Mission: Model for a Church

Much work is being done these days to determine the shape of any future Canadian Lutheran Church. The committee on “Function and Form” is aptly named; for the function of the Church ought to give it the form that it takes. This article seeks to provide some input for this task; hopefully the start of much more input from other Christians in Canada

Bridging fiddle and classical communities in Calgary, Canada : the Baroque & Buskin’ String Orchestra

Publisher PD

Innovation dynamics and endogenous market structure: econometric results from aggregated survey data

This paper examines empirically the relationship between innovation and market structure within a simultaneous framework at the industry level of aggregation. We use a model in which R&D affects both, demand and cost conditions. An optimization process leads to optimal industry R&D expenditure and market structure in a symmetric equilibrium. The model is applied to a newly constructed panel for Germany. Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) estimation techniques for dynamic panel data systems are used to estimate the parameters of interest. We found a positive long?run effect of R&D on markets? sales concentration. In contrast, competition enforces innovation, i.e. sales concentration has a negative impact on R&D. --innovation,R&D,market structure,panel data,dynamic models,applied econometrics

Export and innovation activities in the German service sector: empirical evidence at the firm level

In this paper we analyse the relationship between export and innovation activities of German service sector companies using data from the 1997 wave of the Mannheim Innovation Panel in the Service Sector. There is a lot of support for the Schumpeterian hypothesis of export activities being mainly driven by innovation activities. Factor endowment theories are only partially supported. While human capital significantly improves export performance, labour costs hamper it only in selected branches. Moreover, allowing for simultaneity we find that export activities do not enforce innovation activities. --exports,innovation,service sector,firm behaviour,applied microeconometrics

What drives productivity in Tanzanian manufacturing firms: technology or institutions?

Using the rich micro data set of the World Bank Investment Climate Survey, this paper examines the determinants of productivity among manufacturing firms in the context of a least developed country, Tanzania. In particular it seeks to evaluate the importance of technological variables - such as R&D, education and training, innovation, foreign ownership, licensing and ISO certification - and institutional variables – such as access to credit, health of the workforce, regulation and business support services. Among the technological variables, R&D, and innovations in the form of new products or processes fail to produce any significant impact, and only foreign ownership, ISO certification and high education of the management appear to affect productivity. Some of the institutional variables on the contrary are highly significant and robust to different specifications of the model. As such, formal credit constraints, administrative burdens related to regulations and a lack of business support services seem to depress productivity, while membership of a business association produces the opposite effect. The results of a quantile regression further indicate that the educational level of the managers and access to formal credit are significant for the less productive firms only, whereas for the more productive firms it is having an ISO certification or being a member of a business association that are the significant determinants.Development, Productivity, Innovation, Institutions

Social Justice Begins at Home: The Challenges and Successes of a Social Justice Living-Learning Community

This article describes the development of the Dorothy Day Social Justice Community, a sophomore, social justice-focused living–learning community at Marquette University. The authors describe the administration of the community, discuss various elements of the community, and share assessment results. They also detail lessons learned from three years of administering the community, namely that support should be built throughout the university, barriers removed to student participation, a voice given to students in the administration of the community, and assessment done to guide practic

Knowledge-based productivity in low-tech industries: evidence from firms in developing countries.

Using firm level data from five countries - Brazil, Ecuador, South Africa, Tanzania and Bangladesh - this paper examines the knowledge-based determinants of productivity of firms active in food processing, textiles, and garments and leather products. In particular, it seeks to investigate the importance of various sources of knowledge in explaining productivity in the different industries. The knowledge sources driving productivity performance are very different across sectors. In food processing, firm productivity is most strongly affected by quality of management and foreign ownership linkages. In textiles, firms raise productivity levels by importing new machinery and through research and development. In garments and leather products, R&D and design activities, high quality management and licensing technology from foreign firms are significant productivity determinants. Firms' productivity levels are further depressed by regulatory and financial constraints.Productivity, Knowledge, R&D, Developing Countries, Food Processing, Textiles, Garments, Leather