|
on Small Business Management |
|
Issue of 2015‒04‒25
twenty-six papers chosen by João Carlos Correia Leitão Universidade da Beira Interior |
| By: | Goedhuys-Degelin M.D.L.; Sleuwaegen L. (UNU-MERIT) |
| Abstract: | This paper focuses on the occurrence of high-growth firms in relation to human capital and innovation. High-growth firms are rather exceptional and temporary phenomena and occur in the upper tail of the conditional firm growth distribution. Using quantile regression we study how human capital and RD affect the probability that high-growth firms occur. The results show that both human capital and RD increase the likelihood that a firm is a high-growth firm. Human capital appears to be positive and growth enhancing over the entire conditional growth distribution, hence also in the lower quantiles, where it reduces the likelihood of low growth. By contrast, RD increases not only the likelihood of high-growth firms, but also the likelihood of low-growth firms and exits, underscoring the risky nature of innovation. A probit analysis for high-growth firms and low-growth firms provides corroborating evidence for this finding. From a policy perspective the results suggest the use of more integrated policies, not only focusing on stimulating RD but also on the quality of human capital to foster the development of high-growth firms. |
| Keywords: | Firm Performance: Size, Diversification, and Scope; Management of Technological Innovation and R&D; |
| JEL: | L25 O32 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unm:unumer:2015013&r=sbm |
| By: | Teresa de Noronha (Research Centre for Spatial and Organizational Dynamics, University of the Algarve, Faro, Portugal; Cities Centre, University of Toronto, Canada); Purificación Vicente Galindo (University of Salamanca, Spain); Peter Nijkamp (VU University Amsterdam); Eric de Noronha Vaz (Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada) |
| Abstract: | The strategic choices regarding innovation and R&D policy in Portugal have, over the last two decades, produced various positive benefits, in which particularly the regions of Lisbon and Algarve have taken the lead. These are the only parts of the country that converge towards the European average growth rate. The other Lisbon and Algarve have taken the lead, and are the only ones in the country to converge towards the European average growth rate. Other Portuguese regions – despite significant national growth rates in the 1990s and a successful attempt to cope with the EMU – are lagging behind the EU average with respect to gross production, investment and employment generation. Meanwhile, one of the greatest public policy efforts was to diffuse much of the European funds across the entrepreneurial sector. This paper aims to evaluate the firms’ contribution to national and regional growth, their obstacles and impacts, and to explain the present performance of Portuguese firms located throughout the country, and to explore those innovation determinants that have a region-specific connotation. In our paper, innovation is used as a major contributor to the policy evaluation process referred to above. To provide a thorough investigation, our analysis defines, on a regional basis, a set of firms’ behavioural patterns regarding innovation. In our modelling, we employ a new methodology, viz. the External Logistic Biplot method, which is applied to an extensive sample of innovative institutions in Portugal. Variables such as ‘Promoting knowledge’, ‘Management skills’, ‘Promoting R&D’, ‘Knowledge transfer’, ‘Promoting partnership & cooperation’, and ‘Orientation of public measures’ have been identified as crucial determinants in earlier studies and are now used to describe regional institutional profiles. |
| Keywords: | Regional Asymmetries, Innovation, Firms' Performance, Regional Innovation Systems, Principal Coordinates Analysis, External Logistic Biplot, Voronoi Diagram, Dissimilarity Matrix |
| JEL: | O50 O3 |
| Date: | 2013–09–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tin:wpaper:20130133&r=sbm |
| By: | Teresa de Noronha Vaz (University of the Algarve, Faro, Portugal); Purificación Vicente Galindo (University of the Algarve, Faro, Portugal); Peter Nijkamp (VU University Amsterdam) |
| Abstract: | This paper offers a new methodology to identify R&D and innovation clusters, on the basis of a regional analysis of innovation support systems in Portugal. Using a web-based inventory of R&D and innovation agencies, an extensive data base is created. This data set is next analyzed by means of Principal Coordinates Analysis followed by a Logistic Biplot approach (leading to Voronoi mappings) in order to design a systematic typology of innovation clusters in the main regions in Portugal. A striking result is the significant difference in innovation systems at regional level in Portugal. The paper is concluded with policy recommendations. |
