This paper presents a “broken stick” method to test for structural breaks in a regression model. The method is illustrated using output data across the EU and the results are bootstrapped to identify statistical significance.

Abstract: Papers examining a developed nation’s labour productivity frequently ignore spatial effects. We present empirical results indicating that geographical proximity matters for plant-level productivity.

English economic policy requires different levels of government to pursue incommensurate, urban-centric, objectives. Rural areas are characterised by ‘softer’ development approaches centring on relocalisation. Measuring rural economic performance is obscured by the simultaneous use of two...

New members of academic teaching staff will encounter any number of issues and problems in their first year. This paper discusses the issues encountered in the first year of a lecturing post and the efforts put into writing and compiling a new, core level 3 module. The paper explores experiences...

Issues of productivity and competitiveness at a regional level have increasingly been a focus for both academic and policy concern. Significant and persistent differences in productivity are evident both in the UK and across Europe as a whole. This paper uses data relating to individual business...

This paper examines factors that influence the propensity of a firm to take up external business support using random effects nominal probit regression analysis to capture sector heterogeneity. The results suggest a strong positive association between the orientation of the firm towards growth...

Two simple but seemingly profitable betting rules for betting on the away win in association football are developed. One rule is consistent with avoiding those games in which there is a clear favourite. The second rule is based directly on modelling bookmaker odds and assessing the residuals...

There is a growing body of literature which suggests that voting patterns are not independent from space yet few empirical investigations exist which take explicit account of space. This article examines the determinants of voting patterns across constituencies in England and Wales using spatial...

This paper investigates the relationships between basic needs and economic growth where the interactions between output, health, nutrition and education are explicitly simultaneous. We find a unidirectional relationship that improving basic welfare contributes strongly to labour productivity...