- Via Geve 4
Mazzano di Negrar
Provincia di Verona
I-37024 Italia - IT +39 045 7500484 AUS +31 4 9864 7701
Prof. Albert Schram
University of Maryland Global Campus, History, Faculty Member
- Climate Change, Green Economy & Green Jobs Perspectives, Green Economics, Environmental Policy and Governance, ESG (Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance issues), Green Management, and 32 moreCorporate Social Responsibility, History of Economic Thought, Economic History, Business History, Italian (European History), Global Health, Health Services Research, Health services in hospitals, Higher Education, International Strategy, SMES IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, Ecolabelling, Higher Education Management, Higher Education Policy, Sustainability in Higher Education, Transformation of University Systems, Environmental Certification, Hotel Environmental Management Systems, Multilatinas 2012, Environmental Management Systems used in hotels, History, Anthropology, Economics, Sociology, Political Science, International Relations, Business, Research, Data Analysis, Hospitality Management, Hotel Management, and Environmental Sustainabilityedit
- GOAL- Committed to making a difference by leading positive change in higher education, serving underprivileged studen... moreGOAL- Committed to making a difference by leading positive change in higher education, serving underprivileged students.SKILLS- Leadership and management skills as Vice-Chancellor (Chief Executive Officer) in a challenging, multi-cultural setting.- Added value to organisations by implementing innovative solutions, increasing funding and decreasing operational costs.- Highly developed strategy implementation and communication skills in different cultural settings.- Acquired accelerated learning skills through recent executive training (De Baak, Twynstraedit
We argue that is it time to get the strategy back in strategic planning in higher education in developing countries. Strategy is a game plan that describes specific actions which allow an organisation to thrive in a changing environment.... more
We argue that is it time to get the strategy back in strategic planning in higher education in developing countries. Strategy is a game plan that describes specific actions which allow an organisation to thrive in a changing environment. Effective leadership is required to develop and implement a strategy. Without implementation strategy is delusion.
We describe several conceptual tools that can be used as necessary preliminary steps for the creation of a Balanced Scorecard BSC performance and strategy management system. We modified the conventional BSC taking into account the non-profit nature of universities and their multiple stakeholders. We found that while BSCs are being developed, the executive TOWS (Threats – Opportunities – Weaknesses - Strengths) tool provided sufficient guidance for management as to essential strategy and risk management.
We describe several conceptual tools that can be used as necessary preliminary steps for the creation of a Balanced Scorecard BSC performance and strategy management system. We modified the conventional BSC taking into account the non-profit nature of universities and their multiple stakeholders. We found that while BSCs are being developed, the executive TOWS (Threats – Opportunities – Weaknesses - Strengths) tool provided sufficient guidance for management as to essential strategy and risk management.
Research Interests:
Some ideas, long discredited by mainstream academics such as the Environmental Kuznets Curve, or the theory of Stable Cultural Dimensions of national cultures continue to capture the public's imagination. Regrettably, little empirical... more
Some ideas, long discredited by mainstream academics such as the Environmental Kuznets Curve, or the theory of Stable Cultural Dimensions of national cultures continue to capture the public's imagination. Regrettably, little empirical evidence has been found supporting these hypotheses. The relationship between income level and environmental quality postulated by the EKC can not be proven in a statistically rigorous manner. The concept of culture remains unclear, and is contested. The hypothesis of stable national cultural preferences along national lines remains similarly unconvincing, and the correlation with environmental performance is weak at best.
Using the Environmental Performance Index Pilot Trend country data published in 2013, for the decade from 2000 to 2010 we found a significant improvement of around 20% in Environmental Health Index for all 132 countries, measured as a composite of the effect on human health of indoor air pollution, particulate matter PM2.5, access to drinking water, access to sanitation and child mortality. These variables respond to health and environmental policies and infrastructure construction, and affect an electorate's welfare directly. Regrettably, we could not establish any significant improvement for the Ecosystem Vitality Index for this group of countries. Apparently, on average the impact of policies on the environment is still not sufficient to off-set the negative impacts of economic growth as well as poverty on the environment.
During roughly the same decade, in the World Values Survey we found a significant negative shift of around 8% in our environmental value measure for 29 countries, expressed as a diminished willingness to pay for an increase in environmental taxes between the 3rd (around 1995) and 5th (around 2005) wave of country surveys. These 29 countries account for 62% of the world's population. It seems that when Environmental Health improves and countries grow richer, the willingness to pay or environmental policies decreases.
Although it has proven to be difficult to put any meat on the cultural dimensions or value orientation theories, we found some stimulating relationships between development, environment and culture which deserve further research. Better understanding of these relationships is essential to prevent implementation of fundamentally misguided policies.
A policy implication is that awareness must be raised among the public that further improvements in environmental quality are not possible without continuous and stable funding through taxes. We could get much more improved environmental health and ecosystem vitality, if we were willing to create effective institutions with a solid tax base.
Using the Environmental Performance Index Pilot Trend country data published in 2013, for the decade from 2000 to 2010 we found a significant improvement of around 20% in Environmental Health Index for all 132 countries, measured as a composite of the effect on human health of indoor air pollution, particulate matter PM2.5, access to drinking water, access to sanitation and child mortality. These variables respond to health and environmental policies and infrastructure construction, and affect an electorate's welfare directly. Regrettably, we could not establish any significant improvement for the Ecosystem Vitality Index for this group of countries. Apparently, on average the impact of policies on the environment is still not sufficient to off-set the negative impacts of economic growth as well as poverty on the environment.
