Administrative Funding Research Articles

Does Financing Spur Small Business Productivity? Evidence from a Natural Experiment

We analyze how increased access to financing affects firm total factor productivity (TFP) by exploiting a natural experiment following interstate banking deregulations that increased access to bank financing. We find that firms' TFP increases after their states implement these deregulations. Using a regression discontinuity approach based on the Small Business Administration's funding eligibility criteria, we show that TFP increases following the deregulations are significantly greater for financially constrained firms. Our results suggest that greater access to financing allows financially constrained firms to invest in productive projects that may otherwise not be taken up.

Does Financing Spur Small Business Productivity? Evidence from a Natural Experiment

We analyze how increased access to financing affects firm total factor productivity (TFP) by exploiting a natural experiment following interstate banking deregulations which increased access to bank financing. We find that firms' TFP increases after their states implement these deregulations. Using a regression discontinuity approach based on Small Business Administration's funding eligibility criteria, we show that TFP increases following the deregulations are significantly greater for financially constrained firms. Our results suggest that greater access to financing allows financially constrained firms to invest in productive projects that may otherwise not be taken up.

NOAA Budget Proposal Calls for a Small Increase, But Several Programs Would Be Sharply Cut

The White House's proposed budget of $5.497 billion for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for fiscal year (FY) 2015 would be good news for the agency overall if Congress goes along with the Obama administration's funding plan. The proposal would increase NOAA's discretionary budget by $174.1 million, 3.27% above the FY 2014 enacted budget (see Table ). The White House announced the overall federal budget on 4 March, and the NOAA budget “blue book” with specific funding numbers was issued in mid‐March.

Approaching hospital administration about adopting cooling technologies

The purpose of this article is to provide intensivists with information and examples regarding cooling technology selection, cost assessment, adaptation, barriers, and presentation to hospital administrators. A review of medical and business literature was conducted using the following search terms: technology assessment, organizational innovation, intensive care, critical care, hospital administration, and presentation to administrators. General recommendations for intensivists are made for assessing cooling technology with descriptions of common new technology implementation stages. A study of 16 hospitals implementing a new cardiac surgery technology is described. A description of successful implementation of an induced hypothermia protocol by one of the authors is presented. Although knowledgeable about the applications of new technologies, including cooling technology, intensivists have little guidance or training on tactics to obtain a hospital administration's funding and support. Intensive care unit budgets are usually controlled by nonintensivists whose interests are neutral, at best, to the needs of intensivists. To rise to the top of the large pile of requisition requests, an intensivist's proposal must be well conceived and aligned with hospital administration's strategic goals. Intensivists must understand the hospital acquisition process and administrative structure and participate on high-level hospital committees. Using design thinking and strong leadership skills, the intensivist can marshal support from staff and administrators to successfully implement cooling technology.

Planning for Development: An Assessment of the Economic Development District Planning Process

This article contributes to the economic development evaluation literature by providing a comprehensive process evaluation of a significant federal economic development planning program, the Economic Development Administration's funding of planning processes for Economic Development Districts (EDDs). This program represents one of the largest and oldest continuing federal grants designed to foster planning efforts. The evaluation concludes that the overall quality of the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) process and resulting plans appears high, that EDDs focus on activities central to national goals, and that most stakeholders consider such activities effective in increasing cooperation and communication within the region. However, EDDs have not been completely successful in ensuring that CEDS committees fully represent their communities, policies outlined in the CEDS do not appear to match needs and goals as closely as would be desired, and the larger community tends to be unaware of valuable EDD activities.