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on Economics of Strategic Management |
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Issue of 2014‒05‒24
27 papers chosen by Joao Jose de Matos Ferreira University of the Beira Interior |
| By: | Gabriele Pellegrino (Barcelona Institute of Economics - University of Barcelona, Barcelona); Mariacristina Piva (DISCE, Università Cattolica) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the determinants of the choice of different types of innovative input (R&D and technological acquisitions) and their relationship with different innovative outputs (product and process innovation), distinguishing between firms of different ages (mature vs young). In order to do so we apply a nonlinear structural model estimated on the third and fourth waves of the Italian Community Innovation Survey (CIS). We find that firm and market characteristics play a distinct role in boosting different types of innovation activities for firms of different ages. In particular, while methods of appropriability and international market exposure are relevant for both forms of innovative input, cooperation in innovation activities appears to be important for increasing the level of investment in R&D but not for technological acquisition. Moreover, young firms show a higher level of sensitivity than their mature counterparts to sources of information regarding innovation when we consider the magnitude of their innovative effort. On the contrary, factors such as methods of appropriability and support for innovation appear to be more important for enhancing the level of investment in both R&D and technological acquisitions for the mature firms only. Finally, the two innovative inputs appear to be equally important in determining both forms of innovative output for the two sub-samples of firms. |
| Keywords: | R&D; Technological acquisition; Innovative outputs; Young firms |
| JEL: | O31 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ctc:serie2:dises1497&r=cse |
| By: | Hien Thu Tran; Enrico Santarelli; Enrico Zaninotto |
| Abstract: | Considering the case of diversified firms within a transition country such as Vietnam, this paper investigates diversification relatedness taking into account both firm-specific and industry-level components. Two measures of relatedness, the survivor-based and the SIC distances approach, are used to investigate the choice of destination industry by diversifying firms. The conflicting result between these two relatedness index suggests that there has been a trend of imitation and follow-up among inexperienced firms that resemble the direction and intensity of diversification of dominating players within the industry (herd behavior). Accordingly, a higher survivor-based index does not lead to a superior entrepreneurial performance. However, diversified firms gain experience overtime and choose more efficient business combinations in subsequent entries. Consistently with our previous findings, the classical SIC-based approach affirms again that greater diversification raises profitability, but just to an optimum relatedness point beyond which the positive effect starts to fade away. To control for the endogeneity of diversification relatedness and serial correlation of error terms we adoptinstrumental-variable two-stage least-squares estimation (IV-2SLS) with GMM treatment. |
| Keywords: | Firm diversification, firm performance, bounded rationality, transition economy |
| JEL: | L25 L29 P23 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:trn:utwpem:2014/04&r=cse |
| By: | Inter-American Development Bank (IDB); Ingtec; USP Research Group |
| Abstract: | This paper focuses on two research problems. The first is to measure the direct impacts of innovation support measures in Brazil, and the second is to test the hypothesis of indirect effects of innovation policies on non-beneficiary firms through the labor mobility channel, whether resulting from direct support programs or indirect support via tax incentives. For this purpose, mobility is defined as the movement of workers in technical-scientific occupations, as identified by Araujo et al. (2009). It is found that, with the exception of a subvention program, direct support in the form of credit or cooperative projects fosters more innovative effort than tax incentives. Nonetheless, direct and tax- based incentives for innovation have different purposes, and sound innovation relies on both types of incentive. |
| Keywords: | Labor, Innovation, Industrial Policy, Productivity, Propensity-score matching, IDB-WP-459 |
| Date: | 2013–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idb:brikps:83714&r=cse |
| By: | Jackie Krafft (GREDEG - Groupe de Recherche en Droit, Economie et Gestion - CNRS : UMR7321 - Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (UNS)); Francesco Quatraro (GREDEG - Groupe de Recherche en Droit, Economie et Gestion - CNRS : UMR7321 - Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (UNS)); Pier-Paolo Saviotti (GAEL - Grenoble Applied Economic laboratory - Aucune) |
