Showing papers on "Human capital published in 2015"

Signaling in Equity Crowdfunding

Abstract: This paper presents a first–ever empirical examination of the effectiveness of signals that entrepreneurs use to induce (small) investors to commit financial resources in an equity crowdfunding context. We examine the impact of venture quality (human capital, social [alliance] capital, and intellectual capital) and uncertainty on fundraising success. Our data highlight that retaining equity and providing more detailed information about risks can be interpreted as effective signals and can therefore strongly impact the probability of funding success. Social capital and intellectual capital, by contrast, have little or no impact on funding success. We discuss the implications of our results for theory, future research, and practice.

Causes and Consequences of Income Inequality : A Global Perspective

Abstract: This paper analyzes the extent of income inequality from a global perspective, its drivers, and what to do about it. The drivers of inequality vary widely amongst countries, with some common drivers being the skill premium associated with technical change and globalization, weakening protection for labor, and lack of financial inclusion in developing countries. We find that increasing the income share of the poor and the middle class actually increases growth while a rising income share of the top 20 percent results in lower growth—that is, when the rich get richer, benefits do not trickle down. This suggests that policies need to be country specific but should focus on raising the income share of the poor, and ensuring there is no hollowing out of the middle class. To tackle inequality, financial inclusion is imperative in emerging and developing countries while in advanced economies, policies should focus on raising human capital and skills and making tax systems more progressive.

The missing link: knowledge diffusion and entrepreneurship in endogenous growth

Abstract: The intellectual breakthrough contributed by the new growth theory was the recognition that investments in knowledge and human capital endogenously generate economic growth through the spillover of knowledge. However, endogenous growth theory does not explain how or why spillovers occur. This paper presents a model that shows how growth depends on knowledge accumulation and its diffusion through both incumbents and entrepreneurial activities. We claim that entrepreneurs are one missing link in converting knowledge into economically relevant knowledge. Implementing different regression techniques for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries during 1981 to 2002 provides surprisingly robust evidence that primarily entrepreneurs contributed to growth and that the importance of entrepreneurs increased in the 1990s. A Granger test confirms that causality goes in the direction from entrepreneurs to growth. The results indicate that policies facilitating entrepreneurship are an important tool to enhance knowledge diffusion and promote economic growth.

Public r&d policies and private r&d investment: a survey of the empirical evidence

Abstract: The importance of R&D investment in explaining economic growth is well documented in the literature. Policies by modern governments increasingly recognise the benefits of supporting R&D investment. Government funding has, however, become an increasingly scarce resource in times of financial crisis and economic austerity. Hence, it is important that available funds are used and targeted effectively. This paper offers the first systematic review and critical discussion of what the R&D literature has to say currently about the effectiveness of major public R&D policies in increasing private R&D investment. Public policies are considered within three categories, R&D tax credits and direct subsidies, support of the university research system and the formation of high-skilled human capital, and support of formal R&D cooperations across a variety of institutions. Crucially, the large body of more recent literature observes a shift away from the earlier findings that public subsidies often crowd-out private R&D to finding that subsidies typically stimulate private R&D. Tax credits are also much more unanimously than previously found to have positive effects. University research, high-skilled human capital, and R&D cooperation also typically increase private R&D. Recent work indicates that accounting for non-linearities is one area of research that may refine existing results.

Discrimination in the Credential Society: An Audit Study of Race and College Selectivity in the Labor Market

Abstract: Racial inequality in economic outcomes, particularly among the college educated, persists throughout US society. Scholars debate whether this inequality stems from racial differences in human capital (e.g., college selectivity, GPA, college major) or employer discrimination against black job candidates. However, limited measures of human capital and the inherent difficulties in measuring discrimination using observational data make determining the cause of racial differences in labor-market outcomes a difficult endeavor. In this research, I examine employment opportunities for white and black graduates of elite top-ranked universities versus high-ranked but less selective institutions. Using an audit design, I create matched candidate pairs and apply for 1,008 jobs on a national job-search website. I also exploit existing birth-record data in selecting names to control for differences across social class within racialized names. The results show that although a credential from an elite university results in more employer responses for all candidates, black candidates from elite universities only do as well as white candidates from less selective universities. Moreover, race results in a double penalty: When employers respond to black candidates, it is for jobs with lower starting salaries and lower prestige than those of white peers. These racial differences suggest that a bachelor’s degree, even one from an elite institution, cannot fully counteract the importance of race in the labor market. Thus, both discrimination and differences in human capital contribute to racial economic inequality.

