Dynamic Optimal Capital Structure and Technological Change

This paper incorporates the cost of adjustment between observed and optimal leverage in explaining the variation in firm?s equity or bank-debt financing investments. Using a dynamic adjustment approach identifies the determinants to capital structure between different financial systems. In relation to firm sales U.K and U.S firms have 50-100 percent more equity financing than Swedish firms depending on which measure used, while the ratio of debt to sales is highest in Sweden. The major findings are that observed leverage often deviates from the target leverage in both equity and debt dominated systems. There are large and also unexpected crosscountry differences in determinants to optimal capital structure. Swedish and U.K. firms deviate more from the optimal level than U.S firms. A faster speed towards the target is observed in the equity based systems. --Capital structure,dynamic adjustment,panel data,optimal leverage,financial markets,cross-country comparison,technological change

The link between firm-level innovation and aggregate productivity growth: a cross-country examination

This paper investigates whether failure in innovation at the firm level can account for cross-country heterogeneity in manufacturing productivity growth. There is no strong evidence in the literature on the existence of such link. Our work, however, differs in a number of ways from much of the previous cross-country comparisons on the relationship between innovation and productivity using firm-level data. First, a broader definition of innovation input is used in which research and development is one of several sources of innovation. Second, a quantitative innovation output measure is used in the analysis. Third, the analysis is based on larger and more representative samples of firms including small firms. Finally, an econometric framework based on the knowledge production function accounting for both selectivity and simultaneity bias is employed. The results from Nordic countries show that given difficulties in pooling the data, it is important to specify country-specific models accounting for country-specific effects and differences in the countries national innovation systems. --community innovation,cross-country comparisons,manufacturing,productivity

On the Relationship between Innovation and Performance: A sensitivity Analysis

The objective of this study is to investigate the sensitivity of the estimated relationship between innovation and firm performance. In doing so, we rely on a knowledge production function approach and carry out comparisons in a number of respects. The sensitivity analysis is based on the comparison of a basic econometric model with different alternative models using the same data sources, an identical model but different data sources, different classifications of firm performance and different classifications of innovation. The analyses are performed in both level and growth rate dimensions. The overall picture gives indications of what factors cause variations in the estimated effects of interest and the direction of changes.Knowledge capital; productivity; innovation; manufacturing; services; knowledge intensity; Community Innovation Survey;

Dynamic Optimal Capital Structure and Technological Change

This paper incorporates the cost of adjustment between observed and optimal leverage in explaining the variation in firms equity or bank-debt financing investments. Using a dynamic adjustment approach identifies the determinants to capital structure between different financial systems. In relation to firm sales U.K and U.S firms have 50-100 percent more equity financing than Swedish firms depending on which measure used, while the ratio of debt to sales is highest in Sweden. The major findings are that observed leverage often deviates from the target leverage in both equity and debt dominated systems. There are large and also unexpected crosscountry differences in determinants to optimal capital structure. Swedish and U.K. firms deviate more from the optimal level than U.S firms. A faster speed towards the target is observed in the equity based systems

Pain, fatigue and fear-avoidance beliefs in relation to physical activity and body awareness in persons diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis

