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Financial markets reveal information that firm managers can utilize when making equity value-enhancing investment decisions. However, for firms with risky debt, such investments are not necessarily socially efficient. Despite this friction, we show that learning from prices improves investment efficiency. This effect is asymmetric, however, as investors learn less about projects that decrease the riskiness of cash flows: efficiency is lower for diversifying investments than for focusing (risk-increasing) investments. This also implies that investors' endogenous learning further attenuates risk shifting but amplifies debt overhang. Our model provides a novel channel through which learning from financial markets affects agency frictions between stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic severely contracted Iran's economy in 2019-2021. Mass vaccinations in Iran, which began in February 2021, gradually made expectations for the future optimistic and increased investment incentives. Considering the importance of this issue, the main goal of the present study is to understand the effect of shock to the marginal efficiency of investment on Iran's economy. Also, considering that since the great recession of 2007, the macroeconomic effects of government expenditures shocks have received more attention, one of the other goals of this study is to investigate the effects of government expenditures shocks and the crowding out effect in Iran's economy. In other words, since the scientific analysis of the effect of economic shocks on economic conditions is essential, the main goal of this article is to understand the effects of shocks on the marginal efficiency of investment and government expenditures on the dynamics of macroeconomic variables in Iran. Method: Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium (DSGE) modeling is a branch of macroeconomics that follows the principles of microeconomics and can optimally evaluate the performance of the economy in a stochastic environment. These models are a new version of general equilibrium that emerged following Lucas' criticism. Compared to the models based on time series, DSGE models can show detailed interactions between market decision makers in the framework of general equilibrium. On the other hand, most time series models are not based on economic theory and unlike DSGE models, they are not based on mathematical optimization. Also, unlike calculable general equilibrium models, DSGE models are in a stochastic environment, and since the duration of the shock and its effect on the economy is not known, it is more appropriate to use DSGE models. Considering that the shocks on the economy are stochastic, dynamic stochastic general equilibrium models can best evaluate the effects of these shocks. In this article, a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model is presented and estimated using the Bayesian approach and seasonal data in the period of 2001:3-2021:3. The primary core of the current research is designed based on the study of Rohe (2012) and by expanding this model, the effect of shock to the marginal efficiency of investment on the dynamics of the macroeconomic variables of Iran has been investigated. In this regard, the studied DSGE model includes households with an unlimited planning horizon, a representative firm producing a homogeneous final product in a perfectly competitive environment, the government, and the oil sector. In order to estimate model indices, Bayesian method and Random Walk Metropolis-Hastings algorithm were used. The data of the observable variables of the model include seasonally adjusted data of Gross Domestic Production (GDP), private consumption, investment and government expenditure; which have been detrended using the Hodrick-Prescott filter. Results: The results indicate that the productivity shock caused an increase in the marginal efficiency of investment and production, and subsequently the hours of employment and investment increased; This caused the interest rate to increase. Due to the increase in household income, consumption increased. The response of the variables to productivity shocks and marginal efficiency of investment are very similar. The only difference is the response of consumption to the shock of the marginal efficiency of investment. As a result of this shock, consumption decreased due to the decrease in wage rates and household income. Also, the dependence of marginal efficiency of investment shocks and government expenditures led to an increase in government expenditures as a result of the marginal efficiency of investment shock. The shock of increasing government expenditures caused an increase in the real interest rate and a decrease in investment. Also, production and employment increased in response to this shock. Due to the significant decrease in the wage rate, consumption has decreased. Since the increase in government expenditures has led to a decrease in investment, the crowding out effect in Iran's economy is confirmed. Conclusion: Comparing the effects of shock to the marginal efficiency of investment and government spending shock on the dynamics of macroeconomic variables in Iran indicates that both shocks lead to an increase in output; but the government expenditures shock has led to the shrinking of the private sector in Iran. As a policy recommendation, it is suggested that the government should manage the political and economic environment of the country in a way so that the expectations of economic agents are formed as optimistically as possible. Also, considering the confirmation of the crowding out effect in Iran's economy, the government should prioritize the goal of reducing its size and expenses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a large panel of more than 140,000 state-owned enterprises (SOEs), this study examines SOEs' investment behavior surrounding 82 national elections in 25 European countries between 2001 and 2015. We find that SOEs increase their corporate investment by about 29% of the sample average during national election years. This effect is more pronounced in fixed timing and closely contested elections. The effect is also stronger in countries with low institutional quality, more centralized political systems, and state-controlled banking systems. In contrast, we find the matched non-SOEs significantly decrease their corporate investment during national election years. (JEL G18, G30, G32, E22) Authors have furnished an Internet Appendix, which is available on the Oxford University Press Web site next to the link to the final published paper online. