Journal of Economic Surveys最新文献

Meta-research has become increasingly popular and has provided interesting insights on what can go well and what can go wrong with research practices and scientific studies. Many stakeholders are taking actions to try to solve problems and biases identified through meta-research. However, very often there is little or no evidence that specific recommendations and actions may actually lead to improvements and a favorable benefit-harm ratio. The current commentary offers an eclectic overview of what we have learned from meta-research efforts (mostly observational, but also some quasi-experimental and experimental work) and what the implications of this evidence may be for changing research practices. Areas discussed include the study (and differentiation) of genuine effects and biases, fraud (including the impact of new technologies), peer review, replication and reproducibility checks, transparency indicators, and the interface of research practices with reward systems. Meta-research has offered on all of these fronts empirical evidence that sometimes pertains even to large effects of extreme biases. Continued surveys of research practices and results may offer timely updates of the status of research and its biases, as these may change markedly over time. Meta-research should be seen as part of research, not separate from it, in their concurrent evolution.

Micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), one the pillars of any economy, comprise the majority of enterprises, while their performance remains modest comparatively with large companies. The dynamic nature of the business landscape, coupled with insufficient resources, increases the vulnerability to risks and threatens the long-term sustainability of MSMEs. A large body of literature emphasizes the positive impacts on business performance from implementing a comprehensive risk management framework. However, in the case of MSMEs, the relationship is still unclear due to the substantial investments required and the lack of skills and knowledge these companies encounter. This study analyses the bibliometric data of 531 articles indexed in Scopus and Web of Science databases to identify the literature trends concerning the connection between risk management and performance in MSMEs. Results show a growing interest in the subject starting from 2010, but the different ways of understanding the performance lead to a disparity of conclusions.

The history of development economics has been portrayed as a succession of fads and magic bullets. This study inquires whether behavioral approaches to economic development are destined to become such a fad or whether they have long-lasting contributions to offer. I first show that behavioral development economics is not a cohesive field with a consensual definition and propose to distinguish three different views of behavioral development economics: the scarcity view, the non-optimal behavior view, and the psycho-social-cultural view. I provide a systematic review of publications in the field of behavioral development economics from 2000 to 2021, distinguishing these three fields. The nonoptimal view has been, by far, the dominant view, and risk and time preferences stand out as the single-most studied behavioral mechanisms. Finally, I argue that the sub-field's ability to advance the understanding of behavior relevant to the persistence or alleviation of poverty depends crucially on the inclusion of the psycho-social-cultural view. This view has important contributions to offer in terms of (1) the understanding of seemingly nonrational behavior, (2) the identification and measurement of behavioral mechanisms, and (3) the understanding of conditions of external validity, and should be embraced more enthusiastically.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) statistics are frequently used to proxy multinational production and activities of multinational enterprises (MNEs). Yet, FDI statistics have been subject to critique because FDI is also driven by financial motives that are barely related to real production activities. In this paper, we survey recent advancements in the compilation of international FDI statistics that address those challenges. We discuss how those improved FDI statistics help to tighten the relation between FDI data and multinational production and provide guidance to applied researchers how to implement this in practice.

Why do famines persist in the 21st century, despite significant advances in agricultural productivity? Throughout human history, famines have been – and continue to be – among the harshest manifestations of destitution. They result from the exacerbation of human vulnerabilities caused by the synergistic interaction of multiple anthropogenic and natural determinants. Famines are humanitarian emergencies that sharply increase mortality and/or morbidity among destitute families. This article reviews the academic debate on the causes of famines. The literature is organized into six main “families” of theories: (i) classical economic explanations (Smith's and Malthus’ theses); (ii) food availability decline approach; (iii) entitlement approach; (iv) political perspectives (political regime and political accountability approaches); (v) new variant famine hypothesis; and (vi) systemic explanations. The article identifies the main gaps and limitations in this literature and highlights relevant development policy implications for reducing extreme food insecurity. The conclusion drawn is that the persistence of famines is attributable to ongoing mismanagement of significant triggers of extreme human vulnerability, both at the national and international levels. Extreme poverty, violent conflicts, economic shocks, climate change, governmental negligence, famine crimes, and pandemics contribute to the complexity of famine and require a comprehensive development strategy.

This research provides a comprehensive, quantitative synthesis of the empirical literature on social capital and economic growth. It assesses 957 estimates from 83 studies. While our preferred estimate of the overall mean effect is close to zero and statistically insignificant, the main finding of our analysis is the substantial degree of effect heterogeneity. We find that social capital effects can range from large negative to large positive, suggesting that its impact on economic growth varies substantially depending on the context. However, our investigation was unable to trace the sources of this heterogeneity to any observable data, estimation, and study characteristics. This suggests that other factors, not included in our study, are responsible. Our analysis did uncover significant publication bias, indicating that the estimates of social capital's effects in the empirical literature are overstated. A further finding from our analysis is that we found no evidence that different types of social capital have different effects on economic growth.

The economic approach to the cost of living index assumes that consumer preferences remain constant over time. This assumption poses little risk in calculating a short-run intertemporal bilateral price index. The assumption, however, breaks down in the case of a fixed-based time series index spanning a long period and in the context of international comparison. The economic analysis of preference changes, however, is not well-established. In this paper, we review the economic approach in index numbers under preference changes. Suggestions are made on how to approach the problem and their implications for the measurement of price and quantity indices.

Given its technological characteristics, the electricity distribution is managed by regional monopolies worldwide. Effective regulation of these monopolies requires rigorous performance benchmarking analysis across comparable peers in the industry. This article provides a comprehensive review of empirical studies examining efficiency and productivity change within the electricity distribution over the past three decades. We provide an overview of the main methodological frontier approaches employed, alongside an analysis of the findings from previous empirical studies. We identify methodological and data-related issues while highlighting challenges to be addressed in future research on benchmarking analysis for regulation.

The healthcare system is a fundamental pillar for the economy of any country. One of its main goals is to reach an adequate effectiveness of medical care so that certain levels of well-being are achieved. In recent years, healthcare has experienced important changes to take into account quality of care and patient satisfaction as the drivers of effectiveness and financial performance. In this sense, it is specifically important to bring together in a single document all aspects that participate in the quality of care and patient satisfaction relationship. The purpose of this paper is to analyze, organize, and synthesize all the theories, methodologies, factors, and variables that conform to this relationship. To achieve that, a systematic literature review of 90 articles is performed. The main contributions of this paper are to reveal all factors and aspects relevant for the quality of care and patient satisfaction binomial, and the classification of impactful articles, methodological and theoretical approaches, leading journals, and variables of interest that exist in quality of care and patient satisfaction research. Eventually, important research gaps and further research lines are highlighted.