Premi Nobel d'Economia 2008, concedit a Paul Krugman

Aquesta conferència té per objecte parlar del Premi Nobel d'Economia de l'any 2008, Paul R. Krugman. El professor de la Universitat de Princeton ha estat mereixedor de l'esmentat guardó «per la seva anàlisi dels patrons comercials i per la localització de l'activitat econòmica». L'economia ha tingut, des dels seus inicis, entre moltes altres preocupacions, preguntes relatives a l'aparició del comerç internacional i a l'auge i al declivi d'una àrea econòmica determinada, i Paul Krugman ha contribuït decisivament amb els seusmodels a donar resposta a ambdues qüestions. L'índex que proposa l'autor és una explicació, breu, en primer lloc, de la figura de Paul Krugman i, posteriorment, s'analitza en què consisteix l'organització espontània de l'economia i l'economia d'aglomeració. Finalment, es comenta breument si algun d'aquests dos models són aplicables a l'eix mediterrani. L'organització espontània de l'economia (self-organizing economy) es basa en aplicacions de la teoria del caos al comportament dels individus en el context econòmic. D'altra banda, l'economia d'aglomeració és un concepte més clàssic. El concepte fonamental d'aquesta teoria són les economies d'escala.És l'eix mediterrani un exponent de l'organització espontània de l'economia o és una economia d'aglomeració?This talk aims to discuss the 2008 Nobel Prize Winner for Economic Sciences, Paul R. Krugman. The Princeton University professor has earned this award “for his analysis of trade patterns and location of economic activity”. Since its inception, and among many other concerns, the economy has raised and dealt with questions regarding the emergence of international trade and the rise and fall of certain economic areas; and, through his models, Paul Krugman has made a decisive contribution to answering both these questions. The author firstly provides a brief description of Paul Krugman himself, before moving on to analyse the Self-Organising Economy and the Agglomeration Economy. Finally, brief mention is given to whether either of these two models may be applicable to the Mediterranean Axis. The Self-Organising Economy is based on applications of chaos theory to individuals’ behaviour in an economic context. On the other hand, the Agglomeration Economy is a more classic concept. Economies of scale are the fundamental concept in this theory. Is the Mediterranean Axis an exponent of the Self-Organising Economy or is it an Agglomeration Economy

Premi Nobel d'Economia 2008, concedit a Paul Krugman

Aquesta conferència té per objecte parlar del Premi Nobel d'Economia de l'any 2008, Paul R. Krugman. El professor de la Universitat de Princeton ha estat mereixedor de l'esmentat guardó «per la seva anàlisi dels patrons comercials i per la localització de l'activitat econòmica». L'economia ha tingut, des dels seus inicis, entre moltes altres preocupacions, preguntes relatives a l'aparició del comerç internacional i a l'auge i al declivi d'una àrea econòmica determinada, i Paul Krugman ha contribuït decisivament amb els seusmodels a donar resposta a ambdues qüestions. L'índex que proposa l'autor és una explicació, breu, en primer lloc, de la figura de Paul Krugman i, posteriorment, s'analitza en què consisteix l'organització espontània de l'economia i l'economia d'aglomeració. Finalment, es comenta breument si algun d'aquests dos models són aplicables a l'eix mediterrani. L'organització espontània de l'economia (self-organizing economy) es basa en aplicacions de la teoria del caos al comportament dels individus en el context econòmic. D'altra banda, l'economia d'aglomeració és un concepte més clàssic. El concepte fonamental d'aquesta teoria són les economies d'escala.És l'eix mediterrani un exponent de l'organització espontània de l'economia o és una economia d'aglomeració?This talk aims to discuss the 2008 Nobel Prize Winner for Economic Sciences, Paul R. Krugman. The Princeton University professor has earned this award for his analysis of trade patterns and location of economic activity. Since its inception, and among many other concerns, the economy has raised and dealt with questions regarding the emergence of international trade and the rise and fall of certain economic areas; and, through his models, Paul Krugman has made a decisive contribution to answering both these questions. The author firstly provides a brief description of Paul Krugman himself, before moving on to analyse the Self-Organising Economy and the Agglomeration Economy. Finally, brief mention is given to whether either of these two models may be applicable to the Mediterranean Axis. The Self-Organising Economy is based on applications of chaos theory to individuals' behaviour in an economic context. On the other hand, the Agglomeration Economy is a more classic concept. Economies of scale are the fundamental concept in this theory. Is the Mediterranean Axis an exponent of the Self-Organising Economy or is it an Agglomeration Economy

European macroeconomic imbalances at a sectorial level: Evidence from German and Spanish food industry

P u r p o s e: This research has analyzed the structural differences observed comparing medium size Spanish and German firms in the food industry, specifically biscuit production. A second objective has been to analyze if the different macroeconomic conditions in Spain and Germany have affected the performance of firms. Design/methodology: Using financial information from AMADEUS data base, a sample of firms (135 observations) in the food industry from Spain and Germany have been analyzed, considering the changes observed in the periods 2007-2009, 2010-2012 and 2013-2015. Productivity, real investment, cost per employee, profitability and interests paid by the firms are among the variables considered. The different hypotheses proposed have been tested using non-parametric test, mainly, Mann-Whitney test and Rho Spearman coefficient. Findings: Medium size German firms are bigger, using number of employees, than Spanish firms and show a higher profitability (using ROE) whatever the period consider. The evidence suggests that after a certain threshold size the correlation between size and productivity is negative. An interesting result is the negative correlation between interest rate and labour productivity; financial conditions can have a clear effect on firm’s performance. At this sector level there is no evidence of the process of internal devaluation, probably because the growth observed either by increase in real investment or sales have been accompanied by the need to hire skilled labour. Research limitations/implications: The main limitation is that this research has only focused on particular economic activity, biscuit producers, to include others firms in the food industry must be considered in future research. Practical implications: Size is a strategic decision that managers must face, to understand how labour productivity and financial performance is affected by size will help to take the optimum decision. The performance of the firm is also partially affected by the interest rate that the firm faces, the negative correlation found between interest rate and labour productivity is important in informing right decisions about increasing firm’s debt level. Social implications: Europe is rethinking industrial policy in the aftermath of the financial crisis (20082009) and in a global context with an increasing number of industrial activities locating in low labour costs destinations. Understanding the structural differences that industries across the European countries show is a key factor in deciding an efficient industrial policy. Originality/value: The last decade has accentuated the macroeconomic differences, in terms of long term interest rates or levels of unemployment between the core of Europe, Germany, and the periphery, including countries like Spain. This research is one the first ones in analyzing how these differences are affecting financial performance and structural differences in a particular industry, that is one of the most important exporters of the European Union.Peer Reviewe