| Abstract: | In this paper we present a methodology to represent and measure knowledge which takes into account knowledge heterogeneity and its sectoral level theoretical and empirical implications in knowledge intensive environments. We draw on work on recombinant knowledge, extending the approach to include: the way the dynamics of technological knowledge creation evolves according to a life cycle; testing the existence of concepts such as technological paradigms; mapping the characteristics of the search process in the phases of exploration and exploitation during this technology life cycle; and detecting the differences in sectoral evolution that can be explained by the properties of the knowledge base. We use European Patent Office data (1981-2005) to propose some operational metrics for the knowledge base and its evolution in two knowledge intensive sectors: biotechnology and telecommunications. Our empirical results show that there are interesting and meaningful differences across sectors, which are linked to the different phases of the technology life cycles. |
| Keywords: | knowledge base, knowledge intensive sectors, variety, coherence, cognitive distance, technological classes, patents |
| Date: | 2013–11–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-00991397&r=cse |
| By: | Colombo, Massimo G. (Department of Management, Economics and Industrial Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, Italy); Mohammadi, Ali (CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies, Royal Institute of Technology); Lamastra, Cristina Rossi (Department of Management, Economics and Industrial Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, Italy) |
| Abstract: | Entrepreneurial ventures operating in high-tech industries are more and more adopting innovative business models, which are based on use of the market for ideas instead of the market for products or on the leveraging of communities of users and developers. A common characteristic of these innovative business models is their dependence on innovative technological knowledge and, consequently, on the ways in which intellectual property rights over this knowledge are designed (i.e., tight vs. loose appropriability regime). This chapter grounds on mainstream organizational design theories to speculate on how high-tech entrepreneurial ventures should organize internally to successfully implement these innovative business models. Specifically, it analyzes how firms’ structure, decision rights, and human resource management practices should be adapted to the need of generating, absorbing, and protecting innovative technological knowledge. Heeding a recent call in management literature, we will conduct our analysis considering organizational design variables both at the individual and firm level. |
| Keywords: | business model innovation; brganizational design; high-tech entrepreneurial ventures |
| JEL: | L17 L22 L26 O31 |
| Date: | 2014–05–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:cesisp:0366&r=cse |
| By: | Jose Claudio Linhares Pires; Tulio Cravo; Simon Lodato; Caio Piza |
| Abstract: | Industrial clusters, which are commonly targeted to receive financial support allocated to locally based development projects, are seen as an effective industrial policy tool for improving productivity and generating employment. Nevertheless, identifying clusters and assessing their economic performance is a challenge for policymakers. This paper aims to address this challenge by identifying the location of clusters based on neighbor relationships and specialization in Brazil and providing some insights on their effects on employment generation. The paper uses both Location Quotient and Local Indicator of Spatial Association to identify potential clusters in 27 industrial sectors in 5564 Brazilian municipalities. In addition, it uses annual municipal panel data for 2006-2009 to assess whether the presence of potential clusters is correlated with employment generation. The results show that clusters located in municipalities whose neighbors have similar industrial structures perform better than those that present industry specialization only. |
| Keywords: | Industrial clusters |
| Date: | 2013–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idb:brikps:83486&r=cse |
| By: | Rodolfo Stucchi; Sofía Rojo; Alessandro Maffioli; Victoria Castillo |
| Abstract: | Although knowledge spillovers are at the core of the innovation policy's justification, they have never been properly measured by any impact evaluation. This paper fills this gap by estimating the spillover effects of the FONTAR program in Argentina. We use an employer-employee matched panel dataset with the entire population of firms and workers in Argentina for the period 2002-2010. This dataset allows us to track the mobility of qualified workers from FONTAR beneficiary firms to other firms and, therefore, to identify firms that indirectly benefit from the program through knowledge diffusion. We use a combination of fixed effect and matching to estimate the causal effect-direct and indirect-of the program on various measures of performance. Our findings are robust to a placebo test based on anticipatory effects and show that the program increased employment, wages, and the exporting probability of both direct and indirect beneficiaries. The analysis of the dynamic of these effects confirms that performance does not improve immediately after the treatment for neither direct nor indirect beneficiaries. |
| Keywords: | Workforce & Employment, Impact evaluation, Innovation, labor mobility |
| Date: | 2014–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idb:brikps:83894&r=cse |
| By: | Cristhian Seminario; Edgar Salgado; Eduardo Morón |