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A mass of recent research shows that investment shocks are primary driving forces of business cycles. A thorny issue, however, arises due to countercyclical consumption behavior following the investment shocks. This article contributes to the literature by resolving this anomalous issue in a model that features time inconsistency, modeled as naïve hyperbolic discounting. The proposed model delivers positive responses of consumption to an investment shock and thus produces comovement of key macroaggregates, which is in line with the observed U.S. business cycles. Furthermore, this article also substantiates the validity of the proposed model by producing comovement following an investment news (or anticipated investment) shock. Additional analyses on changes in model structure and parameter value do not reverse the main finding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent studies identify Marginal Efficiency of Investment (MEI) shocks as important drivers of the business cycle. However, Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium (DSGE) models struggle to explain macroeconomic comovements between consumption and the key real variables after a MEI shock. Moreover, engaging in tax evasion practices is often an answer to financial constraints, which have been recognized as important determinants of cyclical fluctuations as well. We use a medium‐scale New Keynesian DSGE model, that combines tax evasion with financial frictions, to simulate a MEI shock. We show that entrepreneurial tax evasion can solve the comovement problem to a fair extent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate how the timing behavior and the adjustment toward the target of capital structure interact with each other in the capital structure decisions. Past literature finds that both timing and targeting are significant in determining the leverage ratio which is inconsistent with any standalone framework. This study argues that the preference of the firm for timing behavior or targeting behavior depends on the cost of deviation from the target. Since the cost of deviation from the target is likely to be asymmetric between overleveraged and underleveraged firms, the direction of the deviation from the target leverage is expected to alter the preference toward timing or targeting in the capital structure decision.Design/methodology/approach This study used the GMM system estimators with the Malaysian data for the period of 1992-2009 to fit a standard partial adjustment model and to estimate the speed of adjustment (SOA) of capital structure.Findings This study finds that Malaysian firms, on average, adjust their leverage at a slow speed of 12.7 percent annually and this rate increased to 14.2 percent when the timing variable is accounted for. Moreover, the SOA is found to be significantly higher and the timing role is lower for overleveraged firms compared with underleveraged firms. Overleveraged firms seem to find less flexibility to time the market as more pressure is exerted on them to return to the target regardless the timing opportunities because of the higher costs of deviation from the target leverage. Underleveraged firms place lower priority to rebalance toward the target compared with overleveraged firms as the costs of being underleveraged are lower and hence, these firms have more flexibility to time the market.Research limitations/implications The findings of this study support that firms consider both targeting and timing in their financing decisions. No standalone theory can interpret the full spectrum of empirical results. The empirical work is based on partial adjustment model of leverage; however, this model has been criticized by inability to distinguish between active adjustment behavior and mechanical mean reversion. This is an avenue for future research.Originality/value This study investigates if targeting and timing behaviors are mutually exclusive as theoretically expected or they can coexist. A theoretical explanation and an empirical investigation support the conclusion that firms consider both targeting and timing in their financing decisions. This study provides evidence from Malaysian firms that are characterized by concentrated ownership structure and separation of cash flow rights and control rights of the firm due to pyramid ownership structure. Therefore, it provides evidence on how environmental characteristics may affect the capital structure determinants of the firm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the effect and the efficiency of investments in addition to operation is presented both graphically and analytically. The author suggests a method for calculating the recovery period. In author's view, investments must be focused mainly on creation and modernization of production funds in the agri-food sector/industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study uses the GARCH models to estimate market efficiency of eleven stock markets from South East Europe (SEE) - Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Serbia, Slovenia, Turkey, Romania, Montenegro, Macedonia, Banja Luka and Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina) over the period from 2005 to 2015 with the accent on the effect of the global financial crisis of 2008 on the market efficiency. The results reveal that eight of eleventh of analyzed markets can be defined as market inefficient according to the Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH) during the whole studied period. From pre-crisis to crisis period five of the SEE indices worsen their market efficiency in the terms of the weak form of the EMH. The group of indices with relatively high market efficiency during the post-crisis period is the largest one in comparison with the previous periods. All things considered, it seems reasonable to assume that SEE markets aren't homogeneous and uniform in the contest of EMH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article contributes to the establishment of a framework for the analysis of international capital flows, with a specific focus on emerging