Introduction: Pain and fatigue are highly common and a major concern for persons diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Having physical limitations, which have a significant effect on daily life, is also described as a major problem for persons with RA. Research findings show that a minority of persons with RA perform maintained health-enhancing physical activity (HEPA), and that psychosocial factors seem to be the most salient and consistent factors to explain variations in HEPA. Furthermore, fear of physical activity and exercise has been described as major barriers for persons with chronic pain. The ability to notice bodily inner sensations and stimuli (body awareness, BA) is described in the literature as having either a positive or a negative impact on a person’s health and well-being. However, the concept of BA is complex and therefore greater insight into this phenomenon is needed. Aim: The overall aim of this thesis was to investigate pain, fatigue and fear-avoidance beliefs in relation to physical activity and their correlates in persons with RA. A further overall aim was to develop a psychometric measurement of BA. A final overall aim was to deepen our understanding of BA in persons with RA. Methods: Study I was a psychometric evaluation of a Swedish version of the Body Awareness Questionnaire (BAQ) in a student population and in adults with RA. Studies II - III were a cross-sectional survey studies in adults with RA. Study IV was a phenomenological study using the empirical phenomenological psychological (EPP) method in adults with RA. Results: In study I, the value of Cronbach's alpha coefficients for the total score in the Swedish version of the BAQ was satisfactory. According to confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), neither a one-factor model nor a four-factor model tested in this study fulfilled the pre-specified criteria. In study II, pain was significantly associated with health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and disease activity. Fatigue was significantly associated with disease activity, BA and positive affect. The adjusted R2 was 28.6% for fatigue and 50.0% for pain. Study III showed that, for socio-demographic factors, being male and having a below average income were associated with an increased risk of high fear-avoidance beliefs about physical activity (mFABQ high). Moreover, the two disease-specific factors, which are most indicative of mFABQ high, were high level of pain and poor health. Concerning psychosocial factors, low HRQoL and low exercise self- efficacy were significantly associated with mFABQ high. The model fit was 0.27 (Nagelkerkés R2). In study IV, some general characteristics were found, which had to do with the disease giving rise to a higher degree of negatively toned BA. BA was a reactive process of searching or controlling for disease-related symptoms, or a reactive process that was triggered by emotions. In addition, BA was an active process in the sense of taking an inventory of abilities. All the participants had the ability to shift focus from BA to the outside world. Conclusions: This thesis showed that pain, fatigue and fear-avoidance beliefs about physical activity in persons with RA have several potential correlates, including socio-demographic, disease-specific and psychosocial factors for the variables investigated. The Swedish version of the BAQ is simple to administer and should be used as a tool to measure self-reported attentiveness to normal body processes. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for the total score was satisfactory; nevertheless, since neither of the models fulfilled the pre-specified criteria further testing of the Swedish version of the BAQ is required. BA was found to be both positively and negatively toned in persons with RA, though RA resulted in a higher degree of negatively toned BA. Thus, the ability to shift attention, from BA to activities in the outside world, could sometimes be beneficial for the person’s general health and well-being. Having the opportunity to participate in meaningful and purposeful daily real-world activities keeps the mind busy (and distracted) and can decrease the negative BA

More than a foot : gait, gross motor skills, neurodevelopmental difficulties and health-related quality of life in children with idiopathic clubfoot

Introduction: Idiopathic clubfoot (IC) is one of the most common congenital musculoskeletal deformities and can affect one or both feet of the child. However, knowledge beyond the structural deformity is still limited. This thesis aimed to evaluate unexplored fields by including measures that might affect the children’s overall health. This included evaluation of gait, gross motor skills, neurodevelopmental difficulties (NDD), and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Methods and participants: An explorative cross-sectional research approach of four studies divided into two parts was used. In part one, gait and gross motor skills were evaluated in 59 and 47 children with IC, respectively, born in 2005–2008 and treated in Stockholm County (mean age 5.4 ± 0.5 years). Gait was evaluated using three-dimensional gait analysis, and gross motor skills were evaluated using the Clubfoot Assessment Protocol. For comparison, 28 typically developing (TD) children were recruited (mean age 5.5 ± 0.6 years). In part two, NDD and HRQoL were surveyed in children with IC born in 2004–2007 in Stockholm and Skåne counties. Parents to 106 children with IC (mean age 9.4 ± 0.6 years) answered the Five to Fifteen questionnaire and Roye´s Disease-specific instrument to operationalise NDD and satisfaction of the clubfoot treatment outcome, respectively. The children answered the generic HRQoL questionnaire EQ-5D-Y. A general population sample of 109 community schoolchildren (mean age 9.5 ± 0.6 years) was used for comparison. Results: Children with IC were found to have significant gait deviations, gross motor deficits and asymmetries at five years of age. No differences were found in bilateral and unilateral IC with the main concerns regarding decreased dorsi-plantar flexion range and ankle power generation in gait in both groups, compared with the TD children. In terms of gross motor skills, one-leg hop and stand deviated in 85 and 87% of the children, respectively. Associations between gross motor skills and passive range of motion of the foot, gait, and initial clubfoot severity were generally poor. The contralateral leg in children with unilateral IC showed no discrete gait or gross motor deficits; however, global gait measures revealed gait modifications. In nine-year-old children with IC, significantly more NDD were found in comparison with the general population, and group differences were evident in the domains of motor skills, perception, and language and in the subdomains of gross and fine motor skills, relation in space, comprehensive, and expressive language skills. Thirty-one per cent of the children in the IC sample were defined as experiencing NDD of clinical relevance. In this subgroup, parents reported significantly lower satisfaction of the clubfoot treatment outcome. In the overall IC sample of nine-year-old children, the children reported a satisfying overall health status despite more HRQoL problems, mainly regarding pain and discomfort. Neither being born with one or two affected feet nor sex affected NDD or HRQoL, however NDD negatively affected HRQoL. Conclusions: Children with bilateral and unilateral IC have similar marked gait and gross motor deficits on the affected side, thus indicating similar clubfoot severity and development. Nonetheless, awareness of foot involvement is important because of pronounced asymmetries in children with unilateral IC. Gross motor skills are not related to several foot measures and should be considered a different outcome entity in the evaluation of IC. Therefore, gross motor assessment as well as pain management should be emphasised in the follow-up of children with IC. Finally, health care providers should be attentive to NDD in children with IC appearing more often than would be expected by chance, especially since NDD negatively affect clubfoot treatment outcome and HRQoL