The Knowledge Capital of Nations: Education and the Economics of Growth

Abstract: A rigorous, pathbreaking analysis demonstrating that a country's prosperity is directly related in the long run to the skills of its population. In this book Eric Hanushek and Ludger Woessmann make a simple, central claim, developed with rigorous theoretical and empirical support: knowledge is the key to a country's development. Of course, every country acknowledges the importance of developing human capital, but Hanushek and Woessmann argue that message has become distorted, with politicians and researchers concentrating not on valued skills but on proxies for them. The common focus is on school attainment, although time in school provides a very misleading picture of how skills enter into development. Hanushek and Woessmann contend that the cognitive skills of the population-which they term the "knowledge capital" of a nation-are essential to long-run prosperity. Hanushek and Woessmann subject their hypotheses about the relationship between cognitive skills (as consistently measured by international student assessments) and economic growth to a series of tests, including alternate specifications, different subsets of countries, and econometric analysis of causal interpretations. They find that their main results are remarkably robust, and equally applicable to developing and developed countries. They demonstrate, for example, that the "Latin American growth puzzle" and the "East Asian miracle" can be explained by these regions' knowledge capital. Turning to the policy implications of their argument, they call for an education system that develops effective accountability, promotes choice and competition, and provides direct rewards for good performance.

The impact of human capital on economic growth

Abstract: The EU's 2020 Strategy is focused on three area of growth: smart, sustainable and inclusive that couldn’t be achieved without major contribution of skills, knowledge or value of people, common knew as human capital. It is difficult to believe that these goals could be realized without a good education and training system, a large diffusion of knowledge in manufacturing services, a creative industries and a great effort to create a research-intensive economy. Using a panel methodology, the paper tried to reveal the role of human capital as a factor of the growth and to argue that the slow investment in human capital should influence the sustainable development of the countries.

Human and Financial Capital for Microenterprise Development: Evidence from a Field and Lab Experiment

Abstract: Microenterprises constitute an important source of employment, and developing such enterprises is a key policy concern in most countries. But what is the most efficient tool for microenterprise development? We study this question in a developing country context Tanzania, where microenterprises are the source of employment for more than half of the labor force, and we report from a field experiment that jointly investigated the importance of a human capital intervention business training and a financial capital intervention business grant. Using data from three survey rounds, a lab experiment, and administrative records of the microfinance institution, we present evidence on business performance, management practices, happiness, business knowledge, and noncognitive abilities. Our study demonstrates strong effects of the combination of the two interventions on male entrepreneurs, while the effects on female entrepreneurs are much more muted. The results suggest that long-term finance is an important constraint for microfinance entrepreneurs, but that business training is essential to transform financial capital into productive investments. Our study also points to the need for more comprehensive measures to promote the businesses of female entrepreneurs. Data, as supplemental material, are available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2014.1933 . This paper was accepted by John List, behavioral economics.

Knowledge Management as an important tool in Organisational Management: A Review of Literature

