Are EU trade preferences really effective? An impact evaluation assessment of the Southern Mediterranean Countries’ case

This work assesses the causal impact of the EU trade preferences granted to the Southern Mediterranean Countries (SMCs) in agriculture and fishery products over the period 2004–2014. It overcomes some of the weaknesses of previous assessments and presents several methodological improvements. Firstly, it relies on a continuous treatment – i.e. preferential margins – to capture the ‘average treatment effect’ of trade preferences, rather than on a binary treatment based on dummy variables. Secondly, it uses highly disaggregated data at sectoral level in order to evaluate properly the preferential treatment. Thirdly, it applies a non-parametric matching technique for continuous treatment – specifically, a generalized propensity score matching. The results show, on the one hand, that the impact of the EU preferences is positive and significant on SMCs trade and is better evaluated using impact evaluation techniques. On the other hand, they demonstrate that the relationship between preferences and trade flows is asymmetric and warn against the risk of providing too much of a good thing. These results raise important issues for policy-making. First, they demonstrate that raising the level of preferences is not the solution to foster the SMCs trade towards EU. Second, that the policy-makers should put more emphasis on complementary factors other than trade barriers.     

Impact of contracts in high yielding varieties seed production on profits and yield: The case of Nepal

Nepal’s population continues to grow, but the agricultural sector’s performance remains almost stagnant. This has led to a decline in the per capita availability of food. Increasing agricultural productivity is the key to agricultural growth, and one strategy for increasing agricultural productivity is to use improved seeds. This study investigates the impact of contract farming (CF) in high yielding varieties (HYV) of paddy seed production on costs, yield, and profits of smallholder farms in Nepal. Using farm-level data and a non-parametric propensity score matching estimator, the study finds a significant positive impact of contract HYV seed farming on revenues, profits, and yield, and a significant negative impact on total costs of production. Additionally, very small farms (⩽0.43 ha) with CF in HYV paddy seeds tend to gain the most when it comes to yield per hectare. Our estimates reveal that the average smallholder household in Nepal engaged in CF with input conditions receives higher profits. However, farmers engaged in CF with output conditions tend to have higher yields but smaller profits. Finally, farmers engaged in CF in HYV paddy seeds with both input and output conditions have the highest yield gains and significantly higher profits.     

Exploring the mismatch between credit ratings and loss-given-default: A credit risk approach

It is commonly observed that high grade loans with better ratings are often associated with low recoveries if they default (i.e. with relatively high loss-given-default (LGD)). To address the mismatch problem, this paper proposes a credit risk approach by minimizing LGD for higher rated loans as a risk-rating matching standard in the sense that the decreasing LGD from creditors’ perspective is associated with higher credit rating for the borrower. This standard forces customers’ credit rating of each grade to be optimally determined in correspondence to its LGD, which means the LGD of high grade loans tends to be low. The approach is then tested using three credit datasets from China, i.e. credit data from 2044 farmers, 2157 small private businesses and 3111 SMEs. The empirical results show that the proposed approach indeed guides the way to solve the mismatch phenomenon between credit ratings and LGDs in the existing credit rating literature. By optimally determining credit ratings, the findings derived from this paper help provide a valuable reference for bankers, and bond investors to manage their credit risk.     

基于供应链的物流企业战略匹配能力研究

文中通过回顾之前对物流能力所作的研究及相关理论背景的基础上，认为物流企业战略匹配能力是企业物流能力的一个重要方面，并做了简单的探讨分析，丰富了对物流企业能力的研究。     

电子商务技能型人才需求与高职教育培养匹配研究

产业转型升级发展对专业技能型人才的需求发生变化,作为技能型人才重要培养主体的高职院校,面临着如何培养新时代高素质技能人才的挑战。通过招聘大数据挖掘电子商务技能型人才的需求特征,同时调研相关高职院校电子商务专业人才培养现状,分析供需匹配度。结果表明:电商企业需要德技并修的高素质技能型人才,而高职院校的课程体系以专业技能、商务技能等硬技能教学为主,忽视综合素养软技能教育,同时,高职院校电子商务专业课程开设未能根据行业技术更新和产业转型发展及时调整。基于研究结果,从课程体系建设、校企合作深化、工匠精神培育等方面提出相关建议。     

