title: Formal credit and innovation: Is there a uniform relationship across types of innovation?

authors: Wellalage, Nirosha Hewa

subjects: Social Sciences

abstract: We investigate the formal credit effect on firm level innovations of small and medium enterprises in developing economies. Using the instrumental regression method, we control for potential endogeneity in innovation and credit relationships. Results indicate that formal credit availability boosts all four types of innovations. However, this impact is more significant for soft innovations compared to hard innovations. The results also point to the importance of informal finance as a source of external finance for firms where capital markets suffer from imperfections. Our study encourages the development of policy based on financing for various types of innovation, which is especially suited for developing economies.

text: Formal credit and innovation: Is there a uniform relationship across types of innovation? We investigate the formal credit effect on firm level innovations of small and medium enterprises in developing economies. Using the instrumental regression method, we control for potential endogeneity in innovation and credit relationships. Results indicate that formal credit availability boosts all four types of innovations. However, this impact is more significant for soft innovations compared to hard innovations. The results also point to the importance of informal finance as a source of external finance for firms where capital markets suffer from imperfections. Our study encourages the development of policy based on financing for various types of innovation, which is especially suited for developing economies.

year: 2020-11-01

title: Spiking Prices: How Economics, History and Law have shaped the New Zealand Electricity Authority's UTS Regime

authors: Farnworth, Steven Edward

subjects: Competition Law

abstract: The March 26th price spike in Genesis Energy’s Huntly power station prices has focussed attention on the regulatory powers of the newly established Electricity Authority. The Authority’s weapon of choice, the Undesirable Trading Situation regime, allows them to intervene in the market and was applied in this case to reset prices retrospectively. The decision caused a storm of controversy in the media and numerous submissions, both for and against, from market players.

The Authority has a mandate to regulate competition in the electricity markets and because of the overlapping jurisdiction, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Commerce Commission. How the two bodies interpret and apply their co-existing statutory obligations will be of great interest to businesses operating not just in the energy sector, but across the whole economy. For those in the electricity industry any indication as to how the Electricity Authority intends to regulate wholesale electricity markets will be crucial for implementing future market strategies and investments.
The question for this paper will therefore be to assess the decision in light of these overlapping jurisdictions, the policy documents used to guide each decision maker, and the previous decisions which may have influenced or misled market players. Given the focus on efficiency in New Zealand’s competition law, particular attention will be paid to the economic history of theories of contestability, the total surplus standard, price squeezes and wealth transfers, and the interplay between static and dynamic efficiency. 
The conclusion will be that the March 26th decision, although made under a very different legislative scheme to the Commerce Act, bears remarkable similarities to the general competition law. The decision applies a very similar remedy to the standard ECPR counterfactual analysis seen in s 36 prosecutions. The main difference between the two regimes is that the UTS provision is not applied punitively, reflecting a determination on the Authority’s part to maintain flexibility and restore orderly trading.

text: Spiking Prices: How Economics, History and Law have shaped the New Zealand Electricity Authority's UTS Regime The March 26th price spike in Genesis Energy’s Huntly power station prices has focussed attention on the regulatory powers of the newly established Electricity Authority. The Authority’s weapon of choice, the Undesirable Trading Situation regime, allows them to intervene in the market and was applied in this case to reset prices retrospectively. The decision caused a storm of controversy in the media and numerous submissions, both for and against, from market players.

The Authority has a mandate to regulate competition in the electricity markets and because of the overlapping jurisdiction, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Commerce Commission. How the two bodies interpret and apply their co-existing statutory obligations will be of great interest to businesses operating not just in the energy sector, but across the whole economy. For those in the electricity industry any indication as to how the Electricity Authority intends to regulate wholesale electricity markets will be crucial for implementing future market strategies and investments.
The question for this paper will therefore be to assess the decision in light of these overlapping jurisdictions, the policy documents used to guide each decision maker, and the previous decisions which may have influenced or misled market players. Given the focus on efficiency in New Zealand’s competition law, particular attention will be paid to the economic history of theories of contestability, the total surplus standard, price squeezes and wealth transfers, and the interplay between static and dynamic efficiency. 
The conclusion will be that the March 26th decision, although made under a very different legislative scheme to the Commerce Act, bears remarkable similarities to the general competition law. The decision applies a very similar remedy to the standard ECPR counterfactual analysis seen in s 36 prosecutions. The main difference between the two regimes is that the UTS provision is not applied punitively, reflecting a determination on the Authority’s part to maintain flexibility and restore orderly trading.

