Glauco De Vita

Learning Styles, Culture and Inclusive Instruction in the Multicultural Classroom: A Business and Management Perspective

This article examines the learning style profile exhibited by students in a multicultural class of international business management, and how cultural conditioning is reflected in the learning style preferences of home and international students. Using the Felder and Solomans Index of Learning Styles , this study finds that each learning style dimension measured by the instrument is amply represented and that the scores reported by international students on all but one learning style dimension show much wider measures of dispersion compared to those of home students suggesting that greater variations in learning preferences are likely to co-exist in culturally heterogeneous cohorts. Suggestions on how to move toward a multistyle teaching approach to business management education so as to enfranchise all students in the multicultural classroom are then put forward. Finally, a discussion of the implications of these findings with respect to the business management curriculum design is provided.

Determinants of capital flows to developing countries: a structural VAR analysis

Purpose - The aim of the study is to investigate the relative significance of the determinants of disaggregated capital flows (foreign direct investment and portfolio flows) to five developing countries, across different time horizons. Design/methodology/approach - An empirically tractable structural VAR model of the determinants of capital flows is developed, and variance decomposition and impulse response analyses are used to investigate the temporal dynamic effects of shocks to push and pull factors on foreign direct investment and portfolio flows. Findings - Estimation of the model using quarterly data for the period 1976-2001 provides evidence supporting the hypothesis that shocks to real variables of economic activity such as foreign output and domestic productivity are the most important forces explaining the variations in capital flows to developing countries. Research limitations/implications - These findings highlight the concomitant need for policy makers in developing countries to design domestic policy that accounts for both external and internal shocks to real variables of economic activity. Originality/value - Previous empirical studies on the determinants of capital flows to developing countries have mostly examined the capital flow variable in aggregate, and have largely overlooked the possibility that the relative significance of estimated coefficients of such determinants may vary across time horizons.

Are saving and investment cointegrated? An ARDL bounds testing approach

Using the newly developed ARDL bounds testing procedure, we find that, as implied by the intertemporal budget constraint, U.S. saving and investment rates cointegrate in all sample periods considered. Our results also show that the saving–investment correlation weakens after 1971, suggesting that the Feldstein–Horioka approach provides an at least partially informative measure of capital mobility.

Growth effects of FDI and portfolio investment flows to developing countries: a disaggregated analysis by income levels

What is the impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) and portfolio investment flows on the economic growth of low-, lower middle- and upper middle-income countries? In this article we address this question using a dynamic panel model and a large data set of 126 developing countries for the period 1985 to 2002. Employing the system-generalized methods of moments (GMM) estimation approach, our findings suggest that only developing countries that have reached a minimum level of economic development and absorptive capacity are capturing the growth-enhancing effects of both forms of investment inflows.

Cultural Equivalence in the Assessment of Home and International Business Management Students: A UK exploratory study

This article explores the cultural equivalence properties of commonly adopted assessment methods by first subjecting multiple-choice tests, coursework assignments and essay response examinations to critical scrutiny for evidence of bias. Then, using data from a large cohort enrolled on a first-year business studies programme in a UK university, a comparative analysis of the academic performance of home and international students reveals considerable differences, with the marks of the latter being substantially lower than those of the former. In order to establish whether a particular assessment method is culturally biased compared to others, following ordinary least squares estimation of regressions on each assessment method for the home and international student subsamples of the cohort, a Chow test is employed. The main finding indicates that assessment by examination penalises international students beyond differences in ability levels, as measured by multiple-choice test and coursework assignment scores. On the basis of this evidence, it is suggested that, in culturally mixed classes, the exclusive adoption of the end-of-course examination be avoided.This article explores the cultural equivalence properties of commonly adopted assessment methods by first subjecting multiple-choice tests, coursework assignments and essay response examinations to critical scrutiny for evidence of bias. Then, using data from a large cohort enrolled on a first-year business studies programme in a UK university, a comparative analysis of the academic performance of home and international students reveals considerable differences, with the marks of the latter being substantially lower than those of the former. In order to establish whether a particular assessment method is culturally biased compared to others, following ordinary least squares estimation of regressions on each assessment method for the home and international student subsamples of the cohort, a Chow test is employed. The main finding indicates that assessment by examination penalises international students beyond differences in ability levels, as measured by multiple-choice test and coursework assignment scor...

The Many Faces of Asset Specificity: A Critical Review of Key Theoretical Perspectives

This paper presents a review of the concept of asset specificity and of the impact which asset specificity is expected to exert on the performance of buyer–supplier relationships. The paper begins by unpacking the complex definitional features of asset specificity and how its multifaceted nature is reflected in an inconsistent and rather ad hoc operationalization of the construct in the extant empirical literature. Following a comprehensive examination of the many dimensions of asset specificity, the review then focuses on the expected role of asset specificity in inter‐firm relationships according to three different theoretical perspectives: transaction costs economics, the resource‐based view and relational exchange theory. Considerable ambiguities and inconsistencies are highlighted by reviewing hypotheses typically developed within their respective theoretical framework. The paper concludes by identifying key challenges and new directions in order to derive maximum benefit from future research.

Another Piece in the Feldstein-Horioka Puzzle

Using UK quarterly data, we redexamine the nature and degree of the relationship between savings and investment by means of a newly developed bounds testing procedure to cointegration within an autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) framework. Our finding of cointegration in all samples considered is consistent with the view that the longdrun relationship between savings and investment is not exclusively dependent upon the level of financial integration. The evidence also indicates that this relationship weakens after the abolition of UK controls on capital flows in 1979, suggesting that the Feldstein--Horioka framework provides at least a partial measure of the degree of capital mobility. Copyright Scottish Economic Society 2003

Revisiting the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis in a tourism development context

This study investigates empirically an extended version of the Environmental Kuznets Curve model that controls for tourism development. We find that international tourist arrivals into Turkey alongside income, squared income and energy consumption, cointegrate with CO2 emissions. Tourist arrivals, growth, and energy consumption exert a positive and significant impact on CO2 emissions in the long-run. Our results provide empirical support to EKC hypothesis showing that at exponential levels of growth, CO2 emissions decline. The findings suggest that despite the environmental degradation stemming from tourism development, policies aimed at environmental protection should not be pursued at the expense of tourism-led growth.

Do exchange rates have any impact upon UK inward foreign direct investment

This article examines the impact of the level and volatility of the real exchange rate on UK foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows from the seven major countries of origin of the investment over the period 1975–2001. We use both fixed effects and dynamic generalized methods of moments (GMM) panel estimation techniques, and manufacturing data disaggregated by high and low R&D content of the sector of destination. Our results provide strong evidence that exchange rate volatility has a negative impact on FDI flows into the UK, irrespective of the sector of destination of the investment. On the other hand, the level of the real exchange rate is found to have a statistically insignificant effect on FDI after controlling for endogeneity of the regressors.

Exchange Rate Regimes and Foreign Direct Investment Flows to Developing Countries

Drawing on recent advances in exchange rate regime classifications, the paper examines empirically the effect of exchange rate regimes on foreign direct investment (FDI) flows to developing countries. Using system generalized methods of moments estimation on a panel of 70 developing countries for the period 1985–2004, we find that developing countries adopting de facto fixed or intermediate regimes significantly outperform those opting for a flexible exchange rate system in attracting FDI flows. No statistically significant differences in the FDI‐inducing properties of fixes, intermediates and floats are found using the International Monetary Fund official classification.