infonet-economy

This paper investigates the dynamic effects of rainfall shocks on agroecosystems productivity. The analysis estimates a panel data model of cereal production in southern Italy. It documents the adverse effects of a reduction in rainfall on the agroecosystem productivity both in the short run and the long run. It investigates how increasing the level of spatial crop diversity can...

Human gene patents are patents on human genes that have been removed from human bodies and scientifically isolated and manipulated in a laboratory. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (the USPTO) has issued thousands of patents on such genes, and patents have also been granted by the European Patent Office, (the EPO). Legal and moral justification, however, are not identical, and it...

Investors do not physically hold their investment securities any more. Securities are held and transferred through a complex, sophisticated, and international network of financial intermediaries, including central securities depositories, investment banks, and brokers-dealers. Investors buy and sell their holdings by having book-entries made to their securities accounts; they provide...

The Handbook of Research on Global Corporate Citizenship identifies and fosters key interdisciplinary research on corporate citizenship and provides a framework for academic debate on corporate responsibility in a global society. Leading academics have been invited from various disciplines such as management studies, economics, sociology, legal studies and political science to...

The article refers to research by Stephen Barley (2007) and replies to criticism by Peter Edward and Hugh Willmott concerning the authors' own research on the political aspects of corporate social responsibility. The Barley study suggests that business's influence on politics can negatively impact representative democracy. The reply comments on private- and public-sector...

Current solutions for industrial manufacturing assembly systems do not suit the needs of mass customization industry, which is facing low production volumes, many variants and rapidly changing conditions. This paper proposes the concept of self-organizing evolvable assembly systems, where assembly system modules and product parts to be assembled self-organize and self-adapt (among...