During roughly the same decade, in the World Values Survey we found a significant negative shift of around 8% in our environmental value measure for 29 countries, expressed as a diminished willingness to pay for an increase in environmental taxes between the 3rd (around 1995) and 5th (around 2005) wave of country surveys. These 29 countries account for 62% of the world's population. It seems that when Environmental Health improves and countries grow richer, the willingness to pay or environmental policies decreases.
Although it has proven to be difficult to put any meat on the cultural dimensions or value orientation theories, we found some stimulating relationships between development, environment and culture which deserve further research. Better understanding of these relationships is essential to prevent implementation of fundamentally misguided policies.
A policy implication is that awareness must be raised among the public that further improvements in environmental quality are not possible without continuous and stable funding through taxes. We could get much more improved environmental health and ecosystem vitality, if we were willing to create effective institutions with a solid tax base.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
"A theoretical framework for environmental management is offered that takes into account energy and resource efficiency, human resources management, and stakeholder relations in the context of CSR. A survey was held among a 55 Green Globe... more
"A theoretical framework for environmental management is offered that takes into account energy and resource efficiency, human resources management, and stakeholder relations in the context of CSR. A survey was held among a 55 Green Globe certified hotels in Mexico and the Caribbean. The program is evaluated positively, and perceived by all respondents as having a good return to investment. As a recommendation, the program could try to publicize the best practices among its members, since we see that not all hotels manage to take advantage of all the full set of opportunities an EMS can offer.
"
"
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
The cases of 3 Latin American companies expanding into Europe are briefly presented.
Research Interests:
We are seriously concerned with global climate change, the higher frequency of extreme weather conditions, the rise of sea level, the acidification of the oceans, the salinisation of sweet water in small islands, the dramatic reduction in... more
We are seriously concerned with global climate change, the higher frequency of extreme weather conditions, the rise of sea level, the acidification of the oceans, the salinisation of sweet water in small islands, the dramatic reduction in biodiversity, and ubiquitous pollution. But we are optimist that mitigation is still possible if the world reacts with extreme energy and cohesion.
Economics as a science has been reducing the issue of climate change to prices and quantities, interest rate and utility functions, converting health and security issues in tradable commodities. Neoclassical economics with all its empirical and logical flaws risks to provide unsufficient advice to goverments and firms, while neglecting technological and fairness issues.
At the same time, economic aspects of any mitigation strategy will be crucial for its success. So we have solicited economists to devise, develop and articulate innovative economic policies and measures to be integrated in effective and fair climate change mitigation efforts at every geographical and industry level.
Scholars from such a wide range of countries as Australia, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Denmark, France, Kenya, Hungary, India, Italy, Iran, Mauritius, The Netherlands, Poland, Singapore, Slovakia, United Kingdom have accepted this challenge, providing a unique international and multi-polar perspective.
New insights from evolutionary economics, environmental economics, sociology, law, marketing and managerial disciplines have been linked with the experience on the terrain of real policy-making in ministries and environmental agencies.
Instead of framing climate change mitigation as a cost, we feel it is a huge opportunity for innovation, profits, business growth, employment, wages and improvement of real quality of life.
The book is going to be submitted to national and international authorities before the Copenhagen summit, where the new Treaty will be signed and whose recomendations could be implemented in the following months and years.
Influencing the debate, the outcome and the implementation of decisions is the practical goal of this initiative, while helping the consolidation of a new attention in those strand of economics for real policymaking.
Themes
Main themes of the symposium are climate change mitigation policies aimed at the transition towards a low-carbon economy in terms, mainly but not excusively, of:
Industrial structure and techno-economic paradigms
Firm behaviour
Consumers/Households purchases and behaviour
Government negotiation, legislation and activities
In terms of domains of application, we are focusing on policies for international agreements, national strategies (both in developed and developing countries), regional intervention (e.g. in heavy polluting regions), city planning.
Economics as a science has been reducing the issue of climate change to prices and quantities, interest rate and utility functions, converting health and security issues in tradable commodities. Neoclassical economics with all its empirical and logical flaws risks to provide unsufficient advice to goverments and firms, while neglecting technological and fairness issues.
At the same time, economic aspects of any mitigation strategy will be crucial for its success. So we have solicited economists to devise, develop and articulate innovative economic policies and measures to be integrated in effective and fair climate change mitigation efforts at every geographical and industry level.
Scholars from such a wide range of countries as Australia, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Denmark, France, Kenya, Hungary, India, Italy, Iran, Mauritius, The Netherlands, Poland, Singapore, Slovakia, United Kingdom have accepted this challenge, providing a unique international and multi-polar perspective.
New insights from evolutionary economics, environmental economics, sociology, law, marketing and managerial disciplines have been linked with the experience on the terrain of real policy-making in ministries and environmental agencies.
Instead of framing climate change mitigation as a cost, we feel it is a huge opportunity for innovation, profits, business growth, employment, wages and improvement of real quality of life.
The book is going to be submitted to national and international authorities before the Copenhagen summit, where the new Treaty will be signed and whose recomendations could be implemented in the following months and years.
Influencing the debate, the outcome and the implementation of decisions is the practical goal of this initiative, while helping the consolidation of a new attention in those strand of economics for real policymaking.