A Measure of Perceived Performance to Assess Resource Allocation

The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00500-015-1696-3Performance measurement is a key issue when a company is designing new strategies to improve resource allocation. This paper offers a new methodology inspired by classic importance-performance analysis (IPA) that provides a global index of importance versus performance for firms. This index compares two rankings of the same set of features regarding importance and performance, taking into account underperforming features. The marginal contribution of each feature to the proposed global index defines a set of iso-curves that represents an improvement in the IPA diagram. The defined index, together with the new version of the diagram, will enable the assessment of a firm's overall performance and, therefore, enhance decision making in the allocation of resources. The proposed methodology has been applied to a Taiwanese multi-format retailer and managerial perceptions of performance and importance are compared to assess the firm's overall performance.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

The irruption of AirBNB and its effects on hotels' profitability: An analysis of Barcelona's hotel sector

Purpose: The aim of this study is to analyze the existence of a relationship between the presence of nearby substitute products, mainly Airbnb flats or rooms, and the effect on the revenue and profitability of hotels. Design/methodology/approach: The empirical study is based on the analysis of financial information provided in the annual reports of a sample consisting of 43 hotels (11.78% of the population). As an explanatory variable for profitability, we have considered the presence of apartments listed in Airbnb that are no farther than one kilometer from each hotel. Considering that most of the variables used do not follow a normal distribution, the existence of a relationship between profitability and the explanatory variables has been tested using non-parametric tests, namely, the Spearman correlation coefficient and Kruskall-Wallis test. Findings: We found a positive correlation between presence of Airbnb apartments and return on equity. This fact can be explained by considering the presence of Airbnb apartments as a variable that measures the attractiveness of the location from a tourist’s point of view. Hotels located near the city center or main tourist areas of the city have a higher level of profitability. We also found no evidence of any relationship between profitability and star category; 4- and 3-star hotels have experienced, on average, a lower drop in revenues between 2008 and 2013 and they also obtained a higher average level of profitability in 2013 as compared to the upper segment of 5-star hotels. Research limitations/implications: This research has been conducted in the city of Barcelona. Future research using the same methodology should be applied to other cities with an important hospitality sector to reinforce our findings. The main implications of this research refer to the importance of location as a key strategic variable in hospitality, and to the change in the system customers use to evaluate the quality of a hotel, according to which the traditional star category system has been partially replaced by new sources of information available through the new communication technologies. Originality/value: This paper is one of the first contributions that scholars have made to obtain a deeper understanding of the effects of the new forms of the sharing economy, focusing on the hospitality industry

Using qualitative reasoning to evaluate performance: an application in the retail sector

This paper offers a new method inspired by classic importance-performance analysis (IPA) that provides a global index of importance versus performance for firms together with a new version of the IPA diagram. The index compares two rankings of the same set of features regarding importance and performance, taking into account under-performing features. The marginal contribution of each feature to the proposed global index defines a set of isocurves that represents an improvement in the IPA diagram. The defined index, together with the new version of the diagram, enables, by means of qualitative reasoning techniques, the assessment of a firm’s overall performance and therefore enhance decision making in the allocation of resources. The proposed method has been applied to a Taiwanese multi-format retailer and managerial perceptions of performance and importance are compared to assess the firm’s overall performance.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Using qualitative reasoning to evaluate performance: an application in the retail sector

This paper offers a new method inspired by classic importance-performance analysis (IPA) that provides a global index of importance versus performance for firms together with a new version of the IPA diagram. The index compares two rankings of the same set of features regarding importance and performance, taking into account under-performing features. The marginal contribution of each feature to the proposed global index defines a set of isocurves that represents an improvement in the IPA diagram. The defined index, together with the new version of the diagram, enables, by means of qualitative reasoning techniques, the assessment of a firm’s overall performance and therefore enhance decision making in the allocation of resources. The proposed method has been applied to a Taiwanese multi-format retailer and managerial perceptions of performance and importance are compared to assess the firm’s overall performance.Peer Reviewe

A measure of perceived performance to assess resource allocation

The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00500-015-1696-3Performance measurement is a key issue when a company is designing new strategies to improve resource allocation. This paper offers a new methodology inspired by classic importance-performance analysis (IPA) that provides a global index of importance versus performance for firms. This index compares two rankings of the same set of features regarding importance and performance, taking into account underperforming features. The marginal contribution of each feature to the proposed global index defines a set of iso-curves that represents an improvement in the IPA diagram. The defined index, together with the new version of the diagram, will enable the assessment of a firm's overall performance and, therefore, enhance decision making in the allocation of resources. The proposed methodology has been applied to a Taiwanese multi-format retailer and managerial perceptions of performance and importance are compared to assess the firm's overall performance.Peer Reviewe