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Consumption Dynamics under Time-Varying Unemployment Risk
Full text linkPrivate consumption demand falls in response to increased unemployment risk during a recession, as households increase their precautionary savings and postpone irreversible durable investments. The postponement effect is seven times as large as the precautionary-savings effect in a calibrated buffer-stock savings model. In consequence, anticipation of future unemployment risk is more important than realized unemployment shocks in accounting for durable expenditure dynamics during recessions, while the opposite is true for nondurables. The importance of anticipation of future unemployment risk also means that having many ’hand-to-mouth’ households, who do not respond to changes in income risk, significantly dampens the demand response for durables to an adverse labor market shock. We find that the model elasticities of durable and nondurable expenditures with respect to unemployment risk are close to what we estimate in micro survey data
Partnering in the Maritime Sector
Full text linkInnovation and optimization are essential elements for organizations worldwide, as these will ensure the survival ahead for the organizations. The competition in the markets are different from that 10 years ago, and will probably have changed again 10 years from now, because of the technological development. This means that – to a greater extent – it is important to be first mover in the attempt to create new and improved products. Additionally, it is important to optimize the organization’s processes by focusing on its primary business purpose and outsource those elements which are not value creating. In the organization’s striving toward optimized products and processes, strategic alliances are getting
increasingly important between industries and between various global organizations
Revenue Implications of Destination-Based Cash-Flow Taxation
Full text linkWe estimate the revenue implications of a Destination Based Cash Flow Tax (DBCFT) for 80 countries. On a global average, DBCFT revenues under unchanged tax rates would remain similar to the existing corporate income tax (CIT) revenue, but with sizable redistribution of revenue across countries. Countries are more likely to gain revenue if they have trade deficits, are not reliant on the resource sector, and/or—perhaps surprisingly—are developing economies. DBCFT revenues tend to be more volatile than CIT revenues. Moreover, we consider the revenue losses resulting from spillovers in case of unilateral implementation of a DBCFT. Results suggest that these spillover effects are sizeable if the adopting country is large and globally integrated. These spillovers generate strong revenue-based incentives for many—but not all—other countries to follow the DBCFT adoption
A prescriptive perspective
Full text linkEven though the concept of translation has been widely used in organization
theory and the agency of the translator has been acknowledged, there haven’t
been studies that focus on the prescriptive aspects such as what is a good
translator? Nevertheless, the concepts of translation quality and competences
indicate that a translator can be more or less competent. In order to explore
what is a good translator in organizations, this paper draws on translation
studies as the theoretically frame and uses the concepts of translation quality
and competences to analyze 64 interviews about their organizational strategy.
The interviews were conducted with middle managers and employees from
three public organizations. As expected from the theory, a good translator has
certain translation competences but the empirical findings also show that the
working conditions play a crucial rule in order to create a good translation. The
results show that a good translator can identify the basic idea in the strategy, is
able to translate the abstracts concepts in the strategy document to concrete
concepts in their own context and can handle the ambiguity in these abstract concepts. Since an organization has many texts, the translator also has to be able
to distinguish the source text from other texts in the organizations that are
similar to the source text. The individual competences cannot stand-alone since
the working conditions can constrain or support the ability to use these
competences. The translator can affect these working conditions by facilitating a
process that creates a common language. This paper contributes to translation
theory by adding the prescriptive aspects to the existing descriptions of how
actors translate in organisations
Empirical Studies of Micro-level Data
Full text linkWhat a ects the economic and cultural development tracks of societies? We know that
large events such as political changes, natural disasters and migration can change a society
dramatically at the macro level, but what exactly happens at the individual level? When
conditions change, people are likely to change accordingly both in terms of economic be-
havior and cultural values. In this PhD dissertation I explore the underlying developments
that occur due to large scale events. The method involves empirical analysis of micro-level
cross-sectional data using a rich set of survey data, where the settings progress from state, to
country, to the entire world. When looking at individuals within a country, it is possible to
tease out the causal e ect of an event a ecting only a share of the individuals who are likely
to have otherwise experienced unchanged behavior. My dissertation consists of three sepa-
rate articles, each exploring distinct matters but using similar methodological frameworks
and econometric techniques. The rst two chapters aim to determine the causal e ect of an
event. In the third chapter, we instead describe developments at the global level, adding to
knowledge on recent cultural changes. Below, I brie
y introduce each paper
The case of the Bangladesh Ready-Made Garment Industry
Full text linkThis study investigates how and why companies engage in private governance in varied ways and
the implications thereof. It compares how companies – as ‘political actors’ – engage in private
governance differently, even if in response to the same institutional pressures. In doing so, it
examines the interplay between context (structure) and choice (agency). Overall, it contributes
to our understanding of why companies understand their political roles and responsibilities
differently, and the implications of these differences for the private governance of sustainability
issues. In doing so, it contributes to our understanding of the organization and dimensions of
private governance, the logics of different models of private governance and their potential for
addressing different types of sustainability challenges, and the powerful role of actors’ agency in
shaping the environments in which companies provide governance.
