ROSA,ROSAE, ROSIS: modelling a regional open sectoral innovation system

The literature on territorial innovation modes has identified the development of a diverse set of innovation systems at multiple levels of analysis. However, there are certain gaps that do not allow their adaptation to the particularities of certain territories. Despite the multiple concepts related to innovation systems approach, the state of the art does not yet provide a useful analytical approach for a deep and comprehensive characterization of territories with a high sectoral and technological specialization. This paper introduces an analytical framework based on a regional open and sectoral innovation system, which is qualitatively tested in the Durango County (Spain). The aim of this paper is to introduce a subtype of innovation system that meets the requirements and needs of a located micro-territory with a high level of sectoral specialization.     

Graphics for the Minimal Sufficient Cause Model

Graphical representations of causation have been usedfor at least seventy years, and the modern developmentof directed acyclic graphs to portray causal systemscontinues the trend. It is sometimes difficult tounderstand, however, what it is about these diagramsthat is `causal'. The approach to causal graphicsthat is taken here is to base the development ofgraphics on the concepts of an underlying causaltheory, the minimal sufficient cause model. Thisleads to defining a Boolean `and' for arrows thatrepresent causal pathways, and a Boolean `or' forcollections of pathways. Complementation is a morecomplex operation in the minimal sufficient causetheory than simply inverting the sense of a causalrelationship, and this also is represented in thegraphics. By using diagrams that are more faithful tounderlying causal systems, and using a coherent causaltheory, both the perception of causation and itsanalysis might be enhanced.     

Industrial segmentation,the ethnic economy,and job mobility: the case of Cuban exiles in Florida

We examine mobility between core, periphery, and the ethnic economy in a sample of Cuban exiles. We analyze, first, hypotheses involving the relative magnitude of exit rates from given origins, and, second, hypotheses positing effects of independent variables on exit rates. Regarding the first type of hypotheses, we argue that the presence of an ethnic economy requires modification of predictions in the segmented economy perspective. Data support our argument. Concerning the second type of predictions, regression analysis shows that movement into the periphery is negatively associated with number of relatives in the U.S., movement into ethnic economy employment is positively related to number of relatives living in same city as respondent, and movement into self-employment is positively related to education, intention to return to Cuba if communism were overthrown, and taking a university-level course, and negatively associated with living in a Cuban neighborhood. As a whole, regression results indicate that, with the exception of movement into the periphery, individuals with more resources are more prone to mobility.     

Pre‐commercial procurement: a demand or supply policy instrument in relation to innovation?

In 2006, the European Commission introduced the concept of ‘pre‐commercial procurement’ (PCP) as an instrument to promote innovation and to mitigate grand challenges. One of the main motives for the support of PCP schemes was to use public needs as a driver for innovation. This concept was also introduced as a response to the need to reinforce the innovation capabilities of the European Union while improving the quality and efficiency of public services. But what is meant by PCP? Is it a demand‐ or a supply‐side instrument in relation to innovation? This is the research question addressed in this paper, the goal being motivated by the lack of academic discussion in this direction. The paper is based on three cases, one from the Netherlands, one from the United Kingdom and one from Australia. These cases provide evidence that PCP is a matter of research and development (R&D) funding of a targeted kind, geared toward very specific goals and in a focused way. This leads the authors to conclude that PCP is a supply‐side policy instrument in relation to innovation. In this sense, they would like to raise a flag for going back to the origins of the PCP program and calling it a ‘precompetitive R&D program’, rather than labeling it as an innovation procurement instrument.     

BPR implementation in Europe: the adaptation of a management concept

This paper analyses Business Process Re-engineering (BPR) implementation in 20 European firms. In contrast with the radical postulates of the early orthodox literature, the find- ings reveal that BPR was used in a preventive way, with implementation time lengths directly related to the scope of the organisational changes attempted and generating moderately positive results according to corporate performance indicators, with relatively low social cost.     

Epigenetic Economic Dynamics: The evolution of big internet business ecosystems,evidence for patents

The aim of this article is to contribute to literature with new findings from biogenetics that are becoming increasingly important. In particular, we will discuss the new analytic frameworks that may open as a result of the incorporation of epigenetics in evolutionary economic thinking. This new approach is illustrated by studying the evolution of big Internet industry groups such as Apple, Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Amazon and Samsung. With it we shed light on the dynamics of business groups, which we approach as ‘business ecosystems’.     

Rental as A Taste of Freedom: The Decline of Home Ownership amongst Working‐class Youth in Spain during Times of Crisis

Over the past few decades, as the neoliberal project gradually took hold, owning one's home became a widespread practice in Spanish society. However, the prospects of purchasing housing have since been severely reduced due to the bursting of the real estate bubble and the onset of an overwhelming economic crisis. This article analyses how working‐class young people in Catalonia reflect on this phenomenon as they face their own process of moving away from home. It also considers the extent to which the spread of the so‐called ‘culture of ownership' represented an expression of neoliberal culture, and the extent to which the apparent dissolution of the former implies the erosion of the latter. The article concludes that home ownership has undergone a complex resignification in this sector of society, but continues to be an important aspiration insofar as the underlying conditions that originally brought it about continue to exist.     

The importance of the design of market-based instruments for CO2 mitigation: An AGE analysis for Spain

In the past few decades, economists have defended the use of market-based instruments (MBI) in environmental and climate policy. There have been many papers which have compared the costs of attaining environmental objectives with MBIs and with command and control instruments. However very few have compared different MBIs in examining these costs. This paper seeks to analyse various MBIs for CO₂ mitigation from the viewpoint of cost-effectiveness, using an AGE (applied general equilibrium) model for the case of Spain. A distinction is drawn between (1) quantity instruments, which represent different extents of a market for emission permits; and (2) price instruments, which represent different types of tax. Each instrument can affect different segments of the emission sources and therefore can have very different effects on the economy as a whole. We show how MBI can help to minimise mitigation costs, but also how taxes and tradable emission permits that are limited or constrained by many exemptions and distortions can raise costs considerably.