year: 2012

title: Searching for synergy: Māori/indigenous and scientific conservatory values - the affinity propositon

authors: Simon, Katerina Heremoana

subjects: Development studies

abstract: "Reconciling similarity/ affinity and difference/ distinction is one of the most important development issues of our contemporary period. Yet much effort aimed at gaining support for the plight of Māori/ indigenous peoples remains locked into the assertion of difference and distinction alone, those points of cultural affinity that could play an important role in processes of reconciliation and movement forward being largely ignored. What is proposed here is what is referred to as the ‘affinity proposition’, that is, it is argued that Māori/ indigenous development requires, for its further advancement, a focus not only on difference and divergence, but also on similarity and affinity. At the very heart of Māori/ indigenous development are issues relating to social justice, economic equity, freedom, ecological sustainability and cultural diversity, concepts which are equally highly valued in many sectors of mainstream (non-indigenous) society. Certainly, there are important differences in the ways in which these values are perceived and articulated in the context of different cultures, and these differences have recently been the focus of considerable attention and debate. However, there are also similarities which have received less attention in spite of the fact that they may hold the key to achieving a sufficient level of mutual understanding to underpin effective Māori/ indigenous development.

This paper explores the development of a synergistic process of reconciliation between Māori/ indigenous values and scientific conservatory values. It reports on the preliminary findings of a research project whose focus is a cross-cultural study of environmental governance and management regimes under the New Zealand Resource Management Act 1991. The central questions addressed here are: Can reconciliation be achieved through recognition of both affinity and difference? Could such reconciliation underpin effective Māori/ indigenous development? It is argued here that a process of synergy is already under way, a process that can best be understood in terms of a theoretical framework that encompasses both the concept of modernity and the sustainable development paradigm."

text: Searching for synergy: Māori/indigenous and scientific conservatory values - the affinity propositon "Reconciling similarity/ affinity and difference/ distinction is one of the most important development issues of our contemporary period. Yet much effort aimed at gaining support for the plight of Māori/ indigenous peoples remains locked into the assertion of difference and distinction alone, those points of cultural affinity that could play an important role in processes of reconciliation and movement forward being largely ignored. What is proposed here is what is referred to as the ‘affinity proposition’, that is, it is argued that Māori/ indigenous development requires, for its further advancement, a focus not only on difference and divergence, but also on similarity and affinity. At the very heart of Māori/ indigenous development are issues relating to social justice, economic equity, freedom, ecological sustainability and cultural diversity, concepts which are equally highly valued in many sectors of mainstream (non-indigenous) society. Certainly, there are important differences in the ways in which these values are perceived and articulated in the context of different cultures, and these differences have recently been the focus of considerable attention and debate. However, there are also similarities which have received less attention in spite of the fact that they may hold the key to achieving a sufficient level of mutual understanding to underpin effective Māori/ indigenous development.

This paper explores the development of a synergistic process of reconciliation between Māori/ indigenous values and scientific conservatory values. It reports on the preliminary findings of a research project whose focus is a cross-cultural study of environmental governance and management regimes under the New Zealand Resource Management Act 1991. The central questions addressed here are: Can reconciliation be achieved through recognition of both affinity and difference? Could such reconciliation underpin effective Māori/ indigenous development? It is argued here that a process of synergy is already under way, a process that can best be understood in terms of a theoretical framework that encompasses both the concept of modernity and the sustainable development paradigm."

year: 2003-05