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on Central and Western Asia |
| By: | James D. Campbell; April Mitchell Franco |
| Abstract: | When an idea for a new product arrives, will it be developed and by whom? We develop a spatial model in which an idea arrives to a researcher within the firm. Products are imperfectly substitutable, so that developing a new product that is close to an existing product will cannibalize some amount of the existing product's sales, and the cost to develop a new product is higher the further it is from an existing product. Together these forces mean that there exist ideas that can be developed more efficiently by the researcher as a spin-out than by the firm (due to the cost of fit) but that the firm prefers to buy out the researcher and either develop itself or discard (due to the potential loss from cannibalization). These inefficient outcomes occur for ideas at intermediate distance from the firm's existing portfolio, and are likelier and more severe the higher is demand and the greater the degree of substitutability. |
| Keywords: | - |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aal:abbswp:13-11&r=cwa |
| By: | Beath, Andrew; Christia, Fotini; Enikolopov, Ruben |
| Abstract: | Using data from a field experiment in 500 villages, this paper studies how local institutions affect the quality of governance, as measured by aid distribution outcomes. In villages where elected councils exist and manage distributions, aid targeting improves. However, if the distribution is not clearly assigned to either the council or customary leaders, the creation of elected councils increases embezzlement and makes decision-making less inclusive. Requiring that women manage the distribution jointly with customary leaders also increases embezzlement. Thus, while elected councils can improve governance, overlapping mandates between new and existing institutions may result in increased rent-seeking. |
| Keywords: | Social Accountability,Governance Indicators,National Governance,Housing&Human Habitats,Peri-Urban Communities |
| Date: | 2013–06–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:6510&r=cwa |
| By: | Hoen, Herman W. |
| Abstract: | It is often stated that globalization makes a smaller world by institutional conver-gence. Economic orders become alike across the world. This article addresses institutional change triggered by the global financial crisis of 2008/2009 and challenges this general conviction of worldwide convergence by comparing developments in emerging markets in Europe and Asia. The rise of emerging markets, both in Eastern Europe and in Asia, entailed encompassing institutional reform. In analysing the extent to which there is institutional convergence, the article follows the approach of Varieties of Capitalism. This approach distinguishes two ideal types of capitalism: a liberal market economy and a coordinated market economy. In liberal market economies, firms are primarily driven by competition, whereas in coordinated market economies firms also coordinate with other actors by strategic interaction. The basic premise is that countries with a specific set of institutions develop institutional complementarities. Therefore, considering institutional change, liberal market economies and coordinated market economies are expected to respond in different ways to external shocks, such as the global financial crisis. Being aware of the pitfalls that the approach suffers from by simply pinpointing countries on a broad continuum, the article argues that the emerging market economies in Europe are on the liberal side of the scale. On top of that, it builds the argument of a tentative convergence towards further liberal institutional design. With respect to emerging markets in Asia, another development is observed. There is converging institutional change towards coordinated market economies characterized with strong state influence and an imperative bureaucracy. The expected convergence in the two groups of emerging market economies in Europe and Asia leads to the conviction of divergence between the groups. -- |
| Keywords: | Globalization,Institutional Economics,Varieties of Capitalism,Emerging Markets |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:opodis:201304&r=cwa |
| By: | Reiljan, Janno; Paltser, Ingra |
| Abstract: | Research and development (R&D) policy has to fulfil a central role in innovation policy since it consists of government sector measures that support R&D in order to initialise and promote innovation. The authors of this article discuss first the theoretical reasoning for government sector intervention in R&D processes. The empirical study examines the level and structure of government sector resources and expenditures for R&D policy in EU member states (including Estonia), countries closely associated with the EU, China, Japan and South Korea. The aim of the article is to compare the position of these countries on the basis of R&D policy implementation from the aspect of resource and expenditure supply. In order to achieve the aim, the following research tasks are tackled: on the basis of research literature, the necessity, essence, measures and anticipated outcomes of R&D policy are explained to create the theoretical base for the empirical study; on the basis of the empirical analysis, an assessment on the international position of R&D policy implementation in several new EU member states and Asian countries is conducted. The data used in the empirical analysis is gathered from Eurostat and OECD databases. -- |
