A state-dependent model of intermediate goods pricing

Recent analyses of transaction-level data sets have generated new stylized facts on price setting and greatly influenced the empirical open- and closed-economy macroeconomics literatures. This work has uncovered marked heterogeneity in price stickiness, demonstrated that even non-zero price changes do not fully “pass through” exchange rate shocks, and offered evidence of synchronization in the timing of price changes. Further, intrafirm prices have been shown to differ from arm's length prices in each of these characteristics. This paper develops a state-dependent model of price setting by strategic intermediate goods producers that anticipate and respond to their competitors' actions. The model, which allows for both arm's length and intrafirm transactions, is able to generate all of these empirical pricing patterns.     

Identification of monetary policy in SVAR models: a data-oriented perspective

In the literature using short-run timing restrictions to identify monetary policy shocks in vector-auto-regressions (VAR) there is a debate on whether (i) contemporaneous real activity and prices or (ii) only data typically observed with high frequency should be assumed to be in the information set of the central bank when the interest rate decision is taken. This paper applies graphical modeling theory, a data-based tool, in a small-scale VAR of the US economy to shed light on this issue. Results corroborate the second type of assumption.     

THE EFFECTS OF FISCAL POLICY SHOCKS IN SVAR MODELS: A GRAPHICAL MODELLING APPROACH

We apply graphical modelling (GM) theory to identify fiscal policy shocks in SVAR models of the US economy. Unlike other econometric approaches – which achieve identification by relying on potentially contentious a priori assumptions – GM is a data based tool. Our results are in line with Keynesian theoretical models, being also quantitatively similar to those obtained in the recent SVAR literature à la Blanchard and Perotti (2002) , and contrast with neoclassical real business cycle predictions. Stability checks confirm that our findings are not driven by sample selection.     

A Social Contract for International Business Ethics

This article begins with a detailed analysis of how the choice situation of a social contract for international business ethics can be constructed and justified. A choice situation is developed by analyzing conceptions of the multinational firm and the domain of international business. The result is a hypothetical negotiation between two fictional characters, J. Duncan Grey and Elizabeth Redd, who respectively represent the interests of businesses and communities seeking to engage in international trade. The negotiators agree on ethical principles governing wages, the environment, and compliance social and cultural norms. These principles are then shown to rest in wide reflective equilibrium with considered moral judgments on international business ethics, which are drawn from international agreements, such as the UN Declaration on Human Rights, and voluntary business initiatives, such as the Global Sullivan Principles and the UN Global Compact.     

Text Analysis Software: Commonalities,Differences and Limitations: The Results of a Review

In this paper we discuss the tendencies infunctionality and technology of software for textanalysis and reflect on those areas where moredevelopment is needed. The basis for this discussionforms a comprehensive review of fifteen currentlyavailable software for text analysis (Alexa and Zuell,1999). In the review the following software packageswere individually presented in a detailed andextensive manner: AQUAD, ATLAS.ti, CoAn, Code-A-Text,DICTION, DIMAP-MCCA, HyperRESEARCH, KEDS,NUD^*IST, QED, TATOE, TEXTPACK, TextSmart,WinMAXpro, and WordStat. Here we only delineate ourmethodology and criteria for selecting which programsto review and concentrate on discussing the types ofsupport the selected programs offer, the commonalitiesand differences of their functionality, point to someof their shortcomings and put forward suggestions forfuture development.     

A Fiscal Stimulus and Jobless Recovery

We analyze the effects of a government‐spending expansion in a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model with Mortensen–Pissarides labor‐market frictions, deep habits in private and public consumption, investment adjustment costs, a constant elasticity of substitution (CES) production function, and adjustments in employment at both intensive and extensive margins. The combination of deep habits and CES technology is crucial. The presence of deep habits magnifies the responses of macroeconomic variables to a fiscal stimulus, while an elasticity of substitution between capital and labor in the range of available estimates allows the model to produce a scenario compatible with the observed jobless recovery.     

Islamic financing and bank risks: The case of Malaysia

We examine whether Islamic financing can explain three important bank risks in a country with a dual banking system: credit risk, interest‐rate risk, and liquidity risk. Using Malaysian data, we find that commercial banks with Islamic financing have significantly lower credit and liquidity risks but significantly higher interest‐rate risk than banks without Islamic financing. There is also evidence that bank size is significantly related to credit risk; the proportion of loan sales to total liabilities and bank size are significant determinants of interest‐rate risk; and off‐balance‐sheet financing, the extent of securitization, loan volatility, bank capital, and bank size are statistically significantly related to liquidity risk. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Foreign Direct Investment and Trade: A Study on Selected Brazilian Industries

This study aims to investigate whether foreign direct investment (FDI) growth improved the Brazilian foreign trade in the long run and whether there is a predictable relationship between a firm's FDI strategy and a firm's foreign trade. We applied moderated multiple regressions and generalized linear models to test the effects of FDI on both export and import equations of 11 Brazilian industries from 1996 to 2009. Our data sources include the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade Ministry, Central Bank of Brazil, and the Applied Research Institute. Results showed that FDI is correlated with increased exports in the short run, but not in the long run. In the long run, the positive relationship between FDI and exports will only occur for export-oriented industries in which resource-seeking strategies are preponderant. We found a positive relationship between imports and FDI in the short run, particularly in import-oriented industries. A negative relationship between FDI and imports was found in the long run.     

Beyond the Pampas: Global capital and uneven development in Argentine soybean expansion

The article analyses the social processes introduced by globalization into agrarian production systems. In particular, it explores how capital installs a new agriculture that generates an urban fringe in rural localities. We claim that the expansion of agricultural frontiers is also associated with the rise of new actors, residential changes and transformations in labour markets. The objective is to study the transformation that takes place in the agrarian social structure of a marginal agricultural area. It shows how this transformation leads to new residential behaviour that redefines the local relational system and to a transition from a “peasant” way of life to an urban‐type through the logic of the expulsion of the peasant population and the logic of agribusiness.