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on Business, Economic and Financial History |
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Issue of 2005‒09‒29
34 papers chosen by |
| By: | ; Minns (Department of Economics, Trinity College; McGill University) |
| Abstract: | We construct consumer price indices for Canada, mainly based on the expenditure records of Canada’s federal penitentiaries. Regional price variation was much greater in Canada in the late nineteenth century than in the northern U.S. The new data suggest substantial price decline to 1900. Regional price variation in Canada decreased gradually to 1914, and quickly during the First World War. For 1900-14 and 1922-3, new data are largely consistent with consumer price data compiled by The Labour Gazette. The new data suggest more inflation during the First World War. |
| Date: | 2005–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tcd:tcduee:200051&r=his |
| By: | Peter Tenim; Joachim Voth |
| Abstract: | Finance is important for development, yet the onset of modern economic growth in Britain lagged the British financial revolution by over a century. We present evidence from a new West-End London private bank to explain this delay. Hoare’s Bank loaned primarily to a highly select and well-born clientele, although it did not discriminate against “unknown” borrowers in the early 18th century. It could not extend credit more generally because of government restrictions (usury limits) and policies (frequent wars). Britain’s financial development could have aided growth substantially, had it not been for the rigidities and turmoil introduced by government interference. |
| Keywords: | Financial Revolution, growth, finance, rationing, usury laws, institutional evelopment, eighteenth-century England |
| JEL: | E44 N23 N13 G21 G18 G28 |
| Date: | 2005–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:upf:upfgen:860&r=his |
| By: | Ashley N. Coleman (Wachovia Bank, Charlotte, NC); William K. Hutchinson (Department of Economics, Vanderbilt University) |
| Abstract: | Trade restrictions impact factor and commodity prices in very predictable ways according to international trade theory. We use a new data set to explore the direct effect on the price of slaves that resulted from legislation prohibiting the importation of slaves after January 1, 1808. Prohibition of the importation of slaves increases the average price of slaves as one would anticipate. Moreover, we find that the price of a female slave of childbearing age increases more than the price for older female slaves. The price of adolescent female slaves, ages 10 to 14, increased more than the price of an adult male slave as a result of the ban on importation of slaves. We also assess the impact of the embargo of 1807 and the ensuing War of 1812 on the price of slaves as the intensive factor input in the production of cotton, rice and tobacco, goods that were severely impacted by the reduction of exports to Britain and continental Europe during this period. |
| Keywords: | Factor prices, trade barriers, slavery |
| JEL: | N71 F16 N31 |
| Date: | 2005–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:van:wpaper:0521&r=his |
| By: | Peter Tenim; Joachim Voth |
| Abstract: | Crowding-out during the British Industrial Revolution has long been one of the leading explanations for slow growth during the Industrial Revolution, but little empirical evidence exists to support it. We argue that examinations of interest rates are fundamentally misguided, and that the eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century private loan market balanced through quantity rationing. Using a unique set of observations on lending volume at a London goldsmith bank, Hoare’s, we document the impact of wartime financing on private credit markets. We conclude that there is considerable evidence that government borrowing, especially during wartime, crowded out private credit. |
| Keywords: | Credit rationing, Napoleonic wars, Industrial Revolution, technological change, crowding out |
| JEL: | E22 E43 E51 E65 N23 N13 |
| Date: | 2004–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:upf:upfgen:859&r=his |
| By: | Glick, Reuven; Taylor, Alan M |
| Abstract: | Conventional wisdom in economic history suggests that conflict between countries can be enormously disruptive of economic activity, especially international trade. Yet nothing is known empirically about these effects in large samples. We study the effects of war on bilateral trade for almost all countries with available data extending back to 1870. Using the gravity model, we estimate the contemporaneous and lagged effects of wars on the trade of belligerent nations and neutrals, controlling for other determinants of trade. We find large and persistent impacts of wars on trade, and hence on national and global economic welfare. A rough accounting indicates that such costs might be of the same order of magnitude as the "direct" costs of war, such as lost human capital, as illustrated by case studies of World War I and World War II. |
| Keywords: | conflict; gravity model; peace; World War I; World War II |
| JEL: | D74 F02 F10 F14 H56 N40 N70 |