| Keywords: | market and system failures,R&D policy,EU,Estonia,South Korea |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:opodis:201303&r=cwa |
| By: | Gautam, Mahesh R.; Timilsina, Govinda R.; Acharya, Kumud |
| Abstract: | This paper reviews the literature on the potential biophysical and economic impacts of climate change in the Himalayas. Existing observations indicate that the temperature is rising at a higher rate in Nepal and Chinese regions of the Himalayas compared with rest of the Himalayas. A declining trend of monsoon in the western Indian Himalayas and an increasing trend in the eastern Indian Himalayas have been observed, whereas increasing precipitation and stream flow in many parts of Tibetan Plateau are noted. Glaciers in both the eastern and western Himalayas are mostly retreating, but the majority of the glaciers in Karakorum are either stable or advancing slowly. Expansion of glacier lakes is reported, with the highest rate in Nepal and Bhutan. Most literature predicts increases in temperature and monsoon precipitations and decreases in winter precipitations in the future thereby leading to monsoon flooding and increased sediments in stream flow. Available hydrological simulations indicate reduced rainfall and shrinkage of glacier thereby leading to shortage of water supply for power generation and irrigation in winter particularly in highly glaciated basins. Projected economic impacts of glacial lake outburst floods can be substantial on the developed river basin with infrastructures and population centers. However, there is a clear gap in knowledge of economic impacts of climate change in the Himalayas. |
| Keywords: | Climate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases,Science of Climate Change,Global Environment Facility,Regional Economic Development,Ecosystems and Natural Habitats |
| Date: | 2013–06–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:6516&r=cwa |
| By: | Pieroni, Luca; Lorusso, Marco |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we re-examine the magnitude of the impact of government spending on private consumption by a new Keynesian approach, focusing on the role of military spending. For this reason, we separate civilian and military spending in the U.S. economy and analyse their respective effects. Our VAR estimates show, as expected, that civilian expenditure induces a positive and significant response on private consumption whereas military spending has a negative impact. We then develop a simple DSGE new Keynesian model to simulate the empirical evidence under a larger persistence of shocks and a different financing mechanism in military spending, the latter reproducing the propensity of policy-makers to use budget deficits to finance wars. Lastly, simulated impulse response functions of alternative specification models prove the robustness of our analysis. |
| Keywords: | Military and Civilian Spending, SVAR, DSGE Model. |
| JEL: | E2 E62 H1 H10 |
| Date: | 2013–05–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:47878&r=cwa |
| By: | Annamaria Conti; Jerry Thursby; Marie C. Thursby |
| Abstract: | We examine the role of patents as signals used to reduce information asymmetries in entrepreneurial finance. A theoretical model gives conditions for a unique separating equilibrium in which startup founders file for patents to signal invention quality to investors, as well as appropriating value. The theory allows for heterogeneous investors and examine the optimal match of different types of startups, as defined by the quality of their technology, to investors who differ in the amount of non financial capital they provide. The empirical analysis is consistent with the model's predictions using a novel dataset of Israeli startups that received external funding during the period 1994-2011. |
| JEL: | G14 O16 O3 O34 |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:19191&r=cwa |
| By: | Guglielmo Barone (Economic Research Department, Branch of Bologna, Bank of Italy, Italy; RCEA, Italy); Gaia Narciso (Department of Economics, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland; CReAM, UK; IIIS, Ireland) |
| Abstract: | Organised crime is widely regarded as damaging to economic outcomes. This paper analyses the impact of organized crime on the allocation of public subsidies to businesses. We assemble an innovative data set on Italian mafia at municipality level and test whether mafia diverts public funding. We exploit exogenous variation at municipality level to instrument mafia activity and show that the presence of organized crime positively affects the probability of obtaining funding and the amount of public funds. Mafia is also found to lead to episodes of corruption in the public administration sector. A series of robustness checks confirms the above findings. |
| Keywords: | organized crime, public transfers, corruption |
| JEL: | H4 K4 O17 |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rim:rimwps:34_13&r=cwa |