| Abstract: | This paper documents the relationship between regional financial development and firm growth in the Peruvian manufacturing sector. In order to control for mutual causality between credit availability and firm growth, industry differences in financial dependence on external funds are exploited. The 1994 and 2008 rounds of the National Economic Census are used, permitting analysis at the firm level as well as the activity level. Results suggest a significant and positive effect of financial deepening on surviving firms` growth. However, this effect is smaller for micro enterprises, suggesting that the cost of external funding decreases with financial development mainly for large firms. The conclusions remain unchanged when entering and exiting firms are included. The paper further finds that credit expansion have encouraged not only firm growth but also firm entry. The results are robust using an alternative measure of financial dependence. |
| Keywords: | Production & Business Cycles, Business Development, Financial Services, Firm growth, Manufacturing, Financial development |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idb:brikps:82162&r=cse |
| By: | Marcela Eslava; Marcela Meléndez Arjona; Guillermo Perry |
| Abstract: | This Working Paper analyzes the institutions that shape public-private collaboration for the design and implementation of productive development policies in Colombia. These policies are increasingly designed in the context of formal institutions and venues, with public-private collaboration being a pillar of that formal design. This paper focuses on two specific case studies: the Private Council for Competitiveness and its role in the National Competitiveness System and the Productive Transformation Program. Both suggest that public-private collaboration has contributed to the continuity of productive development policies across the country. Public-private collaboration has also played a significant part in achievements such as overcoming specific government failures and developing private organizational capabilities. Thus, a central message of this paper is that formal institutions have an important potential to advance adequate productive development policies. |
| Keywords: | Industrial Policy, Public Private Partnerships, Public-private collaboration, Productive development, Colombia |
| Date: | 2014–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idb:brikps:84135&r=cse |
| By: | Juan Antonio Rodríguez-Álvarez; Ricardo Monge-González |
| Abstract: | This paper estimates the impact of two productive development programs (PDPs) in Costa Rica: PROPYME and CR Provee. The first seeks to increase the capacity of small and medium-sized firms (SMEs) to innovate, and the second aims to increase backward linkages between Costa Rican SMEs and multinational companies operating in the country. The impacts of each program were measured in terms of three result variables: real average wages, employment demand, and the probability of exporting. A combination of fixed effects and propensity score matching techniques was used in estimations to correct for any selection bias. The results show that both PROPYME and CR Provee have positive and significant impacts on SME performance. PROPYME¿s beneficiaries performed better than other firms in terms of labor demand and their probability of exporting, while firms treated by CR Provee showed higher average wages, labor demand, and chances of exporting than untreated firms. Firms treated simultaneously by both programs performed better in terms of average wages than those that were only treated by CR Provee. This result is of special interest to policymakers since it indicates the importance of bundling in the implementation of PDPs. The findings suggest that policies aimed at overcoming the weaknesses of these two programs are important for obtaining higher real wages, generating more employment, and increasing the probability of exporting by Costa Rican SMEs. |
| Keywords: | Labor, Business Development, Impact evaluation, Propensity-score matching, Productivity, SME, IDB-WP-461 |
| Date: | 2013–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idb:brikps:83185&r=cse |
| By: | Fagerberg, Jan; Fosaas, Morten |
| Abstract: | This paper reports on a desk-study on innovation performance and policies influencing it in four Nordic countries. The study is entirely based on published sources, either on the web (Eurostat, the OECD, the World Bank etc.), or in the form of articles, books, reports and evaluations. The first section introduces the study and deals with conceptual issues. Section two contains a descriptive analysis of innovation activities in the Nordic area and a broader set of countries with which the Nordic countries may be compared with the help of data from the Community Innovation Survey (CIS) and other relevant sources. Section three of the paper, then, presents - for four Nordic countries – an analysis of their innovation policies and how these have evolved towards their present stance. Lessons and questions for further research are discussed in the fourth and final section. |
| Keywords: | Innovation, innovation policy, Nordic countries |
| JEL: | O25 O31 O38 O57 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:56114&r=cse |
| By: | Leino, Topias (Bank of Finland); Ali-Yrkkö , Jyrki (The Research Institute of the Finnish Economy) |