| Date: | 2005–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:5209&r=his |
| By: | Albert Carreras; Lídia Torra |
| Abstract: | According to our interpretation, modern trade fairs started in Europe during the First World War and in its immediate aftermath. With the closing of trade movements during the war, many cities had to resort to the old medieval tradition of providing especial permits to traders to guarantee them personal protection during their trade meetings. During the tough post war crisis many more cities –typically industrial districts- discovered in the creation of trade fairs a powerful competitive tool to attract market transactions. We compare these developments with the remote origins of fairs, as, in both cases, trade fair development is a reaction to the closing of free markets under the pressure of political violence. |
| Keywords: | Trade fairs, modern trade fairs, markets, industrial districts, international trade, First World War |
| JEL: | N44 N74 N84 |
| Date: | 2005–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:upf:upfgen:874&r=his |
| By: | Paloma Fernández Pérez (Universitat de Barcelona) |
| Abstract: | Capital intensive industries in specialized niches of production have constituted solid ground for family firms in Spain , as evidenced by the experience of the iron and steel wire industries between 1870 and 2000. The embeddedness of these firms in their local and regional environments have allowed the creation of networks that, together with favourable institutional conditions, significantly explain the dominance of family entrepreneurship in iron and steel wire manufacturing in Spain, until the end of the 20 th century. Dominance of family firms at the regional level has not been not an obstacle for innovation in wire manufacturing in Spain, which has taken place even when institutional conditions blocked innovation and traditional networking. Therefore, economic theories about the difficulties dynastic family firms may have to perform appropriately in science-based industries must be questioned. |
| Keywords: | Family Firms, Steel Wire Industries, Spanish Economic History |
| JEL: | N63 N64 N83 N84 |
| Date: | 2005 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bar:bedcje:2005141&r=his |
| By: | Josep M. Colomer |
| Abstract: | This article presents, discusses and tests the hypothesis that it is the number of parties what can explain the choice of electoral systems, rather than the other way round. Already existing political parties tend to choose electoral systems that, rather than generate new party systems by themselves, will crystallize, consolidate or reinforce previously existing party configurations. A general model develops the argument and presents the concept of 'behavioral-institutional equilibrium' to account for the relation between electoral systems and party systems. The most comprehensive dataset and test of these notions to date, encompassing 219 elections in 87 countries since the 19th century, are presented. The analysis gives strong support to the hypotheses that political party configurations dominated by a few parties tend to establish majority rule electoral systems, while multiparty systems already existed before the introduction of proportional representation. It also offers the new theoretical proposition that strategic party choice of electoral systems leads to a general trend toward proportional representation over time. |
| Keywords: | Elections, electoral systems, political parties, institutional equilibrium |
| JEL: | H10 H79 |
| Date: | 2005–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:upf:upfgen:812&r=his |
| By: | Barry Eichengreen; Muge Adalet |
| Abstract: | Using panel data and case studies, we analyze the pre-1970 history of international capital flows and current account reversals. Considering a sample of emerging markets and advanced economies with per capita GDPs at least 60 per cent those of the lead country, we show that the incidence of reversals has been unusually great in recent years. The only prior period that matched the last three decades in terms of the frequency and magnitude of reversals was the 1920s and 1930s, decades notorious for the instability of capital flows. In contrast, reversals were both less common and smaller in the Bretton Woods and pre-World War I gold standard eras. |
| JEL: | F31 F33 N15 N65 |
| Date: | 2005–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:11634&r=his |
| By: | Broadberry, Stephen N; Gupta, Bishnupriya |
| Abstract: | The growth of cotton textile imports into Britain from India opened up new opportunities for import substitution as the new cloths, patterns and designs became increasingly fashionable. However, high silver wages in Britain as a result of high productivity in other tradable goods and services, meant that British producers of cotton textiles could not use labour-intensive Indian production methods. The growth in British labour productivity that resulted from the search for labour-saving technological progress meant that unit labour costs became lower than in India despite the much higher wages in Britain. However, the full effects of the rise in British productivity were delayed until after the Napoleonic Wars by increasing wage and raw cotton costs before supply adjusted to the major increase in demand for inputs. On balance, the effects of British protective measures were neutral. |