| Keywords: | R&D and innovation, regional innovation systems, principal coordinates analysis, logistic biplot, Voronoi mapping, public policy |
| JEL: | Q55 Q16 |
| Date: | 2013–08–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tin:wpaper:20130107&r=sbm |
| By: | Jolanda Hessels (Erasmus University Rotterdam, and Panteia/EIM, the Netherlands); Udo Brixy (Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Nuremburg, and Ludwig-Maximilians University, Munich, Germany); Wim Naudé (Maastricht School of Management, Maastricht University, the Netherlands , and IZA, Germany); Thomas Gries (University of Paderborn, Germany) |
| Abstract: | We extend Lazear’s theory of skills variety and entrepreneurship in three directions. First, we provide a theoretical framework linking new business creation with an entrepreneur’s skill variety. Second, in this model we allow for both generalists and specialists to possess skill variety. Third, we test our model empirically using data from Germany and the Netherlands. Individuals with more varied work experience seems indeed more likely to successfully start up a new business and being a generalist does not seem to be important in this regard. Finally, we find that innovation positively moderates the relationship between having varied experiences, and being successful in starting up a new business. Our conclusion is that entrepreneurs with more varied work experience are more likely to introduce innovations that have not only technical, but also commercial value. Our findings support the notion that entrepreneurship can be learned. |
| Keywords: | entrepreneurship, start-ups, human capital, innovation, skills |
| JEL: | L26 M13 J24 O31 |
| Date: | 2014–01–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tin:wpaper:20140011&r=sbm |
| By: | Eric Bartelsman (VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and IZA, Germany); Sabien Dobbelaere (VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and IZA, Germany); Bettina Peters (Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW), MaCCI Mannheimer Centre for Competition and Innovation, Germany, and University of Zurich, Switzerland) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines how productivity effects of human capital and innovation vary at different points of the conditional productivity distribution. Our analysis draws upon two large unbalanced panels of 6,634 enterprises in Germany and 14,586 enterprises in the Netherlands over the period 2000-2008, considering 5 manufacturing and services industries that differ in the level of technological intensity. Industries in the Netherlands are characterized by a larger average proportion of high-skilled employees and industries in Germany by a more unequal distribution of human capital intensity. Except for low-technology manufacturing, average innovation performance is higher in all industries in Germany and the innovation performance distributions are more dispersed in the Netherlands. In both countries, we observe non-linearities in the productivity effects of investing in product innovation in the majority of industries. Frontier firms enjoy the highest returns to pro duct innovation whereas the most negative returns to process innovation are observed in the best-performing enterprises of most industries. In both countries, we find that the returns to human capital increase with proximity to the technological frontier in industries with a low level of technological intensity. Strikingly, a negative complementarity effect between human capital and proximity to the technological frontier is observed in knowledge-intensive services, which is most pronounced for the Netherlands. Suggestive evidence for the latter points to a winner-takes-all interpretation of this finding. |
| Keywords: | Human capital, innovation, productivity, quantile regression |
| JEL: | C10 I20 O14 O30 |
| Date: | 2013–07–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tin:wpaper:20130095&r=sbm |
| By: | Karima Kourtit (VU University Amsterdam); Daniel Arribas-Bel (VU University Amsterdam); Peter Nijkamp (VU University Amsterdam) |
| Abstract: | This discussion paper resulted in an article in the <I>Annals of Regional Science</I> (2012). Volume 48, issue 2(SI), pages 501-527.<P> This paper addresses the performance of creative firms from the perspective of complex spatial systems. Based on an extensive high-dimensional database on both the attributes of individual creative firms in the Netherlands and a series of detailed regional facilitating and driving factors related, inter alia, to talent, innovation, skills, networks, accessibility and hardware, a new methodology called self-organizing mapping (SOM) is applied to identify and explain in virtual topological space, the relative differences between these firms and their business performance in various regions. It turns out that there are significant differences in the spatial and functional profile of large firms vis-à-vis SMEs across distinct geographical areas in the country. |
