Welfarism and the multidimensionality of welfare state legitimacy: evidence from The Netherlands, 2006

Is it possible that citizens who support a substantial role for government in the provision of welfare are, at the same time, critical about specific aspects of such provision? Based on confirmatory factor analyses, and using a 2006 Dutch survey, this study shows that welfare state legitimacy is indeed multidimensional, i.e. that opinions tend to cluster together in several dimensions referring to various aspects of the welfare state. There is partial evidence for the existence of a single, underlying welfarism dimension which consists basically of views regarding the range of governmental responsibility, as well as of the idea that these governmental provisions do not have unfavourable repercussions in economic or moral spheres. However, the separate dimensions cannot be reduced entirely to this overall welfarism dimension. This is illustrated by the finding that the various attitude dimensions are affected differently by socio-structural position and ideological dispositions

Between fallacy and feasibility? Dealing with the risk of ecological fallacies in the quantitative study of protest mobilization and conflict

In recent years, the quantitative study of conflict has increasingly focused on small-scale and/or localized conflicts in the developing world. In this paper, we analyze and critically reflect upon a major methodological shortcoming of many studies in this field of research. We argue that by using group- or macro-level empirical data and modelling techniques, while at the same time theoretically underpinning observed empirical associations with individual-level mechanisms, many of these studies risk committing an ecological fallacy. The individual-level mechanism on which many studies rely concerns the presence of grievances which mobilize people to participate in contentious politics. This motivational approach was also present in early studies on protest mobilization in Western societies, which often relied on similar research designs. However, subsequent advances in this literature and the use of methods that were targeted more directly at the individual level uncovered that grievances alone cannot explain mobilization and that organizational capabilities and complex psychological mechanisms of belonging also form part of the puzzle. While drawing on conflict events as well as survey data from Africa, we demonstrate empirically that here, as well, inferring micro-level relations and dynamics from macro-level empirical models can lead to erroneous interpretations and inferences. Hence, we argue that to improve our understanding of conflict mobilization in the developing world, especially for conflicts with low levels of violence, it is necessary to substantially expand our methodological toolbox beyond macro-level analyses

Macroprudential policy and bank systemic risk

This paper investigates the effectiveness of macroprudential policy to contain the systemicrisk of European banks between 2000 and 2017. We use a new database (MaPPED) collected by experts at the ECB and national central banks with narrative informationon a broad range of instruments which are tracked over their life cycle. Using a dynamicpanel framework at a monthly frequency we assess the impact of macroprudential tools and their design on the banks’ systemic risk both in the short and the long run. We furthermore decompose the systemic risk measure in an individual bank risk component and a systemic linkage component. This is of particular interest because microprudential policy focuses on the tail risk of an individual bank while macroprudential policy targets systemic risk by addressing the interlinkages and common exposures across banks. In general, the announcements of macroprudential policy actions have a downward effect on bank systemic risk. On average, all banks benefit from macroprudential tools in terms oftheir individual risk. We find that credit growth tools and exposure limits exhibit the most pronounced downward effect on the individual risk component. However, we find evidence for a risk-shifting effect which is more pronounced for retail-oriented banks. The effects are heterogeneous across banks with respect to the systemic linkage component. Liquidity tools and measures aimed at increasing the resilience of banks decrease the systemic linkage of banks. Moreover, these tools appear to be most effective for distressed banks.Our results have implications for the optimal design of macroprudential instruments

Why do European Venture Capital Companies syndicate?

Financial theory, resource-based theory and access to deal flow are used to explain syndication practices among European venture capital (VC) firms. The desire to share risk and increase portfolio diversification is a more important motive for syndication than the desire to access additional intangible resources or deal flow. Access to resources is, however, more important for non-lead than for lead investors. When resource-based motives are more important, the propensity to syndicate increases. Syndication intensity is higher for young VC firms and for VC firms, specialised in a specific investment stage. Finally, syndication strategies are similar across European countries, but differ from North American strategies.

Public Management and the Metagovernance of Hierarchies, Networks and Markets: The feasibility of designing and managing governance style combinations

What is modern governance? Is it the battle against "oldfashioned" hierarchy, or is it the restoration of key hierarchical values? Is it optimizing network management, or maximizing the benefits of market thinking in the publicsector? This book argues that it is the combination of all this. The next question is: In practice, how do successful public managers design and manage combinations of hierarchical, network and market governance? In other words: what is their rationale to apply metagovernance? Five case-studies show that metagovernance is a public management requisite: it amplifies the variation of actions public managers can take, and it prevents the three idealtypical governance styles from undermining each other. Similar cases of strategic environmental policy-making in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany and the European Commission and one case of community policing in the Netherlands illustrate that successful public-sector managers are dealing with similar metagovernance challenges in different socio-politico-administrative cultures