| Keywords: | competitive advantage; cotton; India; Lancashire; unit labour costs |
| JEL: | N60 N70 O14 O31 |
| Date: | 2005–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:5183&r=his |
| By: | Nico Voigtländer; Joachim Voth |
| Abstract: | Why was England first? And why Europe? We present a probabilistic model that builds on big-push models by Murphy, Shleifer and Vishny (1989), combined with hierarchical preferences. The interaction of exogenous demographic factors (in particular the English low-pressure variant of the European marriage pattern)and redistributive institutions – such as the “old Poor Law” – combined to make an Industrial Revolution more likely. Essentially, industrialization is the result of having a critical mass of consumers that is “rich enough” to afford (potentially) mass-produced goods. Our model is then calibrated to match the main characteristics of the English economy in 1750 and the observed transition until 1850. This allows us to address explicitly one of the key features of the British Industrial Revolution unearthed by economic historians over the last three decades – the slowness of productivity and output change. In our calibration, we find that the probability of Britain industrializing is 5 times larger than France’s. Contrary to the recent argument by Pomeranz, China in the 18th century had essentially no chance to industrialize at all. This difference is decomposed into a demographic and a policy component, with the former being far more important than the latter. |
| Keywords: | Inequality, Industrial Revolution, growth, big push, redistribution, steam, general purpose technology |
| JEL: | N13 E22 E25 O41 |
| Date: | 2005–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:upf:upfgen:857&r=his |
| By: | Kirsten Wandschneider |
| Abstract: | The collapse of the inter-war gold standard has frequently been studied in economic his-tory. This paper proposes a discrete time duration model to analyze how economic and polit-ical indicators affected the length of time a country remained on the gold standard. We rely on a panel data set of 24 countries over the years 1922-1938, and incorporate new measures of political and institutional variables. The results of this study identify high per capita income growth, large foreign currency and gold reserves, trade with other countries on gold, interna-tional creditor status, and the prior experience of hyperinflation as factors that increased the probability that a country would remain on gold. In contrast, democratic regimes that were exposed to a relatively high percentage of left-wing representation in parliament left the gold standard early. We also offer predicted survival probabilities for selected key countries on the gold standard. These survival rates show that Britain abandoned the gold exchange standard at a much higher survival probability, compared with other countries in the system. |
| Date: | 2005 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mdl:mdlpap:0518&r=his |
| By: | Roberta Colavecchio; Declan Curran; Michael Funke |
| Abstract: | The objective of this paper is to address the question of convergence across German districts in the first decade after German unification by drawing out and emphasising some stylised facts of regional per capita income dynamics. We achieve this by employing non-parametric techniques which focus on the evolution of the entire cross-sectional income distribution. In particular, we follow a distributional approach to convergence based on kernel density estimation and implement a number of tests to establish the statistical significance of our findings. This paper finds that the relative income distribution appears to be stratifying into a trimodal/bimodal distribution. |
| Keywords: | regional economic growth, Germany, convergence clubs, density estimation, modality tests |
| JEL: | C14 R11 R12 |
| Date: | 2005 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_1533&r=his |
| By: | Kevin O'Rourke; (Department of Economics, Trinity College) |
| Abstract: | The years between 1793 and 1815 saw an unusually bloody, lengthy and widespread conflict between Great Britain and France, which widened to include many of the other leading powers of the day. The period is also notable for its economic warfare, which involved not only the belligerents, but several (at least initially) neutral countries, notably the young United States. This paper offers a comparative, quantitative assessment of the economic impact of the conflict. |
| Date: | 2005–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tcd:tcduee:200059&r=his |
| By: | Anna Carreras |
