Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mergers and Acquisitions & Trade: A Global Value Chain Analysis

The present paper deals with how the insertion in international trade and global value chains (GVCs) of countries affects their capacity of attracting foreign mergers and acquisitions (M&As). To this end, we combine data for bilateral M&As and trade in value added for the period 2001–15 and estimate an augmented gravity equation. Results indicate that trade openness per se does not favour M&As. Nevertheless, bilateral free trade agreements, heterogeneity of destinations (sources) for exports (imports) of intermediate and final goods, and position and participation in global value chains are relevant for explaining bilateral M&As. Moreover, their role is significantly different depending on the level of development of the home and host countries.
Intertemporal preferences of individual and collective decision-makers

This thesis contributes to theoretical modelling of time preferences of individual and collective decision-makers. In the context of an individual decision-maker we study two problems: axiomatization of time preferences and the effect of delay on the ranking of sequences of dated outcomes. In the context of a group of decision-makers we investigate the problem of aggregation of time preferences. First, we provide a new axiomatic foundation for exponential, quasi-hyperbolic and semi-hyperbolic discounting when preferences are expressed over streams of consumption lotteries. The key advantage of our axiomatic system is its simplicity and its use of a common framework for finite and infinite time horizons. Second, we analyse preferences with the property that the ranking of two sequences of dated outcomes can switch from one strict ranking to the opposite at most once as a function of some common delay – the “one-switch” property of Bell [12]. We demonstrate that time preferences satisfy the one-switch property if and only if the discount function is either the sum of exponentials or linear times exponential. This is a revision of Bell’s result [12], who claimed that the only discount functions compatible with the one-switch property are sums of exponentials. We also show that linear times exponential discount functions exhibit increasing impatience in the sense of Takeuchi [77]. To the best of our knowledge, linear times exponential discount functions have not been used in the context of time preference before. Finally, we study the problem of aggregating time preferences when individual time preferences exhibit decreasing impatience. If decision-makers have the same level of decreasing impatience, our result proves that the aggregate discount function is strictly more decreasingly impatient than each of individual discount functions. This is a generalization of Prelec’s and Jackson and Yariv’s results on the aggregation of discount functions [46, 63]. We also analyse the situation in which the aggregation problem arises because of some uncertainty about the discount function. In this context we prove the analogue of Weitzman’s influential result [81], showing that if a decision-maker is uncertain about her hyperbolic discount rate, then long-term costs and benefits will be discounted at a hyperbolic discount rate which is the probability-weighted harmonic mean of the possible hyperbolic discount rates.
Back‐Loaded Wages and On‐The‐Job Training in a Frictional Labor Market

This paper analyzes the coexistence of on-the-job training and on-the-job search in a frictional labor market in which workers engage in on-the-job search behavior and firms post skill-dependent wage-training contracts to preemptively back-load compensation and extract more surplus in earlier periods. It demonstrates that the back-loaded compensation after training makes trained workers turn down job offers from slightly more productive poaching firms, as if they accumulated job-specific or relationship specific human capital and general training is over-intensified overall. According to the calibration exercise, the market equilibrium outcome, relative to the constrained social planner's outcome, retains a larger steady state mass of skilled workers (training inefficiency), but, by discouraging efficient job-to-job transition, produces fewer units of outputs (allocation inefficiency).
Tax Prices and Charitable Giving: Projected Changes in Donations Under the 2017 Tcja

We estimate the tax price elasticity of charitable giving using newly-available data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics spanning 2001-2017. We find that households that always itemize are less sensitive to changes in the tax treatment of donations than house-holds that switch itemizing status. We apply these results to the provisions of the Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017, taking into account the marginal propensity to donate from the increase in disposable income expected for most households, and predict significant reductions in charitable giving. (This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)
Foreign Direct Investment Drivers, Is Sub-Saharan Africa, a different case? Using the Cointegration Approach

The growth of the economy is fundamental to economic and social well-being. Factors that can be attributed to economic growth include foreign direct investment. Using the Cointegration approach, data from 1991 to 2015 from three major economies in sub-Saharan Africa that represent East Africa, SADc and Eco was regional groupings is used to analyze the major determinants of foreign direct investment. The study only included countries with complete data. The results indicate that countries with well-developed infrastructure are likely to attract foreign investors. Likewise, a higher return on investment is significant in influencing foreign direct investment. Confirming previous studies in developed economics, the results indicate that openness to trade is significant in attracting foreign capital. The research demonstrates the urgent need to improve infrastructure, streamline red tape and reduce the cost of operations, including taxation. Keywords: FDI; sub-Saharan Africa; growth; infrastructure; investment Subject classification codes: EO3.
Forecasting inflation in a small open developing economy