| Keywords: | complex spatial systems, self-organizing mapping, creative firms, talent, innovation, networks, accessibility, business performance, spatial and functional profiles, SMEs, large firms, geographical areas |
| JEL: | M1 Q5 R1 R10 |
| Date: | 2013–12–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tin:wpaper:20130194&r=sbm |
| By: | Eric de Noronha Vaz (Ryerson University, Department of Geography, Toronto, Canada); Teresa de Noronha Vaz (CIEO – Research Centre for Spatial and Organizational Dynamics, Faro, Portugal); Peter Nijkamp (VU University Amsterdam) |
| Abstract: | In recent decades there have been an enormous number of studies about innovation systems, partly inspired by a great interest among policy makers in search for a solid scientific foundation and professional support to identify appropriate development strategies. Despite different perspectives, most studies highlight knowledge creation and innovation as the major drivers of change and growth. This consensus disappears, however, as soon as the complexity of innovation and knowledge are taken into consideration. Innovation goes far beyond new product or process development on account of its interactive nature, while knowledge often surpasses the firms’ internal mechanisms, because, frequently, it is a spatially endogenous characteristic. The present paper aims to offer a refreshing contribution to the above discussion and represents an effort to develop a novel model able to answer how institutions are relating to each other, drawing networks of innovation. The available database comprises an extensive set of Portuguese innovative firms, spatially identified and able to engage in spatial connectivity in order to understand where and how strong the links are for innovation in Portugal, and to analyse the respective levels of geographical concentration or dispersion. |
| Keywords: | innovation; firms |
| JEL: | O31 D21 |
| Date: | 2013–08–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tin:wpaper:20130102&r=sbm |
| By: | Karima Kourtit (VU University Amsterdam); Peter Nijkamp (VU University Amsterdam) |
| Abstract: | The business performance of firms in the creative high-tech sector shows much variation. This paper examines whether the geographical location of such business firms influences the performance of these firms. The overarching analysis framework of this paper emerges from the recently developed Strategic Performance Management (SPM) concept for individual firms, which in the present study is extended with spatial meso-attributes related to the location of these firms. SPM aims to improve the firms’ competitive performance through the application of strict internal management principles. Our study thus adopts a micro-business perspective on the organizational determinants of a firm’s economic performance and its links with distinct spatial entrepreneurship conditions and general economic moderator variables. The present study focuses on both large and small and medium-sized (SME) firms, mainly operating in the creative high-tech sector in the Netherlands. The research methodology uses stepwise the following analytical tools: multivariate analysis of an extensive micro- and meso-data set on the internal performance of firms and regional covariates; Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and its recent extension to super-efficient DEA for mapping out in a comparative way the achievements of both regions and firms; a GIS-oriented statistical analysis to identify geographically-discriminating factors in the firms’ performance; and the design and estimation of a Structural Equations Model (SEM) for assessing the performance of the firms concerned (using what is called the ‘flying disc’ model). Our results show significant differences in the performance of large vis-à-vis SME firms that have adopted SPM, while their geographical position in the country, in general, also plays a significant role. |
| Keywords: | creative industries, high-tech sector, Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), super-efficient DEA, principal component analysis, Structural Equations Model, flying disc model |
| JEL: | M19 M21 Q5 Q56 R10 R11 R12 R15 |
| Date: | 2013–12–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tin:wpaper:20130193&r=sbm |
