Sandwich-Course Training in Higher Education as a Major Strategic Thrust Regional Policy of Professional Training： Lessons Learned From the Pioneering Example of the University Institute of Technology Corsica

Corsica is an island economy marked by the complete absence of any of the big holdings and multinationals that fuel and forge the worldwide economy. Equally absent is any of the kind of medium-sized enterprises servicing big business that have spearheaded local economies in other regions like Lombardy. Corsica＇s economic fabric is essentially made up of small and home businesses, farm smallholdings, artisans, and small-scale retail. Given how public-sector capital investment is already hypertrophied, a policy of investment in human capital could be a compelling new opportunity to trigger a dynamic regional development impetus. Leading the way, the University Institute of Technology Corsica, Corsica University＇s affiliated school of applied vocational technologies, is demonstrating its ability to act as a structurally engaged facilitator of island-wide spatial planning and regional branding. As a founding pillar in pioneering the emergence of a sandwich-course training system in higher education in Corsica, in 2010 the university made its entire training curriculum fully accessible to all through the signature of apprenticeship training or vocational qualifications agreements. This grass-roots programme is the outcome of a committed core strategy to develop partnerships with the island＇s key social and economic communities （businesses, community groups, and local authorities）, and it plays a fundamental role in shaping and selling the most vital valued assets that typify a regional territory emerging into a structured destination-brand identity （simultaneous growth in the employability and quality of school-to-work transition shown by its human capital, mass shift in the degree of skill acquisition directly tied to the regional territory＇s own organic needs, fluidity of knowledge transfer fully controlled through sandwich placements, deep sustainable entrepreneurship education etc.）. After highlighting the specific features of the sandwich training policy development process in Corsica as a shaper of the Regional Vocational Development Programme, this paper brings an analysis of the lessons learned from the pioneering example of the University Institute of Technology Corsica as a dynamic engineer of structured future and regional brand for Corsica.     

Specification and estimation of stochastic multiple-output production and technical inefficiency

This paper presents a primal-based approach for specification and estimation of multiple-output production frontiers that allows simultaneous identification and estimation of determinants of technical inefficiency. The proposed model extends the technical efficiency effects model by Battese and Coelli (1995) to general multiple-output technologies. An empirical application using Swedish health care panel data from the years 1989–1994 is included. The key issue is to test for the effects on technical efficiency of an organizational reform implemented with the primary purpose to increase efficiency. The results reveal no significant effect on technical efficiency of the reform, but evidence of overall decreased technical efficiency and technical progress in the provision of health care over the studied time period are found.     

Voter turnout and intergenerational redistribution

Electoral reforms that lead to reduced turnout modify the composition of the electorate, potentially overrepresenting specific interests in policy implementation. Intergenerational redistribution tilts in favor of the elderly when they are sufficiently numerous, but in favor of the young rich otherwise. We exploit a natural experiment provided by the repeal of compulsory voting in Austrian parliamentary elections to study how exogenous turnout decline affects intergenerational redistribution through pro-young public education spending in Austrian municipalities. Empirically, education spending falls when the proportion of elderly voters exceeds 21% of the electorate, but rises when the proportion of elderly voters is below this threshold.     

Labour Costs and the Size of Government

Given inelastic demand for labour‐intensive public services, the size of government depends positively on labour costs. OECD data exhibit a strong statistical association between government size and the business‐sector labour share of income. When the labour share is instrumented with measures of technological change, institutional variation and predetermined data it continues to positively impact government size. In contrast, transfer spending is unaffected by the labour share. The evidence is consistent with the idea that the recent decline in the labour share has contributed to the slowdown in the growth of government witnessed in much of the post‐war era.     

Ideological polarization and the media

Greater media presence may facilitate information transmission and consensus or amplify existing political differences. In the OECD greater media penetration is strongly correlated with reduced ideological polarization. Media penetration increases lead reductions in polarization, suggesting that this relationship is causal.     

New product and service launching in new ventures: a multilevel approach to innovation antecedents

Macro-economic policies such as public financing seek to push the development and introduction of innovations; however, entrepreneurs also need support in their ‘day-to-day’ activities to improve their capability to launch innovations. As this micro-level perspective is rarely studied, we analyze both the micro and macro levels by examining the effects of the entrepreneurs’ individual intention to innovate and public financing. Additionally, we include the meso level, representing entrepreneurs’ network. Entrepreneurs are embedded in social spheres in which they capture resources and identify opportunities. But not all entrepreneurs are equally well supported, and some tend to be completely isolated. We thus focus on multilevel factors explaining new product or service launching in new ventures. Drawing on data of 48,251 French new ventures, we reveal that innovation intention and public financing positively impact new ventures’ product and service innovation launching, while entrepreneurs’ isolation has a negative effect. We also highlight two interaction effects that enhance the multilevel effects of innovation antecedents.     

Other-regarding preferences and giving decision in a risky environment: experimental evidence

Review of Economic Design - We investigate whether and how an individual giving decision is affected in risky environments in which the recipient’s wealth is random. We demonstrate that,...