ABSTRACT The transition to a model-based forecasting environment is encountered by hurdles in a small open developing economy. An attempt is made to validate the benefits of model-based inflation forecasting for central banks in small open developing economies. Despite data limitations, two distinct VARs are designed to project near-term inflation. Batteries of tests (such as sequential forecasts, out-of-sample forecasting errors, equal-weight forecasting errors and decomposition) are performed on the two models to assess their predictive ability. The main finding is that model-based forecasts are reliable for use by central banks in small open developing economies, as substantiated by the relatively low forecasting errors.
Effectuation logic in digital business model transformation

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study how digital business models evolve when entrepreneurs move to new digital platforms and how this evolution is related to effectuation and causation logics. Design/methodology/approach This study applies a multiple case study approach to investigate how digital business models change in small, Japanese high-tech firms providing their innovations through different digital platforms. To investigate digital business models, this study considers the elements that comprise general business models. The case firms were selected based on size, products and transitions from physical to various digital platforms. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the key decision-makers from the case firms. Findings The findings show that through digital transformation, the case firms’ digital business models evolved by following effectuation logic as well as causal logic. All the firms employed causal logic when moving to new platforms, among other actions. The case firms used effectual logic with success for product development and adjustments to their network. Especially firms providing video games relied on effectuation for high impact products. Effectual logic did not play a role at all in changes to value delivery and had only little impact on revenue structures. Originality/value This research helps understand how digitalization of platforms and subsequent moves to newer digital platforms improve a firm by changing the business model elements through effectuation and causation logics. This research extends the understanding of digital business model transformation to a more granular level, business model elements.
Evaluating the sustainability impacts of the sharing economy using input-output analysis

Although sharing has been practised for millennia in different societies, today, the emerging notion of the sharing economy (SE) is regarded as a new social phenomenon. It refers to various forms of transactions between strangers enabling access to goods without ownership, utilizing the capacity of privately owned assets not currently in use and exploiting the benefits of information technologies to reduce transaction costs.
An Analysis of Nurse's Perception of Internal Marketing Activities Affecting on Nurse's Turnover Intention, Nursing Task Performance and Nursing Productivity

Purpose: The purpose was to analyze the effects of internal marketing activity factors on nurse's turnover intention, nursing task performance and nursing productivity. Methods: The subjects were 355 nurses who were working at the 3 universities hospital over 1 year. The instruments were used of internal marketing activity factors(Lee, 2001), turnover intension(Lee, 1995), nursing task performance(Park, 1988) and nursing productivity(McNeese-Smith, 1996). Results: The mean score of internal marketing activity factors was 2.79, education and training 2.97, individualization 2.93, communication 2.87, promotion 2.76, work environment 2.63, reward system 2.62, and management vision for employee 2.61. The turnover intention was 3.12, nursing task performance 3.49, and nursing productivity 3.38. The internal marketing activity factors were negatively correlated with turnover intention(r=-0.37, p
Demand forecasting at retail stage for selected vegetables: a performance analysis

Purpose The purpose of this study is to select the appropriate forecasting model at the retail stage for selected vegetables on the basis of performance analysis. Design/methodology/approach Various forecasting models such as the Box–Jenkins-based auto-regressive integrated moving average model and machine learning-based algorithms such as long short-term memory (LSTM) networks, support vector regression (SVR), random forest regression, gradient boosting regression (GBR) and extreme GBR (XGBoost/XGBR) were proposed and applied (i.e. modeling, training, testing and predicting) at the retail stage for selected vegetables to forecast demand. The performance analysis (i.e. forecasting error analysis) was carried out to select the appropriate forecasting model at the retail stage for selected vegetables. Findings From the obtained results for a case environment, it was observed that the machine learning algorithms, namely LSTM and SVR, produced the better results in comparison with other different demand forecasting models. Research limitations/implications The results obtained from the case environment cannot be generalized. However, it may be used for forecasting of different agriculture produces at the retail stage, capturing their demand environment. Practical implications The implementation of LSTM and SVR for the case situation at the retail stage will reduce the forecast error, daily retail inventory and fresh produce wastage and will increase the daily revenue. Originality/value The demand forecasting model selection for agriculture produce at the retail stage on the basis of performance analysis is a unique study where both traditional and non-traditional models were analyzed and compared.
Size Factor in Multifactor Portfolios: Does the Size Factor Still Have Its Place in Multifactor Portfolios?

