Firm Recruitment Competition among States

Economic growth is a major concern for state governments. One method that states use to spur economic growth is recruiting firms to relocate or expand within their state. Headlines and press releases from high–profile recruitment cases suggest that states compete with each other to recruit firms. The primary question in this dissertation is whether states compete to recruit firms. A unique panel data set that captures a state’s firm recruitment effort now provides the opportunity to answer this question. A variety of econometric methods (2SLS, MLE, and GS2SLS–GMM) isolate the spatial interdependence effect, and the empirical results show states do compete with each other to recruit firms. Another question answered in this dissertation is whether it matters how researchers measure a state’s effort to recruit firms. The results reveal that it is important to capture only spending related to firm recruitment, as other measures provide fundamentally different results. In addition, this dissertation tests for the nature of rivalry between states and shows that states compete with other states that are economically or demographically similar. The results of competition are not only robust, but large in magnitude as well. States are very responsive to their rival’s effort to recruit firms. Can states stop spending on firm recruitment? If they do, the other states will capture their potential firms–thus the competition to recruit firms does not seem likely to end soon

Reflexive Power(s)? - Exploring the Dynamics, Contradictions and Paradoxes of Evolving Political Forms in Innovative Organizations.: Paper presented at the EGOS Colloquium 2009, Barcelona, July 2-4, 2009; Sub-theme 19: Power, resistance and hegemony in the contexts of organizational and institutional change

How do reflexive political forms within organizations and the design of innovation processes co-evolve? This paper focuses on emerging reflexive forms of power and authority, considered as regimes beyond pure domination (Clegg et al. 2006: 330 f.). We assume that preserving freedom and initiative of individuals, while not undermining the power of organizational top elites, is particularly essential for business success of organisations operating in high-tech, innovative sectors. Up to now, however, neither the development of related political forms within organisations, nor their intertwinements with innovation processes have been very well understood. Therefore this paper studies the linkages between innovation processes and reflexive political forms of organizations. More specifically, the paper aims to explore in detail the contested, antagonistic and paradoxical processes an organisation must undertake in designing a reflexive political form, a “political hybrid” (Clegg et al. 2006: 333), conducive to innovation capabilities and innovation processes in high-tech companies. Theoretical reasoning is underlined by first insights from a longitudinal case study, being part of a comparative case study program, focusing on the co-evolution of political forms and innovation process design in a SME in southern Germany. The paper contributes to the debate on power and innovation in several respects. First, we will propose a dynamic approach to exploring change and development of political forms within organisations. Most of the literature concerned with different political forms and political regimes within organisations is still centred on static typologies and its comparison (Clegg et al. 2006: 332). Second, we will examine the often neglected, contradictory processes shaping hybrid political forms in organisations. Third, we will conceptually and empirically explore linkages between innovation processes and emerging political hybrids within organizations. This study is, to the best of our knowledge, a research desideratum both in the literature on power and the literature on innovation processes (e.g. Hage and Meeus 2006; Poole and Van De Ven 2004; Vigoda-Gadot and Drory 2006; Clegg et al. 2006)

Special interest group formation in the US: Do special interest groups mirror the success of their spatial neighbors?

Author's originalSpecial interest groups exert a great deal of influence over political outcomes in the U.S. Thus, understanding the determining factors for the formation of special interest groups is important. The literature, however, has excluded the role of spatial neighbors. This paper employs spatial econometric techniques to discriminately analyze the factors determining the number of special interest groups in a state. While geographic location is not a factor, gross state product, state general expenditures, and union membership relationships between states are crucial in the formation of special interest groups across states.Randolph, G.M. & Tasto, M.T.(2012). Special interest group formation in the US: Do special interest groups mirror the success of their spatial neighbors? Economics & Politics, 24(2), 119-134

Genome-Wide Studies of Histone Demethylation Catalysed by the Fission Yeast Homologues of Mammalian LSD1

In order to gain a more global view of the activity of histone demethylases, we report here genome-wide studies of the fission yeast SWIRM and polyamine oxidase (PAO) domain homologues of mammalian LSD1. Consistent with previous work we find that the two S. pombe proteins, which we name Swm1 and Swm2 (after SWIRM1 and SWIRM2), associate together in a complex. However, we find that this complex specifically demethylates lysine 9 in histone H3 (H3K9) and both up- and down-regulates expression of different groups of genes. Using chromatin-immunoprecipitation, to isolate fragments of chromatin containing either H3K4me2 or H3K9me2, and DNA microarray analysis (ChIP-chip), we have studied genome-wide changes in patterns of histone methylation, and their correlation with gene expression, upon deletion of the swm1+ gene. Using hyper-geometric probability comparisons we uncover genetic links between lysine-specific demethylases, the histone deacetylase Clr6, and the chromatin remodeller Hrp1. The data presented here demonstrate that in fission yeast the SWIRM/PAO domain proteins Swm1 and Swm2 are associated in complexes that can remove methyl groups from lysine 9 methylated histone H3. In vitro, we show that bacterially expressed Swm1 also possesses lysine 9 demethylase activity. In vivo, loss of Swm1 increases the global levels of both H3K9me2 and H3K4me2. A significant accumulation of H3K4me2 is observed at genes that are up-regulated in a swm1 deletion strain. In addition, H3K9me2 accumulates at some genes known to be direct Swm1/2 targets that are down-regulated in the swm1¿ strain. The in vivo data indicate that Swm1 acts in concert with the HDAC Clr6 and the chromatin remodeller Hrp1 to repress gene expression. In addition, our in vitro analyses suggest that the H3K9 demethylase activity requires an unidentified post-translational modification to allow it to act. Thus, our results highlight complex interactions between histone demethylase, deacetylase and chromatin remodelling activities in the regulation of gene expression

