The triggers of local and distant search: Relative magnitude and persistence in explaining acquisition relatedness

Research on problemistic search has assumed negative attainment discrepancy to be the trigger of both local and distant search. Extending this research, we present and compare two additional triggers: (1) relative attainment discrepancy, which reflects how much a firm's attainment discrepancy deviates from its past negative attainment discrepancies; and (2) persistent attainment discrepancy, which reflects how often the firm experiences below-aspirations performance. Our triggers for distant search model a behavioral explanation for the timing and relatedness of acquisitions. We find support for baseline arguments of problemistic search whereby firms increase both industry- and skill-related acquisitions when they perform below aspirations. When they persistently perform below aspirations, however, this likelihood is reduced and firms engage in acquisitions that are more unrelated, thereby providing support for the notion of expanding search boundaries from local to distant search. Of the two triggers of distant search proposed, relative attainment discrepancy does not induce firms to expand search boundaries. Our results indicate that persistent attainment discrepancy is a key construct to consider when studying the expansion of search boundaries.     

Supporting the democratic political organisation of Muslim immigrants: the perspective of Muslims in the Netherlands and Germany

Using data from three survey studies, this paper examines the support for the democratic political organisation of Muslims among Muslim immigrants in the Netherlands (Studies 1, 2, and 3) and Germany (Study 3). Using a social psychological perspective, support is examined in relation to religious group identification, Muslim linked fate, perceived discrimination, fundamentalist religious belief, and host national identification. The findings in all three studies show support for the political organisation of Muslims. Furthermore, higher religious group identification and higher linked fate were associated with stronger support. More discrimination and more fundamentalist beliefs were also associated with stronger support, and part of these associations was mediated by linked fate. National identification was not associated with support for the political organisation of Muslims.     

Can Quasi‐market and Multi‐level Governance Co‐exist? Insights from the Case of Lombardy's Employment Services System

This article explores the functioning of Lombardy's networked employment services system, inspired by quasi‐market and horizontal subsidiarity principles, and specifically addresses a gap in the quasi‐market literature, where little attention is devoted to the role played by institutions at lower levels of government. A qualitative study of the Lombardy system, with a focus on the municipality of Milan, is relied upon in order to explore the extent to which the principles of quasi‐market and multi‐level governance pursued by the regional government are allowed to co‐exist in practice. Here, sub‐regional levels of government are directly involved in services provision, but enjoy a more privileged condition relative to the private providers, thereby jeopardizing the implementation of an effective quasi‐market. The article contributes to existing theories by suggesting that horizontal subsidiarity and marketization cannot neglect multi‐level governance in those sectors where public bodies at various levels of government are directly involved in implementation.     

Governing Deviance in Public Space through Mayoral Orders: Fields Mismatch and Metropolitan Turbulence

This article addresses the issue of policy change and its consequences on the organizational field and institutional context, looking at the role of an instrument transfer process. We adopt a political sociology approach to policy instruments to account for the impact that the introduction of a securitarian instrument, the mayoral order, had on the implementation process of a social policy. Through a genealogy of the instrument we identify a constitutive, normative and cognitive dimension. Our aim is to explain the interaction between these institutional dimensions, the re‐definition of the organizational field of the policy, and the dynamics of metropolitan politics. Following a synthesis of the policy process and the institutional arrangements where the policy is implemented, we show how the instrument transfer triggered a division within the organizational field, and the rise of institutional tensions amongst local authorities. In the conclusion, we identify the institutional dimensions of the instruments and the policy implementation scale as elements that are to interact with public‐private relationships and institutional arrangements, and that have an impact on implementation process and policy outcome.     

提高地方人大常委会会议审议质量的思考

地方人大常委会是地方人大常委会代表人民行使国家权力最基本、最主要的形式。因此,在新形势下,探索研究怎样提高地方人大常委会会议审议质量,坚持和完善人民代表大会制度,加强国家地方权力机关对“一府两院”依法行政和民主法制监督,联系人民代表、人民群众,是推进社会主义政治文明建设健康发展和经济社会全面发展的迫切需要,也是实现全面建设小康社会的重要保证。必须从精选议题、依法审议、督促落实三个方面提高地方人大常委会会议审议质量。     

Conditional variance estimation in heteroscedastic regression models

First, we propose a new method for estimating the conditional variance in heteroscedasticity regression models. For heavy tailed innovations, this method is in general more efficient than either of the local linear and local likelihood estimators. Secondly, we apply a variance reduction technique to improve the inference for the conditional variance. The proposed methods are investigated through their asymptotic distributions and numerical performances.     

A variable-neighbourhood search algorithm for finding optimal run orders in the presence of serial correlation

The responses obtained from response surface designs that are run sequentially often exhibit serial correlation or time trends. The order in which the runs of the design are performed then has an impact on the precision of the parameter estimators. This article proposes the use of a variable-neighbourhood search algorithm to compute run orders that guarantee a precise estimation of the effects of the experimental factors. The importance of using good run orders is demonstrated by seeking D-optimal run orders for a central composite design in the presence of an AR(1) autocorrelation pattern.     

地方政府支出与农村居民消费需求：基于1998-2007年省级 面板数据的经验分析

 政府支出对居民消费需求产生挤出抑或挤入效应是理论界最近关注的焦点之一。本文在理论诠释地方政府支出对农村居民消费需求的传导机制以及模型建立的理论框架下,通过建立地方政府支出与农村居民消费支出之间的个体固定效应变截距模型,运用我国31个省份1998-2007年的经验数据进行实证检验,结果表明：地方政府财政支农支出对农村居民消费具有显著的挤入效应,而转移性支出与农村居民消费的相关程度并不明显。基于理论分析和实证检验结果,本文最后针对地方政府扩大农村居民消费提出相关建议。     

实行民族平等政策的国家行动——20世纪中后期广西的民族识别研究之一

20世纪中后期,在国家的统一部署下,广西开展了民族识别工作,这是贯彻民族平等政策的一次国家行动,它对实施民族区域自治制度,保障各少数民族的平等权利,贯彻落实国家对少数民族的各项优惠政策,增强民族团结,都具有重要意义.     

从实务案例出发谈债务加入的认定方式与追偿问题

关于债务加入虽然我国法律上并无明文规定,但自“苏高发审委[2005]16号纪要”首先提出来之后,无论是法学理论上还是法律实务上均成为讨论和应用的热点。笔者以审判实践中遇到的一种特殊情况为出发点,旨在通过争议焦点分析的方式对债权人做出的替保证人还款这一情况应认定为债务加入,并以案例分析的方式系统的展示债务加入的认定方式,并在最后分析了债务加入人履行了债务之后应如何追偿的问题,希望能够作为在实务中分析认定债务加入的有效借鉴。