Entrepreneurship in transition economies:the role of institutions and generational change

The transition economies have lower rates of entrepreneurship than are observed in most developed and developing market economies. The difference is even more marked in the countries of the former Soviet Union than those of Central and Eastern Europe. We link these differences partly with the legacy of communist planning, which needs to be replaced with formal market-supporting institutions. But many of these developments have now taken place, yet entrepreneurial activity still remains low in many places. To analyse this longer term issue, we highlight the necessarily slow pace of development of new informal institutions and the corresponding social attitudes, notably rebuilding the generalised trust. We argue that changes are even slower in the former Soviet Union than Central and Eastern Europe because communist rule was much longer, leading to a lack of institutional memory. We posit that changes in informal institutions may be therefore delayed until after full generational change.

Institutions, finance and the level of development:the impact on entrepreneurship in transition

We investigate the impact of institutions on entrepreneurial entry, based on a large cross-country sample, combining working age population data generated by the GEM project with macro level indicators. Our four key findings indicate that: (a) institutional obstacles to entrepreneurship have different impact in rich countries compared to poor countries; (b) institutional obstacles have a stronger impact on 'opportunity entrepreneurship' than on 'necessity entrepreneurship'; (c) two institutional indicators - property right protection and access to finance - appear to have a dominant impact on entrepreneurship; (d) institutions have a long term impact. More than ten years after the Soviet system imploded in Central and Eastern Europe, these countries still experience significantly lower levels of entrepreneurship than economies coming from different legal traditions.

Costs and efficiency of higher education institutions in England:a DEA analysis

As student numbers in higher education in the UK have expanded during recent years, it has become increasingly important to understand its cost structure. This study applies Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to higher education institutions in England to assess their cost structure, efficiency and productivity. The paper complements an earlier study that used parametric methods to analyse the same panel data. Interestingly, DEA provides estimates of subject-specific unit costs that are in the same ballpark as those provided by the parametric methods. The paper then extends the previous analysis and finds that further student number increases of the order of 20–27% are feasible through exploiting operating and scale efficiency gains and also adjusting student mix. Finally the paper uses a Malmquist index approach to assess productivity change in the UK higher education. The results reveal that for a majority of institutions productivity has actually decreased during the study period.

The new institutionalism in the context of Kosovo's transition:regulatory institutions in contested states

This article explores the new institutionalist literature in political economy in the context of Kosovo's contested statehood, focusing on institutional arbitrage and legitimacy. This article considers both the consequences of institutions for actors' behaviour and the norms that shape this, as well as the factors determining the legitimacy of institutions. In doing so, it combines the new institutionalist theory with documentary and interview material collected during research on energy regulation in one contested state, Kosovo. Rather than singling out one particular variety of "new institutionalism", the article attempts to blend insights from historical (or "political"), rational choice, and sociological institutionalism. © 2014 © 2014 Taylor & Francis.

Institutions and firm ownership structure:evidence from Central and Eastern Europe

FDI plays a key role in development, particularly in resource-constrained transition economies of Central and Eastern Europe with relatively low savings rates. Gains from technology transfer play a critical role in motivating FDI, yet potential for it may be hampered by a large technology gap between the source and host country. While the extent of this gap has traditionally been attributed to education, skills and capital intensity, recent literature has also emphasized the possible role of institutional environment in this respect. Despite tremendous interest among policy-makers and academics to understand the factors attracting FDI (Bevan and Estrin, 2000; Globerman and Shapiro, 2003) our knowledge about the effects of institutions on the location choice and ownership structure of foreign firms remains limited. This paper attempts to fill this gap in the literature by examining the link between institutions and foreign ownership structures. To the best of our knowledge, Javorcik (2004) is the only papers, which use firm-level data to analyse the role of institutional quality on an outward investor’s entry mode in transition countries. Our paper extends Javorcik (2004) in a number of ways: (a) rather than a cross-section, we use panel data for the period 1997-2006; (b) rather than a binary variable, we use the percentage foreign ownership as continuous variable; (c) we consider multi-dimensional institutional variables, such as corruption, intellectual property rights protection and government stability. We also use factor analysis to generate a composite index of institutional quality and see how stronger institutional environment could affect foreign ownership; (d) we explore how the distance between institutional environment in source and host countries affect foreign ownership in a host country. The firm-level data used includes both domestic and foreign firms for the period 1997-2006 and is drawn from ORBIS, a commercially available dataset provided by Bureau van Dijk. In order to examine the link between institutions and foreign ownership structures, we estimate four log-linear ownership equations/specifications augmented by institutional and other control variables. We find evidence that the decision of a foreign firm to either locate its subsidiary or acquire an existing domestic firm depends not only on factor cost differences but also on differences in institutional environment between the host and source countries.

