What the Berlin Wall can teach us about mergers
Date: | 15 December 2017 |
Author: | Susanne Täuber |
History suggests that when two groups merge, it doesn’t end well. Academic research has suggested the same. But my experience and research at the Faculty of Economics and Business has allowed me to identify factors that accommodate successful mergers.
Brexit minister David Davis’ sectoral impact assessments - Groningen style
Date: | 12 December 2017 |
The minister might not have done his homework, but our economists have: and they estimate that 2.5 million jobs and 8.5 percent of the UK’s GDP is at risk from Brexit.
Female directors, board committees and firm performance
Date: | 29 November 2017 |
Author: | Colin P. Green and Swarnodeep Homroy |
What effect, if any, does female representation have on board performance? Previous research says none. Our research says otherwise.
Why is the Gender Gap in Education Closing?
Date: | 23 November 2017 |
Historically women have had lower levels of education than men all around the world. But since the mid-20th century the educational attainment of women has grown at a quicker pace than that of men in most countries, leading to a gradual closing of the...
The financialization of healthcare in the Netherlands
Date: | 11 October 2017 |
Author: | Martijn van der Steen |
In the last decade, the Dutch government has embraced a neo-liberal agenda to deal with the rapidly rising costs of public healthcare. As a result, the characteristics of the healthcare sector have changed to include the emulation of a ‘market’ for care,...
It’s about time! A more customer-focused government
Date: | 09 October 2017 |
Government service is often perceived as subpar. People can associate it with long lines, poor service, and unreliability when keeping to deadlines. But in recent years, governments have started to take interest in the idea of treating citizens like...
Damaged goods
Date: | 05 October 2017 |
In my Industrial Organization lectures, I like to talk about Damaged Goods, the now classic article by Deneckere and McAfee. What’s it about? In 1990, IBM introduced a cheaper version of its laser printer. Fifty percent slower, but much cheaper. However,...
The psychology of regulation: ‘involvement’ versus independence
Date: | 02 October 2017 |
Regulators are well aware that management behaviour is largely determined by the corporate culture within an organization. However, in practice, shaping corporate culture is trickier than it sounds. People struggle with questions such as what is an ethical...
Polarised social values harm economic development
Date: | 15 September 2017 |
Author: | Sjoerd Beugelsdijk, Mariko J. Klasing and Petros Milionis |
A striking development in the recent years has been the increased polarisation in terms of values and attitudes that many societies around the world are witnessing. This is noticeable both in public opinion surveys as well as in recent election outcomes....