University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Economics

About: University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Economics is a based out in . It is known for research contribution in the topics: Productivity & Tourism. The organization has 251 authors who have published 533 publications receiving 16109 citations.

Political Cost (Dis)Incentives for Earnings Management in Private Firms

Abstract: We examine the extent to which economic incentives subject to political cost impact on accounting choice. We employ a setting with no agency factors to disguise economic incentives for earnings management. We find that profit firms manage earnings downward to reduce, but not entirely eliminate, current period corporate tax. Elimination of tax is constrained by political cost resulting from the increased possibility of a tax audit. That same political cost also provides an incentive to firms that are genuinely in a position where they would pay no tax in the current period to adopt earnings (and tax)-increasing accounting policies. Consistent with existing literature we find that some earnings management occurs at the operating profit level but, as expected, "real" economic transactions are not managed, as this would reduce the value of the firm and directly owner/manager wealth. Results are robust to variations in ownership structure, financial debt, collateral, varying deflators, etc.

Impact of Firm Heterogeneity on Direct and Spillover Effects of FDI: Micro Evidence from Ten Transition Countries

Abstract: This paper presents a comparative study of the importance of direct technology transfer and spillovers through FDI on a set of ten transition countries, using a common methodology and appropriate methods to account for selection and simultaneity correction. This paper considers by far the largest firm level dataset (more than 90,000 firms) used by any study on the spillover effects of FDI. The main novelty of the paper is the explicit control for various sources of firm heterogeneity when accounting for different effects of FDI on firm performance. Controlling for these variables leads to some interesting results which contrast with the previous empirical work in the field. We find that horizontal spillovers have become increasingly important over the last decade, and they may even become more important than vertical spillovers. Furthermore, this work shows that the heterogeneity of firms in terms of absorptive capacity, size, productivity and technology levels affect the results. These findings suggest that both direct effects from foreign ownership as well as the spillovers from foreign firms substantially depend on the absorptive capacity and productivity level of individual firms. Only more productive firms and firms with higher absorptive capacities are able to both compete with foreign affiliates in the same sector and benefit from the increased upstream demand for intermediates generated by foreign affiliates. In addition, these results show that foreign presence may also affect smaller firms to a larger extent than larger firms, but this impact may be in either direction.

Exploratory Study of Organizational Learning Network Within a Spanish High-Tech Company

Abstract: The paper presents an exploratory study of the intra-organizational learning network in the context of a Spanish high-tech company. It expands the generalization of the network perspective to intra-organizational learning. Based on an exploratory social network analysis, we formulated four propositions that will be developed and contrasted in a later confirmatory study. First, the exploratory analysis demonstrates the importance of industry experience and tenure within the company as a common denominator of most central employees within learning networks. Second, similarity in terms of experiential level breeds mutual learning. Third, complementarity of knowledge is important for the formation of learning ties. Fourth, physical proximity creates opportunities to learn. Future research will need to test these four propositions in a confirmatory study.

Was Piketty right? Empirics of CCC model: Corporate Power, Consumption, Debt and Inequality

Abstract: This paper provides an empirical investigation into the empirics of cumulative and circular causation (CCC) model. Relying on their corporate power, corporations have stimulated the rising consumerism, which has increased both private consumption and debt. On the other hand, increasing debt has enhanced the process of rising inequality due to the lack of funding to invest in education or create savings. Rising inequality has further increased the bargaining power of capital and closed the CCC model. This paper tests the proposed theoretical model on a sample of OECD countries in the period between 1990 and 2013. We show that the growing corporate power causes increased consumption, growing household and public debt, as well as higher inequality. The paper makes several original contributions to the existing literature. First, it is the first empirical investigation of the CCC relationship. Second, it extends the knowledge about the trends of rising corporate power and consumerism at macro level. Key words: Corporate power, Consumption, Debt, Non-recursive, Cumulative circular causation, Inequality.JEL: B52, E02, P10.Da li je Piketi bio u pravu? Empirija CCC modela: korporativna moc, potrosnja, dug i nejednakost U radu je pruženo prakticno ispitivanje empirije modela kumulativne i kružne uzrocnosti (CCC). Oslanjajuci se na svoju korporativnu moc, kompanije su podstakle rast konzumerizma, sto je povecalo i privatnu potrosnju i dug. S druge strane, sve veci dug je ubrzao proces rasta nejednakosti zbog nedostatka finansijskih sredstava za ulaganje u obrazovanje ili kreiranje stednje. Rastuca nejednakost dodatno je povecala pregovaracku moc kapitala i zatvorila CCC model. U radu je testiran navedeni teorijski model na uzorku zemalja clanica OECD-a u periodu između 1990. i 2013. Pokazujemo da rastuca korporativna moc uzrokuje i vecu potrosnju, rast privatnog i javnog duga, kao i nejednakosti. Rad pruža nekoliko originalnih doprinosa postojecoj literaturi. Najpre, predstavlja prvo empirijsko istraživanje CCC odnosa. Zatim, prosiruje znanje o trendovima rasta korporativne moci i konzumerizma na makro nivou. Kljucne reci: Korporativna moc, potrosnja, dug, nerekurzivno, kumulativna kružna uzrocnost, nejednakost.

Inward Foreign Direct Investment and Industrial Restructuring: Micro Evidence - The Slovenian Firms’ Growth Model

Abstract: We examine the impact of inward foreign direct investment (FDI) on the growth of local firms in terms of employment and total factor productivity (TFP) for the Slovenian manufacturing sector in the 1994-2003 period. The theoretically predicted channels through which inward FDI affects the firm dynamics in a host country prove to be in general significant. First, there is evidence of the direct impact of foreign firms through so-called direct technology transfer as foreign-owned firms have higher growth of TFP compared to domestically-owned firms after controlling for other determinants. Secondly, the entry of foreign firms stimulates the re-shuffling of the resources from less to more efficient local firms. The firm selection process is, namely, characterised by the least efficient firms experiencing a drop in their employment growth upon a foreign firm’s entry. Thirdly, regarding the productivity spillover effects from foreign to local firms we provide indirect evidence that they mostly operate through vertical linkages rather than within the same industry. In general, it seems that not all firms are equally able to benefit from foreign firms’ presence and that absorptive capacity plays an important role.