Themes
Main themes of the symposium are climate change mitigation policies aimed at the transition towards a low-carbon economy in terms, mainly but not excusively, of:
Industrial structure and techno-economic paradigms
Firm behaviour
Consumers/Households purchases and behaviour
Government negotiation, legislation and activities
In terms of domains of application, we are focusing on policies for international agreements, national strategies (both in developed and developing countries), regional intervention (e.g. in heavy polluting regions), city planning.
Research Interests:
This policy review assesses the results of four research projects on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) which were financed under the European Commission’s Sixth Framework Programme (FP6) for Research and Technological Development.... more
This policy review assesses the results of four research projects on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) which were financed under the European Commission’s Sixth Framework Programme (FP6) for Research and Technological Development. Financed within the Socio-economic Sciences and Humanities (SSH) programme, the four projects – CSR PLATFORM, ESTER, RARE and RESPONSE – are assessed, taking into account current policy developments, with the goal of identifying possible gaps in public policy, lessons learnt for policy makers, and pointing out under-researched or emerging
research themes.
At the core of CSR is that a company is a so-called ‘moral agent’ in society, having some degree of responsibility beyond its shareholders to a wider circle of stakeholders. This premise is now widely accepted. Indeed, the intellectual ‘battle’ on defining CSR has been won, with the term ‘socially and environmentally responsible’ no longer seen as going against a company’s competitiveness.
Nevertheless, by defining CSR as ‘beyond compliance’ and ‘voluntary’, the European Commission has created an environment where there is limited scope for binding regulation and enforcement. Although the European Parliament has repeatedly promoted harmonisation and application of CSR reporting standards, for example, the European Commission has shied away from this type of ‘regulated CSR’, preferring a ‘stimulated CSR’ approach that is explained in greater detail throughout this policy review.
The ESTER project assumes that far-reaching regulation is required, while the RESPONSE project seems averse to creating any restrictions for businesses. The RARE project seems to favour a middle way, broadly in line with a stimulated CSR approach, while the CSR PLATFORM project was mainly concerned with stimulating and moderating a dialogue between academia, business and policy
makers, including discussions on the future CSR research agenda.
In general, the projects’ main contributions are at a conceptual level. Today, we can observe that the field of interdisciplinary CSR research has started to achieve a level of maturity, in which more rigourous empirical research – namely information gathered by means of observation, experience, or experiment – promises to bear fruit. The projects also draw attention to the importance of international CSR standards and instruments, which respond to the needs of global companies.
Given the wide scope and dynamics of the field, researchers recommend that the setting-up of a CSR observatory for Europe may be useful.
This body of research can now be complemented by more focussed management research related to business processes on the following themes:
• mainstreaming CSR in firms’ strategic processes, including SMEs,
• the linkage between CSR and innovation,
• performance and impact indicators, and
• global supply chain management.
Research on the internal strategic processes and mainstreaming CSR in business processes, as well as research on the wider societal outcomes of CSR programmes, both require more research effort in the coming years. In addition, in the face of continuing globalisation, a more profound analysis of the implications of global supply chains on CSR, and the factors limiting uptake of CSR in developing countries and new EU Member States deserve more attention in European research.
Without similar, interdisciplinary management research, it will not be possible to identify and disseminate best practices in CSR and increase the uptake of CSR activities by Small- and Mediumsized Enterprises (SMEs) and in new Member States. The explicit inclusion of a section on policy developments and a vision for the future in all research projects would greatly enhance their policy relevance.
research themes.
At the core of CSR is that a company is a so-called ‘moral agent’ in society, having some degree of responsibility beyond its shareholders to a wider circle of stakeholders. This premise is now widely accepted. Indeed, the intellectual ‘battle’ on defining CSR has been won, with the term ‘socially and environmentally responsible’ no longer seen as going against a company’s competitiveness.
Nevertheless, by defining CSR as ‘beyond compliance’ and ‘voluntary’, the European Commission has created an environment where there is limited scope for binding regulation and enforcement. Although the European Parliament has repeatedly promoted harmonisation and application of CSR reporting standards, for example, the European Commission has shied away from this type of ‘regulated CSR’, preferring a ‘stimulated CSR’ approach that is explained in greater detail throughout this policy review.
The ESTER project assumes that far-reaching regulation is required, while the RESPONSE project seems averse to creating any restrictions for businesses. The RARE project seems to favour a middle way, broadly in line with a stimulated CSR approach, while the CSR PLATFORM project was mainly concerned with stimulating and moderating a dialogue between academia, business and policy
makers, including discussions on the future CSR research agenda.
In general, the projects’ main contributions are at a conceptual level. Today, we can observe that the field of interdisciplinary CSR research has started to achieve a level of maturity, in which more rigourous empirical research – namely information gathered by means of observation, experience, or experiment – promises to bear fruit. The projects also draw attention to the importance of international CSR standards and instruments, which respond to the needs of global companies.
Given the wide scope and dynamics of the field, researchers recommend that the setting-up of a CSR observatory for Europe may be useful.
This body of research can now be complemented by more focussed management research related to business processes on the following themes:
• mainstreaming CSR in firms’ strategic processes, including SMEs,
• the linkage between CSR and innovation,
• performance and impact indicators, and
• global supply chain management.