| Abstract: | We study Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) as a measure of real investment (gross fixed capital formation) in foreign-owned companies. Our data include firm-level information on FDI in-flows and real investment of foreign-owned companies located in Finland. Our results suggest that the recorded annual inflows of FDI do not constitute an accurate measure of annual real investments in foreign-owned companies. Since the beginning of the global recession in 2008, FDI inflows have significantly underestimated real investments in foreign companies in Finland. We seek to explain these findings by describing Finnish FDI target enterprises and subgroups and the nature of their FDI flows from several perspectives. We show how FDI target enterprises use other sources of funding, in addition to FDI, and how a few large transactions, often related to cross-border mergers and acquisitions, can explain a great deal of the recorded annual FDI flows. We also describe how Finland’s FDI stock and flow data increasingly consist of funds that merely pass through the FDI enterprises and subgroups, arguably with little or no real economic linkage to the Finnish economy, and we present a method for estimating such pass-through funding. |
| Keywords: | foreign direct investment; gross fixed capital formation; investment; measurement; pass-through investments |
| JEL: | E22 F21 F23 |
| Date: | 2014–05–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:bofrdp:2014_012&r=cse |
| By: | Leino, Topias; Ali-Yrkkö, Jyrki |
| Abstract: | We study how Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) measures gross fixed capital formation in foreign-owned companies. Our data include firm-level information on FDI inflows and real investment (Gross Fixed Capital Formation) by foreign-owned companies located in Finland. Our results suggest that the recorded annual inflows of FDI poorly measure annual real investments in foreign-owned companies. Since the beginning of the global recession in 2008, FDI has significantly underestimated real investments by foreign companies in Finland. We seek to explain these findings by describing Finnish FDI target enterprises and subgroups and the nature of their FDI flows from several perspectives. We show how FDI target enterprises use other sources of funding in addition to FDI, and how a few large transactions, often related to cross-border mergers and acquisitions, can explain a great deal of the recorded annual FDI flows. We also describe how Finland’s FDI figures increasingly consist of funds that merely pass through the FDI enterprises and subgroups, arguably with little or no real economic linkage to the Finnish economy, and present a calculation method for estimating such pass-through funding. |
| Keywords: | foreign direct investment, fixed investment, GFCF, measure, measurement, passthrough, inward, firm-level |
| JEL: | F21 F23 E22 |
| Date: | 2014–05–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rif:report:27&r=cse |
| By: | Juan Jung (Faculty of Economics, University of Barcelona); Enrique López-Bazo (Faculty of Economics, University of Barcelona) |
| Abstract: | This paper proposes a model which incorporates capital accumulation and spatial spillovers across economies, while allowing for regional differences in absorptive abilities. This model is estimated using a sample of 215 European NUTS2 regions, before and after the 2004 enlargement of the single??market area. Results confirm the relevance of local absorptive capacities, as are found to be directly linked with the process of making the most of externalities. More than that, capital accumulation externalities do not seem to take place in absence of local capabilities. The process of capital deepening which took place in the period reduced the role of capital in explaining the productivity gap among regions, but so far has not been enough to help lagging regions to equal the return to human capital investments reached by most advanced regions. |
| Keywords: | Regional Disparities, Absorptive Capacity, Technological Interdependence, Spatial Econometrics. JEL classification: C21, O10, R11 |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aqr:wpaper:201409&r=cse |
| By: | Khan, Jangraiz; Tariq, Muhammad |
| Abstract: | This paper concentrates on the significance of Research and Development (R&D) for economic growth in the developing economy of Pakistan. The paper also questioned the major macro determinants of R&D in Pakistan. The study used time series data for the period 1971- 2008. The results obtained from the Ordinary Squares method showed that R&D significantly affects the Real GDP per capita in Pakistan. Health, labour force , and Physical capital are among the other determinants of Real GDP per capita. The results further show that real GDP per capita and quality of educational institutions are the significant factors which affect R&D. The Johansen Cointegration test confirmed the existence of long run relationship between R&D and economic growth. Similarly, R&D and its determinants were also found in long run relationship.It is therefore recommended to increase investment in R&D to achieve sustained economic growth. It is also recommended to collect and record quality R&D data for effective policy making in the field of science and technology, and social sectors in Pakistan. |
| Keywords: | Research and Development, Economic Growth, Health, Labour Force, Quality of Educational Institutions |
| JEL: | O3 O38 O39 O4 |
| Date: | 2014–05–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:56005&r=cse |