To complete this task, the PhD thesis is based on a comprehensive comparative case study of two
competing private governance initiatives that emerged in the aftermath of the 2013 collapse of the
Rana Plaza complex in Bangladesh. The first was the Accord, a substantive and legally
enforceable agreement governed equally by business and labor and allowed for NGO members
(thereby constituting a multi-stakeholder initiative, MSI). It garnered more than 220+ members
during its tenure, including all of the European brands. Some North American companies cited
the Accord’s legal provisions and inclusion of labor as intolerable, and therefore walked away
and created their own competing initiative, the Alliance, a business-led initiative (BLI) which was
softer and principle-based. Both organizations formed during the same period and in response to
the same pressures, yet took vastly different approaches to the shared end goal of factory safety.
Their membership divide down country (U.S. vs. EU) and configurational lines (MSI vs. BLI)
make it a robust case from which to investigate the influence of different institutions and contexts
on the resulting private governance choices
Time for Growth
Full text linkThis paper studies the impact of the early adoption of one of the most important high-technology machines in history, the public mechanical clock, on long-run growth in Europe. We avoid endo-geneity by considering the relationship between the adoption of clocks with an instrument based on the appearance of repeated solar eclipses. This is motivated by the predecessor technologies of mechanical clocks, astronomic instruments that measured the course of heavenly bodies. We find a significant increase in growth rates between 1500 and 1700 in the range of 30 percentage points in early adopter cities and areas. Finally, additional quantitative analysis suggests a positive relationship between mechanical clocks and contemporary long-term orientation nowadays
A New Governance Mechanism for Collective Action and Responsible Ownership
Full text linkA new strand of the corporate governance literature on ownership seems to be in the process of developing what might be considered the next generation of the concept of active ownership: responsible ownership. This paper aims to contribute to this strand of literature by addressing an element of responsible ownership that is not yet well developed: the collective actions by owners. We introduce what we have named an ownership strategy as a new governance mechanism for collective action and responsible ownership. Using data from semi-structured interviews with owners, board members, and non-executive insiders together with documentary analysis, we find support for the theoretical construction. Specifically, we find that the ownership strategy functions as a collaboration pact, which cultivates long-termism, and that the outcome is improved agency, i.e. that both the relationship between the owners and the directors and between the directors and management is improved due to better alignment. Results show that an ownership strategy is an effective corporate governance mechanism to promote long-term commitment of owners while minimizing agency problems and promoting trust between principals and principals and their agents. The findings indicate that an ownership strategy establishes a much needed long-term focus and commitment of owners while creating a sense of security among the board of directors that they are working within the will of their owners
Effects on Financial Reporting
Full text linkThe IBOR transition is affecting financial reporting. US GAAP and IFRS are influenced more by the transition from IBOR to RFR compared to SWISS GAAP FER. Most directly affected is hedge accounting, which aims to avoid artificial earnings volatility. This might occur if value changes in the hedging instrument and hedged item are recognized in different reporting periods. A transition from IBOR to RFR without an amendment to existing accounting rules might lead to an increase in earnings volatility due to de-designation of hedge accounting relations. Related to IFRS: In May 2019, the IASB issued an exposure draft that reliefs these earnings volatility concerns. Entities can assume existing IBOR-based contractual terms for assessing the hedge accounting requirements. Related to US GAAP: A change in a contract's reference rate as a result of the IBOR transition would not create a new contract but would be accounted for as a continuation of that contract. Specifics on hedge accounting will be addressed in a future board meeting. Cash flow hedge accounting allows some flexibility in payment dates of the hedging instrument and the hedged item. This will be an important feature with alternative RFRs