Research on the internal strategic processes and mainstreaming CSR in business processes, as well as research on the wider societal outcomes of CSR programmes, both require more research effort in the coming years. In addition, in the face of continuing globalisation, a more profound analysis of the implications of global supply chains on CSR, and the factors limiting uptake of CSR in developing countries and new EU Member States deserve more attention in European research.
Without similar, interdisciplinary management research, it will not be possible to identify and disseminate best practices in CSR and increase the uptake of CSR activities by Small- and Mediumsized Enterprises (SMEs) and in new Member States. The explicit inclusion of a section on policy developments and a vision for the future in all research projects would greatly enhance their policy relevance.
Research Interests:
This book places the development of Italian railways in a European context, solidly linking railway history with the principal themes of European economic history. It addresses the question of state or private ownership of public... more
This book places the development of Italian railways in a European context, solidly linking railway history with the principal themes of European economic history. It addresses the question of state or private ownership of public utilities in a comparative way, and thereby also provides powerful insights into the actual state of this debate. The construction of Italian railways, for instance, is compared with Germany's and some remarkable differences and similarities are detected.
It is shown that from the 1840s, when the first lines were built in Italy, until nationalization in 1905, the Italian state continuously interfered in railway matters, without ever being capable of creating viable conditions for the railway companies. The effects of the successive changes in railway legislation on the transport sector is assessed. Due to this incapacity of the Italian state to come to grips with `the railway question', it continued to have a pernicious and divisive influence on Italian political life.
The railways' impact upon economic growth and development was limited, due principally to the low quality of railway regulation. The railways' contribution to the creation of a national market and the economic unification of the country could not be but meagre. Nevertheless, the investments in railways were massive. In the author's view these funds sunk into an over-expanded railway infrastucture, impaired other investments which would have contributed more directly to Italian development, making the opportunity costs of having railways too large.
Italian social and economic statistics were studied for all regions before and after political unification in 1860 in order to obtain a deeper insight in the continuing disparity between Northern and Southern Italy, which is the long term riddle of Italian economic development. It is shown that the railways contributed only little to the economic unification of Italy and the positive effects were mostly felt in the twentieth century.
Reviews of the book were published in several historical journals.
It is shown that from the 1840s, when the first lines were built in Italy, until nationalization in 1905, the Italian state continuously interfered in railway matters, without ever being capable of creating viable conditions for the railway companies. The effects of the successive changes in railway legislation on the transport sector is assessed. Due to this incapacity of the Italian state to come to grips with `the railway question', it continued to have a pernicious and divisive influence on Italian political life.
The railways' impact upon economic growth and development was limited, due principally to the low quality of railway regulation. The railways' contribution to the creation of a national market and the economic unification of the country could not be but meagre. Nevertheless, the investments in railways were massive. In the author's view these funds sunk into an over-expanded railway infrastucture, impaired other investments which would have contributed more directly to Italian development, making the opportunity costs of having railways too large.
Italian social and economic statistics were studied for all regions before and after political unification in 1860 in order to obtain a deeper insight in the continuing disparity between Northern and Southern Italy, which is the long term riddle of Italian economic development. It is shown that the railways contributed only little to the economic unification of Italy and the positive effects were mostly felt in the twentieth century.
Reviews of the book were published in several historical journals.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Although not without difficulties, this study shows that CE and CBA are powerful tools for promoting innovation and change in health care systems middle-income countries by focussing investment in programmes that deliver the largest... more
Although not without difficulties, this study shows that CE and CBA are powerful tools for promoting innovation and change in health care systems middle-income countries by focussing investment in programmes that deliver the largest benefit to society. As a rule of thumb, if in middle income countries the cost-effectiveness is below $200.000 per life saved, the benefit/cost ratio is possibly be higher than one. The results of our cost benefit study were presented in Spanish at the first Central American conference on health economics in 2002, sponsored by the World Bank, and used by both hospital management and health ministry officials for the decision to continue the programme.
Research Interests:
KNAW Narcis. Back to search results. Publication National Councils for Sustainable Development in Central America (1998) Open access. Pagina-navigatie: Main. Title, National Councils for Sustainable Development in Central America.... more
KNAW Narcis. Back to search results. Publication National Councils for Sustainable Development in Central America (1998) Open access. Pagina-navigatie: Main. Title, National Councils for Sustainable Development in Central America. Published in, None. Author, Schram, Albert ...
Research Interests:
"In general, in developing countries, unfortunately, markets do not perform well. Hernando de Soto (2003) has pointed out the "hard" conditions such as the absence of property rights and the high cost of obtaining operating permits.... more
"In general, in developing countries, unfortunately, markets do not perform well. Hernando
de Soto (2003) has pointed out the "hard" conditions such as the absence of property rights
and the high cost of obtaining operating permits. Amartya Sen (1999) citing Adam Smith’s
Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759) has emphasized the "soft" conditions connected to
behavioural and institutional obstacles, in particular the role of trust for a functioning
market economy. Sen conceptualizes trust as one of the principal conditions for a
functioning market economy,
First, we analyzed the concept of trust in Adam Smith’s writings. He places trust as a central
element in all human interactions, including production, consumption and trade. In his view,
the enforcement of contracts by the state causes trust levels to rise, markets to function,
and trustworthy behaviour to increase. Conversely, trust is also a necessary condition for
successful functioning of markets. We know from recent advances in complexity economics,
that positive feedback loops can have quite substantial effects in complex systems
(Beinhocker 2006), and therefore the positive feedback of trusting and trustworthy
behaviour could be quite substantial. It seems Smith had an intuitive and quite sophisticated
understanding of this.