Grammar in the curriculum for English: what next?

It is clear from several government reports and research papers published recently, that the curriculum for English in primary and secondary schools is about to change, yet again. After years of a bureaucratic stranglehold that has left even Ofsted report writers criticising the teaching of English, it seems as if the conditions are right for further revisions. One of the questions that inevitably arises when a curriculum for English is reviewed, relates to the place and purpose of the teaching of grammar. This paper outlines a possible curriculum for grammar across both primary and secondary phases, arguing that for the teaching of grammar to have any salience or purpose at all, it has to be integrated into the curriculum as a whole, and not just that of writing. A recontextualised curriculum for grammar of the kind proposed here, would teach pupils to become critically literate in ways which recognise diversity as well as unity, and with the aim of providing them with the means to critically analyse and appraise the culture in which they live.

The use of deterministic parsers on sublanguage for machine translation

For more than forty years, research has been on going in the use of the computer in the processing of natural language. During this period methods have evolved, with various parsing techniques and grammars coming to prominence. Problems still exist, not least in the field of Machine Translation. However, one of the successes in this field is the translation of sublanguage. The present work reports Deterministic Parsing, a relatively new parsing technique, and its application to the sublanguage of an aircraft maintenance manual for Machine Translation. The aim has been to investigate the practicability of using Deterministic Parsers in the analysis stage of a Machine Translation system. Machine Translation, Sublanguage and parsing are described in general terms with a review of Deterministic parsing systems, pertinent to this research, being presented in detail. The interaction between machine Translation, Sublanguage and Parsing, including Deterministic parsing, is also highlighted. Two types of Deterministic Parser have been investigated, a Marcus-type parser, based on the basic design of the original Deterministic parser (Marcus, 1980) and an LR-type Deterministic Parser for natural language, based on the LR parsing algorithm. In total, four Deterministic Parsers have been built and are described in the thesis. Two of the Deterministic Parsers are prototypes from which the remaining two parsers to be used on sublanguage have been developed. This thesis reports the results of parsing by the prototypes, a Marcus-type parser and an LR-type parser which have a similar grammatical and linguistic range to the original Marcus parser. The Marcus-type parser uses a grammar of production rules, whereas the LR-type parser employs a Definite Clause Grammar(DGC).

The use of expert manpower in health and safety in France

The thesis examines the system of occupational health and safety in France. It analyses the use of expert manpower in the field with a view to establishing the possibility of a profession in health and safety. An input-output model is developed to bring together the necessary elements of prevention of accidents and occupational diseases. The role of institutions concerned with health and safety is analysed with reference to this model. The research establishes the need for a health and safety specialist role. The recognition and status of this role are found to be subject to other criteria including the acceptance by institutions of such a specialist role. The model is also used to define the role of this specialist as expected by the various institutions intervening in the field.

An examination of organisational issues in third sector organisations which undertake nonviolent direct action

This thesis is an examination of organisational issues faced by Third Sector organisations which undertake nonviolent direct action. A case study methodology is employed and data gathered from four organisations: Earth First!; genetiX Snowball; Greenpeace; and Trident Ploughshares. The argument commences with a review of the literature which shows that little is known of the organising of nonviolent direct action. Operational definitions of 'organisation' and 'nonviolent direct action' are drawn from the literature. 'Organisation' is conceptualised using new institutionalism. 'Nonviolent direct action' is conceptualised using new social movement theory. These concepts inform the case study methodology in the choice of case, the organisations selected and the data gathering tools. Most data were gathered by semi-structured interview and participant observation. The research findings result from theory-building arising from thick descriptions of the case in the four organisations. The findings suggest that nonviolent direct action is qualitatively different from terrorism or violence. Although there is much diversity in philosophies of nonviolence, the practice of nonviolent direct action has much in common across the four organisations. The argument is that nonviolent direct action is an institution. The findings also suggest that new institutionalism is a fruitful approach to studies of these organisations. Along with nonviolent direct action, three other institutions are identified: 'rules'; consensus decision-making; and 'affinity groups'. An unanticipated finding is how the four organisations are instances of innovation. Tentative theory is developed which brings together the seemingly incompatible concepts of institutions and innovation. The theory suggests preconditions and then stages in the development of new organisational forms in new social movements: innovation. The three pre-conditions are: the existence of an institutional field; an 'institution-broker' with access to different domains; and a shared 'problem' to resolve. The three stages are: unlocking existing knowledge and practice; bridging different domains of practice or different fields to add, develop or translocate those practices; and establishing those practices within their new combinations or novel locations. Participants are able to move into and between these new organisational forms because they consist of familiar and habitual institutional behaviour.

