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on Central and Western Asia |
| By: | Sophie Mitra (Fordham University); Usha Sambamoorthi (West Virginia University) |
| Abstract: | Objectives: We estimated disability prevalence among adults at global, regional and country levels using internationally comparable disability data and measure. Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of data from the World Health Survey (WHS) (2002--2004) for nationally representative samples of civilian, non-institutionalized populations in 54 countries. A disability was measured as having at least one severe or extreme difficulty with bodily functions (seeing, concentrating) and activities (moving around, self--care) based on an individual’s self-reports. Results: In the 54 countries under study, severe or extreme functional or activity difficulties are highly prevalent. For all countries, disability prevalence is estimated at 14% for all adults. Low and middle income countries have higher disability prevalence compared to high income countries. Among subgroups, disability prevalence stands at 12% amon working age adults and 39% among the elderly. Women have higher prevalence than men. Conclusions: Disability is found to be highly prevalent among adults, with an estimated global prevalence at 14%. Disability deserves enhanced policy attention and resources in public health and international development. |
| Keywords: | Disability prevalence, Development |
| JEL: | I1 J14 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:frd:wpaper:dp2013-06&r=cwa |
| By: | Briones, Roehlano M. |
| Abstract: | This paper argues that the development of the rural economy is a key factor for achieving inclusive growth, one that creates jobs, draws the majority into the economic and social mainstream, and continuously reduces mass poverty. Employment conditions in Philippine rural labor markets and agriculture can be characterized as casual or informal, with low skill requirements, with low productivity and returns, and a greater concentration of poverty. This is consistent with a prominent strand of development literature that posits a traditional sector, mostly located in rural areas, and highly dependent on agricultural livelihood. Development involves the change in economic structure, anchored on productivity growth in agriculture, involving a movement of labor from the traditional sector, as well as accelerated capital formation in industry and services. Evidence, both international and for the Philippines, is favorable to the structural transformation perspective. For the Philippines, in particular, the evidence points to the following: agricultural growth causes nonagricultural growth, is tightly linked to downstream manufacturing, and contributes significantly toward reducing poverty. Agricultural growth has a differential impact on employment of the unskilled labor, indirectly reducing economywide labor cost by keeping food affordable. Lastly, agricultural productivity growth can have long-term dynamic effects by enabling farm households to invest in human capital, leading to intergenerational diversification of income sources. The evidence suggests that the agricultural and rural economy should be at the forefront, rather than periphery, of the country`s strategy for quality employment generation; such a strategy completing an unfinished reform agenda for sustained development of the rural economy. This involves swift completion of the land reform program. Post-2014, the state should focus on developing a flexible and responsive market for land rights. Liberalization initiatives should be pursued in the area of market policy and logistics. Government should rationalize its role as market regulator. Support for agricultural production should be oriented toward enhancing agricultural productivity and comparative advantage based largely on the effective delivery of public goods and associated services such as R&D, irrigation, and other infrastructure. Agricultural development transcends productivity enhancement at the level of primary production, encompassing the agribusiness value chain and based on comparative advantage. |
| Keywords: | labor market, Philippines, employment, agriculture, rural development, inclusive growth |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:phd:dpaper:dp_2013-39&r=cwa |
| By: | Marius Ley (KOF Swiss Economic Institute, ETH Zurich, Switzerland); Tobias Stucki (KOF Swiss Economic Institute, ETH Zurich, Switzerland); Martin Wörter (KOF Swiss Economic Institute, ETH Zurich, Switzerland) |
| Abstract: | Based on patent data and industry specific energy prices for 18 OECD countries over 30 years we investigate on an industry level the impact of energy prices on green innovation activities. Our econometric models show that energy prices and green innovation activities are positively related and that energy prices have a significantly positive impact on the share of green innovations in non-green innovations. More concretely, our main model shows that a 10% increase of the average energy prices of the previous five years results in a 2.7% and 4.5% increase of the number of green innovations and the share of green innovations in non-green innovations, respectively. We also find that the impact of energy prices increases with an increasing lag between energy prices and innovation activities. Robustness tests confirm the main results. |
| Keywords: | Innovation, environment, energy prices |
| JEL: | O30 O34 Q55 |
| Date: | 2013–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kof:wpskof:13-340&r=cwa |