Firm location, Corporate Structure, R&D Investment, Innovation and Productivity

This study elucidates the relationship between localisation of firms, corporate structure, intellectual capital and innovations.The main finding is that a greater concentration of multinational firms, human capital, T&D and universities is significantly and positive associated with research productivity. All other things equal, such as firm size, sector classification, human capital, corporate owner structure and R&D investment, the return to an invested Euro in R&D is, at the margin, greatest for firms localized to the capital of Sweden, compared to four other large regions. However, surprisingly Stockholm firms also have a lower propensity to cooperate with scientific, vertical and horisontal innovation systems. This may reflect limitations of popular survey-based information such as Community Innovation Survey data to capture spillover and the importance of informal collaborative relationships within regions.

A Good Journey - A helping hand from A-Z

To travel with public transport and at the same time have a pleasant and relaxed journey is not a guarantee. Stress, insecurity and confusion can strike everyone, with or without disabilities. A political goal says that Sweden should have an accessible society in 2010. Some tools that can be used to reach this goal are design and architecture, but there is not much time left. In my role as a designer I choose to include and focus on people who may have problem with information and navigation. Three defi nitions created the framework for the project. Cognition; the thinking process where information and knowledge is received, worked through and supplied. Democratic design; accept that people are different and does not exclude possible users. Public transport; a possibility for people to travel in an organized way in a common vehicle. The result of this project is a service that offers information that is essential to fulfi l a journey from A-Z. Except from the concept itself I suggest this report to be seen as guidance for projects that includes public transport and the aim of diversity

Membership heterogeneity and the cooperative`s choice of strategy

Because of structural changes in the agri-food sector, the degree of heterogeneity within cooperative memberships is increasing. Heterogeneity concerns differences within a group of people, for example, as concerns age, educational level and production volume within a cooperative membership. This study analyzes heterogeneity in different respects within cooperative memberships. While many researchers have previously written theoretically based studies about the importance of membership heterogeneity, there is no empirical study about the importance of different dimensions of heterogeneity. The present study empirically investigates to which extent different dimensions of heterogeneity affect a cooperative’s choice of strategies. The aim of this study is to explore how heterogeneity in the members of a cooperative affects the collective strategic decisions. An empirical study was conducted in Sweden's smallest dairy cooperative, Gäsene Mejeri. Except for literature about heterogeneity in cooperative memberships, the theoretical basis of this study is behavioural theory. The chosen theory was The Theory of Planned Behaviour, which explains how external factors affect an individual's attitudes toward their own behaviour, i.e., how the members develop their attitudes to the strategic decisions, made by the cooperative. A question guide was developed on the basis of this theory, while the respondents were also given ample opportunities to speak freely. This study can be regarded as a case study of Gäsene Mejeri. Data were collected through 21 semi-structured interviews with members of Gäsene Mejeri. Thus, almost the entire membership was interviewed. The respondents were asked about their position on two strategic decisions, namely the introduction of differentiated milk prices and the contractual agreement to deliver private-labelled cheese to a large supermarket chain. The study indicates that the membership of Gäsene Mejeri is characterized by heterogeneities in different aspects. The members differ considerably as concerns age, farm size and investments. These dimensions have an impact on the members expressed support or opposition of the collective strategic decisions. However, these differences have only a minor influence on the actual strategic decisions, because the members at large have high level of trust in the board of directors. The members think that the board, just as well as they themselves, prioritize the interests of the cooperative. All the members are dependent upon each other, whereby there is little room for divergent opinions, no matter if the members are different in socioeconomic terms

The Link Between Firm-Level Innovation and Aggregate Productivity Growth : A Cross Country Examination

This paper investigates whether failure in innovation at the firm level can account for cross-country heterogeneity in manufacturing productivity growth. There is no strong evidence in the literature on the existence of such link. Our work, however, differs in a number of ways from much of the previous cross-country comparisons on the relationship between innovation and productivity using firm-level data. First, a broader definition of innovation input is used in which research and development is one of several sources of innovation. Second, a quantitative innovation output measure is used in the analysis. Third, the analysis is based on larger and more representative samples of firms including small firms. Finally, an econometric framework based on the knowledge production function accounting for both selectivity and simultaneity bias is employed. The results from Nordic countries show that given difficulties in pooling the data, it is important to specify country-specific models accounting for country-specific effects and differences in the countries national innovation systems