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Management and firm dynamism
No full textWe show better-managed firms are more dynamic in plant acquisitions, disposals, openings, and closings in U.S. Census and international data. Better-managed firms also birth better-managed plants and improve the performance of the plants they acquire. To explain these findings, we build a model with two key elements. First, management is a combination of firm-level management ability (e.g. CEO quality), which can be transferred to all plants, and plant-level management practices, which can be changed through intangible investment (e.g. consulting or training). Second, management both raises productivity and also reduces the operational costs of dynamism: buying, selling, opening, and closing plants. We structurally estimate the model on Census microdata, fitting our key dynamic moments, and then use it to establish three additional results. First, mergers and acquisitions raise economy-wide management and productivity by reallocating plants to firms with higher management ability. Banning M&A would depress GDP and management by about 15 percent. Second, greater product market competition improves both management and productivity by reallocating away from badly managed plants. Finally, management practices account for about a fifth of the cross-country productivity differences with the U.S
The research frontier on internationalization of social enterprises
No full textSocial enterprises (SEs) are hybrid organizations that simultaneously pursue financial and social goals, while addressing institutional voids. Despite the extensive cross-border activities of SEs, the state of research addressing such flows of funds, technology and personnel is undeveloped. In this introductory article, we discuss the unique aspects of SEs and explore how the international business literature can inform our understanding of their internationalization. We outline promising areas for future research related to the drivers of and the processes underlying SE internationalization as well as its consequences. With this as a background, we introduce the five articles in this Special Issue
Organized crime and banks: Assessing the effects of anti-mafia police actions on lending
No full textThis study examines how dismantling Mafia-connected firms affects banks' lending practices. Using a unique dataset of 667 such firms and loan-level data from the European Central Bank, our analysis shows that anti-Mafia operations precede an increase in bank loans to businesses that operate in areas that are directly affected by these actions. Specifically, overall loan volumes increase by approximately 0.8 percent, which translates to an increase of €1.38 billion in bank loans to these firms. The effect increases to 1.2 percent in areas that have experienced extensive Mafia activities, amounting to €2.76 billion in bank loans, and to 2.1 percent in areas that were once dominated by Mafia-connected firms that were engaged in rent extraction, amounting to €3.62 billion in bank loans. Borrowing costs rise concurrently, driven by heightened perceptions of risk following exposure of Mafia infiltration. Cross-sectional analyses indicate that banks' responses vary significantly because non-local and foreign banks and banks with no prior exposure to Mafia-affiliated firms face increased challenges related to their lack of local knowledge. Removal of Mafia-connected firms also correlates with improved productivity in affected municipalities, underscoring financial institutions' dynamic responses to the eradication of organized crime and the potential for economic revitalization in post-Mafia environment
Corruption, Tax Burden, and Demand for Redistribution in African Countries
No full textWhat triggered the widespread public backlash against tax reforms in Sub-Saharan Africa, echoing the scale and intensity of the Arab Spring? Economic factors, such as income and inequality, appear to be weak predictors of public attitudes toward redistribution. This study empirically examines corruption as a key factor shaping perceptions of tax burden and redistributive preferences. The analysis draws on newly available data from the 8th round of the Afrobarometer survey (2019–2021), which includes relevant questions for the first time. This period coincided with a wave of anti-tax protests across several African countries. The findings suggest that corruption is strongly associated with higher perceived tax burdens. The results also indicate that corruption diminishes the demand for and willingness to support redistributive taxation. The policy implications include tax compliance, inequality and governance issues on the continent
Going Beyond Suffering in Public Goods Games When Low Contributions Are Inefficient: Experimenting with Two Institutions
No full textWe analyze a public goods game with linearly increasing marginal returns to contributions, leading to a non-monotonic group payoff. By allowing the incentive to freeride to persist at all contribution levels, we preserve the usual social dilemma of voluntary public goods provision. We compare two conditions in which both let participants face the voluntary contribution task over a finite number of rounds: one implements it as a static game (Baseline condition), and the other implements it as a dynamic game with four successive stages of simultaneous contribution choices within each round (Milestone condition). Our data show that cooperation in the Baseline condition is rare and mostly limited to the first few rounds. The evidence for the Milestone condition is much more encouraging: contributions beyond suffering are substantial and fairly stable across rounds, although full contributions remain rare. This evidence suggests that the Milestone protocol is a promising institutional device for enhancing voluntary cooperation