Abstract: Introduction If information is the currency of the knowledge economy, human expertise is the bank where it is kept, invested and exchanged--the researcher. "A firm's competitive advantage depends more than anything on its knowledge: on what it knows--how it uses what it knows--and how fast it can know something new."--HR Magazine 2009, p.1. It is no longer a controversy that we live in a globalised world characterised by fast information transfer across large geographic areas by means of the Internet. The consequence of this globalization is the emergence of knowledge-based economies where importance is placed on effective management of human capital to ensure that workers continue to create the right value for the economy. Nowadays, organisations no longer compete solely on the basis of financial capital and strength, rather knowledge is the new competitive advantage in business. In fact the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate is now determined, amongst other factors, by the quantum and quality of knowledge stock harnessed and applied in the production process in sectors of the economy. This knowledge based economies require that Knowledge Management (KM) good practices be put in place to improve organisation effectiveness. There is a popular saying that knowledge is power. Based on this assertion, it can be said that the management of knowledge is the key to power. KM as a discipline has been a focal point of discussion over the past decades. In recent years, the importance of KM has been widely recognized as the foundations of industrialized economies shifted from natural resources to intellectual assets. Since 1995 there has been an explosion in the literature surrounding the developing concept of KM. Today, there is hardly a conference or published journal without seeing literature referring to the concept, KM. The importance of KM as a critical tool in organisation and the society can therefore not be overemphasised. As Desouza (2011) put it, KM has become a trendy buzzword. Much of the interest in KM came from the realization that organisations compete on their knowledge-based assets. Even noncompetitive organisations (e.g. governmental institutions and nonprofits organisations) succeed or fail based on their ability to leverage their knowledge-based assets. It is stated by Teng and Song (2011) that the importance of KM is no longer restricted to knowledge intensive firms in the high-tech industries but to all sectors of the economy. Zack (2003) further says that even companies in the traditional industries, such as cement, can benefit greatly from KM. In essence KM is beneficial to all sectors, be it educational, banking, telecommunications, production/manufacturing, and even the public sectors. The management of knowledge has generated considerable interest in business and management circles due to its capability to deliver to organisations, strategic results relating to profitability, competitiveness and capacity enhancement (Chua, 2009; Jeon, Kim and Koh 2011). The management of knowledge is promoted as an important and necessary factor for organisational survival and maintenance of competitive strength. KM is identified as a framework for designing an organisation's strategy, structures, and processes so that the organisation can use what it knows to learn and to create economic and social value for its customers and community. Organisations need a good capacity to retain, develop, organise, and utilise their employees' capabilities in order to remain at the forefront and have an edge over competitors. Knowledge and the management of knowledge is regarded as an important features for organisational survival; while the key to understanding the successes and failures of KM within organisations is the identification of resources that allow organisations to recognize, create, transform and distribute knowledge. Organisations that effectively manage and transfer their knowledge are more innovative and perform better (Riege, 2007). …

Intellectual capital in small and medium enterprises in Pakistan

Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the links between intellectual capital sub-components and organizational performance in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) operating in the electrical and electronics manufacturing sector in Pakistan. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected through structured questionnaires from a sample of 247 respondents from Pakistani SMEs in Gujranwala and Gujarat. Several tests were used to examine the reliability and validity of the research instrument. Finally, multiple regression analysis was used to test the proposed research hypotheses. Findings – The findings of this study demonstrate that the overall regression model of intellectual capital shows goodness of fit while one component of intellectual capital – namely human capital – appeared insignificant. Subsequently, six out of seven research hypotheses was accepted. Practical implications – This study will provide a valuable framework for entrepreneurs, executives, managers and policy makers in man...

Human Capital and Industrialization: Evidence from the Age of Enlightenment

Abstract: While human capital is a strong predictor of economic development today, its importance for the Industrial Revolution is typically assessed as minor. To resolve this puzzling contrast, we differentiate average human capital (worker skills) from upper tail knowledge both theoretically and empirically. We build a simple two-sector model, where worker skills raise the productivity in both agriculture and manufacturing, and scientific knowledge affects the entrepreneurial ability to keep up with a rapidly advancing technological frontier. The model predicts that the local presence of knowledge elites is unimportant in the pre-industrial era, but drives growth thereafter; worker skills, in contrast, are not crucial for growth. To measure the historical presence of knowledge elites, we use city-level subscriptions to the famous Encyclopedie in mid-18th century France. We show that subscriber density is a strong predictor of city growth after 1750, but not before the onset of French industrialization. Alternative measures of development confirm this pattern: soldier height and industrial activity are strongly associated with subscriber density after, but not before, 1750. Literacy, on the other hand, does not predict growth. Finally, by joining data on British patents with a large French firm survey from 1837, we provide evidence for the mechanism: upper tail knowledge raised the productivity in innovative industrial technology.

Drought of Opportunities: Contemporaneous and Long Term Impacts of Rainfall Shocks on Human Capital

Abstract: Higher wages are generally thought to increase human capital production, particularly in the developing world We introduce a simple model of human capital production in which investments and time allocation differ by age Using data on test scores and schooling from rural India, we show that higher wages increase human capital investment in early life (in utero to age 2) but decrease human capital from ages 5-16 Positive rainfall shocks increase wages by 2% and decrease math test scores by 2-5% of a standard deviation, school attendance by 2 percentage points, and the probability that a child is enrolled in school by 1 percentage point These results are long-lasting; adults complete 02 fewer total years of schooling for each year of exposure to a positive rainfall shock from ages 11-13 We show that children are switching out of school enrollment into productive work when rainfall is higher These results suggest that the opportunity cost of schooling, even for fairly young children, is an important factor in determining overall human capital investment

The Effect of Schooling on Cognitive Skills

Abstract: How schooling affects cognitive skills is a fundamental question forstudies of human capital and labor markets. While scores on cognitive ability testsare positively associated with schooling, it ha ...

