Entrepreneurship versus Intrapreneurship: Are the Antecedents Similar? A Cross-Country Analysis

Examining qualitative cross-country comparative analysis in health: Reflective insights and methodological considerations

History is important in understanding cultural traits and the quality of institutions across countries. Transformation to sedentary agricultural practices was a key historic event in human history. Gradually, agriculture became an important activity for sedentary societies, and consequently, land productivity became the most important resource for agriculture in the societies. This study measures land productivity by potential crop yield. The potential crop yield index is constructed using crop yield (measured in tons per hectare per year) from the Global Agro-Ecological Zones (GAEZ) project from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the caloric content of various crops from the US Department of Agriculture Nutrient Database for Standard Reference (source: Galor and Özak (2016)). In the first chapter, I hypothesize that as societies started fighting over control of the most productive land, a culture of violence and conflict developed. The empirical results establish that the emergence and persistence of intrastate conflict incidence since 1960 were influenced by regional agro-ecological factors captured by the extent of variation in crop yield potential. Our results, based on cross-country and grid-level analysis, indicate that higher potential crop yield variability within a country that is exogenous to both human intervention and regional culture increases the likelihood of intrastate conflict. Our findings are strengthened by the inclusion of various geographical, institutional, and potentially confounding economic development correlates. In the second chapter, I focus on colonization by the Western European powers after the discovery of the New World. I hypothesize that the timing and duration of colonization was strongly influenced by regional land productivity. In particular, an area’s potential average crop yield is shown to have an significant and influential effect on the timing and duration of colonization, where more fertile areas tended to be colonized earlier and had a longer period of colonization. The results are consistent with historical evidence such as the quest for new territories in order to produce sugar, tea, timber, and other commodities. These efforts supported industrial growth in Europe, which provided its population with the calories needed. My findings are bolstered by the inclusion of other indicators of early development, as well as the geographical and ecological conditions that were important for European settlement in the colonized territories. My hypothesis is also supported by a grid-cell level analysis, which mitigates any endogeneity concern in the cross-country analysis. In the third chapter, I argue that an optimal level of potential crop yield is inductive of a democratic political regime. Empirical results establish a humped shaped association between crop yield and the extent of democracy in a cross-country analysis. These findings are supported by the inclusion of other possible confounders such as: the quality of institutions, indicators of early development, and various other determinants of democracy identified in extant literature. The hypothesis is also supported by sub-national and pre-colonial societies’ datasets. The next three chapters identify and empirically establish the role of land productivity in the emergence of culture of conflict, the occurrence of important historic events, and the development of modern institutions. The last chapter of this Ph.D. dissertation draws the necessary conclusions.

IntroductionSocial prescribing is an approach to addressing non-medical issues affecting people’s health and well-being (eg, loneliness, housing or financial problems). It has gained international traction over recent years as complementary to medical care. A larger research project, comparing social prescribing across European countries, is considering how to tailor provision for the following groups: (a) LGBTIQ+persons, (b) refugees and first-generation immigrants and (c) older adults living alone. As part of this research, a qualitative study will address the question: What are the enabling and limiting factors associated with implementing social prescribing, across different European countries, from the perspective of key stakeholders?Methods and analysisFive European countries (Austria, England, Germany, Poland, Portugal) will be involved. Researchers from each country will conduct approximately 20 semi-structured interviews (total number will be 100). Interviewees will be people receiving, delivering, managing and funding/commissioning social prescribing. Interviews will be audio-recorded and transcribed. A cross-country analysis will be undertaken; framework analysis will support this process, with a chart developed in Excel in which data from across the five countries is summarised by the researchers involved. Summaries will be based on a thematic framework that researchers from the five countries develop together after initially analysing their own data.Ethics and disseminationEthical approval was initially secured through the University of Oxford’s Medical Sciences Interdivisional Research Ethics Committee (IDREC 1806086) for data collection in England. This approved application was then used to secure ethics approval in Austria (through Ludwig Boltzmann Gesellschaft), Germany (through Bergische Universität Wuppertal), Poland (through Wroclaw Medical University) and Portugal (through NOVA University of Lisbon). Dissemination will include an academic journal article and presentation at relevant conferences. It will also include short videos, written summaries/policy briefs and an infographic.This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Programme under grant agreement No 101155873. Views and opinions expressed are, however, those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HADEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

The theory of central bank independence is clear, but there is limited evidence to support the benefits. In this study, we investigate whether central bank independence impacts the cost of capital. We perform a cross-country panel data analysis of 23 developed and 17 emerging countries in this study and find international variations in the cost of capital associated with varying degrees of central bank independence. Specifically, we find that central bank independence reduces the country’s equity risk premium. Further analysis shows that central bank independence has pronounce effects in reducing the cost of capital in emerging countries. Our study suggests that greater central bank independence results in lower levels of cost of capital. This study’s findings are consistent with alternative cost of capital measures, and they are also robust to a quasi-natural experiment using a difference-in-differences, placebo test, hierarchical cluster, and the Newey-West standard error. Overall, the results of this study suggest that a country’s government attracts foreign investors by strengthening its central bank’s independence.

Many countries plan to decarbonise their energy systems by increasing energy efficiency and expanding the use of renewable energy sources (RES). Such actions require significant investments in new energy infrastructures. While people are generally accepting of these infrastructures, opposition sometimes arises when these developments are sited at close proximity to people’s residences. Therefore, it is important to understand what actually drives people’s preferences for spatial proximity to different energy infrastructure technologies. This study examines the factors influencing people’s proximity preferences to a range of different energy technologies using a cross-country econometric analysis of the stated preference data from an unprecedented survey conducted on nationally representative samples of the population in Ireland, the U.S. and Germany. The survey involved more than 4,500 participants in total. This paper presents the data and selected results from a generalised ordered logit model for each energy technology surveyed.These are; wind turbines, solar power technology, biomass power plant, coal-fired power plant and natural gas power plant. The results show that, in general,German and Irish citizens are willing to accept energy infrastructures at smaller distances to their homes than their U.S. counterparts. Moreover, attitudinal factors are found to shape people’s preferences more consistently than any of the socio-demographic characteristics.

Entrepreneurship can be considered as one of the major sources of economic growth. Often regardedas crucial for the national economy, supporting entrepreneurial activity remains at the focus ofpolicymakers across the globe. This paper aims at providing an overview of state support policies forentrepreneurship, presenting a benchmark for comparison between experiences of 30 countries withdifferent income level. Two research questions were posed regarding the difference of state support measures of entrepreneurship depending on income levels and policy implications for other countries. WorldBank’s classification of countries by income level – high-income, middle-income and low-income wasused in the selection of countries studied. Comparative analysis was chosen as an empirical scientificresearch method, complemented by content analysis, synthesis, systematization and generalization. Research results show the features of each selected group, making it possible to draw up recommendationsfor developing and least developed countries. The experience described in this paper will help to systemizethe current practice across countries, learn general patterns for further studies, provides groundsfor better policy-making and disseminates best-practice information for entrepreneurship development. Key words: entrepreneurship, state support, cross-country analysis, comparative study.

A critical and persistent challenge to global health and modern health care is the threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Previous studies have reported a disproportionate burden of AMR in low-income and middle-income countries, but there remains an urgent need for more in-depth analyses across Africa. This study presents one of the most comprehensive sets of regional and country-level estimates of bacterial AMR burden in the WHO African region to date. We estimated deaths and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) attributable to and associated with AMR for 23 bacterial pathogens and 88 pathogen-drug combinations for countries in the WHO African region in 2019. Our methodological approach consisted of five broad components: the number of deaths in which infection had a role, the proportion of infectious deaths attributable to a given infectious syndrome, the proportion of infectious syndrome deaths attributable to a given pathogen, the percentage of a given pathogen resistant to an antimicrobial drug of interest, and the excess risk of mortality (or duration of an infection) associated with this resistance. These components were then used to estimate the disease burden by using two counterfactual scenarios: deaths attributable to AMR (considering an alternative scenario where infections with resistant pathogens are replaced with susceptible ones) and deaths associated with AMR (considering an alternative scenario where drug-resistant infections would not occur at all). We obtained data from research hospitals, surveillance networks, and infection databases maintained by private laboratories and medical technology companies. We generated 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs) for final estimates as the 25th and 975th ordered values across 1000 posterior draws, and models were cross-validated for out-of-sample predictive validity. In the WHO African region in 2019, there were an estimated 1·05 million deaths (95% UI 829 000-1 316 000) associated with bacterial AMR and 250 000 deaths (192 000-325 000) attributable to bacterial AMR. The largest fatal AMR burden was attributed to lower respiratory and thorax infections (119 000 deaths [92 000-151 000], or 48% of all estimated bacterial pathogen AMR deaths), bloodstream infections (56 000 deaths [37 000-82 000], or 22%), intra-abdominal infections (26 000 deaths [17 000-39 000], or 10%), and tuberculosis (18 000 deaths [3850-39 000], or 7%). Seven leading pathogens were collectively responsible for 821 000 deaths (636 000-1 051 000) associated with resistance in this region, with four pathogens exceeding 100 000 deaths each: Streptococcus pneumoniae, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, and Staphylococcus aureus. Third-generation cephalosporin-resistant K pneumoniae and meticillin-resistant S aureus were shown to be the leading pathogen-drug combinations in 25 and 16 countries, respectively (53% and 34% of the whole region, comprising 47 countries) for deaths attributable to AMR. This study reveals a high level of AMR burden for several bacterial pathogens and pathogen-drug combinations in the WHO African region. The high mortality rates associated with these pathogens demonstrate an urgent need to address the burden of AMR in Africa. These estimates also show that quality and access to health care and safe water and sanitation are correlated with AMR mortality, with a higher fatal burden found in lower resource settings. Our cross-country analyses within this region can help local governments to leverage domestic and global funding to create stewardship policies that target the leading pathogen-drug combinations. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Wellcome Trust, and Department of Health and Social Care using UK aid funding managed by the Fleming Fund.

Many see trust as an important social resource for the welfare of individuals as well as nations. It is therefore important to be able to identify trust and explain its sources. Cross-country survey analysis has been an important tool in this respect, and often one single variable is used to identify social trust understood as trust in strangers, namely: “Generally speaking, would you say that most people can be trusted or that you can’t be too careful in dealing with people?” The question, however, is whether this variable captures the meaning of social trust equally well in all countries. This is investigated by comparing different measurements of trust across five clusters of countries in all parts of the world. The analysis shows that there are considerable problems associated with the use of the variable of “most can be trusted” as an indicator of trust in strangers, both in terms of strangers understood as “people you meet for the first time” and in terms of strangers understood as people of a different nationality and religion. These results question the validity of previous investigations of social trust based on international survey material. The analysis furthermore reveals that a new survey question about trust in people one is meeting for the first time is better suited as indicator of social trust in comparative analysis.

This paper explores the link between P. falciparum malaria – the causative agent of most malaria-related morbidity and mortality – and primary education in terms of school performances at macroeconomic level. Cross-country regression analysis shows that the relationship between school results (measured by repetition and completion rates) and the P. falciparum malaria index is strong. The results imply that the achievement of the educational Millennium Development Goals will require more than just focusing on expenditure in primary education. This does not mean that resources allied to education are unnecessary, but simply that increasing resources in education and improving education resources management alone are unlikely to be sufficient. This paper suggests that health conditions, especially diseases such as malaria that could alter children’s cognitive capacities, should be taken into account much more seriously. We also see the need to place emphasis on research that will improve the quality of interventions to prevent malaria. Specific education expenditure combined with health policies should be investigated further as a means of tackling malaria.JEL Classification: O15, I10, I20.

It is generally acknowledged that domestic investment boosts economic growth, yet the impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) is not as clear, with some studies suggesting the need for a miniumum threshold level of development in order for FDI to be beneficial. In this paper we conduct an empirical cross-country growth analysis to investigate the impact over two decades, of foreign direct investment at the ‘aggregate’ level, and find that it has a significant and positive relationship with real income per capita, irrespective of any human capital requirements. An interesting observation is that the coefficient on the foreign investment variable is considerably larger than that of the domestic investment variable, suggesting a potentially large role for FDI. However, the problem of establishing the direction of causality, compounded by the unavailability of suitable instrumental variables, remains. Thus, at this point, we go no further than concluding that there is indeed, a large and positive relationship between foreign direct investment and economic growth.

Purpose Given the rapid progress in digitalization, the essence of exchange has been reformulated with the help of digital platforms allowing a temporary access of ownership to the global travel industry. Drawing on signaling theory, this study analyzes the demand-side constraints influencing consumers’ attitudes toward digital short-term rental platforms through a cross-country analysis. Design/methodology/approach This study performs a cross-country segmentation analysis in five European countries (i.e. UK, Croatia, Italy, Turkey and Spain) by using survey data from 534 consumers and structural equation models. Findings The findings indicate that perceived risk and lack of service quality exert a significant influence on consumers’ attitudes, with distrust serving as a mediation mechanism. Digital short-term rental platform managers, hosts and policymakers should collaboratively implement trust-building strategies, including fostering third-party quality certifications, enhancing cancellation flexibility and ensuring the provision of transparent information with an intent to mitigate perceived risk and reduce distrust. Originality/value This study provides a timely contribution to the reshaping of consumer behavior and stimulates a discussion regarding the underexplored attitudes of customers who have not previously used digital short-term rental platforms and their important demand constraints, putting an emphasis on the signals with a dark side which could be interpreted differently from country to country.

The long established link between food and oil prices in the global market is still uncertain in cross-country, regional and domestic analyses. In this paper, we review theoretical and empirical submissions on the nexus between food and oil market. Qualitative content analysis was used to critically analyze concepts and theories based on the past empirical evidences. The analysis shows that there is hardly a consistent and generalized submission on the direction of the relationship between oil price and agricultural commodity prices, as against the popular notion of co-movement between food and oil prices among researchers. However, studies on cross country analysis are scarce and among them, very few are related to oil exporting countries, hence the need to revisit the unending debate on the relationship between the two important markets based on economic structure (oil exporting/importing economy), capacity of an economy (high/low income economy) and the causes and nature of crisis in the markets.

Purpose: This study aims to examine the effects of Technology Adoption on Financial Inclusion with focus on Automated Teller Machines, Internet usage and Mobile Cellular subscriptions as the major drivers in a cross-country analysis between China and Nigeria Research Design/Methodology: To examine the impact of Technology Adoption on Financial Inclusion, we employed Pooled OLS and Feasible Generalized Least Squares estimators. Financial Inclusion is represented by number of depositors with Commercial Banks per 1,000 adults’ population. Findings: The results reveal that Automated Teller Machines, Internet usage and Mobile Cellular Subscriptions exert insignificant positive effects on Financial Inclusion both in China and Nigeria. The technology variables however exert significant positive impact on Financial Inclusion as represented by other dummy countries in the Panel. The study also found that GDP growth rate has significant negative relationship with Financial Inclusion in China and Nigeria as well as the rest of the world as represented. Originality/Value: The findings of the study reveal that Technology Adoption has greater but untapped potentials capable of significantly influencing Financial Inclusion in both China and Nigeria.

In this paper, based on a cross-country analysis, the authors distil different models of the financial sector, which are characterized by peculiar interrelations among size, structure, efficiency, stability, inclusion and the institutional quality of financial development. Against this backdrop, the model of the Russian financial sector is described. To identify the financial sector models, cluster analysis involving the EM algorithm with a Bayesian extension is performed on a vast sample of countries. The analysis allows setting key long-term indicators of the Russian financial sector development, taking into consideration its potential of transition to the cluster of more financially advanced economies.

ABSTRACTDuring the last three decades, aquaculture has been the fastest growing animal-food-producing sector in the world, accounting for half of the present seafood supply. However, there is a significant growth disparity among aquaculture-producing countries. The reasons why some countries have achieved remarkable growth in aquaculture while others have stagnated or even declined have not been determined. In this article, we investigate whether environmental regulations have an impact on aquaculture growth. Using a cross-country regression analysis, we show that stringent environmental regulations are negatively related to aquaculture growth, whereas GDP growth has a positive effect. Countries often face a difficult balancing act between growth and environmental considerations when devising regulations. Our empirical results suggest that stricter environmental regulations in developed countries have contributed to lower growth rates and that these countries are falling behind emerging and developing economies that have more lenient environmental regulations.