Outliers in Cross-Sectional Regression

The robustness of the results coming from an econometric application depends to a great extent on the quality of the sampling information. This statement is a general rule that becomes especially relevant in a spatial context where data usually have lots of irregularities. The purpose of our paper is to examine more closely this question paying attention to one point in particular, namely outliers. The presence of outliers in the sample may be useful, for example in order to break some multicollinearity relations but they may also result in other inconsistencies. The main aspect of our work is that we resolve the discussion in a spatial context, looking closely into the behaviour shown, under several unfavourable conditions, by the most outstanding misspecification tests. For this purpose, we plan and solve a Monte Carlo simulation. The conclusions point to the fact that these statistics react in a different way to the problems posed.

Strategic tax and public service competition among local governments

Tax and public service competition between local governments concerning localisation of new residents is analysed in a setting of economic spillovers which means that also a neighbouring region will benefit from localisation via demand of residents in a border region, (a so-called host region). We identify two basic Nash-equilibrium outcomes of the analysed tax-game. In one of these outcomes local tax rates will be different across the regions – a fact that appears important for (future) empirical studies of local tax competition. Due to the lack of adequate theoretical modelling, studies in this field have often demonstrated spatial dependence of local policy variables without identifying the source of interaction between decision-makers. Our theoretical findings prove to be robust to a range of important expansions of the basic simple framework.Local tax competition; household locational choice; spillover effects; Nash-equilibria

Spatial Point Pattern Analysis and Industry Concentration

Traditional measures of spatial industry concentration are restricted to given areal units. They do not make allowance for the fact that concentration may be differently pronounced at various geographical levels. Methods of spatial point pattern analysis allow to measure industry concentration at a continuum of spatial scales. While common distancebased methods are well applicable for sub-national study areas, they become inefficient in measuring concentration at various levels within industrial countries. This particularly applies in testing for conditional concentration where overall manufacturing is used as a reference population. Using Ripley’s K function approach to second-order analysis, we propose a subsample similarity test as a feasible testing approach for establishing conditional clustering or dispersion at different spatial scales. For measuring the extent of clustering and dispersion, we introduce a concentration index of the style of Besag’s (1977) L function. By contrast to Besag’s L function, the new index can be employed to measure deviations of observed from general spatial point patterns. The K function approach is illustratively applied to measuring and testing industry concentration in Germany.Spatial concentration, clustering, dispersion, spatial point pattern analysis, K function

Decomposition of sources of income-related health inequality applied on SF-36 summary scores: a Danish health survey

BACKGROUND: If the SF-36 summary scores are used as health status measures for the purpose of measuring health inequality it is relevant to be informed about the sources of the inequality in order to be able to target the specific aspects of health with the largest impact. METHODS: Data were from a Danish health survey on health status, health behaviour and socio-economic background. Decompositions of concentration indices were carried out to examine the sources of income-related inequality in physical and mental health, using the physical and mental health summary scores from SF-36. RESULTS: The analyses show how the different subscales from SF-36 and various explanatory variables contribute to overall inequality in physical and mental health. The decompositions contribute with information about the importance of the different aspects of health and off-setting effects that would otherwise be missed in the aggregate summary scores. However, the complicated scoring mechanism of the summary scores with negative coefficients makes it difficult to interpret the contributions and to draw policy implications. CONCLUSION: Decomposition techniques provide insights to how subscales contribute to income-related inequality when SF-36 summary scores are used

„OPŁACALNOŚĆ” PRZESTĘPCZOŚCI W POLSCE

The purpose o f the study is to investigate whether crime in Poland is governed by economic rationality. According to a simple economic model of rational behaviour, it is expected that the propensity to commit criminal activities should be negatively related to the risk of deterrence. Potential presence of higher risk profiles for certain population segments (urban groups, males, foreigners, unemployed, young people, uneducated, and low-income earners) are controlled for. Panel data aggregated to sub-regional levels and observed annually for the years 2003 to 2005 are applied. Controls for endogeneity among criminal activity level and risk of deterrence, intra-regional correlation, inter-temporal heterogeneity and spatial spillover are exerted. The expected negative effect of risk o f deterrence on criminal activity is found, whereby the hypothesised economic rationality is confirmed

Spatial dynamics of public pharmaceutical expenditure

A regression model for per capita public pharmaceutical expenditure is analyzed. The necessity of simultaneously controlling for dynamic patterns and spatial spillover in such analyses is demonstrated. In contrast to previous studies of impact of small-area variation, the present study exploits important aspects related to spatial dynamics as the effects of spatial spillover are analyzed and interpreted within a framework of spatial dynamics and spatial error-correction. It is shown that such dynamics bear important implications related to spatial convergence of a pharmaceutical market. The paper is accessible to an audience experienced with linear regression; basic exposure to spatial statistics is helpful but not strictly necessary

An Organizational Change Perspective

We present the concept of organizational misfit as a complement to multi-contingency theory fit concepts for organizational performance. Firms with misfits have opportunity losses that firms without misfits do not suffer. Using data from 232 small and medium sized Danish firms, we confirm the hypotheses that firms with either or both situational and contingency misfits have lower performance increases than firms without misfits. Further, a firm may not obtain increased performance from the elimination of misfits piecemeal, but will obtain significant nonlinear positive increases when misfits are fixed within a holistic or systems approach

Tension and Resistance to Change Organizational Climate: Managerial Implications for a Fast Paced World

Climate is the atmosphere of the organization, a “relatively enduring quality of the internal environment of an organization, which is experienced by its members and influences their behavior.” The organizational climate can be measured in terms of trust, morale, conflict, equity in rewards, leader credibility, resistance to change and scapegoating. Using a factor analysis, we found that the organizational climate can be described in two dimensions: “tension” and the resistance to change for a group of 245 Danish companies. High tension involves strained relationships, stress and a balance of the combined factors. High resistance to change is a preference for tomorrow to be like today. Change management has a long history and rests fundamentally upon Lewin’s three phases: unfreeze, change and re-freeze. More recently, change management is seen as sensemaking and the creation of an organizational reality in which change is more usual and continuous. Using the competing values framework, four organizational climates emerge: S internal process, which is high on tension and resistance to change, S rational goal, which is high on tension and low on resistance to change, S developmental, which is low on tension and low on resistance to change, and S group, which is low on tension and high on resistance to change. The managerial implications are complex For a fast paced world, the resistance to change must be low. Lewinian episodic change is difficult, slow and costly. Continuous change can be managed, where change becomes the norm of the organization. However, tension does not have to be low. Individuals may prefer a low tension organization, but it may not be necessary for a fast paced world. Further, since the two dimensions are independent, managers cannot reduce tension as a means to reduce the resistance to change