The determinants of new-firm survival across regional economies: The role of human capital stock and knowledge spillover

Abstract: This book presents some of ZoltAin J. A cs’ most important contributions since the turn of the the new millennium, with a particular intellectual focus on the knowledge spillover theory of entrepreneurship. This approach was shaped by three major events: the rapid globalization that occurred in the first decade of the 21st century; research on the role institutions have played in economic development during the past few decades; and the spread of entrepreneurial activity around the world following the collapse of communism at the end of the 20th century. This entrepreneurial activity has given rise to many questions of theory, measurement and policy.

Necessity entrepreneurship and competitive strategy

Abstract: Many start-ups chose to compete with incumbent firms using one of two generic strategies: cost leadership or differentiation. Our study demonstrates how this choice depends on whether the start-up was founded out of necessity. Our results, based on a representative data set of 4,568 German start-ups, show that necessity entrepreneurs are more likely than other entrepreneurs to pursue a cost leadership strategy and less likely to pursue a differentiation strategy. Decomposition analyses further show that up to half of the difference in choice of strategy can be attributed to distinct endowments of human capital, socioeconomic attributes, and start-up project characteristics that correlate with necessity entrepreneurship.

Integrating Discovery and Creation Perspectives of Entrepreneurial Action: The Relative Roles of Founding CEO Human Capital, Social Capital, and Psychological Capital in Contexts of Risk Versus Uncertainty

Abstract: Research summary This study examines the relationships of founding CEOs' intangible resources (human, social, and psychological capital) with the performance of their firms in environmental contexts of discovery (stable industry conditions that are characterized by risk) versus creation (dynamic industry conditions that are characterized by uncertainty). Results from a national (USA) random sample of founding CEOs (n = 223) found entrepreneurial experience (an aspect of human capital) to be positively related to performance in discovery contexts, whereas educational attainment, strong ties, and psychological capital (a composite index of optimism, self-efficacy, resilience, and hope) were positively related to performance in creation contexts. These findings extend theorizing concerning discovery and creation perspectives from the pre-entry phase (opportunity recognition) to the post-entry phase (opportunity exploitation) of the entrepreneurial process. Managerial summary This research investigates the relationships of founding CEOs' intangible resources with the performance of their firms in industry environments that are stable (slow changing and predictable) versus dynamic (fast changing and unpredictable). The results indicate that entrepreneurial experience (number of prior new ventures founded) is positively related to performance in stable environments, whereas educational attainment (highest educational degree earned), strong ties (social connections to family members and friends who provide support relating to the firm), and psychological capital (inner cognitive, emotional, and behavioral resources used to cope with adversity) are positively related to performance in dynamic environments. The findings highlight the importance of fit between the intangible resources of founding CEOs and the characteristics of the industries in which they attempt to develop and grow their firms.

Talented people and strong brands: The contribution of human capital and brand equity to firm value

Abstract: Research and managerial practice generally contend that human capital and brand equity constitute a company’s most valuable resources. Relying on similar underlying theoretical rationales, research on the value relevance of these two resources has developed in different disciplines. Combining diverse data sources, the authors examine the simultaneous effects of brand equity and human capital on firm value. In addition, they consider how much the effects of these two resources differ between services and manufacturing. Results provide evidence for a complementary relationship between human capital and brand equity and show that both resources create relatively more value in a service setting.

The Impact of Syrians Refugees on the Turkish Labor Market

Abstract: Currently 2.5 million Syrians fleeing war have found refuge in Turkey, making it the largest refugee-hosting country worldwide. This paper combines newly available data on the distribution of Syrian refugees across Turkey and the Turkish Labour Force Survey to assess their labor market impact. Syrian refugees are overwhelmingly employed informally, since they were not issued work permits, making their arrival a well-defined supply shock to informal labor. Consistent with economic theory our instrumental variable estimates, which also control for distance from the Turkish-Syrian border, suggest large-scale displacement of natives in the informal sector. At the same time, consistent with occupational upgrading, there are increases in formal employment for the Turkish - though only for men without completed high school education. Women and the high-skilled are not in a good position to take advantage of lower cost informal labor. The low educated and women experience net displacement from the labor market and, together with those in the informal sector, declining earning opportunities.

Educational Attainment An Examination of Its Impact on Regional Economic Growth

Abstract: In today’s globalized economy, universities serve as economic growth hubs and as facilitators of higher education. However, the perils of the most recent economic crisis have caused these instituti...