Regarding the role of trust in a market economy the direction of the causality is hard to
determine. Do functioning markets develop trust, or does higher trust level cause stronger
development of market institutions?
In order to investigate this, we carried out a classical trust experiment (Berg, Dickhaut and
McCabe 1995)in Costa Rica, comparing trust level and experienced market operators and
inexperienced operators, i.e. economics undergraduates (Alpízar 2004). Indeed, relatively
low trust levels were found among the students, but experience market operators exhibited
high trust levels. There are implications for educational policy in business education. A
possible extension of this work is to measure trust levels among inexperienced market
operators in developing and developed economies before and after market training.
Next, we undertook an analysis of a series of trust experiments in developing countries.
From this literature evidence emerges functioning markets create trust, and not the other
way around. We would recommend therefore that policy focus primarily on creating the
appropriate "hard" conditions for market functioning, rather than attempting to influence
trust levels in “soft” ways, by promoting dialogue of business codes of good behaviour.
Results from economic experiments therefore show that Amartya Sen, but not Adam Smith
seem to have confused too narrowly on trust as a condition, and fails to contemplate the
effects of trusting and trustworthy behaviour on the functioning of markets.
2
References
Alpízar, F., Till Requate and Albert Schram (2004). "Collective versus Random Fining: An Experimental
Study on Controlling Non-Point Pollution." Environmental and Resource Economics 29(2):
231-52.
Beinhocker, E. D. (2006). The Origin of Wealth. Evolution, Complexity and the Radical Remaking of
Economics. London, Random House.
Berg, J., J. Dickhaut, et al. (1995). "Trust, Reciprocity, and Social History." Games and Economic
Behavior 10: 122-42.
De Soto, H. (2003). The Mystery of Capital Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails
Everywhere Else. New York, Basic Books.
Sen, A. (1999). Development as Freedom. New York, Oxford University Press.
Smith, A. (1759). The Theory of Moral Sentiments. London, A. Millar."
de Soto (2003) has pointed out the "hard" conditions such as the absence of property rights
and the high cost of obtaining operating permits. Amartya Sen (1999) citing Adam Smith’s
Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759) has emphasized the "soft" conditions connected to
behavioural and institutional obstacles, in particular the role of trust for a functioning
market economy. Sen conceptualizes trust as one of the principal conditions for a
functioning market economy,
First, we analyzed the concept of trust in Adam Smith’s writings. He places trust as a central
element in all human interactions, including production, consumption and trade. In his view,
the enforcement of contracts by the state causes trust levels to rise, markets to function,
and trustworthy behaviour to increase. Conversely, trust is also a necessary condition for
successful functioning of markets. We know from recent advances in complexity economics,
that positive feedback loops can have quite substantial effects in complex systems
(Beinhocker 2006), and therefore the positive feedback of trusting and trustworthy
behaviour could be quite substantial. It seems Smith had an intuitive and quite sophisticated
understanding of this.
Regarding the role of trust in a market economy the direction of the causality is hard to
determine. Do functioning markets develop trust, or does higher trust level cause stronger
development of market institutions?
In order to investigate this, we carried out a classical trust experiment (Berg, Dickhaut and
McCabe 1995)in Costa Rica, comparing trust level and experienced market operators and
inexperienced operators, i.e. economics undergraduates (Alpízar 2004). Indeed, relatively
low trust levels were found among the students, but experience market operators exhibited
high trust levels. There are implications for educational policy in business education. A
possible extension of this work is to measure trust levels among inexperienced market
operators in developing and developed economies before and after market training.
Next, we undertook an analysis of a series of trust experiments in developing countries.
From this literature evidence emerges functioning markets create trust, and not the other
way around. We would recommend therefore that policy focus primarily on creating the
appropriate "hard" conditions for market functioning, rather than attempting to influence
trust levels in “soft” ways, by promoting dialogue of business codes of good behaviour.
Results from economic experiments therefore show that Amartya Sen, but not Adam Smith
seem to have confused too narrowly on trust as a condition, and fails to contemplate the
effects of trusting and trustworthy behaviour on the functioning of markets.
2
References
Alpízar, F., Till Requate and Albert Schram (2004). "Collective versus Random Fining: An Experimental
Study on Controlling Non-Point Pollution." Environmental and Resource Economics 29(2):
231-52.
Beinhocker, E. D. (2006). The Origin of Wealth. Evolution, Complexity and the Radical Remaking of
Economics. London, Random House.
Berg, J., J. Dickhaut, et al. (1995). "Trust, Reciprocity, and Social History." Games and Economic
Behavior 10: 122-42.
De Soto, H. (2003). The Mystery of Capital Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails
Everywhere Else. New York, Basic Books.
Sen, A. (1999). Development as Freedom. New York, Oxford University Press.
Smith, A. (1759). The Theory of Moral Sentiments. London, A. Millar."
