Satisfaction in life conditions and well-being

In this note we focus on the relations between analytical life satisfaction measures and a general well-being indicator, measured by the two general subjective well-being (SWB) questions. A global SWB factor, measured by the single happiness and by the general life satisfaction questions, is explained through regression of first order factors on the questionnaire of satisfaction in the life domains. The research is based on the 2008 wave of the European Value Study (EVS) for Luxembourg. The validity of the personal living conditions as a measure of general well-being has been assessed by a MIMIC-model. Therefore, satisfaction in personal affairs indicators can constitute an enrichment of general well-being measures.subjective well-being; Mimic-model; EVS wave 2008 Luxembourg

Rasch Model and Multidimensional Poverty Measurement

The topic of the multidimensionality of poverty is currently at the heart of many theoretical, empirical and institutional debates in the European Union. Despite this increasing interest, there seems to be no consensus on how to define and measure multidimensional poverty. Two aspects may be considered in measuring poverty: the number of dimensions and the nature of the underlying continuum. The question of the dimensionality of poverty, one versus many dimensions, has to be resolved in applying specific multidimensional methods, like factor analysis, where the one-dimensional solution is a special case of the multidimensional procedure. The question of the nature of the continuum concerns the relationship between the items in each dimension. Two kinds of relationship are considered here: homogeneous and hierarchical. In this paper, the interest of the Rasch model for verifying the hierarchical and cumulative nature of the relationship between the items is underlined. After presenting the main characteristics of the model, and its adjustment for testing poverty, an application confirming the multidimensional nature of poverty is performed on a Luxemburgish dataset (PSELL-3).multidimensional poverty ; Rasch model ; accumulation of disadvantages

A multidimensional assessment of social cohesion in 47 European countries

This paper presents a theoretically based, multidimensional and comparable measurementof social cohesion applicable in 47 European countries using the most recent micro-level data of European Value Study (EVS) from 2008. The analysis is conducted in four steps. In the first part, we create a set of measurable intermediate indicators that correspond to social cohesion dimensions suggested by the theory. In the second part, we verify whether these indicators empirically corroborate the multidimensional structure of the concept proposed by the theory. The third part examines whether the obtained intermediate indicators of social cohesion form the same constructs across countries and whether they can yield a cross country equivalent measure of social cohesion. In the fourth step, composite scores of all dimensions of social cohesion are calculated for all 47 countries to demostrate applicability of this constructed measurement in comparative research.social cohesion; measurement equivalence; multidimensional scaling; LISREL; multidimensional indicators

THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF THIRD WAVE REGIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES

In an environment of globalization and rapid technological change, entrepreneurship and innovation have become important objectives of state, regional, and local economic development policy. Entrepreneurial focused economic development strategies target state and regional efforts towards policies -such as cluster development, business incubators, regional trade associations, and developing local entrepreneurs and small businesses. If it is imperative that states and regions pursue these strategies, researchers must begin to classify the types of programs that states and localities are using, as well as analyze and document the impact of these policies on knowledge economy variables. This research proposes to add three new and additional elements to this relatively young research stream. This dissertation will address three distinct components of entrepreneurial development policy effort. Manuscript one clarifies and defines a research agenda on business incubators. Applying the incubator concept to the economic theories of network and agglomeration economies offers new insights concerning incubators and local economic growth. From this a research agenda based on a framework of applied economic theories is developed, along with a detailed outline of important future research questions. The second manuscript explores the scope of local and regional entrepreneurial development efforts across South Carolina. This paper reviews the relevant entrepreneurial literature and discusses the entrepreneurial landscape in South Carolina. A statewide survey and appropriate statistical modeling techniques are used to better understand the factors that influence the probability of a community having/not having an entrepreneurial development program. The third paper begins with a review of the literature on the economic benefits of municipal investment in advanced ICT infrastructure investment, small business uptake of advanced ICT and e-business technology, and an overview of the legal barriers that states have enacted that restrict local and regional investments in advanced ICT infrastructure. Further, a series of panel regressions are used to estimate the impact of ICT policy restrictions on state small business growth and entrepreneurial activity. Overall, if our nation and each state are to fully embrace a \u27knowledge-economy,\u27 understanding the impact the policy environment may have on a variety of economic development indicators is important for the ongoing research agenda

THE STRUGGLE FOR BROADBAND IN RURAL AMERICA

Broadband, Digital Divide, Economic Development, Infrastructure, Rural Development, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, L96, R11, R58,

Measuring and validating social cohesion: a bottom-up approach

The aim of this paper is to provide a synthetic macro index of social cohesion based on the observation of several individual level variables. Based on the definition of social cohesion by Bernard (1999) and Chan et al. (2006) an index of social cohesion (henceforth VALCOS Index) was created. It covers the political and sociocultural domains of life in their formal and substantial relations. Results suggest that the VALCOS-Index of social cohesion is strongly and significantly correlated with other macro indicators largely used by the scientific community. The aggregation of EVS 2008 data on social cohesion together with many macro indicators of several dimensions of social life (including economic, socio-demographic, health and subjective well-being indicators) allowed us to rank social cohesion across 39 European countries and to explore differences across groups of countries. Subsequently, we validated our index by correlating it with many national level variables.social cohesion; methodology; macro index; micro index; EVS

An Examination of Rural and Female-Led Firms: A Resource Approach

Previous studies in entrepreneurship research indicate that external funding is critical for entrepreneurial success and that spatial funding inequities between nascent rural and non-rural firms are ever-present. Moreover, women entrepreneurs, rural or otherwise, receive fewer external resources than their male counterparts. To our knowledge there has been no research leveraging the Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics (PSED), a representative dataset of American individuals trying to create new firms, to better understand differences between rural, non-rural and female-led firms in terms of their ability to stay engaged in the entrepreneurial process and to earn a profit. Using the resource-based theory of the firm, this research will begin to examine some of the critical factors driving rural firm success and rural female-led firm success. We utilize Cox and logistic regression models to analyze the time to quit, time to profit, and the likelihood of firm survival and profit generation for these firms. Results reveal that externally monitored funds are a significant variable for rural firm success in comparison to non-rural firms and appear to be especially important for women-led nascent firms early in the firm gestation process. Future research would benefit from further exploration of funding bias, entrepreneurial motivation and personal characteristics of rural, female-rural and their non-rural counterparts. This research adds to the literature on rural entrepreneurship by using the resource based theory of the firm in conjunction with the PSED database to study the nature of firm success and firm profit for rural and female led rural firms

a study of the creative class at the firm-leve

El capital humano ha sido un tema central desde el inicio de la investigación sobre emprendedurismo. Este artículo analiza la asociación del nivel de capital humano de los equipos de emprendedores en el desempeño de proyectos nacientes de empresas mediante la aplicación de una teoría del capital humano relativamente novedosa. La teoría de la clase creativa, ampliamente utilizada en el campo del emprendedurismo a nivel regional, se aplica aquí por primera vez a nivel de empresa. Los hallazgos de este artículo indican resultados similares a nivel de empresas de los encontrados a nivel regional. Las nuevas empresas compuestas por emprendedores más creativos están fuertemente asociadas con la creación de empleo y, en menor medida, con la supervivencia de los proyectos. Al igual que en los estudios regionales, los resultados de este trabajo a nivel de firma cuestionan las medidas clásicas de capital humano basadas el nivel de educación formal de los emprendedores. [Resumen de autor