This book constitutes my doctoral thesis in economics at the University of Hohenheim. But more than a title, it is the final outcome of a research journey of seven years, which has taken me from Germany to Spain, Peru, Brazil, Netherlands, England and Turkey, collecting information and seeking...

Several studies analyzed the importance of absorptive capacity (AC) to achieve economic development. However, to the best of our knowledge, no study compares the building blocks (BBs) of AC between developed and emergent economies. This paper aims to identify and analyze the impact of the BBs on...

Most previous works regarding the relationship between gender and the environment have focused on women's vulnerability (the patient approach). The few quantitative research papers adopting an agency approach have studied the effect of women’s political participation on female aggregate...

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to collectively measure and compare the efficiency of Brazilian and American soybean transport corridors, from farmers to export ports, using the data envelopment analysis (DEA). Design/methodology/approach: This paper aims to determine routes from main...

Aim: If companies manage their inventory inefficiently, inventory costs can increase significantly due to shortages, overstocking, and risks. Inventory management is critical for company's success which, in turn, impacts on countries' development. This paper aims to investigate the efficiency of...

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to characterize real estate lease management of the São Paulo City Municipality (PMSP), the largest metropolitan region in Latin America, for the provision of public education, health and social assistance services. Design/methodology/approach: In...

Although an essential condition for the occurrence of human development, economic growth is not always efficiently converted into quality of life by nation-states. Accordingly, the objective of this study is to measure the social efficiency—the ability of a nation-state to convert its produced...