There is wide consensus that entrepreneurial talent is the ability to discover and exploit market opportunities by taking the relevant risky decisions. Discovery and exploitation are separate but interlinked features of entrepreneurship requiring, in different proportions, the exploitation of...

Recent empirical studies concerning the impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) on economic development have all been taking into account FDI as a whole. However, the theoretical literature on the topic argues that more attention should be devoted to distinguishing FDI by type, and suggests...

Several econometrical recent studies carried on international comparison data puts into question the opinion according to which education as a human capital indicator would encourage growth. This result comes in a context of opening to the outside. The evaluations are made on data of dynamic...

The aim of this chapter is to investigate the possibility of combining human capital theory and the capability approach in order to better understand and measure both the instrumental and the intrinsic values of education for individuals, and to trace its relative spillover effects on societies....

Economic growth and unemployment exhibit an ambiguous relationship – according to empirical studies. This ambiguity can be investigated by observing the role of the underground economy in shaping the productivity of firms. Indeed, unemployment may be absorbed by underground firms, which adopt...

An emerging economic literature over the past decade has made use of international tests of educational achievement to analyze the determinants and impacts of cognitive skills. The cross-country comparative approach provides a number of unique advantages over national studies: It can exploit...

Given the decline in growth momentum in the manufacturing sector in many OECD countries, the role of knowledge-based capital has emerged as a key driver for sustained growth. While empirical studies on estimating knowledge spillovers have usually been undertaken at the country level, the...

We show that socio-economic status (SES) is a powerful predictor of many facets of a child's personality. The facets of personality we investigate encompass time preferences, risk preferences, and altruism, as well as crystallized and fluid IQ. We measure a family's SES by the mother's and...

The international markets have been the major influence spurring economic growth and development in the Malaysian economy even until today. There were two sources of growth, namely foreign capital and exports of commodities. The government particularly beginning in 1971 moved to develop human...

Sumo wrestling is a traditional fighting sport in Japan and has been popular since the 18th century (the Edo period). Using a data set for all sumo wrestlers in the post-World War II period, this paper investigates how wrestlers’ body mass index (BMI) is associated with their win rate and...