Research Interests:
University success and access to higher education are intrinsically linked. A financially successful university will be able to guarantee equity of access to those with talent, by providing scholarships. In this paper we will mainly focus... more
University success and access to higher education are intrinsically linked. A financially successful university will be able to guarantee equity of access to those with talent, by providing scholarships. In this paper we will mainly focus on Universities financial success and how to attain it. I will point out the opportunities that exist in large grants programmes such as the EU's Seventh Framework and the Life-Long Learning programmes. I will also stress the importance of entrepreneurial universities for generating revenue. In addition, producing graduates with entrepreneurial skills helps avoiding brain drain, since the national job markets can not always be expected to absorb all graduates. I will also emphasize the importance on implementing a strategic management, which is essential to assure that new activities contribute to the desired development of the University. General key performance indicators for each of the 3 missions of the university will be proposed within a framework of a Balanced Score Card strategic management system.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
"The main messages of this presentation are the following First of all, the development of universities in L/MIC is most of all a leadership and management challenge. Technology and globalization seem to have produced an ever increasing... more
"The main messages of this presentation are the following First of all, the development of universities in L/MIC is most of all a leadership and management challenge. Technology and globalization seem to have produced an ever increasing rate of change.
Secondly, a support team for project-based research, teaching and service needs to be set up. UNITECH's strategic targets can only be achieved if sufficient resources are secured. These will come from the government of PNG, but additional resources from grants and private organizations will need to be secured. Tax exemptions and increased revenue from larger student numbers will not allow you to fully implement your plans. In order to obtain external resources, first a strategic management system will need to be created.
Thirdly, an entrepreneurship programme and a business incubator will allow students, university staff and external stakeholders to create viable and profitable spin-offs, in which the university will have a share."
Secondly, a support team for project-based research, teaching and service needs to be set up. UNITECH's strategic targets can only be achieved if sufficient resources are secured. These will come from the government of PNG, but additional resources from grants and private organizations will need to be secured. Tax exemptions and increased revenue from larger student numbers will not allow you to fully implement your plans. In order to obtain external resources, first a strategic management system will need to be created.
Thirdly, an entrepreneurship programme and a business incubator will allow students, university staff and external stakeholders to create viable and profitable spin-offs, in which the university will have a share."
Research Interests:
The presentation argues that university's corporate social responsibility related to teaching is to produce employable graduates and responsible citizens. Regarding research it has a unique responsibility to produce new knowledge. In... more
The presentation argues that university's corporate social responsibility related to teaching is to produce employable graduates and responsible citizens. Regarding research it has a unique responsibility to produce new knowledge. In developing countries the relevance of this new knowledge is an important issue. A small survey among university staff in the Netherlands showed that decentralized and specialised support for research grant applications produces maximum benefits.
Research Interests:
Talk on CSR, outlining generic environmental business strategies. The second part of the talk a problem was discussed using the problem-based learning method.
Research Interests:
Despite their resource constraints, SMEs may be uniquely positioned to capture some of the benefits of CSR, which would more than justify the costs in producing positive social and environmental externalities. Due to their strong ties... more
Despite their resource constraints, SMEs may be uniquely positioned to capture some of the benefits of CSR, which would more than justify the costs in producing positive social and environmental externalities. Due to their strong ties with providers and the local community, CSR may be better able to define and select which activities directed towards alleviating social issues – such as poverty or social exclusion – and integrate it with their business strategy.
For companies seeing CSR as an opportunity to innovate and hence enhance efficiency, extend markets and increase sales is the key to success.
Strategic integration assures maximum social benefits as well as maximum private benefits for the company are achieved. SMEs should therefore produce explicit business strategies. Strategic alignment problems between managers and other stakeholders also will tend to be smaller than in large companies, since the distance between the managers and stakeholders tend to be smaller. Given the SMEs difficulty in finding the right personnel for the right price, enhancing their reputation in the community, may make it easier to attract personnel and retain them. Possibly, the largest benefits of community involvement may be in lowering the cost of personnel recruitment, the ease of retaining highly productive personnel, and the lowering of training costs. With the new generation Y, or milenials coming to the labour market, CSR programs can provide “meaning” to work, which is what these generations look for (Heskett 2010).
Subsidies can help to off-set some of the initial investment costs. The responsibility for policy makers is to create an enabling environment for CSR in SMEs. Interest in CSR can be increased among SMEs by sharing information and cases of success. Transaction cost for training can be made lower by clustering SMEs in groups.
In all, SMEs should learn to think of CSR in terms of a strategic opportunity instead of something better left to Multi-National Cooperations, who as some cases have shown in the last years are frequently struggling with their CSR programs.
For companies seeing CSR as an opportunity to innovate and hence enhance efficiency, extend markets and increase sales is the key to success.
Strategic integration assures maximum social benefits as well as maximum private benefits for the company are achieved. SMEs should therefore produce explicit business strategies. Strategic alignment problems between managers and other stakeholders also will tend to be smaller than in large companies, since the distance between the managers and stakeholders tend to be smaller. Given the SMEs difficulty in finding the right personnel for the right price, enhancing their reputation in the community, may make it easier to attract personnel and retain them. Possibly, the largest benefits of community involvement may be in lowering the cost of personnel recruitment, the ease of retaining highly productive personnel, and the lowering of training costs. With the new generation Y, or milenials coming to the labour market, CSR programs can provide “meaning” to work, which is what these generations look for (Heskett 2010).
Subsidies can help to off-set some of the initial investment costs. The responsibility for policy makers is to create an enabling environment for CSR in SMEs. Interest in CSR can be increased among SMEs by sharing information and cases of success. Transaction cost for training can be made lower by clustering SMEs in groups.