| Abstract: | Foreign trade statistics are the main data source to the study of international trade. However its accuracy has been under suspicion since Morgernstern published his famous work in 1963. Federico and Tena (1991) have resumed the question arguing that they can be useful in an adequate level of aggregation. But the geographical assignment problem remains unsolved. This article focuses on the spatial variable through the analysis of the reliability of textile international data for 1913. A geographical bias arises between export and import series, but because of its quantitative importance it can be negligible in an international scale. |
| Keywords: | Economic geography, Statistical accuracy, Economic textile history |
| JEL: | B4 N01 N73 |
| Date: | 2005–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:upf:upfgen:821&r=his |
| By: | Kevin O'Rourke; (Department of Economics, Trinity College) |
| Abstract: | The years between 1793 and 1815 saw an unusually bloody, lengthy and widespread conflict between Great Britain and France, which widened to include many of the other leading powers of the day. The period is also notable for its economic warfare, which involved not only the belligerents, but several (at least initially) neutral countries, notably the young United States. This paper offers a comparative, quantitative assessment of the economic impact of the conflict. |
| Date: | 2005–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tcd:wpaper:tep9&r=his |
| By: | Sean D. Campbell (Risk Analysis Section, Division of Research and Statistics, Federal Reserve Board); Francis X. Diebold (Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania) |
| Abstract: | We explore the macro/finance interface in the context of equity markets. In particular, using half a century of Livingston expected business conditions data we characterize directly the impact of expected business conditions on expected excess stock returns. Expected business conditions consistently affect expected excess returns in a statistically and economically significant counter-cyclical fashion: depressed expected business conditions are associated with high expected excess returns. Moreover, inclusion of expected business conditions in otherwise standard predictive return regressions substantially reduces the explanatory power of the conventional financial predictors, including the dividend yield, default premium, and term premium, while simultaneously increasing. Expected business conditions retain predictive power even after controlling for an important and recently introduced non-financial predictor, the generalized consumption/wealth ratio, which accords with the view that expected business conditions play a role in asset pricing different from and complementary to that of the consumption/wealth ratio. We argue that time-varying expected business conditions likely capture time-varying risk, while time-varying consumption/wealth may capture time-varying risk aversion. |
| Keywords: | Business cycle, expected equity returns, prediction, Livingston survey, risk aversion, equity premium, risk premium |
| JEL: | G12 |
| Date: | 2005–05–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pen:papers:05-025&r=his |
| By: | Barry Eichengreen; Mariko Hatase |
| Abstract: | We explore the parallels between Japanese currency policy after World War II and Chinese currency policy today. After two decades of pegging at 360 yen, Japan decoupled from the dollar on August 1971 and then repegged at a revalued rate of 308 yen. After stabilizing the exchange rate at this new level for about a year, greater flexibility was introduced. This phased adjustment - revaluation followed after a time by an increase in flexibility - bears more than a passing resemblance to recent Chinese policy initiatives. We analyze the impact of Japan's exit from its peg on exports and investment. The results point to sizeable effects of the yen's revaluation on both variables, especially investment. While our analysis suggests that a rapidly-growing, export-oriented economy can operate a heavily managed float despite the presence of capital controls and the absence of sophisticated foreign currency forward markets, it underscores the importance of managing the exchange rate with domestic conditions in mind and avoiding the kind of large real appreciation that would sharply compress profits and damage investment. For China this suggests starting with a modest band widening and a limited increase in flexibility, and not with a large step revaluation which could have a sharp negative impact on investment and growth. Our results thus provide support for the kind of measures taken at the end of July. |
| JEL: | F31 F33 N15 N65 |
| Date: | 2005–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:11625&r=his |
| By: | Pennings,Jacqueline; Kranenburg,Hans,van; Hagedoorn,John (METEOR) |