Waste of money or growth opportunity: The causal effect of EU subsidies on Hungarian SMEs

Although EU subsidies aiming at economic development play a pivotal role not only for Hungary but for the entire European Union as well, there is a debate regarding their effectiveness in the literature. This paper investigates the impact of direct economic development subsidies extended in the context of Structural Funds and the Cohesion Fund as part of the 2007–2013 programming period of the European Union on Hungarian micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. Based on a micro database, we evaluate the impact of corporates’ first subsidies on various performance indicators, using a combination of propensity score matching and fixed effects panel regression. According to our results, economic development funds had a significant positive effect on the number of employees, sales revenue, gross value added and, in some cases, operating profit. However, the labour productivity of enterprises was not significantly affected by any of the support schemes. Furthermore, by explicitly comparing non-refundable subsidies (grants) and refundable assistance (financial instruments), we find that there is no significant difference in the effectiveness of the two types of subsidy.     

Does managerial ability matter for cross-border M&As: Evidence from Chinese listed firms

With the deepening of economic globalization, cross-border mergers and acquisitions (CBMAs) are increasingly becoming an important choice of transnational investment, and more Chinese firms are becoming involved in them. However, the success rate of CBMAs for firms in China seems to be lower than that for firms in other countries. Using data on the CBMA deals initiated by Chinese A-share listed enterprises from 2003 to 2018, we examine the association between managerial ability and the likelihood of completing CBMAs. The empirical results show that the average impact of managerial ability on the likelihood of completing CBMAs is positive. Furthermore, by taking heterogeneity of the ownership structure into account, we find that the positive effect of managerial ability is significant only for non-state-owned enterprises. Moreover, the results from the mediation model show that relaxing financing constraints is a possible channel by which managerial ability affects the likelihood of completing CBMAs. Our results are robust to various model specifications.     

Is there a virtuous circle relationship between innovation activities and exports? A comparison of food and agricultural firms

This study examines the existence of an interrelationship between innovation decisions and exports for food and agricultural firms as such a relationship could be the source of competitive advantages. Thus, taking as a theoretical basis the focus provided by the Resource-Based-View, the innovation and export decisions taken from 2006 to 2011 by 165 agricultural firms and 783 food companies operating in Spain (Europe) are examined here. The results of the bivariate probit and matching models used indicate a bi-directional nature of these decisions in the case of food companies and a positive though not bidirectional one in the case of the agricultural firms. Furthermore, a certain persistence is seen in the use of these decisions in both types of firms. For food companies, capital intensity and size are also determinants of innovation and exports. From the viewpoint of the decisions taken by individual firms, the bidirectional relationship could involve significant pressure in terms of the larger volume of both technological and human resources required. Agricultural and food policy decisions should incentivize these decisions given that in order to operate successfully in the global market it is necessary to acquire these competitive advantages, which also favor the growth of the agriculture and food trades.     

常州装备制造业与生产性服务业动态匹配优化路径研究

装备制造业与生产性服务业动态匹配是二者之间密切互动的表现,也是二者协同发展互动升级的重要手段。通过对常州装备制造业与生产性服务业发展现状、动态匹配中存在的问题进行梳理和分析,进而从装备制造业与生产性服务业发展的中间组织的培育与促进、市场环境营造、匹配程度提升两个维度,九个方面,对两者动态匹配路径进行设计。     

Career Patterns of Supply Chain Executives: An Optimal Matching Analysis

This exploratory study analyzes the careers of 307 supply chain executives (SCEs). Motivated by career theory, our findings create new knowledge about the educational backgrounds and career paths that lead to SCE positions. Based on an optimal matching analysis, we are able to distinguish among six career patterns for SCEs. They differ in terms of the individuals’ previous professional experience, educational background, and the time they needed to arrive in an executive position. By characterizing the backgrounds and career paths of SCEs, we show that supply chain management (SCM) is truly a cross‐functional profession. Our findings suggest that previous staff responsibility appears to be a more important hiring criterion than extensive SCM experience. While 56% of the executives had prior staff responsibility, only 12% of the cumulated careers were actually spent inside the SCM function.