| By: | Pourya Darnihamedani (Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands); Joern Hendrich Block (University of Trier, Trier, Germany); Jolanda Hessels (Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands); Aram Simonyan (National Academy of Science of the Republic of Armenia, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia) |
| Abstract: | Prior research suggests that start-up costs and taxes negatively influence entry into entrepreneurship. Yet, no distinction is made regarding the type of entrepreneurship, particularly innovative versus non-innovative entrepreneurship. Start-up costs, being one-off costs, may reduce the entry of entrepreneurs whose ideas are not very promising, thus increasing the proportion of innovative entrepreneurs. Taxes, being recurring costs, may reduce the “prize” of innovation and the profit from entrepreneurship, discouraging individuals with innovative business ideas from becoming entrepreneurs. Analyzing a dataset of 632,116 individuals, including 43,223 entrepreneurs from 53 countries, we can confirm our main predictions. Our paper contributes to the discussion on how governmental regulation costs and taxes influence innovative entrepreneurship and technological deve lopment. |
| Keywords: | Innovative entrepreneurship, corporate taxes, personal income taxes, start-up costs, entrepreneurial profit |
| JEL: | H24 H25 L26 L51 O31 |
| Date: | 2015–01–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tin:wpaper:20150013&r=sbm |
| By: | Santosh K. Sahu (Madras School of Economics); K. Narayanan (Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai) |
| Abstract: | We examine the importance of a firm’s R and D activity, technology import and intra-sectoral R and D spillovers on the decision to export and export intensity using firm level panel data for the Indian automobile sector from 2000-2014. R and D and technology import activities are found to be important determinants of export activity. There is evidence that R and D spillovers exert positive effects on firms’ export intensity and decision to export. In addition to these results, firm age and size are nonlinearly related to export decision and export intensity. Energy efficiency plays important role in export behavior for firms that are continuously exporting and those who are exporting at least for one year. |
| Keywords: | Decision to export, Export intensity, Indian automobile sector, R and D intensity, Technology import intensity |
| JEL: | L10 L21 L22 L62 |
| Date: | 2015–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mad:wpaper:2015-098&r=sbm |
| By: | Andrea Caragliu (Politecnico di Milano, Italy); Peter Nijkamp (VU University Amsterdam) |
| Abstract: | This paper enters the debate on the islands of innovation through the lens of the standard Lucas (1988) growth model. It begins with a review of the theoretical details of the model and of the ensuing main empirical results, which can be identified when estimating such model on a sample of 261 EU27 NUTS2 regions. Next, empirical results are interpreted in the light of recent EU innovation and education policies. Our results point to the paramount importance of taking into account patterns of connectivity between “islands” of innovation and other regions. On the basis of our empirical estimates, we claim that future further concentration of innovative activity could achieve maximum returns by enhancing connectivity between spatial innovation leaders and lagging regions. This situation may be characterised as targeting “hubs”, rather than “islands”, of innovation, and is in agreement with “open innovation policy”. |
| Keywords: | human capital, cognitive capital, knowledge spillovers, islands of innovation |
| JEL: | C21 E24 R11 |
| Date: | 2013–09–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tin:wpaper:20130141&r=sbm |
| By: | Voeten, Jaap (Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management) |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tiu:tiutis:8c8febf6-a063-4caf-8656-3b29ab653d24&r=sbm |
| By: | Ding, Ding (CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies, Royal Institute of Technology) |
| Abstract: | Labor mobility is mechanism for transfer the technology and innovation from multinational firms (MNEs) to non-multinational firms (non-MNEs). In this paper, we use a unique employer-employee data set in Sweden to provide individual-firm match dataset. Using the special research framework, we provide empirical evidence that hiring workers from MNEs can lead to knowledge spillover to non-MNEs and convert to innovation, even after controlling the region, industry and year effect, individuals’ and firms’ characteristics. We find hiring workers from a domestic MNEs generates stronger spillover effects compare to foreign MNEs and higher-educated workers are better able to transfer the knowledge. |
| Keywords: | Multinational enterprise; Ownership; Labor mobility; knowledge spillover |