The finance literature has established a size effect: stocks with small market capitalization outperform larger stocks over the long term. The size factor is included in asset-pricing models because of its explanatory power for cross-sectional differences in equity returns. However, recent studies recommend removing size from the factor menu, given its relatively weak performance. Instead of looking at the stand-alone performance, we account for cross-factor correlation to assess the impact of excluding the size factor. We consider three tests. First, we measure the impact on model fit of asset-pricing models. Second, we assess whether the size premium remains intact when accounting for implicit exposures to other factors. Third, we evaluate the impact of the size factor on the performance of optimal multifactor portfolios. Our results suggest that the size factor improves model fit, delivers a significant positive premium in the presence of other factors, and contributes positively to the performance of multifactor portfolios. Omitting the size factor has substantial cost to investors, which often exceeds that of omitting other popular factors. TOPICS: Analysis of individual factors/risk premia, factor-based models, style investing Key Findings • The size factor carries a significant premium after adjusting for implicit exposure to other factors. • Optimal factor portfolios allocate to the size factor even if the return assumption is extremely conservative. • The size factor improves diversification due to its low correlation with other factors and different exposure to macroeconomic conditions.
Investment in education: educational qualifications and class of entry in the Republic of Ireland

In this chapter the relationship between educational qualifications and class of entry into the labour market in Ireland is examined using data on entrants to the labour market since 1967. The goal of the study is to show how macro-social and institutional factors condition the nature of the link between qualifications and entry class. The chapter begins with an outline of salient institutional features of the Irish educational system and the Irish labour market. Four sets of analyses are reported: (1) the relationship between class origin and education; (2) the relationship between class origin and class of entry; (3) the relationship between education and class of entry; and (4) the relationship between class of entry and the effects of both class origins and education. It is suggested that among both men and women, in general terms, the impact of education is chiefly hierarchical, with employers, in Ireland's slack labour market, using level of educational attainment as a signalling device for 'potential general productivity'.
Combating Comprehensive School Garden Program Implementation Barriers in High Need Areas

In recent years, school gardens have taken hold in education curriculum across the country. Research has found that though these programs are becoming more popular, they are often implemented in areas of higher socioeconomic class. Lowincome school districts struggle to find staff with adequate time to develop school garden programs. This project will help to open the doors for more rural areas to host school garden programs. Through an analysis of current research, compilation of a resource bundle, and creation of a guidebook, this project will provide educators with the tools that are necessary to implement a well-integrated garden. Where higher socioeconomic areas might be able to afford a garden coordinator salary, lower socioeconomic areas will be able to utilize this toolkit to self-start a well-integrated program. I will be focusing on my hometown elementary school, Taft Elementary, as a model school. First, I will be gathering resources on outdoor classroom management, lesson and curricula planning, and a text set for literacy integration. From there I will be designing guidebook that will contain tips for seasonal care of a garden in the harsh climate of the Oregon Coast, calendars for planting in the garden, and many more sources that teachers can use to implement a school garden program. I will also be analyzing current research on the topic to make well informed decisions about resources to include.
Auditor Task-Specific Expertise: The Case of Fair Value Accounting

PCAOB inspections repeatedly indicate deficiencies in audits of fair-value (FV) estimates, prompting regulators to improve the related auditing standards. We predict that auditor task-specific FV expertise, gained from work experience during the audit of FV measurements, can contribute to higher audit quality. Utilizing FV-related restatements and comment letters, we find that expertise in auditing Level 3 FV estimates at the office level is associated with greater FV audit quality. Level 2 FV expertise or national level FV expertise is not associated with higher FV audit quality. Following the receipt of a comment letter, we further find that auditor FV expertise is associated with lower comment letter remediation costs and higher FV disclosure quality. Finally, we find that the value relevance of Level 3 FV disclosures increases with the extent of auditor FV expertise. Collectively, our results highlight that auditor fair value expertise contributes to the credibility and usefulness of FV disclosures.
The Measurement of Employee Well-being: Development and Validation of a Scale

