A Note on the Macroeconomic Consequences of Ethnic/Racial Tension

While many studies stressed the importance of ethnic fractionalization on long-term economic growth, neither ethnic fractionalization always leads to ethnic conflict nor the intensity of conflict is constant over time. To address this potential bias, we construct an ethnic/racial tension index by using the number of US news articles that contain certain keywords. Utilizing this index we test the predictions of a simple theoretical model in a Markov Switching framework which allows to identify the impact of ethnic/racial tension in different states of the economy. Consistent with our theoretical predictions, results show that the magnitude of the impact of ethnic/racial tension is larger during low-growth periods

Financial Integration in the GCC region: Market Size versus National Effects

© The Author(s) 2019. This paper examines financial spillovers between the four largest equity markets (by market capitalization) in the GCC region using a VAR-GARCH (1,1) framework that sheds light on interdependence as well as the effects of the 2014 oil crisis. Since the UAE is a federation including two stock exchanges (Abu Dhabi and Dubai), it is pos- sible to test whether being part of a federal union matters more than market size in terms of financial integration. Our results suggest that the latter is more important, since we could not find evidence of stronger linkages between the Abu Dhabi and Dubai markets compared to those between other markets in the region. By contrast, there are significant spillover effects, both in the mean and in the volatility, from the largest market of Saudi Arabia to Qatar and the two markets in the UAE, which confirms that market capitalization is a more important determinant of financial inte- gration than belonging to a federal union. Further, spillovers from the larger markets have become stronger as a result of the 2014 oil crisis. Finally, there is also evidence of spillovers from the smaller to the larger markets.Zayed University, RIF grant R16045

Environmental awareness and firm creation

Purpose: This study tests whether environmental awareness affects firm creation by using Google Trends data and a novel region-level data set from Italy. Design/methodology/approach: Forward-looking entrepreneurs drive firm creation. The authors hypothesize that more environmentally conscious entrepreneurs will emerge as environmental awareness rises, increasing the number of green and energy firms. The authors test the prediction using Google Trends data and a novel region-level data set from Italy. Findings: The authors find that not only the number of green and energy-innovative firms but also that of all innovative start-ups increases with rising environmental consciousness. The results imply some “innovation spillover” effects from green sectors to other industries with rising environmental awareness. Originality/value: The paper hypothesizes that as environmental awareness rises, more environmental-conscious entrepreneurs will emerge, which would increase the number of green and energy firms. Robustness and falsification tests are also offered

Determinants of privatization of public corporations: evidence from the Japanese experience

Determinants of privatization, Privatization, Public corporation, Probit model, L33, L50, H11,

The spirit of business life: Entrepreneurship

This study aims to confirm the importance of entrepreneurship in strategic priorities in competitive environments. In this context, it started with the conceptual structure of the term and proceed conditions the entrepreneur prefers for business success. Furthermore, the fundamental elements that the entrepreneur brings to the market discussed. While explaining these factors, the emphasis placed on the significance of entrepreneurship. Moreover, some crucial determinants are focused on developing entrepreneurship. For this purpose, it is mentioned in both physical and other factors to reach business success in competitive markets