| JEL: | F23 J61 O33 |
| Date: | 2015–04–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:cesisp:0402&r=sbm |
| By: | BERGOUIGNAN Marie-Claude |
| Abstract: | This article focuses on the question of how eco-innovation projects can lead to the break-out of an industrial trajectory. Using the example of the Aquitaine wood industry, we question how eco-innovation projects promoted by the ‘competitiveness cluster’ might help to modify that trajectory. Based on the existing literature, which refers to the diversity of objectives of eco-innovation, our research analyzes this diversity and then questions the compatibility of these objectives. By doing so, the article aims to identify the main possible paths of evolution of the Aquitaine wood industry. |
| Keywords: | break-out - competitiveness cluster - eco-innovation - path-dependency - wood industry. |
| JEL: | B52 O31 Q23 Q55 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:grt:wpegrt:2015-01&r=sbm |
| By: | Vladimirov, Zhelyu; Simeonova-Ganeva, Ralitsa; Ganev, Kaloyan |
| Abstract: | On the basis of existing theory we suggest two main types of factors for SME competitiveness. The first type is comprised of the basic factors, including internal, external and entrepreneur-related factors, all well-defined and discussed in the IO and RBV approach and the configuration theory as well. The second type consists of globalization-specific factors, referring to the innovation related processes as a response to the globalization challenges (innovation, internationalization, ICT and quality standards adoption, etc.). Our main research question is: Do globalization-specific factors have a significant impact on SME performance in times of crisis and post-crisis recovery? Using the two types of factors, we develop a conceptual model explaining their role for SME performance. We suggest that globalization-specific factors determine SME performance, and that the configurations of the two types of factors differ in times of crisis and post-crisis recovery. Research hypotheses are tested through construction of indexes for competitiveness and logit models using data on Bulgarian SMEs for two periods – one of economic crisis, and another of post-crisis recovery. Empirical evidence confirms significant impact of globalization-specific factors in period of post-crisis recovery only. Our findings show that the configuration of basic and globalization-specific factors with respect to business success is dynamic: in times of crises globalization-specific factors have no significant impact while basic factors have dominant role. In times of post-crises recovery both factors seem to be equally important for SME performance. |
| Keywords: | SMEs, competitiveness, basic factors, globalization-specific factors, configuration, crisis, post-crisis recovery |
| JEL: | L25 M0 M10 M20 O10 O30 |
| Date: | 2013–08–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:63518&r=sbm |
| By: | Michael S. Dahl (Aalborg University, Denmark); Mirjam van Praag (Copenhagen Business School, Denmark); Peter Thompson (Emory University, United States) |
| Abstract: | We study possible motivations for co-entrepenurial couples to start up a joint firm, using a sample of 1,069 Danish couples that established a joint enterprise between 2001 and 2010. We compare their pre-entry characteristics, firm performance and postdissolution private and financial outcomes with a selected set of comparable firms and couples. We find evidence that couples often establish a business together because one spouse – most commonly the female – has limited outside opportunities in the labor market. However, the financial benefits for each of the spouses, and especially the female, are larger in co-entrepreneurial firms, both during the life of the business and post-dissolution. The start-up of co-entrepreneurial firms seems therefore a sound investment in the human capital of both spouses as well as in the reduction of income inequality in the household. We find no evidence of non-pecuniary benefits or costs of coentrepreneurship |
| Keywords: | Entrepreneurship, motives, performance, couples, co-entrepreneurship. |
| JEL: | J12 L26 |
| Date: | 2014–05–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tin:wpaper:20140055&r=sbm |
| By: | YOSHINO Naoyuki |