| By: | Tsutomu Chano (Musashi University); Yoshiro Tsutsui (Konan University) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the effect of the size and composition of the board of directors of Shinkin Banks on their efficiency and risk taking. Because employees are important stakeholders in Japanese firms, we define the relative size of the board of directors as the number of directors per employee. We also consider the composition of the board; specifically, we employ a dummy variable representing whether the board includes directors who were not employees of that Shinkin Bank, and also the fraction of directors who do not have the right to represent that Shinkin Bank. We found the following. First, smaller the relative size of the board, the more efficient the Shinkin Bank is. Second, those Shinkin Banks which have ever-non-employee directors are more efficient than others. Third, the smaller the relative size of the board, the less risk the Shinkin Bank takes. On the other hand, we found that mergers and competitiveness of bank location do not affect the relationship between board size and efficiency. |
| Keywords: | Board size and performance, Risk taking, Malmquist index, Z score, Shinkin bank |
| JEL: | D2 G21 G34 |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osk:wpaper:1420&r=cse |
| By: | Francesco Quatraro (GREDEG - Groupe de Recherche en Droit, Economie et Gestion - CNRS : UMR7321 - Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (UNS)) |
| Abstract: | This paper presents an analysis of the co-evolutionary patterns of structural change in knowledge and economics. The former is made operational through an analysis of co-occurrences of technological classes in patent documents in order to derive indicators of coherence, variety and cognitive distance. The latter, on the other hand, is made operational in a synthetic way by implementing shift share analysis which decomposes labour productivity growth into effects caused by changes in the allocation of employment, those ascribed to intra-sector productivity growth and those caused by interaction of these two components. The results of the analysis conducted on a sample of 227 European regions show that increasing variety is associated with the reallocation of workforce across sectors whereas within sector productivity is associated with high levels of both coherence and cognitive distance of the regional knowledge base. |
| Keywords: | Recombinant Knowledge, Coherence, Variety, Regional Structural Change, Shift Share Analysis |
| Date: | 2013–11–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-00992080&r=cse |
| By: | Ricardo Rozemberg; Daniela Ramos; Andrés López; Juan Carlos Hallak; Andrea González; Roberto Bisang |
| Abstract: | This study discusses four cases of public-private collaboration (PPC) in the design and implementation of productive development policies (PDP) in Argentina. We find that PPCs have contributed to the success of most of the studied PDPs by facilitating information sharing and creating coordination devices that have improved the diffusion, transparency, and resilience of the policies and a more effective use of public funds. We also identify conditions that seem to be critical for a successful PPC. These conditions include the previous acquaintance and existence of trust relationships among the agents involved in the PPC, the alignment of their objectives and interests, and the emergence of clear leaderships in the private and/or in the public sectors. The stability of the PPCs, in turn, depends on the availability of public funding and the creation of formal governance mechanisms, while it is threatened by large disparities in the size, interests, and capabilities among the different private-sector agents involved in the collaboration. |
| Keywords: | Public Private Partnerships, Industrial Policy, Productive development policies, Public-Private collaboration, Argentina, Industrial policy, Economic development, Institutions |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idb:brikps:84496&r=cse |
| By: | Rosina Moreno (Faculty of Economics, University of Barcelona); Jordi Suriñach (Faculty of Economics, University of Barcelona) |
| Abstract: | The idea in this paper is to provide an empirical verification of the relationship between innovation adoption and productivity growth. After a brief revision of the literature about the concept and main determinants of innovation adoption/diffusion, the paper provides empirical evidence of the above-mentioned relationship through means of descriptive statistics and subsequently, we study the impact that innovation adoption may have on productivity growth through a regression analysis. The analysis is made with the statistical information provided by the Community Innovation Survey in its third and fourth waves, which concern innovative activities carried out between 1998 and 2000 and between 2002 and 2004 respectively. The countries covered are the 25 EU Member States plus Iceland and Norway as well as Turkey. |
| Keywords: | Innovation, Innovation adoption, Productivity, Europe, Community Innovation Survey. JEL classification: C8, J61, O31, O33, R0 |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aqr:wpaper:201408&r=cse |
| By: | Thorsten Beck; Haki Pamuk; Burak R. Uras |
