2004. This hypothesis suggests that the suicide rate of a society could never be zero even if both the economic and the social conditions were made ideal from the point of view of suicide (Yang and Lester, 1991). This research relates the suicide rates to harmonized unemployment and divorce rates to test the natural hypothesis statistically. We also address methodological flaws by earlier suicide studies by employing autoregressive-distributed lag (ARDL) approach to cointegration advocated by Pesaran et al. (2001). In majority of regression equations, the constant term was positive and statistically significant, indicating a non-zero natural suicide rate. In particular, we find evidence that at aggregate level, Turkey has the lowest (3.64) and Japan has the highest (13.98) natural rate of suicides. In terms of the male natural suicide rates, the United Kingdom ranks the lowest (4.73) and Belgium ranks the top (15.44). As for the female natural suicide rates, Japan takes the lead (16.76) and Italy has the lowest (5.60). The results are also compared and contrasted to each other with a view to drawing plausible policy conclusions.     

On the Use of Exchange Rates as Trading Rules in a Bilateral System of Transferable Discharge Permits

The use of a system of transferable discharge permitsto control the harmful effects of non-uniformly mixedpollutants requires the application of trading rulesin order to prevent permit trading among sources fromviolating environmental standards. The elements andproperties of bilateral trading rules can be analyzedmore easily once formulated as exchange rates, whichwould convert, in a cost-effective way, the emissionright potentially given up by the seller into an offsetting emission right acquired by the buyer. Inthis article, a new expression for such exchange ratesis proposed and then analyzed to infer someunexplored properties of the system.     

Factors affecting entrepreneurial intention levels: a role for education

A considerable agreement exists about the importance of promoting entrepreneurship to stimulate economic development and employment generation. In particular, entrepreneurship education has been considered one of the key instruments to increase the entrepreneurial attitudes of both potential and nascent entrepreneurs. Nevertheless, the factors that determine the individual’s decision to start a venture are still not completely clear. Cognitive approaches have attracted considerable interest recently. But the explaining capacity of personality traits or demographic characteristics is still considered. Therefore, there is a need to clarify which elements play the most influential role in shaping the personal decision to start a firm. This paper tries to contribute to filling this gap by providing empirically-based suggestions for the design of improved entrepreneurship education initiatives. The empirical analysis is based on two essential elements: firstly, an already validated instrument (EIQ); secondly, a statistical method (factor-regression procedure) which is not dependent on any theoretical approach. It uses all the information collected through the questionnaire items, selecting them solely based on their capacity to explain the dependent variable. Results will allow the design of more effective education initiatives. They suggest that personal attitude and perceived behavioural control are the most relevant factors explaining entrepreneurial intentions. Thus, based on these results, a number of considerations about the most effective role of education in promoting and developing attitudes and intentions towards entrepreneurship are considered. Besides, the EIQ could be used as an evaluation instrument for entrepreneurial education programmes.     

Structural Breaks and Spatial Linkages in FDI: Further Evidence in OECD Countries

This paper evaluates the knowledge–capital model (KCM) of foreign direct investment (FDI) as defined by Braconier et al. (Rev Int Econ 13(4):770-786, 2005). The model predicts that there are both horizontal and vertical motivations for engaging in FDI. The horizontal motives regard access to new markets in the case of trade frictions, whereas the vertical motivations imply that multinational enterprises seek to take advantage of relative skill differences in different countries. The impact of the vertical component in the KCM has been largely debated and thereby is of the greatest interest. Another issue addressed in the study is the relevance of spatial interdependencies in FDI flow. To check for these kinds of FDI determinants the KCM model is augmented with a surrounding market potential and a spatial lag term. By using large data sets for FDI stocks among OECD countries from 1982 to 2003 along with structural breaks and spatial econometric techniques, the paper evaluates the significance of traditional and spatial FDI determinants. The results show that the vertical component is indeed important, even for FDI among OECD countries, but that this importance is clearly decreasing over time. The findings point towards the existence of spatial linkages that are also compatible with export-platform motivations.     

