Many processes of interest in social science research are recorded as nominal variables with two or more categories such as employment status, occupation, political preference and self-reported health status. With panel data it is possible to analyse the transitions of individuals between...

The variational approach to Bayesian inference enables simultaneous estimation of model parameters and model complexity. An interesting feature of this approach is that it also leads to an automatic choice of model complexity. Empirical results from the analysis of hidden Markov models with...

This paper first identifies the level of cyclical systemic risks in Spain, also calibrating their impact on the solvency of the banking system, and, second, assesses the costs and benefits of the countercyclical use of capital requirements. The first part of the paper is based on an integrated...

Este documento presenta un conjunto amplio de análisis para, en primer lugar, identificar el nivel de los riesgos sistémicos cíclicos en España y calibrar su impacto sobre la solvencia del sistema bancario y, adicionalmente, valorar los costes y beneficios del uso contracíclico de los...

Today the European agrofood sector is increasingly confronted with the threatsas well as the opportunities of liberalizing markets. Therefore, competitiveness on globalmarkets is becoming of paramount importance for European farmers. The challenges ofglobal markets are accompanied by a growing...

In Flanders glasshouse vegetables andornamental plants are typically produced at familybusinesses. At this type of businesses the objectives andlong-term firm developments are influenced by the socalled ‘family-firm life cycle’. In many cases the firmshows a life cycle that corresponds with...

Organic farming and fair trade certified chains have emerged in West-Africa since the 1990s inanswer to new alternative markets in developed countries. These chains, involving actors fromNorth and South, are seen as an opportunity to sustainably valorise the small peasants agriculturein Africa...

The aim of this paper is to elicit the sensitivity of farmers to payments for agro-environmental services in acontext of strong agro-ecological and policy constraints. We present results from a choice experimentsurvey performed among the whole population of agricultural decision-makers (104) in...

The farm labor market is expected to experience supply deficiencies as a result of the displacement of foreign unskilled workers due to the impending implementation of stricter immigration policies in the United States. This study scrutinizes the farm labor hiring predicament of farm operators...