| By: | David von Below; Pierre-Louis Vezina |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the trade and trade-induced welfare effects of high oil prices. Using a gravity model of trade we find that the distance elasticity of trade significantly increases with the oil price. This suggests that high oil prices make trade less global. We estimate that an increase in the oil price from 100$ to 200$ would have the similar effect as imposing a world-wide import tariff between 4% and 9%, depending on the distance between countries. In turn, such higher tade costs would lower welfare by 1.8% in the average non-oil-exporting country. |
| Keywords: | oil prices, gravity, trade costs |
| JEL: | F14 Q43 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oxf:oxcrwp:115&r=cwa |
| By: | Jeremy de Beer (U. Ottawa); Kun Fu (Imperial College); Sacha Wunsch-Vincent (World Intellectual Property Organization, Economics and Statistics Division, Geneva, Switzerland) |
| JEL: | E26 O12 O17 O3 |
| Date: | 2013–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wip:wpaper:10&r=cwa |
| By: | OECD |
| Abstract: | The Internet began as a way of linking different computers over the phone network, but it now connects billions of users worldwide from wherever they happen to be via portable or fixed devices. The Internet began as an important tool for improving communication but has transformed into a universal technology supporting all virtually sectors across the economy, just like electricity or steam engine did in the past. Given the growing importance of the Internet as a policy tool, the question about the value of the Internet economy becomes particularly relevant. There is a high level of interest, therefore, in being able to measure the size of the Internet economy as a way to understand the effects of various investment strategies, regulatory rulings and policy decisions. The existing OECD research presented in this report and in the Internet Economy Outlook illustrates the importance of establishing an international definition and the need to develop related policies. According to one of the approaches, at least 3.2% and up to 13.8% of business sector value added in the United States in 2011 could be attributed to Internet-related activities depending on the scope of the definition. It needs to be highlighted that the respective figures for 2010 were 3% and up to 13%. This indicates that the Internet economy has reported a steady growth rate since 2010. |
| Date: | 2013–07–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:stiaab:226-en&r=cwa |
| By: | El Fasiki, Hamza |
| Abstract: | The way a family business functions is greatly influenced by the structure of the society it originates from. A wide range of literature has recently attempted to emphasise that it is, therefore, not possible to create global family business theories without taking into consideration the remarkable differences that cultural and traditional context can make. Our attention is drawn to the role that collectivism plays in influencing family culture and the way in which it manifests in entrepreneurial activity throughout family generations. Collectivist societies and the family culture experienced by its individuals can have an important influence on the family business and the entrepreneurship it fosters. The term “collectivist society” describes how individuals often behave while following imposed sets of social patterns. On a smaller scale the same paradigm applies to family businesses where the family and the business life cycles complete each other. Hamza El Fasiki, Head of Research and Studies at the Moroccan Center for Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship, describes the impact of the collectivist society on the family business paradigm and explores how organisational and family culture become one, and the power hierarchy that ensures. |
| Keywords: | Family Business, Family Culture, Collectivism, Organisational Culture, Culture |
| JEL: | A39 M0 Z10 Z19 |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:48857&r=cwa |
| By: | Andrea Morescalchi (IMT Lucca Institute for Advanced Studies); Fabio Pammolli (IMT Lucca Institute for Advanced Studies); Orion Penner (IMT Lucca Institute for Advanced Studies); Petersen Alexander M. (IMT Lucca Institute for Advanced Studies; IMT Lucca Institute for Advanced Studies and Department of Managerial Economics, Strategy and Innovation, K.U. Leuven) |
| Abstract: | Recent studies on the geography of knowledge networks have documented a negative impact of physical distance and institutional borders upon research and development (R&D) collaborations. Though it is widely recognized that geographic constraints hamper the diffusion of knowledge, less attention has been devoted to the temporal evolution of these constraints. In this study we use data on patents filed with the European Patent Office (EPO) for 50 countries to analyze the impact of physical distance and country borders on inter-regional links in four different networks over the period 1988-2009: (1) co-inventorship, (2) patent citations, (3) inventor mobility and (4) the location of R&D laboratories. We find the constraint imposed by country borders and distance decreased until mid-1990s then started to grow, particularly for distance. The intensity of European cross-country inventor collaborations increased at a higher pace than their non-European counterparts until 2004, with no significant relative progress afterwards. Moreover, when analyzing networks of geographical mobility, multinational R&D activities and patent citations we do not depict any substantial progress in European research integration aside from the influence of common global trends. |
| Keywords: | Geography of knowledge; Networks of Innovators; European integration; Spatial proximity; Crossborder collaboration; Gravity model |
| JEL: | O30 R10 R23 |