| Abstract: | The telecommunications industry has experienced a series of dramatic changes since itsinception in the 1880s. Due to the latest liberalization and privatization wave in the world, the telecommunications industry has turned into a dynamic environment and is rapidly growing.In addition, the New Economy emerged and brought new technological developments in the1990s. They have stimulated the convergence of previously distinct industries such as thetelecommunications, information technology, entertainment, media, and consumerelectronics, into the so-called multimedia information industry. This study discusses the (de)regulation actions and their implications on the telecommunications industry as of its beginning. Furthermore, this study also presents a general overview of major trends in inter-firm partnerships and M&As in the telecommunications industry since 1985, examining both the general developments and the distribution according to internationalization and industries. We find that the overall trends demonstrated an increase in importance of inter-firm partnerships and M&As over time. Another significant finding is the increase in importance of other industries. In relative terms, the growth of M&As and alliances with partners outside the telecommunications industry superseded the increase in the number of M&A’s and alliances within the industry. |
| Keywords: | Strategy; |
| Date: | 2005 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:umamet:2005015&r=his |
| By: | Oldrich Kyn (Boston University) |
| Abstract: | Short explanation of Schumpeter's concepts of dynamics, innovations and entrepreneurship. It is argued, that Schumpeters theory was highly relevant and should have been incorporated into the design of the reformed economic system, that attempted transition from Command to Socialist Market Economy in the 1960's. |
| Keywords: | Schumpeter, Innovations, Economic Dynamics, Entrepreneurship, Market Socialism |
| JEL: | O P |
| Date: | 2005–09–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wpa:wuwpdc:0509019&r=his |
| By: | Stephen Quinn; William Roberds |
| Abstract: | This paper outlines a model of the first true central bank, the Bank of Amsterdam, founded in 1609. Employing a variant of the Freeman (1996) model of money and payments, we first analyze the problematic monetary situation in the Netherlands prior to the founding of the Bank. We then use the model to describe how the Bank could remedy this situation by creating a stable medium for the settlement of commercial obligations. |
| Date: | 2005 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedawp:2005-16&r=his |
| By: | Farley Grubb (Department of Economics,University of Delaware) |
| Abstract: | For the six major British North American colonies, five of whom independently issued their own fiat paper money, exchange rates between these colonies are constructed and combined with price indices to test purchasing power parity between these colonies. Purchasing power parity is then tested between these same six locations after they became states united politically and monetarily under a common currency with no trade barriers established by the U.S. Constitution. Even when using short spans of data and low powered tests, purchasing power parity cannot be rejected in either period, and if anything, holds with more confidence prior to political and monetary unification. |
| Keywords: | Monetary Policy |
| JEL: | N1 |
| Date: | 2004 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dlw:wpaper:04-05&r=his |
| By: | Fregert, Klas (Department of Economics, Lund University); Gustafsson, Roger (Department of Economics, Lund University) |
| Abstract: | We construct yearly fiscal series for Sweden between 1719 and 2003 including expenditures, revenues, deficits and debt. We present measures for the fiscal branch of the central government as well as for the consolidated fiscal and monetary branch, which includes seigniorage. We evaluate the reliability and consistency of the series by calculating the difference between budget deficits and the change in debt to test if the differences are serially uncorrelated around zero, which we confirm. |
| Keywords: | Fiscal Policy; Expenditures; Revenues; Deficits; Government debt; Seigniorage |
| JEL: | E58 E62 H61 H62 H63 N43 N44 |
| Date: | 2005–09–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:lunewp:2005_040&r=his |
| By: | Peter Tenim; Joachim Voth |
| Abstract: | This paper presents a case study of a well-informed investor in the South Sea bubble. We argue that Hoare's Bank, a fledgling West End London banker, knew that a bubble was in progress and nonetheless invested in the stock; it was profitable to "ride the bubble." Using a unique dataset on daily trades, we show that this sophisticated investor was not constrained by institutional factors such as restrictions on short sales or agency problems. Instead, this study demonstrates that predictable investor sentiment can prevent attacks on a bubble; rational investors may only attack when some coordinating event promotes joint action. |
| Keywords: | Efficient Market Hypothesis, Bubbles, Crashes, Synchronization Risk, Investor Sentiment, South Sea Bubble, Market Timing, Limits to Arbitrage |
| JEL: | G14 E44 N23 |
| Date: | 2004–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:upf:upfgen:861&r=his |
| By: | Joan Ramon Rosés |