| Abstract: | In this paper, I will explain the construction and analysis of a database of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), represented by data from the Credit Risk Database (CRD), and the role of the database as a means to provide financial education to SMEs. Then, to develop "assessment" abilities, I will comment on the need to cope with variables using the SME database and the long experience of persons involved in financing. I will also explain why it is hoped to make further progress on a study on the correlation with analysis using microdata and macro variables, including the feature of industry-specific data and an increase in the risk of loan loss due to a change in macro variables.Next, I will discuss and analyze (1) the establishment of a financial institution specializing in providing funds to SMEs in Asia where micro credit plays a major role and the relationship between governmental financial institutions and private financial institutions; (2) the methods of fundraising by governmental financial institutions, which can provide funds at low interest rates for long periods; and (3) difference in credit abilities between governmental financial institutions and private financial institutions, and the competitive yet complementary relationship between governmental financial institutions and private financial institutions.Furthermore, I will describe how German (KfW)-type concerted lending (loans through private financial institutions) is one way to reduce competition between governmental financial institutions and private financial institutions.Finally, I will explain how "Hometown Investment Trust Funds" (vehicles to provide risk money to startups and SMEs in local areas) provide funds to startups and SMEs in local areas using past cases, and describe the potential of these funds. |
| Date: | 2015–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:rpdpjp:15003&r=sbm |
| By: | Grega Smrkolj (Newcastle University, United Kingdom); Florian Wagener (University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands) |
| Abstract: | We study a stochastic dynamic game of process innovation in which firms can initiate and terminate R&D efforts and production at different times. We discern the impact of knowledge spillovers on the investments in existing markets, as well as on the likely structure of newly forming markets, for all possible asymmetries between firms. We show that the relation between spillovers, R&D efforts, and surpluses is non-monotonic and dependent on both the relative and absolute efficiency of firms. Larger spillovers increase the likelihood that a new technology is brought to production, but they do not necessarily make the industry more competitive. |
| Keywords: | Differential game, Feedback Nash equilibrium, Numerical partial differential equations, R&D, Spillovers |
| JEL: | C61 C63 C73 D43 D92 L13 O31 |
| Date: | 2014–08–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tin:wpaper:20140112&r=sbm |
| By: | Stephan Brunow (Institute for Employment Research (IAB) of the German Federal Employment Agency (BA), Nuremberg, Germany); Peter Nijkamp (VU University Amsterdam) |
| Abstract: | In the presence of agglomeration economies one might expect a relocation and concentration of industries. Then firm start-up activities may be assumed to reveal those effects. We introduce an empirical testable model inspired by the New Economic Geography and human capital externalities literature. The novelty of this paper is that it derives a measure of agglomeration economies founded on microeconomic analysis based on households' and firms' maximization behavior, namely the real market potential. Besides agglomeration forces, dispersion and human capital effects can be separated and explicitly controlled for. The paper sheds new light on the general mechanisms of intra-industrial agglomeration forces because it explicitly considers the regional distribution of economic activities. It offers clear evidence for the empirical relevance of the New Economic Geography. |
| Keywords: | New Economic Geography, Agglomeration, Externalities, Firm Formation |
| JEL: | L13 O41 R11 R3 |
| Date: | 2013–09–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tin:wpaper:20130134&r=sbm |
| By: | David Audretsch (The Georgia State University); Roy Thurik (Erasmus University Rotterdam) |
| Abstract: | The purpose of this paper is to suggest that a fundamental shift in Europe, along with the other OECD countries, is taking place. This shift is from the managed economy to the entrepreneurial economy. While politicians and policy makers have made a plea for guidance in the era of entrepreneurship,scholars have been slow to respond. The purpose of this paper is to make a first step identifying and articulating these differences. We do this by contrasting the most fundamental elements of the newly emerging entrepreneurial economy with those of the managed economy. We identify fifteen trade-offs confronting these two polar worlds. The common thread throughout these trade-offs is the increased role of new and small enterprises in the entrepreneurial economy. A particular emphasis is placed on changes in economic policy demanded by the entrepreneurial economy vis-à-vis the managed economy. We then explore whether restructuring towards the entrepreneurial economy has been conducive to economic growth and job creation. Our empirical analysis links the stage of the transition towards an entrepreneurial economy to the growth rates of European countries over a recent period. We find that those countries which have introduced a greater element of entrepreneurship have been rewarded with additional growth. |