| Abstract: | What is the relationship between entrepreneurial saving practices and reinvestment? We develop a model of entrepreneurial finance and show that entrepreneurial reinvestment decisions depend on the efficiency of saving practices. Utilizing a novel micro & small enterprise survey from Tanzania we test the empirical implications of this theory. We find (1) saving for business purposes and earnings reinvestment are positively related; (2) the practice of saving in a deposit account of a formal financial institution is more likely to facilitate reinvestment compared to the practice of keeping savings within the household. We also show that the negative impact of saving within-the-household on investment is more pronounced for family members with inherently low intra-household bargaining power - such as females and non-head household members. Our work contributes to the recent debate on the implications of saving instruments in developing countries, and suggests informal saving practices as potential barriers to microenterprise performance. |
| Keywords: | Micro- and small enterprises; savings; reinvestment; Tanzania |
| JEL: | D14 G21 O12 O16 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:csa:wpaper:2014-15&r=cse |
| By: | Andrea Bonaccorsi (Department of Energy and Systems Engineering, University of Pisa, Italy); Cinzia Daraio (Department of Computer, Control and Management Engineering, Universita' degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza"); Leopold Simar (Institute of Statistics, Biostatistics et Actuarial Sciences, Universite' Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium) |
| Abstract: | In this paper we investigate economies of scale and scope of European universities.The proposed approach builds on the notion that university production is a multi-input multi-output process different than standard production activity. The analyses are based on an interesting database which integrates the main European universities data on inputs and outputs with bibliometric data on publications, impact and collaborations. We pursue a cross-country perspective; we include subject mix and introduce a robust modeling of production trade-offs. Finally, we test the statistical significance of scale and scope and find that size and specialization have a statistical significant impact both jointly and separately, showing an inverted u-shape effect on efficiency. |
| Keywords: | efficiency; national academic systems; disciplinary specialization; research performance;teaching and research;nonparametric and robust frontier estimation; bootstrap |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aeg:report:2014-08&r=cse |
| By: | Stanislav Sobolevsky; Izabela Sitko; Sebastian Grauwin; Remi Tachet des Combes; Bartosz Hawelka; Juan Murillo Arias; Carlo Ratti |
| Abstract: | Intensive development of urban systems creates a number of challenges for urban planners and policy makers in order to maintain sustainable growth. Running efficient urban policies requires meaningful urban metrics, which could quantify important urban characteristics including various aspects of an actual human behavior. Since a city size is known to have a major, yet often nonlinear, impact on the human activity, it also becomes important to develop scale-free metrics that capture qualitative city properties, beyond the effects of scale. Recent availability of extensive datasets created by human activity involving digital technologies creates new opportunities in this area. In this paper we propose a novel approach of city scoring and classification based on quantitative scale-free metrics related to economic activity of city residents, as well as domestic and foreign visitors. It is demonstrated on the example of Spain, but the proposed methodology is of a general character. We employ a new source of large-scale ubiquitous data, which consists of anonymized countrywide records of bank card transactions collected by one of the largest Spanish banks. Different aspects of the classification reveal important properties of Spanish cities, which significantly complement the pattern that might be discovered with the official socioeconomic statistics. |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:1405.4301&r=cse |
| By: | Andrew B. Bernard (Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, CEPR & NBER); Valerie Smeets (Department of Economics and Business, Aarhus University, Denmark); Frederic Warzynski (Department of Economics and Business, Aarhus University, Denmark) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the decline in manufacturing in Denmark from 1994 to 2007. As in almost every other high-income country, manufacturing employment and the number of manufacturing firms in Denmark have been shrinking as a share of the total and in absolute levels. Most of the decline of manufacturing is due to firm exit and reduced employment at surviving manufacturers. However, a portion of the recorded decline is due to firms switching industries, from manufacturing to service sectors. We focus on this last group of firms, asking what they looked like before switched and how they fared after the switch. Overall this is a group of small high productivity firms that grow more rapidly after they switch. By 2007, employment at these former manufacturers equals 10 percent of manufacturing employment, reducing the apparent decline in manufacturing employment by about one half. |
| Keywords: | deindustrialization, manufacturing firms, industry switching, employment, skill composition |
| JEL: | D22 L25 |