| Date: | 2013–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ial:wpaper:4/2013&r=cwa |
| By: | Christophe Bonnet (GDF - Gestion, Droit et Finance - Grenoble École de Management (GEM)); Peter Wirtz (Centre de Recherche Magellan - Université Jean Moulin - Lyon III : EA3713); Martine Séville (COACTIS - Université Lumière - Lyon II : EA4161 - Université Jean Monnet - Saint-Etienne) |
| Abstract: | This research is an attempt to make progress in the understanding of the process of board formation and its impact on the functions performed by the board in young entrepreneurial ventures. We study the link between board members' characteristics and the effective accomplishment of monitoring and resource provision functions. Expanding earlier research we argue that the identity of external financiers matters in configuring the board and designing its working mode and roles. This is because different investors (1) may be endowed with different skills and knowledge, and (2) their social identities influence the motivation to accomplish different roles. We present a conceptual framework of the process of board formation in entrepreneurial firms and confront it with an in-depth longitudinal case study of a young venture that has received funding from business angels and venture capitalists. We show that board composition and routines are co-constructed by different (but not all) salient stakeholders who were involved in the first input of external capital. The intended and actual role of the board members depends on their specific capabilities and financial stakes and on processes of social identification. The observation of evolving board routines shows that certain members participate in two parallel processes of interaction with the entrepreneurs. Formal board meetings essentially serve the purpose of regular monitoring, whereas certain board members contribute to resource provision in parallel informal interactions, when they strongly identify themselves with entrepreneurs. |
| Keywords: | Nascent governance; board of directors; entrepreneurial finance; social identification |
| Date: | 2013–06–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:gemptp:halshs-00850021&r=cwa |
| By: | Lee, Neil; Rodríguez-Pose, Andrés |
| Abstract: | The creative industries have long been seen as an innovative sector. More recent research posits that creative occupations are also a fundamental, but overlooked, driver of innovation. Theory also suggests cities are important for both creative industries and occupations, with urban environments helping firms innovate. Yet little empirical work has considered the links between creative industries, occupations, cities and innovation at the firm level. This paper addresses this gap using a sample of over 9,000 UK SMEs. Our results stress that creative industries firms are more likely to introduce original product innovations, but not those learnt from elsewhere. Creative occupations, however, appear a more robust general driver of innovation. We find no support for the hypothesis that urban creative industries firms are particularly innovative. However, creative occupations are used in cities to introduce product innovations learnt elsewhere. The results suggest future work needs to seriously consider the importance of occupations in empirical studies of innovation. |
| Keywords: | Innovation; Creative Industries; Creative Occupations; Cities; Learning |
| JEL: | O31 O38 R11 R58 |
| Date: | 2013–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:48758&r=cwa |
| By: | Maria Teresa Costa-Campi (University of Barcelona & IEB); Néstor Duch-Brown (University of Barcelona & IEB); José García-Quevedo (University of Barcelona & IEB) |
| Abstract: | The energy industry is facing substantial challenges that require innovation to be fostered. Nevertheless, levels of R&D investment and innovation remain quite low in comparison with other sectors. In this paper we analyse the main drivers of R&D investment and obstacles to innovation in the energy industry. We examine, firstly, whether the stated R&D objectives pursued by firms play a role in their R&D effort. Secondly, we analyse the effects of financial, knowledge and market barriers on the innovation outcomes of the firms. We rely on data from the Technological Innovation Panel (PITEC) for Spanish firms for the period 2003-2010. We use a structural model with three equations corresponding to the decision to carry out R&D or not, the R&D effort and the production of innovations. The results of the econometric estimations show, first, that R&D intensity is positively related to process innovation. Second, the main barriers that hamper innovation in the energy industry are related to market factors while financial and knowledge obstacles are not significant. |
| Keywords: | R&D, innovation, energy, barriers, regulation |
| JEL: | Q40 O31 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ieb:wpaper:2013/6/doc2013-23&r=cwa |
| By: | Vandyck, Toon |
| Abstract: | We analyse the distributional effects of increased oil excises in Belgium by combining aComputable General Equilibrium (CGE) model with the EUROMOD microsimulation frameworkthat exploits the rich detail of household-level data. The link between the CGE model and themicro level is top-down, feeding changes in commodity prices, factor returns and employment bysector into a non-behavioural microsimulation. The results suggest that policymakers face anequity-efficiency trade-off driven by the choice of revenue recycling options. Distributional effectsof the environmental tax reform appear to depend strongly on changes in factor prices and welfarepayments. |
| Date: | 2013–07–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ese:emodwp:em12-13&r=cwa |