markets. It is based on a "monetary" analysis of the economy, as well as on the works of Hyman Minsky and Jan Toporowski in particular. The key aspects of such an approach are the following. First, in a monetary economy, capital flows need to be understood as "flows of funds" that pertain to the realm of financial choices, as opposed to the traditional understanding of capital flows as based on "real" variables, such as saving and investment. A consequence of this is the need to focus on gross flows rather than capital flows. Second, liquidity preference considerations also apply at the international level, particularly in relation to the liquidity of emerging-market currencies that, in turn, depends on context-specific "Keynesian fundamentals." Third, the rise of institutional investors is the key historical development in the financial system, shaping the current reality of cross-border capital flows, including to emerging markets. I argue that institutional investors' liabilities, in light of the theories of Minsky and Toporowski, are one of the most important variables in determining these investors' portfolio choices. I synthesize these elements by defining capital flows to emerging markets as the demand for emerging-market assets by institutional investors. I propose a framework to categorize the various channels that guide this demand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem of the relevance of human and natural capital, as well as the potential adverse effect of natural capital on economic growth, has gained increased attention in development economics. The aim of this paper is to assess, theoretically and empirically, the relevance of several forms of capital on economic growth in certain small economies that are dependent upon tourism or natural resources. The empirical framework is based on Impulse Response Functions obtained from Vector Autoregressive models in which we focus on the model where economic growth is the dependent variable for ten small economies that are dependent upon either tourism or natural resources. We find that there is evidence of the "natural resource curse", especially in the economies that have a strong dependence on resources that are easily substitutable and whose prices constantly fluctuate. We further find that in the majority of observed cases, the type of capital these small economies are most dependent on for their economic growth causes negative impulses in the majority of the observed periods. Therefore, the main policy recommendation should be to assure that even these small economies should strive towards further diversification and avoid dependence on only one segment of their economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops a framework in which asset class dimensions are extended to include both risk and exhaustibility for explaining the evolution of shadow prices of marginal units of exhaustible natural resources in capital-resource economies. It is shown that the pricing kernel function required for socially valuing marginal units of exhaustible resource, hereafter called the Exhaustion-Stochastic Discount Factor, combines a factor that discounts for risk and another factor that discounts for resource exhaustion over time. The social rate of return on the marginal unit of resource stock adds to the risk-premium an exhaustion premium that accounts for the resource depletion over time. In this setting, the principle of no-arbitrage holds by extending asset-class dimensions to include not only a risk dimension but also an exhaustibility dimension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economists use three types of models to describe volunteer labour supply: the public-goods model, the private-consumption model, and the human-capital model. We used data from an online survey questionnaire of volunteers working for the German Red Cross to study the extent to which utility components representing these three types help to explain volunteer labour supply. We analysed the survey data using boosted regression trees, where we controlled for several other potentially important socioeconomic correlates of volunteer labour supply. We used measures of relative influence and partial dependence plots to analyse the strength and the direction of the correlation of the utility components and the other socioeconomic variables with volunteer labour supply. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors examine major aspects of the connection between social capital and economic development in U.S. counties. They test the conclusions of Putnam, who saw associations as a force for positive development, and Olson, who concluded the opposite. The authors find that Putnam organizations have a negative effect on income, while Olson organizations have a positive effect by decreasing levels of income inequality. Drawing on the literature distinguishing between bridging versus bonding, the authors show that bridging capital has a positive effect on development by increasing per capita income, while bonding capital has a neutral effect on both per capita income and income inequality. Finally, religious variables are tested for their relationship with economic development. Overall, congregation density has a negative influence by increasing per capita income and income inequality, controlling for geographic type. Congregations with bridging characteristics have a mixed effect on development by decreasing income and decreasing inequality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using PISA 2009 data for Croatia, this paper addresses the relationship between socio-economic background, cultural capital and educational attainment. Following Bourdieu, we emphasized the importance of interpreting cultural capital effects as effects of family habitus. The results indicated that the material and the relational dimension of cultural capital had independent effects on science literacy results. Although there was no significant interaction effect between socio-economic status and cultural capital, the analysis suggested both a tendency for social reproduction as well as the possibility for social mobility of students with lower socio-economic status. