Skyscrapers and the economy in Latin America

Skyscrapers are an intellectual challenge for urban analysis because of their imposing visual presence in the city landscape, and because of their environmental and real estate impacts. These characteristics however have not received much attention in the literature, particularly in analyses about Latin American cities. In this paper, we describe and test four theories about record-breaking buildings height: traditional microeconomic theory, game theory, business cycle, and global cities. We use a 2000–2012 panel database of 29 cities from 10 different Latin American countries, in order to contrast the contesting explanations about buildings’ height. We design a baseline model and then, using four different estimation techniques and diverse specifications, find that traditional theory and more strongly, global cities are good predictors of buildings’ height.     

Vulnerability,due process,and reform in modern Mexico

Constitutional Political Economy - In this paper, we examine the relationship between socioeconomic vulnerabilities and due process violations in contemporary Mexico, using a novel survey of...     

Banking Sector Performance in Latin America: Market Power versus Efficiency

Since the mid‐1990s the banking sector in the Latin American emerging markets has experienced profound changes due to financial liberalization, a significant increase in foreign investments, and greater merger activities often occurring following financial crises. The wave of consolidation and the rapid increase in market concentration that took place in most countries has generated concerns about the rise in banks' market power and its potential effects on consumers. This paper advances the existing literature by testing the market power (Structure–Conduct–Performance and Relative Market Power) and efficient structure (X‐ and scale efficiency) hypotheses for a sample of over 2500 bank observations in nine Latin American countries over 1997–2005. We use the Data Envelopment Analysis technique to obtain reliable efficiency measures. We produce evidence supporting the efficient structure hypotheses. The findings are particularly robust for the largest banking markets in the region, namely Brazil, Argentina, and Chile. Finally, capital ratios and bank size seem to be among the most important factors in explaining higher than normal profits for Latin American banks.     

EXPERIMENTAL AND SELF‐REPORTED MEASURES OF RISK TAKING AND DIGIT RATIO (2D:4D): EVIDENCE FROM A LARGE,SYSTEMATIC STUDY

We systematically investigate the links between the digit ratio (2D:4D)—a biomarker for prenatal testosterone exposure—and two measures of individual risk taking: (i) risk preferences (RP) over lotteries with real monetary incentives and (ii) self‐reported risk attitude (RA). We find that both the right‐hand and the left‐hand digit ratio are significantly associated with RP: Subjects with lower digit ratios tend to choose riskier lotteries. Neither digit ratio, however, is associated with self‐reported RA.     

The Evolution of Industrial Earnings Inequality in Mexico and Brazil

Industrial data are used to derive estimates of the pattern of change in wage inequality in Mexico and Brazil. Using the group decomposition of Theil's T -statistic, the paper presents monthly changes in the dispersion of industrial wages for Brazil (1976 through 1995) and for Mexico (1968 through 1998). Both countries show increases in wage dispersion over time, and a strong negative correlation is found with the rate of real economic growth. Other things equal, the later Brazilian heterodox stabilization plans seem to have reduced inequality in the short run.     

Exploring the link between organizational values and human resource certification

We contribute to the discussion of human resource (HR) certification by identifying organizational values as a key antecedent to (1) an organization's use of HR certification and (2) whether organizational members choose to pursue HR certification. Building on research which has looked at the influence of organizational values on the behavior and attitudes of the organization and its employees, we propose that key organizational values will influence the extent to which an organization and its members value HR certification. Specifically, we explore the relationship between the organizational values of innovation, people orientation, and stability and the extent to which an organization uses HR certification for selection purposes. In addition, we propose that these key organizational values will also influence whether the organization's members pursue HR certification. Exploring the link between key organizational values and HR certification is critical to our understanding of an organization's HR practices and the behavior of its employees. By taking a more organization focused perspective, we highlight the top-down effects of organizational values on the value of HR certification and call for additional research on the antecedents of the value of HR certification.     

Monitoring Accounts Payables

In creating shareholder value, one objective of management is to increase the speed of cash inflows and reduce the speed of cash outflows. To accomplish this task, management must understand the relationships that cause accounts receivable and accounts payable to change. The paper expands a receivable monitoring model by Gentry and De La Garza to incorporate the causes of changes in payables. Several examples are developed to show the operation of the model. The three primary contributions of the paper are (a) developing algorithms that measure the causes of changes in payables, plus an interpretation for each set of conditions; (b) showing that a present value approach to monitoring payables is superior to a recommended accounting approach based on variance analysis; (c) finally, presenting an approach for ranking the performance of payable and receivable strategies.     

A multi-country,multi-sector replication challenge to the validity of the cultural tightness-looseness measure

Asia Pacific Journal of Management - In this study, we assess the internal and external validity of Gelfand et al.’s (2011) recently developed measure of cultural tightness-looseness (CTL)....     

A computational analysis of R&D support programs

We compare two common government R&D support programs, R&D tax credits and direct R&D grants. To study their effectiveness and the extent to which their design matters, we analyze these programs within a dynamic equilibrium model of imperfectly competitive industries. Adopting comprehensive welfare measures that take into account government, producer and consumer surpluses, we find that both schemes exhibit positive social returns. Mid-range R&D-intensive sectors exhibit higher social returns than either high or low R&D-intensive sectors. Both incentive schemes generate positive measures of R&D input additionality of magnitudes consistent with empirical R&D research. However, R&D grants that require firms to allocate subsidy funds to R&D spur less R&D than a more flexible R&D tax credit. Subsidy schemes can even induce competing firms to over-spend on R&D, generating negative producer surplus and possibly negative social returns.     

A Companion For NPV: The Generalized Relative Rate of Return

We show how to determine a unique rate, for a particular cash flow stream, that is used only whenever a project demands outside resources to compound the rates of the existing term structure precisely at those times. The net present value of the cash flow stream when discounted with the thus-modified term structure becomes zero. We therefore determine a vector of rates that belongs to the induced space of internal rates of return for that cash flow stream. The rate is applicable under discrete stochastic interest rate representations and provides maximum loan rates that may be contracted only when needed thus keeping a project financially autonomous. (Any investments required may be fully repaid by the project's own cash outflows).