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This paper investigates the relationship between exports and overseas links using data from the UK Community Innovation Survey. Overseas vertical and horizontal links are associated with an average increase in export intensity of 74 and 156 percent for vertical and horizontal overseas links respectively. Firm size shows no significant interactions with overseas links. The data suggests that overseas links are a relatively infrequent form of conducting trade. My findings support the role of Government in fostering overseas links despite their rarity, since they are effective export conduits.

AbstractThere is a well‐established theoretical and empirical literature that shows that exporters are more innovative than otherwise equivalent non‐exporters. In this article, we ask whether this is also true when it comes to the effects of adopting greener production techniques. Using an instrumental variables strategy based on UK firm level data, we find robust evidence that exporters are more likely to report their innovation as having a 'high/very high' environmental effect.

ABSTRACTThe paper investigates the relationship between bank interest rate margins and collateral for loans issued to new ventures. The analysis finds a convex U‐shaped relationship. The results indicate that while provision of collateral initially reduces bank exposure to risk (through security, more optimal levels of capital and lower moral hazard among entrepreneurs) that beyond a point, the positive risk‐wealth association gives rise to greater risk taking propensity among entrepreneurs and ultimately higher interest rates. This indicates that a lender's pricing policy may even somewhat help to level the competitive playing field between ventures launched by higher and moderately wealthy entrepreneurs.

Information from television game shows has recently been used to measure women's risk aversion. Researchers have abstracted from this evidence to explain the underrepresentation of women at senior levels in politics, business and management. But how reliable is this type of data? Using data for 483 male and female participants in a simulation of the TV game show 'Deal or no Deal', we find that women on average exit 0.45 rounds earlier than men, confirming the higher risk aversion for women. We also find that if we were to select women with comparable earnings and education to men, being female is less of an obstacle towards risk-taking behaviour than in the absence of these controls. Specifically, women would now be seen to exit 0.12 rounds earlier, rather than 0.45 rounds earlier. Experiments need to be mindful of controlling for these background factors when assessing the nexus between risk-taking and gender.

We propose that the effect of market concentration on firm survival is different according to whether an industry is static (low entry and exit) or dynamic. In our empirical analysis we find support for this hypothesis. Industry concentration rates reduce the survival of new plants but only in markets marked by low entry and exit rates. Specifically, a 10 percent increase in the 5-firm concentration ratio in a dynamic market raises the survival rate of new ventures by approximately 2 percent. Our results have implications for the antitrust/competition law indicating less need for regulation of dominant firms in dynamic industries characterized by high entry and exit rates. We use a unique dataset comprising the population of new ventures that enter the UK market in 1998.

Our analysis is the first of its kind to explore patterns of subsidization and CO2 emissions in China's electricity producing sector. Applying data for all power plants across China and controlling for the age, capacity and location of generating stations, we find that plants attracting a higher government subsidy are also worryingly the plants generating a disproportionate share of CO2 emissions. This distortion is incongruent with China's aspiration for a greener economy but may be eliminated if China delivers on its November 2013 announcement to review many industry subsidies on its way to a fully-fledged market economy (Bloomberg News, 28.02.2014).