| JEL: | O0 L0 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tin:wpaper:19970109&r=sbm |
| By: | Mette Ejrnæs (University of Copenhagen, Denmark); Stefan Hochguertel (VU University Amsterdam) |
| Abstract: | Availability of (partial) insurance mechanisms is arguably important for the decision of (riskaverse) workers to start up a risky entrepreneurial venture. Using administrative data from Denmark, where unemployment insurance (UI) is available to both wage earners and self-employed on a voluntary basis, we estimate the causal effect of UI cover on the self-employment choice of wage earners after instrumenting for the UI choice. The instruments we use are based on a series of policy variations that took place at three points in time during an observation period spanning three decades: only UI covered individuals could under certain conditions qualify for an early retirement (ER) program. Changes (reforms) in the eligibility conditions of the program that affected different age groups differentially at these three different points in time identify the UI choice process. Results show that the causal effect of insurance on the probability of starting up a venture is positive for would-be entrepreneurs, in contrast to correlations in the data or uninstrumented estimates. Using firm data, we also investigate how the newly insurance-induced entrepreneurs fare relative to their uninsured peers. Results suggest that they survive longer, but are not more likely to employ any workers or to make higher or lower profits. |
| Keywords: | self-employment, insurance, entrepreneurs, unemployment, panel data, early retirement |
| JEL: | C35 J26 J62 J65 L26 |
| Date: | 2014–03–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tin:wpaper:20140040&r=sbm |
| By: | Chia-Lin Chang (National Chung Hsing University, Taiwan); Michael McAleer (Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands, Complutense University of Madrid, Spain); Ju-Ting Tang (National Chung Hsing University, Taiwan) |
| Abstract: | With the advent of globalization, economic and financial interactions among countries have become widespread. Given technological advancements, the factors of production can no longer be considered to be just labor and capital. In the pursuit of economic growth, every country has sensibly invested in international cooperation, learning, innovation, technology diffusion and knowledge. In this paper, we use a panel data set of 40 countries from 1981 to 2008 and a negative binomial model, using a novel set of cross-border patents and joint patents as proxy variables for technology diffusion, in order to investigate such diffusion. The empirical results suggest that, if it is desired to shift from foreign to domestic technology, it is necessary to increase expenditure on R&D for business enterprises and higher education, exports and technology. If the focus is on increasing bilateral technology diffusion, it is necessary to increase expenditure on R&D for higher education and technology. |
| Keywords: | International Technology Diffusion, Exports, Imports, Joint Patent, Cross-border Patent, R&D, Negative Binomial Panel Data |
| JEL: | F14 F21 O30 O57 |
| Date: | 2013–07–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tin:wpaper:20130098&r=sbm |
| By: | Bernard, Andrew B.; Moxnes, Andreas; Saito, Yukiko U. |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the importance of buyer-supplier relationships, geography and the structure of the production network in firm performance. We develop a simple model where firms can outsource tasks and search for suppliers in different locations. Low search and outsourcing costs lead firms to search more and find better suppliers. This in turn drives down the firm's marginal production costs. We test the theory by exploiting the opening of a high-speed (Shinkansen) train line in Japan which lowered the cost of passenger travel but left shipping costs unchanged. Using an exhaustive dataset on firms' buyer-seller linkages, we find significant improvements in firm performance as well as creation of new buyer-seller links, consistent with the model. |
| Keywords: | firm-to-firm neworks; infrastructure; productivity; trade |
| JEL: | D22 D85 F14 L10 L14 R12 |
| Date: | 2015–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:10551&r=sbm |
