Financing Constraints and the Timing of Innovations in the German Services Sector

Using newly available data at the firm level, this study provides convincing evidence of the importance of financial constraints in explaining the timing of innovations in the German services sector. Based on a dynamic model of firms' optimal R&D behavior under financial constraints, we estimate various versions of an econometric specification of the model with dichotomous innovation data by using a univariate ordered probit model and a newly developed modification of it. The modified econometric estimation strategies takes into account that some of the regressors are measured on an ordinal scale. Our results are consistent with the theoretical view that, because of capital markets imperfections, internal finance should be an important determinant of innovative activities by private firms in the manufacturing sector as well as in the services sector.

Time Series of Count Data : Modelling and Estimation

This paper compares various models for time series of counts which can account for discreetness, overdispersion and serial correlation. Besides observation- and parameter-driven models based upon corresponding conditional Poisson distributions, we also consider a dynamic ordered probit model as a flexible specification to capture the salient features of time series of counts. For all models, we present appropriate efficient estimation procedures. For parameter-driven specifications this requires Monte Carlo procedures like simulated Maximum likelihood or Markov Chain Monte-Carlo. The methods including corresponding diagnostic tests are illustrated with data on daily admissions for asthma to a single hospital. --Efficient Importance Sampling,GLARMA,Markov Chain Monte-Carlo,Observation-driven model,Parameter-driven model,Ordered Probit

Eastern Men, Western Women: Coping with the Effects of Japanese Culture in the United States Workplace

This article examines the kaigaitenkinsha\u27s effects on women employees in the U.S. workplace and recommends solutions to mitigate their potentially discriminatory impact. Part II, Section A, surveys the kinds of sex discrimination that women encountered at Japanese companies aside from those alleged at Mitsubishi. Section B reviews U.S. equal employment opportunity laws to provide a framework from which to understand U.S. women\u27s employment rights and to compare the Japanese employment laws outlined in the next section. Section C seeks to explain why the kaigaitenkinsha discriminate against women by reviewing the history of women\u27s employment in Japan and Japan\u27s equal employment opportunity laws. Part III of this article proposes that U.S. laws may permit Japanese companies to exclude U.S. women from their management ranks because they authorize discrimination in favor of the kaigaitenkinsha. This potential outcome stems from the language of the U.S.-Japan commercial operating treaty and the decisions reached by the majority of courts interpreting the scope of the treaty. Part III, Section A identifies the relevant treaty provision, and Section B analyzes the majority\u27s holdings. Section B also presents the minority view in U.S. courts that the treaty allows Japanese companies to give preference to the kaigaitenkinsha only upon proving that Japanese citizenship is an essential qualification for the position at issue. Part IV proposes two solutions to mitigate the potentially discriminatory effects of Japanese culture on U.S. women employees in the future, as described in Part II and Part III. First, as part of the process of securing the licensing to establish U.S. business operations, key executives at Japanese-owned companies should receive training that enables them to demonstrate a basic understanding of U.S. equal employment opportunity laws. This recommendation should help ensure that, at a minimum, Japanese employers possess sufficient knowledge of U.S. laws to deter them from treating U.S. women in a discriminatory manner

Eastern Men, Western Women: Coping with the Effects of Japanese Culture in the United States Workplace

This article examines the kaigaitenkinsha\u27s effects on women employees in the U.S. workplace and recommends solutions to mitigate their potentially discriminatory impact. Part II, Section A, surveys the kinds of sex discrimination that women encountered at Japanese companies aside from those alleged at Mitsubishi. Section B reviews U.S. equal employment opportunity laws to provide a framework from which to understand U.S. women\u27s employment rights and to compare the Japanese employment laws outlined in the next section. Section C seeks to explain why the kaigaitenkinsha discriminate against women by reviewing the history of women\u27s employment in Japan and Japan\u27s equal employment opportunity laws. Part III of this article proposes that U.S. laws may permit Japanese companies to exclude U.S. women from their management ranks because they authorize discrimination in favor of the kaigaitenkinsha. This potential outcome stems from the language of the U.S.-Japan commercial operating treaty and the decisions reached by the majority of courts interpreting the scope of the treaty. Part III, Section A identifies the relevant treaty provision, and Section B analyzes the majority\u27s holdings. Section B also presents the minority view in U.S. courts that the treaty allows Japanese companies to give preference to the kaigaitenkinsha only upon proving that Japanese citizenship is an essential qualification for the position at issue. Part IV proposes two solutions to mitigate the potentially discriminatory effects of Japanese culture on U.S. women employees in the future, as described in Part II and Part III. First, as part of the process of securing the licensing to establish U.S. business operations, key executives at Japanese-owned companies should receive training that enables them to demonstrate a basic understanding of U.S. equal employment opportunity laws. This recommendation should help ensure that, at a minimum, Japanese employers possess sufficient knowledge of U.S. laws to deter them from treating U.S. women in a discriminatory manner

Indirect estimation of linear models with ordinal regressors. A Monte Carlo study and some empirical illustrations