| Abstract: | This paper examines changes in the organization of the Spanish cotton industry from 1720 to 1860 in its core region of Catalonia. As the Spanish cotton industry adopted the most modern technology and experienced the transition to the factory system, cotton spinning and weaving mills became increasingly vertically integrated. Asset specificity more than other factors explained this tendency towards vertical integration. The probability for a firm of being vertically integrated was higher among firms located in districts with high concentration ratios and rose with size and the use of modern machinery. Simultaneously, subcontracting predominated in other phases of production and distribution where transaction costs appears to be less important. |
| Keywords: | transaction cost economics; European industrialization; factory system; organizational change; technological change; international competitiveness |
| JEL: | N63 L22 O33 |
| Date: | 2005–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:upf:upfgen:816&r=his |
| By: | Gérard Charreaux (Université de Bourgogne); Alain Schatt (Université de Strasbourg 3) |
| Abstract: | (VF) Cet article propose un panorama de la recherche française en gouvernance d’entreprise. Il met en évidence les principaux acteurs (auteurs, directeurs de thèses, universités), supports de publications, travaux influents et thèmes de recherche. Ce travail est notamment fondé sur le recensement des articles publiés en gouvernance d’entreprise dans les revues académiques françaises « majeures » d’économie et de gestion au cours de la décennie 1994-2003 et sur l’inventaire des thèses soutenues dans le domaine depuis vingt ans.(VA)This article aims to draw a panorama of French research in corporate governance. It highlights the main actors (authors, dissertation directors, universities), the most influential works and popular themes of research. This work is based, in particular, on the inventory of articles dealing with corporate governance, published in the main French scientific reviews in economics and management during the period (1994-2003) and on the inventory of dissertations since 1985. |
| Keywords: | gouvernance d’entreprise;publication;influence;corporate governance;ublication;impact. |
| JEL: | G39 |
| Date: | 2005–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dij:wpfarg:1050901&r=his |
| By: | M. del Mar Rubio Varas; Mauricio Folchi |
| Abstract: | In absence of comparable macroeconomic indicators for most of the Latin American economies beyond the 1930s, this paper presents an estimate of the apparent consumption per head of coal and petroleum for 25 countries of Latin American and the Caribbean for the year 1925, doubling the number of countries for which energy consumption estimates were previously available. Energy consumption is then used as an indicator of economic modernisation. As a result, the paper provides the basis for a quantitative comparative analysis of modernisation performance beyond the few countries for which historical national accounts are available in Latin America. |
| Keywords: | Energy consumption, modernisation, Latin America, petroleum, coal |
| JEL: | N16 N76 Q43 O13 |
| Date: | 2005–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:upf:upfgen:868&r=his |
| By: | Mark Furletti |
| Abstract: | The National Bank Act (NBA), the 140- year-old statute that led to the creation of nationally chartered banks, has likely been one of the most influential forces in the formation and development of the U.S. credit card industry. The NBA gives nationally chartered banks a wide range of powers and protections. One of these protections, the ability to disregard certain state laws, is currently at the center of a very heated debate. The regulator of national banks, the OCC, recently issued a rule that interprets the act as essentially preempting most state efforts to protect credit card consumers. State attorneys general, consumer advocates, and members of Congress have charged that the OCC’s ruling is overly aggressive and results in bad public policy. This paper examines the current debate over preemption and its regulatory consequences. It analyzes how the expanding scope of preemption has affected the development of the credit card industry and the likely impact of the current debate on the industry’s future. |
| Keywords: | National Bank Act ; Credit cards ; Consumer protection |
| Date: | 2004 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedpdp:04-02&r=his |
| By: | Xavier Tafunell; Albert Carreras |
| Abstract: | The assessment of Latin American long term economic performance is in urgent need of mobilizing more data to match the pressing demands of growth analysts. We present a systematic comparison of capital goods imports for 20 Latin American countries in 1925. It relies on both the foreign trade data of the importing countries and of the major exporting countries –the industrialized economies of the time. The quality of foreign trade figures is tested; an homogeneous estimate of capital goods imported is derived, and its per capita ranking is discussed providing new light on Latin American development levels before import substitution. |
| Keywords: | Latin America, capital goods, imports, investment, foreign trade, economic development |
| JEL: | N16 N66 N76 |
| Date: | 2005–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:upf:upfgen:873&r=his |
| By: | A. KARAS; K. SCHOORS |