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In an influential article, Raj Chetty (2009, 'Is the Taxable Income Elasticity Sufficient to Calculate Deadweight Loss? The Implications of Evasion and Avoidance.' American Economic Journal: Economic Policy 1 (2):31-52) argues that in the presence of tax evasion the elasticity of taxable income (ETI) is no longer a sufficient statistic for the marginal efficiency cost of funds (MECF). We show that, under Chetty's (2009, 'Is the Taxable Income Elasticity Sufficient to Calculate Deadweight Loss? The Implications of Evasion and Avoidance.' American Economic Journal: Economic Policy 1 (2):31-52) risk-neutrality assumption, correctly measuring the standard MECF only requires adding detected evasion inclusive of penalties. In the more general case of risk aversion, it further requires amending the formula to address the private risk-bearing cost of tax evasion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge collaboration (KC) is an important strategy measure to improve knowledge management, focusing on not only efficiency of knowledge cooperation, but also adding value of intellectual capital and social capital. In virtual teams, many factors, such as team's network characteristics, collaborative culture, and individual collaborative intention, affect the performance of KC. By discussing the nature of KC, this paper presents that the performance of can be measured from two aspects: effectiveness of collaboration and efficiency of cooperation. Among them, effectiveness of collaboration is measured through value added and efficiency of cooperation is measured through accuracy and timeliness. Then the paper discusses the factors affecting the performance of KC from network characteristics, individual attributes and team attributes. The results show that network characteristics, individual attributes and team attributes in virtual team have significant impacts on the performance of KC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study uses a sample of Canadian natural resource firms during the global financial crisis ( GFC) of 2007-2008 to examine the influence of firm hedging strategies on their working capital management. Our evidence implies that increased cash holdings and derivatives are alternative ways of hedging risk, and also provides another perspective on the U.S. 'trapped cash' controversy as our sample firms are not R&D intensive and do not face the same tax regime as U.S. multinationals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to enhance knowledge of the full set of interrelations between IC components by providing an inductive typology of their strategic interactions. Design/methodology/approach – To answer the research question the author conducted a content analysis of CEOs’ letters to shareholders published by 122 companies among the 200 first companies from the Fortune Global 500 from 2008 to 2012. Findings – The results show that these three IC components interact with each other around the central position held by relational and structural capital and to a lesser extent human capital. Companies that have a positive evolution in the ranking focus significantly more on the structural capital while those who have a negative evolution in the ranking mention more the relational capital. Research limitations/implications – The study is based on the CEOs’ letters that might limit the generalization of the findings. Nonetheless, this research highlights a full and fruitful set of interrelations between IC components providing a business practices-oriented typology. Practical implications – This study provides deep insights into the interrelations between IC components that can significantly help managers to identify the strategic connections between IC dimensions. Originality/value – This study contributes to the literature by expanding the actual academic classification of IC to five clusters of components. This research highlights that relational capital interacting with structural capital holds a central position in companies’ business strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An econometric model based on a natural experiment and the difference-in-differences method is introduced to empirically investigate the impact of split share structure reform on capital structures. A total of 1026 listed companies in Chinese A-share during 2001–2011 are used as the sample for the research and interest-bearing debt ratios (BDRs) are taken as a representative indicator for capital structures. The theoretical and empirical analysis indicates that both market expansion effect and corporate governance effect caused by the split share structure reform are associated with an increase in BDR. As far as the timeliness is concerned, the effects of split share structure reform on capital structures will last 3–4 years. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The Eurosystem contributes to making sure Europe has the infrastructure it needs so that money and financial assets can flow safely and efficiently within and across European borders. This paper looks at the latest piece of the financial market infrastructure to have been put in place: TARGET2-Securities, or T2S. This pan-European securities settlement platform brings an array of benefits to the markets in terms of lower prices, more efficient and standardised settlement practices, better collateral management and more competition. But it also benefits Europe's economy more broadly by bringing greater financial stability and making Europe a more attractive place for investors both at home and abroad. With the migration of European markets to the T2S platform over the course of the next two years, these benefits will increasingly come to fruition. T2S, together with the other initiatives in this field that the Eurosystem will focus its efforts on over the next few years, will move Europe ever closer to the goal of a true single market in Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An optimal Capital Structure is the main decision for any business management to be taken for persistent growth and wealth maximization of the shareholders. The study is conducted to investigate firm-level characteristics and macroeconomic determinant that influence Capital Structure Decision of insurance industry in Pakistan from the study period of 1999 to 2013. The Hausman's specification and Breusch, and Pagan Lagrange Multiplier Test are employed to find out the most appropriate models among fixed effects, random effect and pooled regression model. The tests confirm that pooled regression model and fixed