This paper investigates the effects of ordinal regressors in linear regression models. Each ordered categorical variable is interpreted as a rough measurement of an underlying continuous variable as it is often done in microeconometrics for the dependent variable. It is shown that using ordinal indicators only leads to correct answers in a few special cases. In most situations, the usual estimators are biased. In order to estimate the parameters of the model consistently, the indirect estimation procedure suggested by Gourieroux et al. (1993) is applied. To demonstrate this method, first a simulation study is performed and then in a second step, two real data sets are used. In the latter case, continuous regressors are transformed into categorical variables to study the behavior of the estimation procedure. In general, the indirect estimators lead to adequate results

A Wrist and Cervical Screening of Grand Forks City Employees: A Pilot Study

Cumulative Trauma Disorders (CTDs) developed at work are caused by repetitive movements or sustained postures. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) and Cervical Radiculopathy (CR) are both CTDs resulting from repetitive wrist movements and sustained cervical postures respectively. Although both conditions can present with similar symptoms in the exact same hand and finger location, there has been no research comparing the prevalence of CTS and CR symptoms in a given population. The purpose of this study was to identify hand and finger symptoms and correlate the severity of the symptoms with objective measures. Thirty employees of the City of Grand Forks, ND, volunteered for this study. All subjects filled out a demographic survey, symptom severity questionnaire, and body diagram. They also performed the Phalen\u27s test and the McKenzie repeated and sustained cervical flexion tests. Nineteen subjects reported pre-study symptoms of varying severity. The ratio of positive Phalen\u27s tests to McKenzie tests was greater than 2:1. The correlation between pre-study symptom severity and Phalen\u27s test result was significant. The correlation between pre-study symptom severity and McKenzie sustained flexion test result was also significant. The results of this study have implications for all health professionals in occupational medicine and the City of Grand Forks in CTS and CR education and prevention programs

Das Innovationsverhalten der baden-württembergischen Unternehmen : eine Auswertung der ZEW/infas-Innovationserhebung 1993, erarbeitet für den Innovationsbeirat Baden-Württemberg

Die Landesregierung Baden-Württemberg hat die Förderung unternehmerischer Innovationsaktivitäten zu einem Schwerpunkt ihrer Wirtschaftspolitik erhoben: Dies manifestiert sich - neben anderem - in der Einrichtung des baden-württembergischen Innovationsbeirates. Dieses unabhängige und interdisziplinär aus Wissenschaftlern verschiedener Fachrichtungen, Unternehmenspraktikern und spezialisierten Politikern zusammengesetzte Gremium hat sich zur Aufgabe gesetzt, technologische Zukunftsstrategien zu entwickeln und Richtlinien für eine innovationsfördernde Politik aufzuzeigen

Pokus o ekonomickú analýzu korupcie v Českej republike

Institute of Economic StudiesInstitut ekonomických studiíFaculty of Social SciencesFakulta sociálních vě

Micro-Degrees und Badges als Zukunftsmodell für die Wissenschaftliche Weiterbildung Älterer? (Strukturelle) Überlegungen zur Programmentwicklung des Seniorenstudiums

Die Wissenschaftliche Weiterbildung präsentiert sich innerhalb der deutschen Hochschullandschaft nach wie vor als diffuses Feld mit pluralen Akteuren, unterschiedlichen Organisationsformen und zahlreichen Angebotsformaten, deren Kreditierung und Zertifizierung bis heute keiner einheitlichen Struktur folgt. Als Reaktion auf diese Diversität sind in den letzten Jahren verschiedene Expertengremien auf unterschiedlichen Ebenen bestrebt, in Form von Empfehlungen eine Vereinheitlichung von weiterbildenden Abschlussgraden anzuregen, um so nach Möglichkeit eine flächendeckende und damit bundeseinheitliche Zertifizierung von erbrachten Leistungen zu erreichen. Exemplarisch werden in diesem Beitrag die Empfehlungen der Hochschulrektorenkonferenz zum Einsatz von Micro-Degrees und Badges als Formate digitaler Zusatzqualifikationen (HRK, 2020) und die Handlungsempfehlungen der OECD zur Weiterbildung in Deutschland (OECD, 2021b) aufgegriffen, um zu prüfen, inwiefern diese (neuen) Formen der Kreditierung und Zertifizierung von (Teil-)Leistungen vor allem im Rahmen der wissenschaftlichen Weiterbildung Älterer sinnvolle Alternativen darstellen können. Unter Einbezug der Ergebnisse ausgewählter Untersuchungen zum Seniorenstudium soll hierzu mit Blick auf die strukturellen Voraussetzungen einzelner Standorte und die motivationalen Beweggründe von Seniorstudierenden eine Gegenüberstellung wesentlicher Kernfaktoren erfolgen, die unter Einbezug soziodemografischer und hochschulpolitischer Trends das Für und Wider eines Einsatzes neuer Zertifizierungsformate in der Wissenschaftlichen Weiterbildung Älterer aufzeigen