| Abstract: | We construct a consistent time series of balances and profit and loss accounts for a large cross-section of Russian banks. We describe our data collection and the procedures applied for controlling and aggregating the data. The resulting dataset constitutes a balanced and representative series of financial indicators covering the evolution of the Russian banking system over the last decade and offering great potential for further empirical research. |
| Keywords: | Database, Russian banks |
| Date: | 2005–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rug:rugwps:05/327&r=his |
| By: | M. del Mar Rubio Varas; Mauricio Folchi |
| Abstract: | This paper proposes a nonparametric test in order to establish the level of accuracy of the foreign trade statistics of 17 Latin American countries when contrasted with the trade statistics of the main partners in 1925. The Wilcoxon Matched-Pairs Ranks test is used to determine whether the differences between the data registered by exporters and importers are meaningful, and if so, whether the differences are systematic in any direction. The paper tests for the reliability of the data registered for two homogeneous products, petroleum and coal, both in volume and value. The conclusion of the several exercises performed is that we cannot accept the existence of statistically significant differences between the data provided by the exporters and the registered by the importing countries in most cases. The qualitative historiography of Latin American describes its foreign trade statistics as mostly unusable. Our quantitative results contest this view. |
| Keywords: | Latin America, statistical accuracy, international trade data, nonparametric methods, petroleum trade, coal trade. |
| JEL: | N73 F14 C14 |
| Date: | 2005–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:upf:upfgen:879&r=his |
| By: | Bosch, F.A.J. van den; Baaij, M.G.; Volberda, H.W. (Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM), RSM Erasmus University) |
| Abstract: | Research evidence confirms that the accumulation of knowledge contributes to the competitive advantage of firms. In the strategy consulting industry, one of the most knowledge-intensive professional services industries, however, established firms that exploited their knowledge accumulation by adding exploitative consulting practices have found their performance has deteriorated. To investigate this phenomenon, this paper will describe how the increasing share of exploitative practices in the strategy consulting industry has attracted both established ICT-related consulting firms and new entrants, and enabled clients to expand their problem-solving abilities. We will argue that these developments in terms of competitiveness and client competencies have reduced the attractiveness of exploitative practices for established strategy consulting firms. To analyse these developments and to provide strategic options for the established strategy consulting firms, a conceptual framework will be proposed. Based on this framework, three strategic option are identified: ‘Follow the herd’, ‘Become ambidextrous’ and ‘Back to the original focus.’ In summarizing our argument, we highlight the pros and cons of these options and the implications for top management. |
| Keywords: | Strategy Consulting;Knowledge;Exploitation and Exploration;Ambidextrous Organization; |
| Date: | 2005–05–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:eureri:30002192&r=his |
| By: | Farley Grubb (Department of Economics,University of Delaware) |
| Keywords: | Monetary Policy |
| JEL: | N1 |
| Date: | 2004 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dlw:wpaper:04-07&r=his |
| By: | Stremersch, S. (Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM), RSM Erasmus University) |
| Abstract: | For an academic, finding an audience is critical. However, finding an audience is not always easy for most marketing academics. This inaugural address explores what the challenges are in finding an audience, among fellow scholars, students, public policy, industry, or society in general. It finds that the academic audience for marketing research is: (1) often small; (2) constrained to the own discipline; and (3) mostly located in the United States. The student audience is also under pressure, due to: (1) the difficult translation of academic marketing research to marketing education; (2) shifting student preferences; and (3) lack of involvement of students. The audience in society is too small due to a lack of relevance of marketing research in three ways: (1) lack of a public policy perspective; (2) too incremental insights to be useful to practice; and (3) too much focus on rigor to be interesting for the press. This address cites three ways to grow towards a larger and more loyal audience by evolving towards: (1) a truly globalized community of marketing academics; (2) living together with our source disciplines; and (3) a stronger focus on the knowledge economy and the life sciences. |
| Keywords: | Marketing;Marketing Research;Philosophy of Science;Takeoff;Globalization;Pharmaceuticals;Biotechnology;Knowledge economy; |
| Date: | 2005–04–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:eureri:30002126&r=his |