Reflexive Power(s)? - Exploring the Dynamics, Contradictions and Paradoxes of Evolving Political Forms in Innovative Organizations.: Paper presented at the EGOS Colloquium 2009, Barcelona, July 2-4, 2009; Sub-theme 19: Power, resistance and hegemony in the contexts of organizational and institutional change

How do reflexive political forms within organizations and the design of innovation processes co-evolve? This paper focuses on emerging reflexive forms of power and authority, considered as regimes beyond pure domination (Clegg et al. 2006: 330 f.). We assume that preserving freedom and initiative of individuals, while not undermining the power of organizational top elites, is particularly essential for business success of organisations operating in high-tech, innovative sectors. Up to now, however, neither the development of related political forms within organisations, nor their intertwinements with innovation processes have been very well understood. Therefore this paper studies the linkages between innovation processes and reflexive political forms of organizations. More specifically, the paper aims to explore in detail the contested, antagonistic and paradoxical processes an organisation must undertake in designing a reflexive political form, a “political hybrid” (Clegg et al. 2006: 333), conducive to innovation capabilities and innovation processes in high-tech companies. Theoretical reasoning is underlined by first insights from a longitudinal case study, being part of a comparative case study program, focusing on the co-evolution of political forms and innovation process design in a SME in southern Germany. The paper contributes to the debate on power and innovation in several respects. First, we will propose a dynamic approach to exploring change and development of political forms within organisations. Most of the literature concerned with different political forms and political regimes within organisations is still centred on static typologies and its comparison (Clegg et al. 2006: 332). Second, we will examine the often neglected, contradictory processes shaping hybrid political forms in organisations. Third, we will conceptually and empirically explore linkages between innovation processes and emerging political hybrids within organizations. This study is, to the best of our knowledge, a research desideratum both in the literature on power and the literature on innovation processes (e.g. Hage and Meeus 2006; Poole and Van De Ven 2004; Vigoda-Gadot and Drory 2006; Clegg et al. 2006)

Reflexive Power(s)? - Exploring the Dynamics, Contradictions and Paradoxes of Evolving Political Forms in Innovative Organizations.: Paper presented at the EGOS Colloquium 2009, Barcelona, July 2-4, 2009; Sub-theme 19: Power, resistance and hegemony in the contexts of organizational and institutional change

How do reflexive political forms within organizations and the design of innovation processes co-evolve? This paper focuses on emerging reflexive forms of power and authority, considered as regimes beyond pure domination (Clegg et al. 2006: 330 f.). We assume that preserving freedom and initiative of individuals, while not undermining the power of organizational top elites, is particularly essential for business success of organisations operating in high-tech, innovative sectors. Up to now, however, neither the development of related political forms within organisations, nor their intertwinements with innovation processes have been very well understood. Therefore this paper studies the linkages between innovation processes and reflexive political forms of organizations. More specifically, the paper aims to explore in detail the contested, antagonistic and paradoxical processes an organisation must undertake in designing a reflexive political form, a “political hybrid” (Clegg et al. 2006: 333), conducive to innovation capabilities and innovation processes in high-tech companies. Theoretical reasoning is underlined by first insights from a longitudinal case study, being part of a comparative case study program, focusing on the co-evolution of political forms and innovation process design in a SME in southern Germany. The paper contributes to the debate on power and innovation in several respects. First, we will propose a dynamic approach to exploring change and development of political forms within organisations. Most of the literature concerned with different political forms and political regimes within organisations is still centred on static typologies and its comparison (Clegg et al. 2006: 332). Second, we will examine the often neglected, contradictory processes shaping hybrid political forms in organisations. Third, we will conceptually and empirically explore linkages between innovation processes and emerging political hybrids within organizations. This study is, to the best of our knowledge, a research desideratum both in the literature on power and the literature on innovation processes (e.g. Hage and Meeus 2006; Poole and Van De Ven 2004; Vigoda-Gadot and Drory 2006; Clegg et al. 2006)

Using Eminent Domain For Economic Development: Does It Increase Private Sector Employment?

Although controversial, local and state governments draw on broad interpretations of the Fifth Amendment takings clause to justify using eminent domain for economic development. Previous studies examine such uses from the perspective of property rights and the scope and size of government. This paper addresses the fundamental question: Do states that grant local governments liberal eminent domain powers actually enjoy greater economic growth? This paper estimates how liberal eminent domain laws affect private sector employment growth across states while controlling for national trend and industry mix effects. The results clearly show that allowing local governments to use eminent domain for economic development does not lead to more private sector jobs

A Direct Test Of Direct Democracy: New England Town Meetings

This study examined the impact of inspector and operation type on restaurant inspection scores and estimated the probability of each violation found by each inspector and operation type. General linear models and a logistic regression model were employed to analyze 1,067 regular routine inspection results. The results of this study showed that inspector and operation type significantly impacted inspection scores, explaining 28.07% of the variation in scores. A significant difference was found in the prediction of the probability of each violation found by inspector and operation type. The estimated probability of each violation being found by inspector during a specific inspection of operation ranged from 0% to 47.9%. The probability of each violation occurrence by inspector and operation type was considered as specific training needs for inspectors and restaurant managers. Possible implications are suggested for training programs for inspectors and restaurant managers to improve standardized results of inspection. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd