PurposeThe purpose of this article is to analyze the effects of accruals-based earnings management (AEM), International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) adoption and stock market integration for firms that belong to Latin-American Integrated Market (MILA).Design/methodology/approachThe GMM estimator was used according to Arellano and Bover (1995) for panel data on a sample of 478 non-financial companies between 2000 and 2016. Multilevel mixed models was used for the robustness analysis.FindingsAEM practices significantly and dynamically reduce agency costs. This result suggests companies use positive discretionary accruals to hide true agency costs and avoid shareholders monitoring, while negative discretionary accruals are ways to expropriate wealth and increase agency costs. This result implies that firms use AEM as a predetermined strategy to weaken corporate governance. The IFRS adoption and MILA implementation reduced agency costs. However, only IFRS adoption had the capability to mitigate the effects of AEM on agency costs.Originality/valueThese results reveal AEM constitutes a practice that managers use to weaken firms’ corporate governance and expropriate wealth from shareholders. These practices have effects at short-run and long-run. However, the IFRS adoption and market integration represented by MILA are mitigating factors for agency costs. These results have relevant implications for firms’ corporate governance because they guide investors and shareholders to strengthen corporate control and monitoring on business decision-making. These results also are relevant to policymakers because they orient the financial policies design to strengthen the benefits of IFRS and MILA.

This study examined the determinants of economic development for the 34 member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and analysed efficient uses of economic development resource endowments. The methodology included econometric panel data modelling and stochastic frontier analysis, using the Cobb-Douglas production function and trans-logarithmic functional form to analyse data from 2003 to 2012. Economic growth was measured by the gross domestic product (GDP) of each economy. As a result, the determinants of economic development were presented and a ranking of efficiency was obtained for all OECD economies throughout the period of analysis. It was concluded that countries with higher economic growth levels have higher efficiency rankings. For example, countries with higher efficiency rankings were Luxembourg and the U.S.; Chile and Mexico were ranked lower. Finally, there was a positive relationship between growth levels and technical efficiency levels.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast the international trade characteristics of commerce between Latin American countries and some of the top economies in the world, in order to identify new business opportunities for LATAM firms in dynamical external markets.Design/methodology/approachA triple indexed gravity model, correcting with robust standardized errors clustered, and a panel data analysis was used to obtain the relationship between Latin American countries and advanced and other emerging economies.FindingsThe main finding of this paper is that innovation overcomes gravity effects and parameters typical of a knowledge society are the significant ones to explain trade among different regions. The model that includes an innovation proxy accommodates with the new international theories of trade. Besides, communication capacity is essential to reach consumers abroad with newer and more complex products. Moreover, the constant is significant when innovation is included, which may imply intersectoral trade that behaves relatively stable in bilateral trade.Practical implicationsThe findings suggest that the economies that have some relevance in trade, have increasing numbers regarding patents. Thus, the empirical findings relate to the theoretical models which state that comparative advantages may be dynamic due to technological innovation.Originality/valueThis paper shows that innovation is a central parameter to engage in intratrade and develop a knowledge-based economy. Latin America sometimes appears to be a puzzle as to how to improve its economic performance and overcome its social and economic problems. Intratrade seems to be the route to increase Latin American business participation in world trade.

PurposeThe goal of this research is to evaluate obstacles to innovation according to the perception of firms in the Chilean food sector, and to assess the relationships of these obstacles with innovation spending and willingness to innovate.Design/methodology/approachWe analyzed data from the Chilean National Innovation Survey (Encuesta Nacional de Innovación) of 2017 and 2019, which were administered by the Ministry of Economy and the National Institute of Statistics. This survey is designed to be nationally representative. The methods we employed to analyze the data include linear regression, probit and logit models and factor analysis.FindingsWe found that obstacles to innovation can be grouped into five types, namely: cost-based, knowledge-related, market problems, lack of necessity for innovations and regulatory. Cost was positively, and significantly, associated with innovation (expenditures and willingness to innovate). We argue that this is because as firms engage in innovation, they become aware of the associated costs. Also, knowledge obstacles and lack of necessity were negatively associated with innovation. This may mean that as firms engage in innovation, they are able to overcome said obstacles; which speaks well of their innovation ecosystem.Originality/valueWe develop the argument that survey-based studies of obstacles are amenable to a perception-based interpretation of obstacles, because most surveys tend to collect firms' perceptions. Consequently, we provide perception-based explanations for our findings. Additionally, most empirical studies of obstacles in the food sector are of a qualitative nature. Our work supplements this literature with a quantitative analysis that can expand our understanding of innovation in the food industry.

Resumen: La literatura ha centrado sus esfuerzos en estudiar las patentes en determinadas industrias, subsectores o empresas, principalmente en países desarrollados. Por otra parte, el nivel o cantidad de patentes en Chile durante el periodo 2007-2012 en promedio alcanzó las 12 familias triádicas, países como Argentina y México presentaron medias de 12 y 15 familias triádicas respectivamente. La media total para el mismo periodo en la OCDE asciende a 48.242 familias de patentes triádicas. Lo anterior muestra, por una parte el interés de la comunidad científica por estudiar el fenómeno de la creación de patentes, y por otra, la gran brecha tecnológica entre países desarrollados y en vías de desarrollo. Proponemos estudiar los determinantes de la creación de patentes en las empresas chilenas, como un caso de país en vías de desarrollo. Utilizamos un modelo probit en donde la variable dependiente toma valor uno si la empresa tiene o está en proceso de obtener una patente de invención (tecnológica) y cero en caso contrario. Nuestra base tiene datos de 4.338 empresas chilenas, es de corte transversal y corresponde a un extracto de la Octava Encuesta de Innovación en Empresas 2011-2012. Los resultados muestran que la antigüedad de la empresa, la base de conocimiento existente y la utilización de instrumentos gubernamentales de apoyo a la I+D tienen un efecto positivo en la creación de patentes.Palabras claves: Innovación tecnológica; patentes; empresas y probit. Abstract: Technological Innovation in Chilean Firms: An Empirical Study Based on Patents.Literature has focused on studying patents in particular industries, subsectors or firms, mainly in developed countries. The level or quantity of patents in Chile during the period 2007-2012 on average reached 12 triadic families, while in countries like Argentina and Mexico presented averages of 12 and 15 respectively. The overall average for the same period amounted to 48,242 OECD triadic patent families. This shows the interest of the scientific community to study the phenomenon of patent creation, and, on the other hand, the large technological gap between developed and developing countries. We propose to study the determinants of patenting in Chilean firms, as a case of a developing country. We use a probit model where the dependent variable takes value one if the firm has or is in the process of obtaining an invention patent (technological) and zero if not. Our database has 4,338 Chilean firms, is crosssectional and corresponds to an extract of the Eighth Survey of Innovation in Firms 2011-2012. The results show that the age of the firm, the base of existing knowledge, and the use of governmental instruments to support R&D have a positive effect on creation of patents.