Lab to farm: Mapping knowledge transfer channels and determinants from researchers' perspective. A systematic literature review
No full textThe literature on the research-practice gap in agriculture has evolved significantly in recent decades. Although there is a well-established body of work on how farmers adopt agricultural research outcomes and the factors that influence their adoption, research on how researchers perceive the process of transferring their results to practical applications, along with the factors that facilitate or hinder this process, remains inadequate. This study addresses this gap by conducting a systematic literature review of empirical studies on knowledge transfer and its determinants from the perspective of agricultural researchers, covering publications from 1960 to 2024. It offers two key contributions: first, an original taxonomy of the channels through which agricultural research is transferred to farmers, and second, an integrative conceptual framework that links knowledge transfer to three categories of influential factors, related to researchers' individual characteristics, the organizational context within research institutions, and the external environment. Based on the findings, a research agenda has been developed to serve as a foundation for future investigations into persistent gaps in the field. The findings hold value for both academic and practitioner communities as they provide deeper insights to improve the understanding and practice of knowledge transfer in agriculture
Dynamic spillovers of economic policy uncertainty: A TVP-VAR analysis of Latin American and global EPU indices
No full textThis study examines the dynamic interconnectedness of economic policy uncertainty (EPU) among Latin American economies - Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Mexico - and significant international regions, including the United States, Europe, and Japan, as well as a global EPU index. Using a Time-Varying Parameter Vector Autoregressive (TVP-VAR) model with monthly data, this study reveals the evolving spillover effects and dependencies capturing how uncertainty in one market can transmit across others on both regional and global scales. The findings highlight the significant impact of external EPU, particularly from the U.S. and global EPU sources on Latin America, positioning it as a primary recipient of international uncertainty. These results underscore the need for Latin American economies to adopt resilience strategies - such as trade diversification and regional cooperation - to mitigate vulnerabilities to global shocks. This study offers valuable insights into the mechanisms of economic uncertainty transmission, guiding policymakers in developing coordinated responses to reduce the effects of external volatility and foster regional economic stability
Algorithmus und Kontrolle: Die Grenzen von »Algorithmischem Management« als analytischer Kategorie
No full textDie Forschung zu »Algorithmischem Management« (AM) in der Arbeitswelt hat wichtige Erkenntnisse über neue Kontrollformen und Herrschaftsmechanismen hervorgebracht. Dennoch sehen wir vier Defizite im politischen und wissenschaftlichen Diskurs um AM: eine begriffliche Unschärfe; die Gleichsetzung von AM mit unmittelbarer Kontrolle der Arbeitsleistung; ein algorithmenzentrierter Blick auf die Arbeitswelt und die Überschätzung algorithmischer Leistungsfähigkeit; sowie die Unterschätzung von Gestaltungspotenzialen im Kontext von AM. Anhand einer empirischen Fallstudie zu einem Essenslieferdienst plädieren wir für einen differenzierteren Blick auf AM, der diese Limitationen überwindet.Research on »Algorithmic Management« (AM) at the workplace has produced important insights into new forms of control and mechanisms of domination. Nevertheless, we see four deficits in the political and scientific discourse on AM: conceptual vagueness; the equation of AM with direct control of work performance; an algorithm-centered view of changes at the workplace and the overestimation of algorithmic performance; and the underestimation of the power of workers to shape AM. Analyzing the actual practices of AM at a case of a food delivery service, we argue for a more differentiated perspective that overcomes these shortcomings
[Rezension] Diehl, Paula, Brigitte Bargetz (Hrsg.) (2024): The Complexity of Populism. New Approaches and Methods
No full textWarum sind Mietregulierungen so beliebt?
No full textIm Rahmen eines Umfrageexperiments wird untersucht, wie Menschen in Deutschland auf Informationen zu Mietregulierungen reagieren und ihre Einstellung verändern. Dabei zeigt sich, dass Hinweise auf negative Folgen die Zustimmung zum Berliner Mietendeckel verringern, während Informationen über den Schutz einkommensschwacher Haushalte diese erhöhen. Allerdings wirken solche Informationen vor allem bei Personen, die sich der jeweiligen Effekte bereits bewusst sind. Wer falsche Vorstellungen hat, bleibt meist unbeeindruckt. Zudem werden Informationen, die nicht mit den eigenen Überzeugungen übereinstimmen, oft als wenig glaubwürdig empfunden. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass öffentliche Zustimmung zu umstrittenen Maßnahmen nicht nur auf fehlendem Wissen beruht. Vielmehr spielen bei der öffentlichen Bewertung wirtschaftspolitischer Maßnahmen auch andere Aspekte eine Rolle, die in der ökonomischen Diskussion häufig nicht im Mittelpunkt stehen