In all, SMEs should learn to think of CSR in terms of a strategic opportunity instead of something better left to Multi-National Cooperations, who as some cases have shown in the last years are frequently struggling with their CSR programs.
Research Interests:
Structure of FP7 program, focussing on Marie Curie post-doc fellowships.
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KNAW Narcis. Back to search results. Publication Los Premios Nobel del 2003: Vernon Smith y Daniel Kahneman (2002). Pagina-navigatie: Main. ...
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KNAW Narcis. Back to search results. Publication Adam Smith, pobreza, ambiente y experimentos económicos (2003) Open access. Pagina-navigatie: Main. Title, Adam Smith, pobreza, ambiente y experimentos económicos. Published in, None.... more
KNAW Narcis. Back to search results. Publication Adam Smith, pobreza, ambiente y experimentos económicos (2003) Open access. Pagina-navigatie: Main. Title, Adam Smith, pobreza, ambiente y experimentos económicos. Published in, None. Author, Schram, Albert. Date, 2003 ...
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• Competitividad–macro: Cuando un país se ha integrado en la economía mundial por su capacidad de producir bienes y servicios de forma innovadora que permitan colocar productos atractivos en el mercado internacional, haciendo un uso... more
• Competitividad–macro: Cuando un país se ha integrado en la economía mundial por su capacidad de producir bienes y servicios de forma innovadora que permitan colocar productos atractivos en el mercado internacional, haciendo un uso eficiente y sostenible de los insumos necesarios. Asimismo, cuando en el país existe un buen clima de negocios y de inversión.(Nota: En el estudio de INCAE Costa Rica logró puesto 43 en el ranking de 59 países)–micro: Cuando una empresa lograr a mantener una rentabilidad mayor del ...
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KNAW Narcis. Back to search results. Publication Cambio climático y percepción de riesgo. Curso Regional sobre los... (2000). Pagina-navigatie: Main. ...
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KNAW Narcis. Back to search results. Publication Bandera ecológica (2000) Open access. Pagina-navigatie: Main. Title, Bandera ecológica. Published in, Special Issue on Environmental Management. Author, Schram, Albert. Date, 2000. Type,... more
KNAW Narcis. Back to search results. Publication Bandera ecológica (2000) Open access. Pagina-navigatie: Main. Title, Bandera ecológica. Published in, Special Issue on Environmental Management. Author, Schram, Albert. Date, 2000. Type, working paper. ...
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KNAW Narcis. Back to search results. Publication Valoración Económica de Daño Ambiental para No-Iniciados (2003). Pagina-navigatie: Main. ...
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Socio-economic data for research on education by state, based on DHS household survey.
... University; B DIERICK; D MATTHYSSEN; A SCHRAM; B VERSTRAETEN; B DE ZUTTER;Stijn Segers [001996229886] - Ghent University; Peter Vanden Abeele [801001816179] - Ghent University P.VandenAbeele@UGent.be. Title, ...
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The projects evaluates and compares the major university performance rankings: WebO-metrics, QS, THE, USNews, ARWU and U-Multirank. It also looks at university environmental performance "green" rankings, and university systems... more
The projects evaluates and compares the major university performance rankings: WebO-metrics, QS, THE, USNews, ARWU and U-Multirank. It also looks at university environmental performance "green" rankings, and university systems rankings. It evaluates rankings on the basis of good governance, transparency, rigour, and measure-what-matters (validity).
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Some ideas, long discredited by mainstream academics such as the Environmental Kuznets Curve, or the theory of Stable Cultural Dimensions of national cultures continue to capture the public's imagination. Regrettably, little empirical... more
Some ideas, long discredited by mainstream academics such as the Environmental Kuznets Curve, or the theory of Stable Cultural Dimensions of national cultures continue to capture the public's imagination. Regrettably, little empirical evidence has been found supporting these hypotheses. The relationship between income level and environmental quality postulated by the EKC can not be proven in a statistically rigorous manner. The concept of culture remains unclear, and is contested. The hypothesis of stable national cultural preferences along national lines remains similarly unconvincing, and the correlation with environmental performance is weak at best. Using the Environmental Performance Index Pilot Trend country data published in 2013, for the decade from 2000 to 2010 we found a significant improvement of around 20% in Environmental Health Index for all 132 countries, measured as a composite of the effect on human health of indoor air pollution, particulate matter PM2.5, acces...
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This report provides a methodological background that will be used in the assessment of hazards of overtopping. Those assessment methods that attach a monetary value to the effects on resources are focussed upon. The relationships between... more
This report provides a methodological background that will be used in the assessment of hazards of overtopping. Those assessment methods that attach a monetary value to the effects on resources are focussed upon. The relationships between the characteristics of overtopping and the use of specific valuation techniques is further explored. Attention is paid to issues, which ask for methodological decisions. A literature overview of the methods for assessing flood damages will be given. These insights and structuring the process of valuation result into a guidance to the valuation of controlling overtopping. This approach is applied in two case studies.Chapter 2 starts with some general definitions on overtopping and an introduction to socio-economic impacts and how to value them. Chapter 3 focuses on the economic valuation of human lives at risk. Based on the insights presented in the former chapters, an approach is presented in chapter 4 that structures and assists the actual assessm...