Professional Capital as Accountability

Abstract: This paper seeks to clarify and spells out the responsibilities of policy makers to create the conditions for an effective accountability system that produces substantial improvements in student learning, strengthens the teaching profession, and provides transparency of results to the public. The authors point out that U.S. policy makers will need to make a major shift from a heavy reliance on external accountability and superficial structural solutions (e.g., professional standards of practice) to investing in and building the professional capital of all teachers and leaders throughout the system. The article draws key lessons from highly effective school systems in the United States and internationally to argue that the priority for policy makers should be to lead with creating the conditions for internal accountability, that is, the collective responsibility within the teaching profession for the continuous improvement and success of all students. This approach is based on the development and circulation of professional capital that consists of three components: individual human capital, social capital (where teachers learn from each other), and decisional capital (developing judgment and expertise over time). In this new professional accountability model, the external accountability that reassures the public that the system is performing in line with societal expectations continues to be an important role of educational systems, but it is nurtured and sustained by the development of strong internal accountability.

Business Practices in Small Firms in Developing Countries

Abstract: Management has a large effect on the productivity of large firms. But does management matter in micro and small firms, where the majority of the labor force in developing countries works? We develop 26 questions that measure business practices in marketing, stock-keeping, record-keeping, and financial planning. These questions have been administered in surveys in Bangladesh, Chile, Ghana, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria and Sri Lanka. We show that variation in business practices explains as much of the variation in outcomes – sales, profits and labor productivity and TFP – in microenterprises as in larger enterprises. Panel data from three countries indicate that better business practices predict higher survival rates and faster sales growth. The effect of business practices is robust to including numerous measures of the owner’s human capital. We find that owners with higher human capital, children of entrepreneurs, and firms with employees employ better business practices. Competition has less robust effects.

Make Room Value Added Principals’ Human Capital Decisions and the Emergence of Teacher Observation Data

Abstract: Increasingly, states and districts are combining student growth measures with rigorous, rubric-aligned teacher observations in constructing teacher evaluation measures. Although the student growth or value-added components of these measures have received much research and policy attention, the results of this study suggest that the data generated by high-quality observation systems have potential to inform principals’ use of data for human capital decisions. Interview and survey data from six school districts that have recently implemented new evaluation systems with classroom observations provide evidence that principals tend to rely less on test scores in their human capital decisions. The consistency, transparency, and specificity of observation data may provide benefits for principals seeking to use these data to inform their decision making.

Integrated reporting in South Africa: some initial evidence

Abstract: Purpose – This study aims to examine whether the integrated reports prepared in accordance with the King III Code of corporate governance regulation are providing the information intended of an integrated report, i.e. to communicate the “ability of an organisation to create and sustain value”. Second, it explains the behaviour of companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) when responding to the regulation to publish an integrated report. The King III Code of corporate governance requires companies listed on the JSE to prepare annually an integrated report or provide reasons for not doing so. Design/methodology/approach – This paper uses legitimacy theory to formulate two alternative propositions on how JSE-listed companies may disclose information relating to a number of capitals, as described by the International Integrated Reporting Committee, in response to the King III Code. Annual/integrated reports of the top 25 JSE listed companies for the years 2009/2010 and 2011/2012 are content-analysed for the presence of information on capitals. The change in the extent of disclosure of capitals is analysed using t-tests to test the propositions. Findings – The results show that the introduction of integrated reporting in South Africa has resulted in an increase in the extent of disclosure of human, social and relational, natural and intellectual capital information of the listed companies. The increment in the disclosure of social and relational capital is statistically significantly greater than the increment in the disclosure of other capitals. The findings indicate that JSE-listed companies are adopting a legitimation strategy based on symbolic management when preparing integrated reports. Practical implications – This study sheds light on the relevance of regulating corporate reporting within a setting where companies are already voluntarily reporting on social, environmental, human, intellectual and natural capital information. Findings have implications for policymakers who have mandated or considering mandating integrated reporting. To the South African policymakers, in particular, this study highlights the need for incorporating, within the listing rules, minimum requirements in relation to the nature and content of an integrated report. Originality/value – This paper provides the first initial evidence on the impact of the introduction of integrated reporting regulation, followed by limited guidance to preparers, on the nature and extent of disclosure of capitals. This study extends the work of Solomon and Maroun (2012) by explaining disclosure practices of South African-listed companies in relation to information on relational, human and intellectual capital.