effect model are the most prominent models for the study. In addition, the findings of the study reveals that profitability and business risk are inversely but significantly related with debt across both estimation techniques. The negative relationship of profitability and business risk with debt confirm Pecking Order Theory. However, tangibility of assets and inflation rate are positive and statistically significantly effect on Leverage, which supports Trade off Theory. Inflation rate is significant on pooled regression model however fixed effect estimation give insignificant result of inflation rate. Growth of the firm is also insignificant factor of Capital Structure in insurance sector of Pakistan across both regression models. According to the best knowledge of the authors, this is the first study, which considers both financial and economic variables of capital structure in insurance sector. The study is recommended that senior-mangers can make an optimal- mix of debt and equity by selecting endogenous (i.e. profitability, growth, tangibility and business risk) and exogenous factor like inflation of insurance sector of Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the commonly held belief that the prime source of profits for a manufacturing company is the efficiency of its production plant, good financial managers know that they can significantly improve the bottom line (and other important metrics) by adopting the right working capital policy. All investments are expected to produce returns appropriate to their costs - this is equally true of the funds invested by manufacturing companies in the current side of their operations. Using ratio analysis, multivariate and logistic regression techniques, we were able to establish two broad actualities: firstly, multinational firms operating in the manufacturing sector of Pakistan generally use conservative working capital policies and generally produce better overall financial results; and secondly, domestic firms are more inclined towards aggressive working capital policies and generally have poorer financial results. We investigate the extent to which the selection of working capital policy influences the financial performance of these companies and the causes thereof. This article contributes to the published research by exploring the impact of working capital policies on the financial performance of manufacturing companies, both domestic and multinational, operating in Pakistan. However, due to a fair degree of similarity between the manner in which domestic and multinational companies conduct their affairs in most developing countries, we believe the paper has relevance for companies in all such countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is an attempt to set out a betting strategy appropriate to events with several possible final outcomes which are a) unambiguously defined and b) likely to show fluctuations in the respective probabilities as the event unfolds. It is shown that, by placing bets of appropriate magnitude and at appropriate times, such as to take advantage of changing odds, it is possible to secure a certain profit, generally in advance of the outcome becoming known, and irrespective of which of the possible outcomes finally materialises. Furthermore, the bettor should enjoy the reassurance of an improving Net Expected Value (NEV), as the event progresses. The procedure, which may be viewed as a multiple hedging one, is suited to in running betting on individual match events, as well as on protracted seasonal events (such as a league championship in football or other sport). The principal requirement is that there be a reasonable expectation of a large amount of alternation in the relative prospects of at least two contenders. The procedure is outlined in general terms and illustrated with reference to real life football matches and league competitions from the 2015/6 season. It is seen to be profitable under the specified conditions. Apparent advantages in betting on draws and on favourites are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the dynamics of the shadow economy using data for 50 US states over the period 1998–2008. Using a panel VAR model, we analyse the impulse response of the shadow economy to an orthogonal shock in capital tax rates, educational attainment, union participation and gross state product. We find evidence of significant dynamics underlying the relationship between the shadow economy and its determinants. The results remain robust to alternate measures of the determinants of the shadow economy, alternate causal ordering of the variables in the system and conditioning on the level of income in each state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, one of the most notable developments in social policy has been the expansion of active labour market policies (ALMPs): training schemes that aim to speed up unemployed people's return to the labour market. At the same time, academic and political attention has begun to rethink the traditional ways in which social policies like ALMPs should be evaluated: away from typically economic-oriented outcomes towards health and social indicators, such as subjective well-being and social capital. This has led to an emerging argument that ALMPs can be used to improve the health and social environment of unemployment, which decades of research has shown to be associated with a wide range of deleterious outcomes. This paper tests this argument by analysing longitudinal data from the long-running British Household Panel Survey and its successor Understanding Society. The results show that relative to open unemployment, ALMP participation is associated with increased well-being amongst the unemployed, although there is no effect on health or social capital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates how venture-backed companies are affected when others sharing the same investor suffer a negative shock. In theory, companies may be helped or hurt in this scenario. To examine the topic empirically, I estimate the impact of the collapse of the technology bubble on non-information-technology (non-IT) companies that were held alongside IInternet companies in venture portfolios. Using a difference-in-differences framework, I find that the end of the bubble was associated with a significantly larger decline in the probability of raising continuation financing for