Probability of survival in a random exchange economy with dependent agents

In this paper I analyze the general equilibrium in a random Walrasian economy. Dependence among agents is introduced in the form of dependency neighborhoods. Under the uncertainty, an agent may fail to survive due to a meager endowment in a particular state (direct effect), as well as due to unfavorable equilibrium price system at which the value of the endowment falls short of the minimum needed for survival (indirect terms-of-trade effect). To illustrate the main result I compute the stochastic limit of equilibrium price and probability of survival of an agent in a large Cobb-Douglas economy.

The political economy of state-building in Kosovo

The chapter examines the impact of international statbuilding efforts on political and economic dynamics in Kosovo from 1999 to 2011

The impact of information and communications technology on commercial real estate in the new economy

Purpose – This paper seeks to critically review the conceptual frameworks that have been developed for assessing the impact of information and communications technology (ICT) on real estate. Design/methodology/approach – The research is based on a critical review of existing literature and draws from examples of previous empirical research in the field. Findings – The paper suggests that a “socio-technical framework” is more appropriate to examine ICT impact in real estate than other “deterministic” frameworks. Therefore, ICT is an important part of the new economy, but must be seen in the context of a number of other social and economic factors. Research limitations/implications – The research is based on a qualitative assessment of existing frameworks, and by using examples from commercial real estate, assesses the extent to which a “socio-technical” framework can aid understanding of ICT impact. Practical implications – The paper is important in highlighting a number of the main issues in conceptualising ICT impact in real estate and also critically examines the emergence of a new economy in the information society within the general context of real estate. The paper also highlights research gaps in the field. Originality/value – The paper deconstructs the myths of the “death of real estate” and “productivity increase means jobs loss”, in relation to office real estate. Finally, it examines some of the ways in which ICT is impacting on real estate and suggests the most important components for a future research agenda in the field of ICT and real estate impact, and will be of value to property investors, facilities managers, developers, financiers, and others.

The new Brazilian cinema

In the second half of the 1990s, Brazil experienced a cinematic boom. Many of the new films were received enthusiastically by audiences and critics and released worldwide. This passionately argued and illuminating book provides the first comprehensive critical account of what is known as the 'Renaissance of Brazilian cinema' and demonstrates just how thought-provoking and inspiring Brazilian cinema has become. Contributors: José Carlos Avellar - Ivana Bentes - Stephanie Dennison - Verônica Ferreira Dias - Carlos Diegues - Amir Labaki - Maria Esther Maciel - José Álvaro Moisés - Laura Mulvey - Lúcia Nagib - Luiz Zanin Oricchio - Fernão Pessoa Ramos - Lisa Shaw - Robert Stam - João Luiz Vieira - Ismail Xavier.

Going global: the Brazilian scripted film

This article departs from the assumption that a certain section of world cinema, usually defined as ‘independent’, has been evolving on the basis of good scripts. Between the late 1980s and early 90s, there has been a boom of new cinemas in the world, such as the new Iranian, Taiwanese, Japanese, Mexican, Argentine and Brazilian cinemas. A significant part of this production shows a renewed interest in local and national peculiarities of their respective countries, going against the grain of globalisation and its typical cultural dilution. Most of these films are also engaged in reassessing narrative cinema, as a kind of reaction against the deconstructive work carried out by postmodern cinema of the 1980s.Recent new cinemas are supported by a combination of local and international resources, derived from public and private sponsors at home, and funding agencies, festivals and TV channels abroad. In most cases funds are granted after the film script has been analysed and approved by commissions of experts. The New Brazilian Cinema, or cinema da retomada as it is locally called, has been enormously affected by this scheme, which has even caused a ‘script boom’ in Brazil in the past decade. The chapter examins the results of this process.

Heritage speaker competence differences, language change and input type: inflected infinitives in Heritage Brazilian Portuguese

It has been argued that colloquial dialects of Brazilian Portuguese (BP) have undergone significant linguistic change resulting in the loss of inflected infinitives (e.g., Pires, 2002, 2006). Since BP adults, at least educated ones, have complete knowledge of inflected infinitives, the implicit claim is that they are transmitted via formal education in the standard dialect. In the present article, I test one of the latent predictions of such claims; namely, the fact that heritage speakers of BP who lack formal education in the standard dialect should never develop native-like knowledge of inflected infinitives. In doing so, I highlight two significant implications (a) that heritage speaker grammars are a good source for testing dialectal variation and language change proposals and (b) incomplete acquisition and/or attrition are not the only sources of heritage language competence differences. Employing the syntactic and semantic tests of Rothman and Iverson (2007), I compare heritage speakers' knowledge to Rothman and Iverson's advanced adult L2 learners and educated native controls. Unlike the latter groups, the data for heritage speakers indicate that they do not have target knowledge of inflected infinitives, lending support to Pires' claims, suggesting that literacy plays a significant role in the acquisition of this grammatical property in BP.

Imitation, entrepreneurship and the informal/formal economy nexus: an African perspective

This paper explores a segmentation of micro and small enterprises (MSEs) in developing countries within the formal/informal economy nexus that has wide-ranging implications for the targeting of base-of-the-pyramid initiatives and entrepreneurship theory. This proposed segmentation emerges from the analysis of a sample of Kenyan MSEs utilising current and prior business models; the antecedent influences shaping the business model; barriers to entry associated with knowledge, capital and skills; the degree of innovation or imitation evident in the business model linked to the nature of opportunity recognition; and their relationship with the formal institutional business environment.

Building dynamic capabilities of adaptation and innovation: a study of micro-foundations in a transition economy

What are the microfoundations of dynamic capabilities that sustain competitive advantage in a highly volatile environment, such as a transition economy? We explore the detailed nature of these dynamic capabilities along with their antecedents by tracing the sequence of their development based on a longitudinal case study of an organization subject to an external context of radical transition — the Russian oil company, Yukos. Our rich qualitative data indicate two distinct types of dynamic capabilities that are pivotal for organizational transformation. Adaptation dynamic capabilities relate to routines of resource exploitation and deployment, which are supported by acquisition, internalization and dissemination of extant knowledge, as well as resource reconfiguration, divestment and integration. Innovation dynamic capabilities relate to the creation of completely new capabilities via exploration and path-creation processes, which are supported by search, experimentation and risk taking, as well as project selection, funding and implementation. Second, we find that sequencing the two types of dynamic capabilities, helped the organization both to secure short-term competitive advantage, and to create the basis for long-term competitive advantage. These dynamic capability constructs advance theoretical understanding of what dynamic capabilities are, whilst their sequencing explains how firms create, leverage and enhance them over time.

Clusters, connectivity and catch-up: Bollywood and Bangalore in the Global Economy

In this article, we make two important contributions to the literature on clusters. First, we provide a broader theory of cluster connectivity that has hitherto focused on organization-based pipelines and MNE subsidiaries, by including linkages in the form of personal relationships. Second, we use the lens of social network theory to derive a number of testable propositions. We propose that global linkages with decentralized network structures have the highest potential for local spillovers. In the emerging economy context, our theory implies that clusters linked to the global economy by decentralized pipelines have potential for in-depth catch-up, focused in industry and technology scope. In contrast, clusters linked through decentralized personal relationships have potential for in-breadth catch-up over a range of related industries and technologies. We illustrate our theoretical propositions by contrasting two emerging economy case studies: Bollywood, the Indian filmed entertainment cluster in Mumbai and the Indian software cluster in Bangalore.