title: Does bribery sand or grease the wheels of firm level innovation: Evidence from Latin American countries

authors: Wellalage, Nirosha Hewa

subjects: Social Sciences

abstract: This paper examines the effects of bribery on product and process innovation at the firm level in Latin American countries.  We provide insights into the heterogeneous effects of bribery on the types of innovations across firms.  Using the locality-sector average of bribe payments as a percentage of firm annual sales, we control for endogeneity bias, which is a recurring econometric problem in corruption-innovation studies. Overall, we find evidence to support the ‘sand the wheels’ hypothesis and argue that this negative effect is slightly higher in process innovation compared to product innovation. Using interaction terms to see the effects of bribery on different firm sizes and institutional structures, we find that bribery hurts firm innovation for micro and small firms, but not for large firms.  The results also suggest that the negative effect of corruption on firm level innovation is stronger for firms in weak institutional environments than for firms in strong institutional settings.  Practical interventions to promote strong institutional governance are not easy to arrange when corruption is endemic. Greater awareness of the extortionist environment of companies in these countries in the international community may bring pressures to bear for reform.

text: Does bribery sand or grease the wheels of firm level innovation: Evidence from Latin American countries This paper examines the effects of bribery on product and process innovation at the firm level in Latin American countries.  We provide insights into the heterogeneous effects of bribery on the types of innovations across firms.  Using the locality-sector average of bribe payments as a percentage of firm annual sales, we control for endogeneity bias, which is a recurring econometric problem in corruption-innovation studies. Overall, we find evidence to support the ‘sand the wheels’ hypothesis and argue that this negative effect is slightly higher in process innovation compared to product innovation. Using interaction terms to see the effects of bribery on different firm sizes and institutional structures, we find that bribery hurts firm innovation for micro and small firms, but not for large firms.  The results also suggest that the negative effect of corruption on firm level innovation is stronger for firms in weak institutional environments than for firms in strong institutional settings.  Practical interventions to promote strong institutional governance are not easy to arrange when corruption is endemic. Greater awareness of the extortionist environment of companies in these countries in the international community may bring pressures to bear for reform.

year: 2021-01-06

title: The use of negative penalty functions in linear systems of equations

authors: Askes, Harm

subjects: constraint

abstract: Contrary to what is commonly thought, it is possible to obtain convergent results with negative (rather than positive) penalty functions. This has been shown and proven on various occasions for vibration analysis, but in this contribution it will also be shown and proven for systems of linear equations subjected to one or more constraints. As a key ingredient in the developed arguments, a pseudo-force is identified as the derivative of the constrained degree of freedom with respect to the inverse of the penalty parameter. Since this pseudo-force can be proven to be constant for large absolute values of the penalty parameter, it follows that the exact solution is bounded by the results obtained with negative and positive penalty parameters. The mathematical proofs are presented and two examples are shown to illustrate the principles.

text: The use of negative penalty functions in linear systems of equations Contrary to what is commonly thought, it is possible to obtain convergent results with negative (rather than positive) penalty functions. This has been shown and proven on various occasions for vibration analysis, but in this contribution it will also be shown and proven for systems of linear equations subjected to one or more constraints. As a key ingredient in the developed arguments, a pseudo-force is identified as the derivative of the constrained degree of freedom with respect to the inverse of the penalty parameter. Since this pseudo-force can be proven to be constant for large absolute values of the penalty parameter, it follows that the exact solution is bounded by the results obtained with negative and positive penalty parameters. The mathematical proofs are presented and two examples are shown to illustrate the principles.

year: 2006

title: 'Chris Finlayson and James Christmas, He Kupu Taurangi'

authors: Simon, Hemopereki

abstract: Twenty-five years on from the Ngāi Tahu Treaty settlement this book authored by Former Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Hon. Chris Finlayson QC and Senior Ministerial Advisor James Christmas seems timely to capture the modern history and processes of the Treaty Settlement here in Aotearoa New Zealand. After all, the effects of these settlements is driving change economically, socially, environmentally, and politically, not only within hapū and iwi but nationally.

text: 'Chris Finlayson and James Christmas, He Kupu Taurangi' Twenty-five years on from the Ngāi Tahu Treaty settlement this book authored by Former Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Hon. Chris Finlayson QC and Senior Ministerial Advisor James Christmas seems timely to capture the modern history and processes of the Treaty Settlement here in Aotearoa New Zealand. After all, the effects of these settlements is driving change economically, socially, environmentally, and politically, not only within hapū and iwi but nationally.

year: 2022