LABOR SUPPLY OF POLITICIANS

Using data on Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), we examine the impact of salaries on the composition and the behavior of legislators. Employing a differences‐in‐differences approach, we exploit the introduction of a law that equalized MEPs' salaries which had previously differed by as much as a factor of 10. Increasing salaries raises the fraction of MEPs who run for re‐election but decreases the quality of elected MEPs (proxied by college quality). Salary has no discernible impact on effort or legislation output. Higher salaries induce more political competition.     

Heterogeneous credit union production technologies with endogenous switching and correlated effects

Credit unions differ in the types of financial services they offer to their members. This article explicitly models this observed heterogeneity using a generalized model of endogenous ordered switching. Our approach captures the endogenous choice that credit unions make when adding new products to their financial services mix. The model that we consider also allows for the dependence between unobserved effects and regressors in both the selection and outcome equations and can accommodate the presence of predetermined covariates in the model. We use this model to estimate returns to scale for U.S. retail credit unions from 1996 to 2011. We document strong evidence of persistent technological heterogeneity among credit unions offering different financial service mixes, which, if ignored, can produce quite misleading results. Employing our model, we find that credit unions of all types exhibit substantial economies of scale.     

The Relationship between Cultural Tightness–Looseness and Organizational Innovativeness: A Comparative Research into the Turkish and Italian Marble Industries

When examining the literature of cross-cultural field holistically, it can be seen that the dominant paradigm in the literature is based on values. However, in recent decades there have been growing criticisms against values in explaining cultural differences adequately and thus a new cultural dimension, the so called “tightness–looseness” has, once again, come to the forefront. The beginning point of this research is based on the assumption that cultural tightness–looseness, defined as strength, importance, pervasive and binding of norms within a certain community, which was previously examined on a societal level, might also have significant implications within organizations. In this regard, the ultimate objective of the research is to examine the validity and reliability of the construct in Turkish and Italian marble industries using a comparative approach, while considering the cultural dimension of tightness–looseness at an organizational level and aiming to explore its relationship with organizational innovativeness empirically. The survey method has therefore been adopted. The results and implications of the study are discussed in greater detail and recommendations for future studies made.