these non-IT companies in comparison to others. This does not appear to be driven by unobservable company characteristics such as company quality or IT relatedness; for the same portfolio company receiving capital from multiple venture firms, investors with greater Internet exposure were significantly less likely to continue to participate in follow-on rounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the role of social capital in a microfinance contract. Design/methodology/approach – Systematic review of the theoretical and empirical literature on the role of social capital in microfinance. Findings – The theoretical literature has shown using models of peer selection, peer monitoring and peer pressure that group lending with joint liability overcomes both the informational and enforcement failures present in credit markets for poor. However findings from the empirical literature conclude that social capital should not be taken as a single concept but should be considered in light of its different aspects which may be having different effects on the performance. For example, the trust between the borrowers, cultural and social homogeneity has been found to have more significant affect on repayment performance in contrast to the incentives due to peer pressure. The groups formed by family members and relatives are consistently been reported to have weakening influence on repayment. Practical implications – For a same program the effect of social capital on performance can be different for different geographies and different classification of subjects and thus should be studied before initiating a microfinance program in any social setting. Social implications – The borrowers should be encouraged to form groups with others who are more trustworthy and not with those they are just having an acquaintance with. The borrowers should be encouraged to come to aid of those who are victims of negative externalities. The positive experiences will lead to reciprocity of actions in future. The borrowers should be discouraged to form groups with family members and relatives. Originality/value – It analyzes both theoretical and empirical literature by disentangling different aspects of social capital within groups and their effects on group performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Performing servitisation requires choice consistency in terms of manufacturing structure, service structure, and the coupling between them. In this paper, we rely on the manufacturing strategy and service innovation literature to build a conceptual framework in order to investigate a servitisation path in industry. This framework aims at describing both the product-oriented production structure and the service-oriented production structure, at key points of a firm’s history. We use this framework within a case study from the capital goods industry, and show its relevance as a support for the diagnosis of consistencies or inconsistencies in strategic choices relating to the design of the product-service production system throughout time. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to detect different behavioral groups and the dominant patterns of customer shifts between segments of different values over time. Design/methodology/approach – A new hybrid methodology is presented based on clustering techniques and mining top-k and distinguishing sequential rules. This methodology is implemented on the data of 14,772 subscribers of a mobile phone operator in Tehran, the capital of Iran. The main data include the call detail records and event detail records data that was acquired from the IT department of this operator. Findings – Seven different behavioral groups of customer shifts were identified. These groups and the corresponding top-k rules represent the dominant patterns of customer behavior. The results also explain the relation of customer switching behavior and segment instability, which is an open problem. Practical implications – The findings can be helpful to improve marketing strategies and decision making and for prediction purposes. The obtained rules are relatively easy to interpret and use; this can strengthen the practicality of results. Originality/value – A new hybrid methodology is proposed that systematically extracts the dominant patterns of customer shifts. This paper also offers a new definition and framework for discovering distinguishing sequential rules. Comparing with Markov chain models, this study captures the customer switching behavior in different levels of value through interpretable sequential rules. This is the first study that uses sequential and distinguishing rules in this domain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author discusses aspects of construction and market rules assembled which represents a remarkable collective contribution. The author is critical on the complete diversity of surveyed commodities from high-school education to municipal services as well as from financial derivatives to credit of greenhouse gas emissions. Also investigated is the implications of agents, activities and discourses in market space.

Public organizations in the United States (U.S.) are increasingly tasked with collecting and analyzing human capital data to gauge employee satisfaction, track progress toward organizational goals, and identify areas for improvement. One of the most notable recent initiatives is the U.S. Office of Personnel Management's Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey, which is designed to provide regular observations on human capital challenges and opportunities. While federal organizations are tasked with collecting and analyzing information to address workforce needs, a variety of forces may challenge agencies' ability to effectively utilize the information for learning and change. This study applies the organizational learning cycle to four federal examples and highlights the forces that help and hinder human capital data collection efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Close-knit relationships are a distinctive facet of subsistence living, in which survival mode entrepreneurship is a way of life. These relationships fuel "bonding social capital" within informal economies as people rely on others to work, consume, and cope with scarce resources. At the same time, policy agendas encourage business growth and social mobility by shifting