| By: | Kokko, Ari (Copenhagen Business School); Gustavsson Tingvall, Patrik (The Ratio institute and Söderturn university); Videnord, Josefin (The Ratio institute and Uppsala university) |
| Abstract: | In this paper we conduct a meta-analysis to examine the link between R&D spending and economic growth in the EU and other regions. The results suggest that the growth-enhancing effect of R&D in the EU15 countries does not differ from that in other countries in general, but it is less significant than that for other industrialized countries. A closer inspection of the data reveals that the weak results for the EU15 stem from comparisons with the US – the US has been able to generate a stronger growth response from its R&D spending. Possible explanations for the US advantage include higher private sector investment in R&D and stronger public-private sector linkages than in the EU. Hence, to reduce the “innovation gap” vis-à-vis the US, it may not be enough for the EU to raise the share of R&D expenditures in GDP: continuous improvements in the European innovation system will also be needed, with focus on areas like private sector R&D and public-private sector linkages. |
| Keywords: | meta-analysis; R&D; European Union; EU15; USA; Economic Growth |
| JEL: | F43 O51 O52 |
| Date: | 2015–04–14 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:ratioi:0254&r=sbm |
| By: | Hasan, Iftekhar (BOFIT); Kobeissi , Nada (BOFIT); Wang, Haizhi (BOFIT); Zhou , Mingming (BOFIT) |
| Abstract: | This paper provides an empirical examination of the regional banking structures in China and their effects on entrepreneurial activity. Using a panel of 27 provinces and four directly controlled municipalities from 1997 through 2008, we find that the presence of large banking institutions negatively correlates with small business development in local markets and that this negative relation is driven mainly by participation of large banks in the short-term loan market. Rural banking institutions, in contrast, are found to promote regional entrepreneurial activity. Moreover, large state banks facilitate small business development in concentrated markets. When we interact measures of banking financing by state banks and rural banking institutions with a set of provincial level marketization indexes, we find that extensive marketization, factor market development, and sophistication of legal frameworks mitigate the negative effect of large state banks on small business development. In provinces with advanced market development, efficient factor markets, and favorable institutional settings, the positive effect of rural banking institutions on small business growth is even stronger. Finally, we present evidence that banks do a better job of promoting regional entrepreneurship when it occurs in conjunction with policies to foster innovation activity and assure protection of intellectual property rights. |
| Keywords: | banking structure; marketization; small business development; China |
| JEL: | G21 O16 P23 P25 |
| Date: | 2015–03–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:bofitp:2015_011&r=sbm |
| By: | Maria Rosaria Carillo (University of Naples Parthenope); Vincenzo Lombardo (University of Naples Parthenope); Alberto Zazzaro (Polytechnic University of Marche, MoFiR and CSEF) |
| Abstract: | In this paper we present a new theory accounting for the heterogeneous impact of family firms on economic growth. We develop an overlapping generations model, where agents are heterogeneous in innate talent, and family firms have access to an additional source of managerial capital, family connections, which affects the incentives of the firms' owners to pass on the company within the family and invest in the entrepreneurial human capital of their heirs. Our theory predicts that family firms cluster into heterogeneous groups with different management practices, inducing, at the aggregate level, a misallocation of talent that affects economic growth and the evolution into either a dynamic or a stagnant society, depending on the productivity of family connections in doing business. This heterogeneity in management practices and entrepreneurial human capital explains the different contribution of family firms during industrialization, highlighting the many possible evolutionary patterns for the economy and long-run growth regimes. Consistent with the theory, we provide empirical evidence in favor of the importance of social connectivity among individuals for explaining the difference in management practices between family and non-family firms, and, in turn, the GDP per-capita across countries. JEL Classification: J24, J62, L26, O11, O40 |
| Keywords: | Family firms, family connections, (mis)allocation of talents, technological change, economic growth |
| Date: | 2015–04–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sef:csefwp:400&r=sbm |