Are small firms really credit constrained? Empirical evidence from Kosova

This article uses firm level data from an SME survey conducted by Riinvest Institute in 2006 in order to examine the determinants of obtaining bank finance conditional upon applying. The results of the survey show that not all the firms receive credit they apply for, suggesting a slight excess of demand over supply of credit. Unlike some other studies in transition economies this article corrects for sample selection bias. Econometric evidence indicates that commercial banks base their decision to loan firms primarily on the basis of collateral. Well performing firms are more likely to ask for credit because of better business prospects in the future, but profitability as a measure of firm performance does not seem to be sufficient signaling for banks in order to allocate credits. Banks seems to prefer more to secure themselves from likely opportunistic behavior of potentially “bad borrowers” with use of collateral. Findings are in line with theoretical and empirical arguments that systematic use of collateral can mitigate the adverse selection by banks in choosing whom to allocate the credit especially in country with turbulent political environment and weak property right system. However, unlike other studies findings suggest that the rhetoric of financial constraints to some extent has been exaggerated in a transition context.     

Air pollution-mortality models: A demonstration of the effects of random measurement error

Errors of measurement have long been recognized as a chronic problem in statistical analysis. Although there is a vast statistical literature of multiple regression models estimating the air pollution-mortality relationship, this problem has been largely ignored. It is well known that pollution measures contain error, but the consequences of this error for regression estimates is not known. We use Lave and Seskin's air pollution model to demonstrate the consequences of random measurement error. We assume a range of 0% to 50% of the variance of the pollution measures is due to error. We find large differences in the estimated effects on mortality of the pollution variables as well as the other explanatory variables once this measurement error is taken into account. These results cast doubt on the usual regression estimates of the mortality effects of air pollution. More generally our results demonstrate the consequences of random measurement error in the explanatory variable of a multiple regression analysis and the misleading conclusions that may result in policy research if this error is ignored.     

The “management‐per‐result” approach to international development project design

Results‐based management (RBM) has proved to be a valuable tool for international development project management; however, there are some inconsistencies that limit the use of RBM at the design phase to manage for results. This article presents a “management‐per‐result” approach to reinforcing the project design function of RBM and illustrates its application to a real‐life project. Shying away from a technocratic approach, it emphasizes a “quick‐and‐dirty” approach and proposes an updated version of the logical framework to include success criteria and factors and very rough estimates for both project costs and benefits for targeted project results for different types of projects (infrastructure development, “process” type of project, and so forth).     

Invariance of covariance structures under groups of transformations

Summary The invariance of covariance structures under Lie groups of transformations is discussed. Implications for minimum discrepancy estimates of parameters are considered.     

Entrepreneurial ecosystems and the lifecycle of university business incubators: An integrative case study

University business incubators (UBIs) are an important part of the ecosystem that supports entrepreneurial activities and economic development. Extant research has focused on examining UBI activities at a single point in time, but there is a paucity of theoretical and empirical work aimed at understanding the forces that explain why and how UBIs change over time. This is an important gap because establishing a university business incubator does not assure its development and growth. We address this issue by drawing upon the Fisher et al. Academy of Management Review, 41(3), 383-409 (2016) Identity-Legitimacy-Life Cycle model to explain how the pursuit of resources and organizational legitimacy shapes the development of UBIs along key strategic and operational dimensions, which has implications for performance evaluation over time. We illustrate with a case study about the creation and evolution of the DMZ, a leading UBI at Ryerson University in Canada. This case provides new insights about the dynamics of UBIs and their relationships with the entrepreneurial ecosystems in which they are embedded. Implications for future research, management practice, and public policy are discussed.