informal microenterprises into the formal economy. However, success in formalized contexts requires a different form of social capital-that is, "bridging social capital" with people outside one's immediate social network and across institutional structures. Yet policy programs often stop short of addressing how subsistence entrepreneurs manage the inherent tensions across these forms of social capital. As such, this study unpacks the contextual value of social capital using data collected with street vendors in an urban Latin American setting. The analysis identifies four entrepreneurial paths pursued by street vendors and articulates the relative value of bonding and bridging social capital across different economic and social positions. The findings advance insights for a community-centric public policy approach and offer guidance for segmentation and value proposition development within subsistence entrepreneurship programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many successful examples of economic development, such as South Korea, exhibit long periods of sustained capital accumulation. This process is characterized by a gradually rising investment rate along with a moderate rate of return to capital, both of which are strongly at odds with the standard neoclassical growth model that predicts an initially high and then declining investment rate with an extremely high return to capital. We show that minor modifications of the neoclassical model go a long way toward accounting for the capital accumulation path of the South Korean economy. Our modifications recognize that (i) agriculture (which makes up a large share of the aggregate economy in the early stage of development) does not rely much on capital and (ii) the relative price of capital declined substantially during the transition period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How does factor accumulation affect an open economy's pattern of international specialization and returns to capital? We provide a new integrated treatment to this question using a panel of 44 developing and developed countries over the period 1976-2000. The data confirm the Heckscher-Ohlin prediction that, with sufficient differences in country endowments, there is no factor price equalization and countries specialize in different subsets of goods. Innovatively, we obtain the returns to capital implied by this model: these are consistent with the Lucas paradox, which we explain after accounting for cross-country differences in the cost of capital goods. Our findings are also consistent with Ventura's hypothesis that the growth of small open economies can be promoted by "beating the curse of diminishing returns" -- indeed we find no decrease in the return to capital at any given capital-labor ratio despite capital accumulation by most countries within a cone of diversification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article is aimed at revealing the origins of the core contradictions in social and labour relations in Russia since the collapse of the USSR. The transition to market economy of Russian society since the early 1990s has not brought a fully fledged concept of labour relations. The concept of labour relations found in Russia today is rather the product of the ignorance of the state authorities, which led to a situation of increased tension between labour and capital. The contradictions in social and labour-relations stem, on the one hand, from Soviet society, and on the other, have been generated by the transition to market per se. The author endeavours to give response to the question, why does a model of social partnership limit itself only to its formal aspects rather than seek an essential shift in the direction of the establishment workable framework of labour relations? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is intended to demonstrate that the downturn in fixed capital formation and investment surpassed the decline in GDP; among the OECD countries Hungary witnessed the 9th largest shortfall of the investment rate compared to pre-crisis levels. The growth rate of Hungarian working capital outflows surpassed that of FDI inflows. The service fee payment of PPP investment contributed to the budget deficit by around 0.5 per cent of GDP per annum. The structure of whole-economy fixed investment underwent a considerable transformation: manufacturing saw a spectacular expansion, while the share of public administration and water supply grew to a lesser degree. The contribution of real estate, electricity and gas supply, education and transportation decreased markedly. The structural changes in public sector investment are reflected in the output of fixed capital formation, which increased by 2.1 in the central budget and by 12.3 per cent at local governments. The total amount of investment grants doubled in the period between 2009 and 2013. In the sector of non-financial corporations, the ratio of grants to GDP rose to 1.3 per cent in 2011, 1.4 per cent in 2012, and 1.9 per cent in 2013 compared to 1.2 and 1.1 per cent in 2009 and 2010, respectively. Besides net EU transfers, the expansion of grants was also an important contributor to the upswing in investment activity in 2013-2014. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses how to analyze the performance of private equity funds (PEFs) and identification of aggregated alpha generated by PEF managers. Topics discussed includes absolute and relative measure of performance of PEF, analysis of the Paid-In to committed capital ratios and analysis of management fees and carried interest

