The objective of this research is to understand the demand for information technology among trucking companies. A multivariate discrete choice model is estimated on data from a large-scale survey of the trucking industry in California. This model is designed to identify the influences of each of twenty operational characteristics on the propensity to adopt each of seven different information te...

As emphasized by Hausmann, Rodrik and Velasco, the policy challenge of boosting growth requires prioritization and identifying what are the most binding constraints. This paper draws on firm-level data from the World Bank Enterprise Survey, which suggests that the obstacles for the functioning of firms is related to firm size. Recognizing the potential endogeneity and simultaneity between firms...

Since it is common among households to use more than one form of microinsurance, this paper estimates the uptake of different kinds of microinsurance by the same population. We use a multivariate probit model, which examines the participation in the different forms of insurance simultaneously. By doing this, we can establish whether participation patterns in different types of microinsurance op...

Of twenty-three agricultural economics conjoint analyses conducted between 1990 and 2001, seventeen used interval-rating scales, with estimation procedures varying widely. This study tests cardinality assumptions in conjoint analysis when interval-rating scales are used, and tests whether the ordered probit or two-limit tobit model is the most valid. Results indicate that cardinality assumption...

This paper develops an index of internationalisation or foreign expansion index (FEI) of the firm. The FEI integrates various dimensions of internationalisation that, although interrelated, have usually been analyzed independently, e.g., exports and FDI. Because of its prominent interfirm relationships and North-South discrepancies, this study focuses on Italy, constructing FEIs for each of som...

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between psychological factors and walking behavior in order to provide evidence supporting the implementation of measures for behavioral change for the success of urban planning initiatives. The acceptable walking distance is selected as an intermediate variable between psychological factors and actual walking distance. The results indica...

The focus of this paper is on the relationship between an individual’s environmental attitudes (or awareness) and well-being. We use an ordered probit model to examine the relationship between individual measures of subjective well-being and environmental attitudes regarding ozone pollution and species extinction. Using data from the British Household Panel Survey we find a negative correlation...

I estimate a multivariate probit model to identify key variables that are predictive of banking crises. To add to the literature on this subject, I focus on the role played by unofficial dollarization of domestic banking systems. Unofficial dollarization is a source of vulnerability for emerging markets as large depreciations render both domestic firms and banks unable to pay dollar-denominated...

Even in the face of a continuously changing economic environment, interest rates often remain unadjusted for long periods. When rates are moved, the norm is for a series of small unidirectional discrete basis-point changes. To explain these phenomena we suggest a two-equation system combining a “long-run” equation explaining a binary decision to change or not change the interest-rate, and a “sh...

Utilizing economic theory, this paper tests the proposition that intellectual property rights and competition policy are complementary policies. An ordered probit model is applied to a sample of over 4,000 firms in 36 countries in order to estimate the marginal effects of the use and quality of enforcement of intellectual property rights on a measure of the degree of seriousness of competition ...