Employee well-being is always found to be strategically relevant to organizations and individuals and has developed into one of the focal areas of research in the study of organizations. However, researchers have shown lots of interest in this field due to the lack of a proper theoretical model and comprehensive scientific tools to measure employee well-being at work. The present study aims at developing and validating a multidimensional scale of employee well-being through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Based on literature and feedback received from academicians and HR practitioners, a 62-item questionnaire of employee well-being was developed for empirical validation. The samples consist of academicians and HR professionals, and they were interviewed to gauge their understanding of employee well-being. Initially, opinions from various experts were obtained regarding the instrument and its proposed dimensions. Forty-nine items were generated from the initial study for further validation through field surveys. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was carried out on the data collected from 316 employees of the Indian service industry to examine the factor structure of the scale. It was revealed through the use of EFA that the new instrument of employee well-being is formed by four discreet factors: social well-being, psychological well-being, subjective well-being and workplace well-being. Finally, CFA was carried out using AMOS 20, 31 items were retained for the new scale of employee well-being. The theoretical and practical applications of the study are discussed in the context of employee well-being.
Getting around no: how governments react to negative EU referendums

ABSTRACT Referendums, and negative referendums in particular, are an important constraint on European integration and the most direct way in which politicization affects EU-level decision-making. Yet governments retain considerable room of maneuver in responding to them. Whereas there is a rich literature on referendum campaigns, voting behavior, and intergovernmental bargaining under referendum threats, the (inter)governmental responses to referendum outcomes have not been studied systematically. This article examines how governments respond to negative referendums on European integration. It suggests that the type of integration issue put to the referendum (accession, withdrawal, or integration), and the concomitant size and intergovernmental distribution of the costs of failure, structures the post-referendum choices. This conjecture is explored in a comparative analysis of all 15 negative EU referendum cases since 1972.
The Influence of Domestic and Foreign Shocks on Portfolio Diversification Gains and the Associated Risks

This paper evaluates the influence of foreign or domestic stock market return and return of volatility shocks on dynamic conditional correlations (DCCs) between international stock markets and correlation volatility, respectively. The correlations between markets have implications for the gains from portfolio diversification, while correlation volatilities can be seen as risks to portfolio diversification. Meanwhile, domestic shocks are sourced from the return and return volatility from 24 developed, emerging, and frontier stock markets. The US stock market is the source of foreign shocks. The domestic and foreign shocks are derived using market-based returns and under bearish market conditions. We estimate multivariate exponential generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (E-GARCH) models using daily and monthly MSCI based stock price data of selected developed, emerging, and frontier markets over 1993:1–2014:1. Our key results are as follows. Domestic market shocks were significant drivers of gains from portfolio diversification most of the time, although the US market effects were relatively stronger. On the other hand, the US, in terms of the number of significant cases as well as the size effects of shocks, dominated as a determinant of correlation volatility (or risks to portfolio diversification). Further, under bear market conditions, adjustments in correlations and correlation volatilities are found to be mostly US-induced. Bearish shocks, rather than market return based shocks, show strong evidence of the leverage effect. Signs of persistence of shocks are mainly noticed under bearish conditions.
Geographical Proximity Paradox Revisited: The Case of IT Service SMEs in Poland

Knowledge flow is among the most crucial social processes triggering innovation and regional development. Intercompany knowledge flow among Polish information technology (IT) service small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is studied in this paper. The main aim is to identify market and technological knowledge flow channels and their spatial scales. Based on information derived from computer-assisted telephone interviews (CATIs), in-depth interviews (IDIs) and data analysis (correspondence analysis and comparative study of spatial structures of knowledge flows), the geographical proximity paradox is tested. It is argued there is a need to move beyond the local buzz–global pipeline dichotomy. Knowledge is acquired at various spatial scales, which enhances the sustainability of the knowledge acquisition process and makes companies, regions and cities more resilient. The multiscalarity of knowledge flows is the most remarkable in the case of private contacts with colleagues from schools or previous workplaces. Spatially diversified study and job experiences of entrepreneurs goes along with return migration. In earlier Central and Eastern European studies, knowledge flow was often defined by the dominance of national (domestic) flow over weak global interactions. Trade relations, especially those occurring on an international scale, represent the most important channel of market and technological knowledge flow for the surveyed companies. The second most important channel is the employment of specialists, which is by far the most frequent and most important on an interregional scale. Due to the small size of surveyed companies, foreign specialists are used least frequently. Instead of using regional business events as a vehicle for knowledge flow, representatives of the IT service sector prefer to attend domestic meetings. In the case of Polish IT service SMEs, the paradox of geographical proximity is better described by the dominance of national over global knowledge flow.