El punto que le falta al CAFTA

Aunque la motivación del Tratado de Libre Comercio entre Estados Unidos y Centroamérica (CAFTA) con Estados Unidos es generar beneficios para los exportadores e importadores, es probable que los elevados costos portuarios en la región incidan negativamente en esos beneficios. Los costos elevados, junto con las inquietudes sobre la infraestructura, seguridad, eficiencia y productividad, pueden hacer disminuir los beneficios potenciales del CAFTA. Por lo tanto, Centroamérica debe efectuar reformas jurídicas que permitan la privatización de puertos, dado que el sector privado posee los recursos necesarios para invertir en esos puertos y hacerlos competitivos.

The Complexity of Corruption: Nature and Ethical Suggestions

Corruption is a well-established research topic which increasingly attracts interest, as attested by a growing body of literature. Nevertheless, disagreements persist not only about how to curve it, but even about its definition, causes and consequences. Such a lack of consensus reflects the complexity of the problem, a feature which is often cited but rarely analyzed. This paper aims to fill that gap. In particular, we first address the nature of corruption’s complexity by offering and analyzing an inventory of “generators of complexity” compiled from the available literature. Secondly, our paper draws from the key conclusions of that analysis to shed some light on the complex role played by corporations on corruption. Finally, we suggest that ethical aspects have to be considered in order to clarify many complex dilemmas around corruption and illuminate the corporate role in both domestic and foreign business activity.

Information systems offshore outsourcing: a descriptive analysis

Purpose - The present paper has as its aim to deepen in the study of Information Systems Offshore Outsourcing, proposing three essential steps to make this decision: weighing up the advantages and risks of Offshore Outsourcing; analysing the taxonomy of this phenomenon; and determining its current geography. Design/Methodology/Approach - With that objective in mind, it was decided to base the research work on the literature about this topic and the review of reports and statistics coming from different sources (consultants, the press, public institutions, etc.). Findings - Offshore Outsourcing has grown vertiginously in recent years. Its advantages exceed even those of onshore outsourcing, though it also involves greater risks derived from the (cultural and physical) distance existing between customer and provider. Various types of services and customer-provider relationships hide under the umbrella of Offshore Outsourcing; i.e. it is not a homogeneous phenomenon. The main Offshore Outsourcing customers can be found in the USA and Europe, mainly in the UK but also in other countries such as Germany and France. As for provider firms, most of them are located in Asia −outstandingly in India but also in China and Russia. At present, there are important providers scattered in other continents as well. Originality/Value - The conclusions suggest that the range of potential Offshore Outsourcing destinations must be widened and that the search for a provider cannot be based exclusively on cost savings; other considerations such as quality, security and proximity of the provider must also be taken into consideration. That is precisely the reason why the study of new countries like Spain as Offshore Outsourcing destinations is proposed

The impact of consortia purchasing of periodical publications on the document supply service

Purpose – This paper aims to show the impact of consortia purchased periodical publications on document supply services. These services have undergone considerable changes over the last five years, first decreasing but now recovering. Design/methodology/approach – First, this paper reviews the most recent specialised literature, focusing mainly on the impact of electronic journals in libraries, their effects, and proposed actions. Second, as an example of this new behaviour, presents the document supply service data, as collected in one hospital’s health-science library in the last four years. Findings – As evidenced by the literature, the users’ acceptance of electronic journals has undoubtedly been excellent. Consortia purchasing projects have become a basic tool that expand collections, support cooperative technological development, and require negotiating skills from librarians. But these mass purchases do not seem to be the ideal solution for libraries, they entail losing freedom when choosing the collection and often make library collections homogeneous by publisher. Originality/value – Reflects on what possible causes have led to the current situation and the current way to manage the collection.Publicad

The probability of default in internal ratings based (IRB) models in Basel II: an application of the rough sets methodology

El nuevo Acuerdo de Capital de junio de 2004 (Basilea II) da cabida e incentiva la implantación de modelos propios para la medición de los riesgos financieros en las entidades de crédito. En el trabajo que presentamos nos centramos en los modelos internos para la valoración del riesgo de crédito (IRB) y concretamente en la aproximación a uno de sus componentes: la probabilidad de impago (PD). Los métodos tradicionales usados para la modelización del riesgo de crédito, como son el análisis discriminante y los modelos logit y probit, parten de una serie de restricciones estadísticas. La metodología rough sets se presenta como una alternativa a los métodos estadísticos clásicos, salvando las limitaciones de estos. En nuestro trabajo aplicamos la metodología rought sets a una base de datos, compuesta por 106 empresas, solicitantes de créditos, con el objeto de obtener aquellos ratios que mejor discriminan entre empresas sanas y fallidas, así como una serie de reglas de decisión que ayudarán a detectar las operaciones potencialmente fallidas, como primer paso en la modelización de la probabilidad de impago. Por último, enfrentamos los resultados obtenidos con los alcanzados con el análisis discriminante clásico, para concluir que la metodología de los rough sets presenta mejores resultados de clasificación, en nuestro caso.The new Capital Accord of June 2004 (Basel II) opens the way for and encourages credit entities to implement their own models for measuring financial risks. In the paper presented, we focus on the use of internal rating based (IRB) models for the assessment of credit risk and specifically on the approach to one of their components: probability of default (PD). In our study we apply the rough sets methodology to a database composed of 106 companies, applicants for credit, with the object of obtaining those ratios that discriminate best between healthy and bankrupt companies, together with a series of decision rules that will help to detect the operations potentially in default, as a first step in modelling the probability of default. Lastly, we compare the results obtained against those obtained using classic discriminant análisis. We conclude that the rough sets methodology presents better risk classification results.Junta de Andalucía P06-SEJ-0153

Understanding User Behavioral Intention to Adopt a Search Engine that Promotes Sustainable Water Management

An increase in users’ online searches, the social concern for an efficient management of resources such as water, and the appearance of more and more digital platforms for sustainable purposes to conduct online searches lead us to reflect more on the users’ behavioral intention with respect to search engines that support sustainable projects like water management projects. Another issue to consider is the factors that determine the adoption of such search engines. In the present study, we aim to identify the factors that determine the intention to adopt a search engine, such as Lilo, that favors sustainable water management. To this end, a model based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) is proposed. The methodology used is the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analysis with the Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS). The results demonstrate that individuals who intend to use a search engine are influenced by hedonic motivations, which drive their feeling of contentment with the search. Similarly, the success of search engines is found to be closely related to the ability a search engine grants to its users to generate a social or environmental impact, rather than users’ trust in what they do or in their results. However, according to our results, habit is also an important factor that has both a direct and an indirect impact on users’ behavioral intention to adopt different search engines

Firm Failure and Relationship Lending:New Evidence from Small Businesses

We study the effect of relationship lending on small firms failure probability using a uniquely rich data set comprised of information on individual loans of a large number of small firms in Colombia. We control for firm-specific variables and find that small firms involved in long-term liaisons with commercial banks have a significantly lower probability of becoming bankrupt than otherwise identical firms not involved in a long-term credit relationship. We also find that small firms with multiple banking relationships face a lower failure hazard than otherwise identical firms involved in a unique long-term relationship.Firms, bank relationships, survival analysis. Classification JEL: G20, G21, C40.