The social investment litmus test: Family formation, employment and poverty

Over the past decade, the notion of ‘social investment’ (SI) has gained considerable traction in the political debates over welfare state futures. The multifaceted character of SI policy interventions, the effects of policy complementarities and interactions for different social groups and generational cohorts, and the challenge of delineating effects across different time dimensions, we argue, are not (yet) properly addressed by current empirical research. This paper contributes to reorienting the measurement of SI returns into a longer-term perspective, conceptualising them as people’s work- and welfare- related outcomes. It operationalises in a novel fashion macro-level data across OECD countries to analyse the medium-term aggregate effects of SI stock, flow and buffer policies with a focus on arguably the most critical stages in the post-industrial life-cycle course: transition into employment and family formation. Our findings imply that the so-called ‘Matthew effects’, following the biblical proverb ‘to him that hath shall be given’, identified in previous research stem from a measurement of SI returns conceptualised in a short-term redistributive perspective. Moving on to longer-term returns to SI policies at the societal level reveals positive outcomes for families with children.

Industrial Life-Cycle and the Development of the Russian Tourism Industry

The purpose of the study presented in the paper is to highlight the influence of the microeconomic factors related to the evolutionary stage of the industry’s life cycle on the industry dynamics. The authors use the example of the Russian tourism industry to show that microeconomic factors are important, along with the macroeconomic, market, and demand characteristics external to the industry. Data mining was applied to obtain data from the industrial enterprise database and Rostourism official documents since there are no regular Russian statistics on firms’ exit and new entry. The authors used annual ranked listing of firms by their revenues to determine the structural indicators of the industry. The results confirm that it is important to consider not only the demand and macroeconomic indicators, which are external risks in relation to the industry, but also the internal processes at the different stages of the product cycle. In a sufficiently long period, the influence of microeconomic indicators may be no less strong than the business factors of financial risk. One should take this into consideration in econometric modeling on long time-series.

Trend Analysis of Pakistan Railways Based on Industry Life Cycle Theory

The core purpose of this paper was to analyze the trend analysis of Pakistan railways from the year 1950 to 2015, using the principal component analysis method and industrial life cycle theory. Industrial life cycle theory, the development trend analysis of Pakistan railway industry, entails four stages: introduction, growth, maturity, and decline. The results indicated that railway industry in Pakistan was at its pinnacle in the middle of the seventies and thereafter the decline of railway industry was observed. The main reasons behind the decline were underinvestment, political interference, and the rise of the same-sector competitor, the National Logistics Cell (NLC). From the year 2011, it experienced an upward trend of combined utility curve and showed a new round of industry life cycle. To revive its previous glory, the current government has proposed a development document for Pakistan railways, Vision 2025. It is envisaged that railways share in transportation will be increased from current 4% to 20% by the year 2025, which seems to be an onerous challenge for the organization.

Agricultural development and the industry life cycle on the Brazilian frontier

The occupation of the last remaining tropical forests has been an initiative of many developing nations that is debated by the global community due to impacts on soil erosion, biodiversity loss and contributions to global climate change. Arguments against development range from the irreversible nature of tropical deforestation to the synergistic losses associated with environmental degradation and continued poverty. The focus of this paper is to determine if evidence of market advancements and growth can be found in an Amazonian settlement, thus providing counter-evidence for the boom–bust pattern of development that has been predicted for much of the Amazon. Using panel survey data (for four survey waves between 1996 and 2009), we find trends that are consistent with the industrial life cycle, suggesting a pattern that is more consistent with growth, development and consolidation.

Assembling Industrial Ecosystems for a Knowledge City

Economic forces and industrialization are determinant factors in wealth creation; however, an important part of the equation has been omitted by most of the industrial and social players, especially in developing countries. The business cycle’s impact on the environment, on the life cycle assessment, and on the biocapacity of the earth has had a tremendous effect on the equilibrium of all the sub-systems (economic, social, and environmental resources). Based on these systemic requirements, a synergistic approach involving all the stakeholders has been collated and a systemic framework, the Sustainable WIT Model has been developed, and is designed to build “sustainable clusters of high value, globally competitive industries” for developing regions. This paper discusses how the Sustainable WIT Model has been applied to one of the most important industries currently having an impact on economic, social, and environmental ecosystems worldwide - the sustainable construction industry - in a region where it is creating suitable conditions for a city to become part of a knowledge-based economy. The SWIT Model considers the economic growth of the industrial life cycle as a priority, but also includes other external forces that have previously been ignored, such as societal impact, human well-being, and bio capacity, in such a way that the sustainability cycle can be economically viable.

Review of Life Cycle Theories

In this chapter, we discuss the life cycle theories related to the business. The concept of the life cycle has been widely used in marketing. The Product Life Cycle (PLC) is the most well-known one, in which the time is divided into four stages based on the change of sales. It is expanded by combining it with the study of the various consumer types. Other life cycles have been developed from the viewpoint of the innovation and manufacturing facility location. The advancement of technology is the driver for the diffusion of a new product. Sometimes it obsoletes a category of products. The location of manufacturing facilities changes according to the market and technology condition as Product Cycle Theory demonstrates. A concept of the industrial life cycle and a linkage between the life cycle and SCM also are argued in this chapter.

Application of the Industrial Life Cycle Concept

The life cycle of products is a major concern in business all over the world. This Appendix proposes the Industrial Life Cycle Concept integrating the innovation, location, and marketing aspects. It is a very holistic concept in two regards. First, it deals with a whole category of products including multigeneration products. Second, it considers the whole supply chain from the consumers to suppliers. We demonstrated the industrial life cycle concept through a home-use VCR case study. The time frame is divided into five stages: introduction stage (before 1980); early growth stage (1980-1984); late growth stage (1985-1989); maturity stage (1990-2001); and decline stage (after 2002).