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This paper presents an experimental study of two different pollution compliance games: collective vis-à-vis random fining as a means to regulate non-point pollution. Using samples from both Costa-Rican coffee mill managers and Costa-Rican... more
This paper presents an experimental study of two different pollution compliance games: collective vis-à-vis random fining as a means to regulate non-point pollution. Using samples from both Costa-Rican coffee mill managers and Costa-Rican students, we confirm the hypothesis that the two games are equivalent and, in the majority of cases, lead to efficient outcomes through Nash play. However, we reject the hypothesis that managers and students behave equally. Off the equilibrium, managers tend to overabate, whereas students tend to under-abate. This result suggests the importance of considering subject pool differences in the evaluation of environmental policies by means of experiments, particularly if those policies involve certain forms of management decisions.
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We argue that is it time to get the strategy back in strategic planning in higher education in developing countries. Strategy is a game plan that describes specific actions which allow an organisation to thrive in a changing environment.... more
We argue that is it time to get the strategy back in strategic planning in higher education in developing countries. Strategy is a game plan that describes specific actions which allow an organisation to thrive in a changing environment. Effective leadership is required to develop and implement a strategy. Without implementation strategy is delusion. We describe several conceptual tools that can be used as necessary preliminary steps for the creation of a Balanced Scorecard BSC performance and strategy management system. We modified the conventional BSC taking into account the non-profit nature of universities and their multiple stakeholders. We found that while BSCs are being developed, the executive TOWS (Threats – Opportunities – Weaknesses Strengths) tool provided sufficient guidance for management as to essential strategy and risk management. Track: Management JEL Codes: 02 Development Planning and Policy I2 Education and Research Institutions M1 Business Administration Confere...
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For effective online teaching and learning there is no short-cut for good instructional design, as well as following well-established pedagogical practices. For universities in the post-pandemic era, the main challenges for delivering... more
For effective online teaching and learning there is no short-cut for good instructional design, as well as following well-established pedagogical practices. For universities in the post-pandemic era, the main challenges for delivering quality online programs are, first, to provide good access through high quality digital infrastructure, and, secondly, to assure that all lecturers are trained in modern pedagogical approaches, basic instructional design principles for online teaching, and media usage. In my own experience, following the eight QM “Quality Matters” standards, will go a long way in improving online instruction and student engagement. These standards provide a simple, proven and robust framework, even for the inexperienced to design and deliver an effective and engaging course. Universities that have consistently applied QM standards, for example, dominate the rankings for best online programs in the USA (QM 2020). Uniquely, QM offers a low-cost training program on online...
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KNAW Narcis. Back to search results. Publication National Councils for Sustainable Development in Central America (1998) Open access. Pagina-navigatie: Main. Title, National Councils for Sustainable Development in Central America.... more
KNAW Narcis. Back to search results. Publication National Councils for Sustainable Development in Central America (1998) Open access. Pagina-navigatie: Main. Title, National Councils for Sustainable Development in Central America. Published in, None. Author, Schram, Albert ...
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KNAW Narcis. Back to search results. Publication Adam Smith, pobreza, ambiente y experimentos económicos (2003) Open access. Pagina-navigatie: Main. Title, Adam Smith, pobreza, ambiente y experimentos económicos. Published in, None.... more
KNAW Narcis. Back to search results. Publication Adam Smith, pobreza, ambiente y experimentos económicos (2003) Open access. Pagina-navigatie: Main. Title, Adam Smith, pobreza, ambiente y experimentos económicos. Published in, None. Author, Schram, Albert. Date, 2003 ...
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Research Interests:
Research Interests:
KNAW Narcis. Back to search results. Publication Los Premios Nobel del 2003: Vernon Smith y Daniel Kahneman (2002). Pagina-navigatie: Main. ...
Research Interests:
KNAW Narcis. Back to search results. Publication Las negociaciones sobre cambio climático. Post-Kyoto y pre-Buenos Aires (1998). Pagina-navigatie: Main. ...
KNAW Narcis. Back to search results. Publication Environmental Policies for Guatemala. Report presented to Presidential... (1997). Pagina-navigatie: Main. ...
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Research Interests:
KNAW Narcis. Back to search results. Publication Las negociaciones sobre cambio climático. Post-Kyoto y pre-Buenos Aires (1998). Pagina-navigatie: Main. ...
We argue that is it time to get the strategy back in strategic planning in higher education in developing countries. Strategy is a game plan that describes specific actions which allow an organisation to thrive in a changing environment.... more
We argue that is it time to get the strategy back in strategic planning in higher education in developing countries. Strategy is a game plan that describes specific actions which allow an organisation to thrive in a changing environment. Effective leadership is required to develop and implement a strategy. Without implementation strategy is delusion.
We describe several conceptual tools that can be used as necessary preliminary steps for the creation of a Balanced Scorecard BSC performance and strategy management system. We modified the conventional BSC taking into account the non-profit nature of universities and their multiple stakeholders. We found that while BSCs are being developed, the executive TOWS (Threats – Opportunities – Weaknesses - Strengths) tool provided sufficient guidance for management as to essential strategy and risk management.
We describe several conceptual tools that can be used as necessary preliminary steps for the creation of a Balanced Scorecard BSC performance and strategy management system. We modified the conventional BSC taking into account the non-profit nature of universities and their multiple stakeholders. We found that while BSCs are being developed, the executive TOWS (Threats – Opportunities – Weaknesses - Strengths) tool provided sufficient guidance for management as to essential strategy and risk management.