The power of positivity? The influence of positive psychological capital language on crowdfunding performance

We extend the entrepreneurship literature to include positive psychological capital — an individual or organization's level of psychological resources consisting of hope, optimism, resilience, and confidence — as a salient signal in crowdfunding. We draw from the costless signaling literature to argue that positive psychological capital language usage enhances crowdfunding performance. We examine 1726 crowdfunding campaigns from Kickstarter, finding that entrepreneurs conveying positive psychological capital experience superior fundraising performance. Human capital moderates this relationship while social capital does not, suggesting that costly signals may, at times, enhance the influence of costless signals. Post hoc analyses suggest findings generalize across crowdfunding types, but not to IPOs.     

Twenty-Five Years after the Fall of the Berlin Wall: An Empirical Revisit of West German Consumers' Attitudes Toward Products and Brands from Former East Germany

More than 25 years after the German reunification, data show that products/brands from the eastern regions of Germany (“Neue Länder”) still do not have significant shares in the country's western part (“Alte Länder”). To analyze potential reasons for this phenomenon, our current study replicates a previous study that investigated selected attitudes of Alte Länder consumers toward products/brands from the Neue Länder. It is shown that factors such as consumer ethnocentrism, product judgment, willingness to buy, and economic animosity continue to influence consumer behavior and as such our study offers potential explanation for the failure of Neue Länder products/brands in the western regions of Germany.     

Estimating the Impact of Transgenic Bt Cotton on West and Central Africa: A General Equilibrium Approach

West and Central Africa (WCA)’s cotton sector is experiencing rising production costs and lower yields, reversing decades of growth. Declining input use, soil fertility and inefficient chemical pest controls are contributing factors. We evaluate the potential impact of Bt cotton on WCA using a multiregion general equilibrium model and multicountry estimates of Bt-induced productivity. We find that Bt cotton raises growers’ returns, land value and welfare. Released labor from cotton is shifted to food crops hence reducing labor shortage constraints. Overall, results indicate that potential gross benefits from Bt cotton are substantial for WCA cotton sector, and that the economic costs of nonadoption are equally significant.     

西部开发与企业家精神

西部开发给新一代的大学生提供了广阔的发展空间，大学生到西部创业体现了我国当代大学生具有了一定的企业家精神，西部开发给我们提供了培养我国具有冒险精神的企业家的沃土，但大学生到西部创业并不是一帆风顺的，他们必须具有一定的素质条件，才有可能在西部开发的大环境中有所作为。     

推进西部大开发亟待全面深化对内开放

要实现西部大开发的伟大战略构想,改变西部经济落后面貌,缩小东西部差距最终实现西部地区的经济现代化,市场化和国际化,亟待全面深化对内开放,打破地区封锁,建立统一开放竞争有序的国内大市场,优化资源配置,调整产业结构,发挥区域优势,东西部进行合理分工,增强企业竞争力,使西部的发展融入全国全球的经济体系中.     

关于历史文化名城老城区旅游发展的思考--以扬州为例

以扬州为例，探讨历史文化名城老城区的旅游发展的基本思路。名城老城区应综合历史文化、资源、市场进行恰当的旅游定位，遵循整体开发、滚动开发和开发与保护并举的原则，打造有号召力的旅游品牌。     

察尔汗盐湖物质来源的讨论

察尔汗盐湖是世界上最大的现代盐类矿床之一。盐湖中有用组份以 K、Mg 为主,伴有 Na、B、Li、Br、I、Rb、Cs、Sr 等元素。关于这些物质成份的来源有多种假说,如昆仑山古湖补给说、深层卤水或油田水补给说以及周边淡水补给说。本文首先根据格尔木河流域距今3万年以来补给察尔汗盐湖主要是山区大气降水这个事实,对昆仑山区古湖泊水是否为察尔汗盐湖提供重要物质来源提出质疑。通过元素比值与水量分析认为深层卤水或油田水可能不是盐湖的主要物质来源。研究认为察尔汗盐湖主要物质来源乃是四周长期风化淋滤及地下水、地表水不断搬运、溶解、析出演化过程的结果。昆仑山区特殊岩性环境及湖区脱硫酸作用可能是察尔汗盐湖缺少大量硫酸盐类沉积的原因。     

渝西地区小城镇建设问题研究

以渝西地区为例，根据该地区的实际情况，从宏观、微观相结合的角度提出该地区小城镇建设的构想，并具体分析了小城镇建设过程中应该做好的对内、对外两方面的工作及应该注意的问题，鉴于小城镇建设离不开一二三产业的发展，因此本也对相关的产业发展问题进行了探讨。     

西部物流产业发展中的政府宏观调控

在入世的背景下，物流日益得到了全社会和各企业的高度重视，这不仅符合现代经济的发展趋势，也是值得我国大力发展的领域。但是，与此同时，我们也应看到，现代物流产业的发展决不是一件简单的事情，也并非一蹴而就，它是经济发展到一定程度，在政府的宏观调控下以及企业的积极实践和不断努力的结果。因此，在西部物流产业的发展中，政府应当发挥其重要的规划、引导、协调作用，使西部物流管理水平得到极大提高，使西部物流实现现代化。