Volunteering for success:mentoring as a form of student volunteering

Previous studies into student volunteering have shown how formally organized volunteering activities have social, economic and practical benefits for student volunteers and the recipients of their volunteerism (Egerton, 2002; Vernon & Foster, 2002); moreover student volunteering provides the means by which undergraduates are able to acquire and hone transferable skills sought by employers following graduation (Eldridge & Wilson, 2003; Norris et al, 2006). Within the UK Higher Education Sector, a popular mechanism for accessing volunteering is through formally organized student mentoring programmes whereby more ‘senior’ students volunteer to mentor less experienced undergraduates through a particular phase of their academic careers, including the transition from school or college to university. The value of student mentoring as a pedagogical tool within Higher Education is reflected in the literature (see for example, Bargh & Schul, 1980, Hartman,1990, Woodd, 1997). However, from a volunteering perspective, one of the key issues relates to the generally accepted conceptualisation of volunteering as a formally organized activity, that is un-coerced and for which there is no payment (Davis Smith, 1992, 1998; Sheard, 1995). Although the majority of student mentoring programs discussed in the paper are unpaid and voluntary in nature, in a small number of institutions some of the mentoring programs offered to students provide a minimum wage for mentors. From an ethical perspective, such payments may cause difficulties when considering potential mentors’ motivations and reasons for participating in the program. Additionally, institutions usually only have one or two paid mentoring programs running alongside several voluntary programmes – sometimes resulting in an over-subscription for places as paid mentors to the detriment of unpaid programs. Furthermore, from an institutional perspective, student mentoring presents a set of particular ethical problems reflecting issues around ‘matching’ mentors and mentees in terms of gender, race, ethnicity and religion. This is found to be the case in some ‘targeted’ mentoring programs whereby a particular demographic group of students are offered access to mentoring in an attempt to improve their chances of academic success. This paper provides a comparative analysis of the experiences and perceptions of mentors and mentees participating in a wide-range of different mentoring programs. It also analyzes the institutional challenges and benefits associated with managing large scale student volunteering programs. In doing so the paper adds to third sector literature by critiquing the distinctive issues surrounding student volunteering and by discussing, in-depth, the management of large groups of student volunteers. From a public policy perspective, the economic, educational, vocational and social outcomes of student volunteering make this an important subject meriting investigation. Little is known about the mentoring experiences of student volunteers with regards to the ‘added value’ of participating in campus-based volunteering activities. Furthermore, in light of the current economic downturn, by drawing attention to the contribution that student volunteering plays in equipping undergraduates with transferable ‘employability’ related skills and competencies (Andrews & Higson, 2008), this paper makes an important contribution to current educational and political debates. In addition to providing the opportunity for students to acquire key transferable skills, the findings suggest that mentoring encourages students to volunteer in other areas of university and community life. The paper concludes by arguing that student mentoring provides a valuable learning experience for student volunteer mentors and for the student and pupil mentees with whom they are placed.

Does ownership structure of emerging-market firms affect their outward FDI? The case of the Indian automotive and pharmaceutical sectors

This paper examines the impact of ownership structures of emerging-market firms, which are shaped by local institutions, on the decision of these firms to undertake outward FDI. Our results suggest that family firms and firms with concentrated ownerships (both ubiquitous in emerging markets) are less likely to invest overseas, and that strategic equity holding by foreign investors facilitates outward FDI. We conclude that organisational forms such as family firms, which are optimal outcomes of institutions prevailing in emerging markets, may be suboptimal in a changing business environment in which outward FDI is necessary for access to resources and markets.

Institutions and female entrepreneurship

This paper compares the impact of institutions on men and women’s decisions to establish new business start-ups between 2001 and 2006. We use data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor survey (GEM) which cover at least 2,000 individuals per year in each of up to 55 countries and have merged it with country-level data, from the World Bank, Economist Intelligence Unit, Polity IV and the Heritage Foundation. We find that women are less likely to undertake entrepreneurial activity in countries where the state sector is larger, but the rule of law is not generally found to have gender-specific effects. However, more detailed institutional components of discrimination against women, in particular, restrictions on freedom of movement away from home, make it less likely for women to have high entrepreneurial aspirations in terms of employment growth, even if their entry into entrepreneurial activities, including self-employment, is not affected by this.