This article discusses the central macroeconomic claims that are made in Thomas Piketty’s bookCapital in the Twenty-first Century. The article aims to show that Piketty’s contentions are not only logically flawed but also contradicted by his own data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study draws from an interpretation of scale as a social construct to elaborate a multi-scalar approach to place branding that represents a growing set of theories and managerial practices aimed at leveraging the reputational capital of places. The article unveils that far from consisting of clear-cut processes which occur within a pre-given and fixed set of scalar boundaries, city, regional, country and supra-national brandings actually converge in a complex mechanism of intertwined practices and discourses. By grounding its theoretical investigation in a case study about the celebration of the 150th anniversary of Italian unification, this paper furthers the understanding of place branding from a multi-level perspective, addressing the tendency of previous studies to treat scale as a fixed hierarchy of nested levels. The findings show that scalar boundaries remain significant for the purpose of coordination and identification among the institutional actors involved. And yet, the investigation highlights that scalar boundaries do not constitute a structure of ontologically given contexts, but rather are the outcome of an ongoing dialectic process among place stakeholders through which scalar relations are constantly reproduced and nurtured during the staging of the place branding project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This case study provides an overview of a family outreach intervention that supports student retention in school through a school-home communication link. This intervention structure, which employs staff appropriately called parent involvement facilitators (PIFs), is one that school districts have employed to facilitate family engagement in schools and to help parents build their sense of efficacy to support their children's success in school. The intention of the PIF is to provide direct services to families whose child or children are identified as at risk of not completing high school. What has not been studied is how this outreach program works in terms of family support, especially for those in an urban setting with language complexities, and how it helps provide social capital to the family and also to the PIF in this reciprocal process of working together to help the children complete high school. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parent involvement in education is a multifaceted support that has many well-documented benefits for students of all ages. Parent involvement is also a common expression of generativity as defined in Erik Erikson's theory of psychosocial development. The activities parents engage in during their children's educational pursuits, as well as their behaviors that reflect generativity, correspond to, in total, the creation of social capital. This article uses structural equation modeling to illustrate the relationship between the characteristics of generativity and social capital as underlying factors of parent involvement. The parent involvement factors are measured using the School and Family Partnership Survey (Epstein & Salinas, 1993). The results suggest a three-factor model, in which generativity serves as one factor and in which social capital is distinguished into two factors: individual-level and community-level. At the individual level, social capital reflects interactions between two individuals such as the teacher and the parent. Community-level social capital addresses opportunities created by the school for parents to participate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - This paper aims to document how does ownership concentration, a proxy for agency conflicts, affect capital structure of firms in emerging markets. Agency relationship between insiders and outsiders has the potential to influence corporate decision-making which, in turn, impacts firm characteristics such as leverage. Design/methodology/approach - This paper uses pooled regression analysis to document the effect of ownership concentration on capital structure in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region (Morocco, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain), during the period between 2005 and 2009. Findings - The authors show that ownership concentration negatively affects capital structure. The results also show that for a given level of ownership concentration, the proportion of debt in capital structure goes up as information asymmetries decrease. Finally, the results show that for a given ownership concentration, it is the growth firms with low information asymmetries that have a higher proportion of debt in capital structure. Research limitations/implications - The authors argue that information asymmetries associated with ownership concentration minimize the ability of firms to raise debt, thereby resulting in a negative relationship between ownership concentration and capital structure. Furthermore, reluctance on the part of controlling shareholders to accumulate excess leverage to minimize non-diversifiable risk also negatively influences capital structure. Originality/value - Most of the prior studies on the relationship between ownership concentration and capital structure have been conducted in relatively more developed markets. An important market that has failed to attract attention regarding this issue is the MENA. This paper is an attempt to fill this gap by documenting the relationship between the two in the MENA region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes how changes in tax rates affect government revenue in a Romer-style endogenous growth model. Lower tax rates on financial income (returns to physical capital and intellectual property) are partially self-financing primarily because lower financial income taxes stimulate innovation and enhance labor productivity in the long run. In the baseline calibration, about half of a tax cut is self-financing in the long run, substantially more than in the Ramsey model. The dynamics of the economy's response to a tax cut are very sluggish and, for some variables, nonmonotonic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We explore whether the creation of the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange (ECX) and its formal monitoring and enforcement institutions has affected social capital and trust in the Ethiopian segment of the sesame value chain. Consistent with a simple theoretical marketing model, our panel data suggest this is indeed the case. Trade in sesame is increasingly governed by formal rather than informal institutions, and in response traders have broadened their trading network, rely more frequently on traders with whom they do not have social relations, and have reduced the provision of credit that cements personalized relationships. They also have lower levels of trust in the intentions and capabilities of their trading partners, and attach less weight to trust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]