Childhood adversity and the propensity for entrepreneurship: A quasi-experimental study of the Great Chinese Famine

Studies on the determinants of entrepreneurship emphasize that challenged adults tend to become entrepreneurs. However, research has not addressed the childhood origins surrounding the propensity for entrepreneurship. This article links childhood adversity to the propensity of individuals to become migrant entrepreneurs later in life. We test hypotheses derived from this theory in the context of whether, and when, children who survived the Great Chinese Famine of 1959–1961 became migrant entrepreneurs. Results strongly indicate that those who survived greater hardship during the Famine are more likely to become entrepreneurs, especially when they were younger during the famine years. We also find that being younger at the time of migration increased the likelihood of becoming entrepreneurs in their new locale. Overall, this study casts light on why, how and when childhood adversity shapes the propensity for entrepreneurship.     

Deficit financing,liquidity, and the government budget constraint

This article presents a macroeconomic model in which government deficits are bond financed and the stock of bonds may affect both expected income and liquidity. If either of these effects exists, then comparative statics analysis requires the government budget to be balanced. Temporary divergences from a balanced budget and changes in the maturity structure of the government debt may be analyzed in terms of changes in the stock of bonds. It is shown that traditional fiscal and monetary policies may have a perverse effect; that to ensure effective policy, deficit financing and open market operations should be avoided; and that only policies involving a balanced budget or the financing of deficits or surpluses through changes in the stock of money should be undertaken.     

What determines the efficiency of Australian mining companies?

We examine the firm‐specific determinants of technical efficiency in Australian mining companies using data envelopment analysis (DEA). To do so, we employ panel data sourced from individual mining companies listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) over the period 2010–2014. To ensure valid statistical inference in the presence of serial correlation between DEA efficiency scores, we apply Simar and Wilson's two‐stage bootstrap method. We find that ownership concentration, firm size, firm age, product portfolio, product diversification and growth status significantly contribute to efficiency gains. However, other firm‐specific factors, such as capacity utilisation, financial risk and overseas operations appear to have limited impact on the technical efficiency of mining firms.     

The macroeconomic determinants of academic salaries in Australia

Nominal and real salaries at Australian universities are significantly affected by the behaviour of inflation and unemployment. Australian academics are not fully compensated for inflation. High unemployment has a marked negative effect on real salaries. Predicted changes in real salaries for various combinations of inflation and unemployment, calculated from the econometric model, yield pessimistic conclusions about the future outlook for real academic salaries.     

The Effect of Hysteresis on Fluctuations in Unemployment and Inflation when Inflation Expectations are Adaptive

The recent level of unemployment may affect the natural rate of unemployment. The implications of such an hysteresis effect for macroeconomic fluctuations is analyzed using a stochastic dynamic model. The greater the importance of an hysteresis effect, the more pronounced are fluctuations in unemployment and inflation. Complete hysteresis causes the economy to be unstable.     

Using Leading Indicators to Forecast U.S. Home Sales in a Bayesian Vector Autoregressive Framework

This article uses Bayesian vector autoregressive models to examine the usefulness of leading indicators in predicting U.S. home sales. The benchmark Bayesian model includes home sales, price of homes, mortgage rate, real personal disposable income, and unemployment rate. We evaluate the forecasting performance of six alternative leading indicators by adding each, in turn, to the benchmark model. Out-of-sample forecast performance over three periods shows that the model that includes building permits authorized consistently produces the most accurate forecasts. Thus, the intention to build in the future provides good information with which to predict U.S. home sales. Another finding suggests that leading indicators with longer leads outperform the short-leading indicators.     

Perceptions of Dishonesty among Two-year College Students: Academic versus Business Situations

This study statistically analyzes two-year college students' attitudes toward cheating via a survey containing academic and business situations that the students evaluated on a seven point scale from unethical to ethical. When both the general questions concerning attitudes about cheating and the opinions on the ethical statements are considered, the business students were generally more unethical in their behavior and attitudes than non-business majors. These results indicate a need for more ethical exposure in business courses to help students distinguish ethical from unethical decisions.     

On the relationship between female labour force participation and fertility in G7 countries: evidence from panel cointegration and Granger causality

This article examines the relationship between the female labour force participation rate and total fertility rate for the G7 countries from 1960 to 2006 using panel unit root, panel cointegration, Granger causality and long-run structural estimation. The article’s main findings are that the female labour force participation rate and total fertility rate are cointegrated for the panel of G7 countries; that long-run Granger causality runs from the total fertility rate to the female labour force participation rate and that a 1% increase in the total fertility rate results in a 0.4% decrease in the female labour force participation rate for the G7 countries.