| Date: | 2014–05–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aah:aarhec:2014-14&r=cse |
| By: | Ghisetti, Claudia; Quatraro, Francesco (University of Turin) |
| Abstract: | This paper provides empirical investigation of the effects of environmental innovations (EIs)on environmental performances, as proxied by the environmental productivity (EP) measure. We focused on sectoral environmental productivity of Italian Regions by exploiting the Regional Accounting Matrix including Environmental Accounts (Regional NAMEA). Patent applications have been extracted by the Patstat Database and assigned to the environmental domain by adopting three international classifications of green technologies:the WIPO IPC green inventory, the European Patent Office climate change mitigation technologies classification (Y02) and the OECD ENV-Tech indicators. Econometric results outline that regions -sectors characterized by higher levels of green technologies (GTs) are actually those facing better environmental performance. These positive effects directlys tem from the introduction of GT in the same sector, as well as from the introduction of GT in vertically related sectors. |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uto:labeco:201404&r=cse |
| By: | Jean-Luc Gaffard (OFCE); Lionel Nesta (OFCE) |
| Abstract: | Real divergences in economic performances that emerge between countries belonging to the Eurozone make it necessary to define an economic policy oriented towards a re-industrialization of some regions in Europe. In a world characterized by irreversibility of investment and imperfection of market information, supply-side reforms should consist in establishing a framework aimed at supporting both competition and cooperation between the various players of innovation, and thus allowing firm strategies to be successful. This requires reconsidering both national and European policies that are growth-enhancing, that is, industrial policy, competition policy, labour policy, regional policy, and banking policy. However, any change in the industrial landscape in Europe will only be possible if a new macroeconomic policy prevents the inappropriate destruction of productive capacities. 1. A |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/2n0nklq0fu9ubbop85trtn08qh&r=cse |
| By: | KUEPIE Mathias; TENIKUE Michel; WALTHER Olivier |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the link between economic performance and social networks in West Africa. Using first-hand data collected on 358 small-scale traders in five border markets between Niger, Nigeria and Benin, we are particularly interested in testing whether the most well-connected actors of trade networks are also the most successful in terms of monthly sales and profit. The paper shows that the overall economic performance of traders is affected by the socio-professional position of the actors with whom they are connected. While social ties with local religious leaders have no effect on their business, support received from civil servants, politicians, and security authorities translates into economic performance. The paper also shows significant differences between countries, regions and marketplaces. Social connections developed with state representatives have a much greater effect on economic performances in Niger and Benin than in Nigeria, where average profit is much higher. Experience is more closely correlated with profit in the region where traders have developed re-export trade activities than where petty trade is the dominant form of business. |
| Keywords: | Social networks; border markets; economic performance; Benin; Niger; Nigeria |
| JEL: | D85 F14 L14 R11 |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:irs:cepswp:2014-06&r=cse |
| By: | Javier Morales Sarriera; Tomás Serebrisky; Gonzalo Araya; Cecilia Briceño-Garmendia; Jordan Schwartz |
| Abstract: | We developed a technical efficiency analysis of container ports in Latin America and the Caribbean using an input-oriented stochastic frontier model. We employed a 10-year panel with data on container throughput, port terminal area, berth length, and number of available cranes in 63 ports. The model has three innovations with respect to the available literature: (i) we treated ship-to-shore gantry cranes and mobile cranes separately, in order to account for the higher productivity of the former; (ii) we introduced a binary variable for ports using ships¿ cranes, treated as an additional source of port productivity; and (iii) we introduced a binary variable for ports operating as transshipment hubs. Their associated parameters are highly significant in the production function. The results show an improvement in the average technical efficiency of ports in the Latin American and Caribbean region from 36% to 50% between 1999 and 2009; the best performing port in 2009 achieved a technical efficiency of 94%with respect to the frontier. The paper also studies possible determinants of port technical efficiency, such as ownership, corruption, transshipment, income per capita, and location. The results revealed positive and significant associations between technical efficiency and both transshipment activities and lower corruption levels. |
| Keywords: | Ports & Waterways, technical efficiency, ports, Latin America, benchmarking, stochastic frontier analysis |
| Date: | 2013–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idb:brikps:83755&r=cse |