Collision-free inverse kinematics of a 7 link cucumber picking robot

The paper presents results of research on inverse kinematics algorithms to be used in a functional model of a cucumber harvesting robot consisting of a redundant manipulator with one prismatic and six rotational joints (P6R). Within a first generic approach, the inverse kinematics problem was reformulated as a non-linear programming problem and solved with a generic algorithm. Solutions were easily obtained, but the considerable calculation time needed to solve the problem prevented on line implementation. To circumvent this problem, a second, less generic approach was developed consisting of a mixed numerical-analytic solution of the inverse kinematics problem exploiting the particular structure of the P6R manipulator. This approach facilitated rapid and robust calculation of the inverse kinematics of the cucumber harvester. During the early stages of the cucumber harvesting project, this inverse kinematics algorithm was used to off-line evaluate the ability of the robot to harvest cucumbers using 3D-information of a cucumber crop obtained in a real greenhouse. Thereafter, the algorithm was employed successfully in a functional model of the cucumber harvester to determine if cucumbers were hanging within the reachable workspace of the robot and to determine a collision-free harvest posture to be used for motion control of the manipulator during harvesting

Collision-free inverse kinematics of the redundant seven-link manipulator used in a cucumber picking robot

The paper presents results of research on an inverse kinematics algorithm that has been used in a functional model of a cucumber-harvesting robot consisting of a redundant P6R manipulator. Within a first generic approach, the inverse kinematics problem was reformulated as a non-linear programming problem and solved with a Genetic Algorithm (GA). Although solutions were easily obtained, the considerable calculation time needed to solve the problem prevented on-line implementation. To circumvent this problem, a second, less generic, approach was developed which consisted of a mixed numerical-analytic solution of the inverse kinematics problem exploiting the particular structure of the P6R manipulator. Using the latter approach, calculation time was considerably reduced. During the early stages of the cucumber-harvesting project, this inverse kinematics algorithm was used off-line to evaluate the ability of the robot to harvest cucumbers using 3D-information obtained from a cucumber crop in a real greenhouse. Thereafter, the algorithm was employed successfully in a functional model of the cucumber harvester to determine if cucumbers were hanging within the reachable workspace of the robot and to determine a collision-free harvest posture to be used for motion control of the manipulator during harvesting. The inverse kinematics algorithm is presented and demonstrated with some illustrative examples of cucumber harvesting, both off-line during the design phase as well as on-line during a field test

The planned decision to transfer an entrepreneurial company.

The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) is used in this paper to empirically study whether an entrepreneur successfully transfers his/her firm, conditional on exiting the firm. TPB posits that entrepreneurial intentions drive actions, being the transfer of a business. We expand the TPB framework with business characteristics (intangible assets and profitability) to further explain the gap between intentions to transfer and the transfer outcome. Based on survey responses of 198 Belgian entrepreneurs that exited their company between 2001 and 2006, we show that intentions drive transfer outcomes. Further, the personal desirability of a transfer, the perceived control over the transfer process and the level of intangible assets influence intentions. Business profitability has a direct positive effect on the probability of transferring a business, that is partially mediated through intentions.

Cognitive dissonance in evidence‐based sustainability policy? Reflections based on governance

Evidence‐based policy making has become popular in political circles, as it promises an indisputable, ‘true’ knowledge base for policies. The call for more ‘evidence’ is especially loud in environmental and sustainability politics. This is in sharp contrast with the much lower level of certainty that social sciences consider realistic with regards to the politics of complex, disputed, so‐called ‘wicked’ problems of the sustainability agenda. At the same time, sustainability scientists have understood the reality of political marketing and strive/pretend to produce more certainty than is scientifically sound, in order to get policy makers to act. The question is why many governments seem to favour ‘evidence‐based’ policymaking for sustainability challenges, whereas they know that this can lead to taking decisions which do not take into account uncertainty and unpredictability. In the same way predictions of economists are used as evidence although they often turn out to be wrong. Both can lead to large societal costs. What are the reasons for such collective cognitive dissonance? Is it because the costs of unwise decisions will be often later and elsewhere? An answer can be found in those strands of governance theory that acknowledge the normative dimension of governance practices and propose mechanisms for dealing with normative and cognitive tensions, such as metagovernance and transgovernance theory. I argue that the popularity of using the metaphor ‘evidence’ for knowledge is a function of the culture and traditions of administrative organisations and their political leaders. The culture and traditions are expressed in the predominant application of a governance approach with a specific appreciation of what usable knowledge or ‘evidence’ is. The paper concludes with first recommendations for improving the evidence base for political decision‐making with regard to sustainable development, and questions for further research