Let's go shopping

Brown and Reid [1997] employed an introspective approach to their examination of consumers' shopping experiences. The authors focused on the negative aspects or feelings associated with shopping. The principal aim of this current paper is to replicate the Brown and Reid research at an international level to discover whether their findings were relevant regarding shoppers' behavior across different national markets. With this in mind, some international master's of business administration students were asked to write their own introspective essays on shopping. The essay was to reflect the student's opinions, experiences, likes, and dislikes on shopping.     

Contracts,compacts and the common law Some problems with New Right theories of human resource management Contracts,compacts and the common law

The study of HRM in Spain is flourishing. We have seen the major international journals begin to reflect the work of Spanish academics in this area. The standard is high and the international network of Spanish scholars is increasingly developed. This paper attempts to review the work that is published in English and to see how Spanish HRM systems are represented externally. It tries to locate the discussion of the HRM research in Spain within its academic and social context. The authors argue that there are some characteristics marking this debate and development, which suggest that the study of HRM in Spain is hugely Americanized in terms of methods and content. The lack of synergies with sociology and political economy are evident. Moreover, the shortage of rigorous qualitative research, apart from that on employment relations and the sociology of work, raise some serious issues. The manner in which a discourse of HRM in Spain has evolved leaves many questions and issues unaddressed. While evaluating what we believe to be a relevant selection from HRM publications on Spain in English by Spanish authors in the last 15 years we do not attempt to present them all here. Instead, we try to isolate some representative articles. In sum, the paper aims to fill a gap in the Spanish HRM literature by studying the main debates, the research issues that are given priority and the methodological options. As a conclusion, we can say that it is necessary to encourage academic discussions regarding the features of the management of HR in Spain. In this sense it should be noted that the mainstream HRM approaches formulated in American Business Schools do not necessarily fit within the Spanish context.     

What is the Value of Luxury? A Cross‐Cultural Consumer Perspective

International luxury businesses are challenged by the identification and satisfaction of the common needs and desires of global market segments. Although luxury goods have become available to a wider range of consumers, the traditional conspicuous consumption model has been transformed into a new experiential luxury sensibility that is marked by a change in the way that consumers define luxury. Based on an empirical study in collaboration with American, European, and Asian researchers, the results provide evidence that consumers in various parts of the world purchase or wish to purchase luxury products for varied reasons but that such consumers generally possess similar values. Regardless of their countries of origin, the basic motivational drivers of luxury consumers are similar among the financial, functional, personal, and social dimensions of luxury value perceptions, although the relative importance of these dimensions varies.     

Guanxi and risk-taking propensity in Chinese immigrants’ businesses

International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal - This paper studies the determinants of the risk-taking propensity in immigrant-owned businesses. The paper has a particular focus on...     

Multi-tranche securitisation structures: more than just a zero-sum game?

This paper explains multi-tranche structuring and the yield that securitisation bonds offer by incorporating several factors into a comprehensive model. Results indicate that the degree of complexity of multi-tranche securitisation structures is related to market completeness and solving information asymmetry problems. We also find that the complexity of multi-tranche structure enables the yield offered by triple-A bonds to be reduced but not the average yield, concluding that tranching is a zero-sum game. This research uses a database comprising of all the MBS and ABS issues (1993–2011) in Spain, one of the world’s main securitisation markets. Analysing this long period has allowed us, for the first time, to contrast the Great Financial Crisis (GFC) disruptive effect on the analysed relationships in the securitisation market.     

The role of numeracy and information load in the tourist decision-making process

The aim of the present study is to merge two strands of research that have evolved in tandem (a) the consequences of numeracy; and (b) the effect of information load on the consumer decision-making process. The study analyses the interaction effect between these two factors on decision accuracy and on a set of cognitive and affective variables of the decision-making process (namely, confusion, calibration, and emotion). We measured participants' numeracy and used an experimental design to manipulate the information load. The results showed that the effect of numeracy on decision accuracy was entirely mediated by cognitive and affective processes involved in decision-making. In particular, numeracy was found to have a negative relationship with the level of confusion, calibration, and emotions experienced during the decision-making process. The results also showed that information load interacted with numeracy, such that individuals with high numeracy maintained lower levels of emotion when placed under conditions of low information load. However, under these same conditions, individuals with low numeracy maintained positive emotions. The findings help to identify approaches that can contribute to reducing the negative effects of low numeracy among consumers, in a context where the online channel predominates (the tourism sector).