The Definition of Money Grand Received as a Key Determinant of Venture Investment Size in IT Russian Based Startups

Since 2006, Russian policymakers have been actively taking various measures to stimulate the venture capital market. Government venture capital funds are being created, for example, the Russian Venture Company with a capital of 15 billion rubles. Since 2011, thanks to the new legal mechanism, state-owned companies begin to invest in private venture funds. These measures have led to increased fundraising for startups. The main mechanism of such financing is grant support for young companies. According to 2018, the amount of grants to the total amount of funds raised in Russia is one of the highest among developed and developing countries, for comparison in the USA, it is more than 2.5 times lower. The venture market specifics is such that when deciding whether to invest in a company, investors inevitably turn their attention to the previous rounds of financing the company. The purpose of the work is to analyze the effect of the money grant received on the volumes of attracting subsequent financing. To analyze the impact of the receiving money grant, the determinant approach was used, as the most common in research on this topic. Based on a sample of 184 Russian IT startups, two OLS models have built to show the effect of money grant size to follow-on investment rounds. As a result, various sets of determinants were considered that explain the volume of investments attracted by startups for both international markets and the Russian market. In addition, an excursus was conducted to study the effectiveness of government venture funds, which are the main grantors in the Russian venture market. Based on the results of previous studies on this topic, it was shown that the size of the money grant has a positive effect on the amount of funding attracted in both follow-on rounds. For comparison, a number of previous studies of the Russian venture capital market show that the investment size of the current round has influenced only by the previous fundraising. Such a result testifies to the attractiveness for investors Russian IT startups that received grant support. The scientific novelty of the article is that the amount of funding attracted by startups is explained by such a specific indicator as grant support. In addition, the results obtained have certain practical value for those who invest in Russian startups. Investing in startups that received grants increases the likelihood of an exit for the investor in the next investment round.

Concentration or dispersal of research funding?

The relationship between the distribution of research funding and scientific performance is a major discussion point in many science policy contexts. Do high shares of funding handed out to a limited number of elite scientists yield the most value for money, or is scientific progress better supported by allocating resources in smaller portions to more teams and individuals? In this review article, we seek to qualify discussions on the benefits and drawbacks of concentrating research funds on fewer individuals and groups. Based on an initial screening of 3,567 articles and a thorough examination of 92 papers, we present a condensation of central arguments. Further, we juxtapose key findings from 20 years of empirical research on the relation between the size of research grants and scientific performance. Overall, the review demonstrates a strong inclination toward arguments in favor of increased dispersal. A substantial body of empirical research also exhibits stagnant or diminishing returns to scale for the relationship between grant size and research performance. The findings question the rationale behind current funding trends and point toward more efficient ways to allocate resources. In addition, they highlight the need for more research on the interplay between science-internal mechanisms and policy priorities in accelerating concentration of funding.

Analysis of Accessing Rural Development Funds

The present study aims to analyse successful projects of the Romanian Rural Development Funds from different perspectives based on a county level. The framework of the analysis focuses on two periods: one before the accession, the 2002–2006 period of SAPARD applications, and the other one, the first period of the Rural Development Programme, more specifically, the period between 2007 and 2013. Results show that there is a positive correlation between applications and targeted areas based on infrastructure, tourism, and agriculture indicators. Findings also highlight that there is a positive correlation between the number of previous applications (SAPARD applications before the accession) and the grant size of current applications. Moreover, there is a negative correlation between the grant size of previous applications and the size of current applications. Cluster analysis revealed important social changes: on the one hand, the western counties of Romania (Bihor, Arad, Timiş, and Cluj) have strengthened their position, while other counties are lagging behind.

Analysis of Accessing Rural Development Funds

The present study aims to analyse successful projects of the Romanian Rural Development Funds from different perspectives based on a county level. The framework of the analysis focuses on two periods: one before the accession, the 2002–2006 period of SAPARD applications, and the other one, the first period of the Rural Development Programme, more specifically, the period between 2007 and 2013. Results show that there is a positive correlation between applications and targeted areas based on infrastructure, tourism, and agriculture indicators. Findings also highlight that there is a positive correlation between the number of previous applications (SAPARD applications before the accession) and the grant size of current applications. Moreover, there is a negative correlation between the grant size of previous applications and the size of current applications. Cluster analysis revealed important social changes: on the one hand, the western counties of Romania (Bihor, Arad, Timiş, and Cluj) have strengthened their position, while other counties are lagging behind.

Tests of two optimal incentive models for executive stock options

Using a unique data set, we test theoretical propositions relating to grant size and exercise price in determination of optimal executive compensation. For Hall and Murphy, pay-performance sensitivity does not behave as predicted with respect to CEO risk aversion and diversification, but the latter supports observed grant size while ATM grants exhibit positive abnormal returns as predicted. Consistent with Choe, exercise price is found inversely related to leverage. The unexpected positive relation between grant size and stock volatility is conjectured driven by CEOs’ influencing large grants, which are found associated with weak corporate governance but ameliorated by outside directors.

Is there an optimum grant size and exercise price for incentivizing executives?

This study tests the Hall and Murphy (2000, 2002) propositions using a dataset wherein in-the money and out-of-the-money option grants are just as prevalent as at-the-money option grants. The choice of grant size and exercise price in determining optimal pay-performance sensitivity, reveals an over prescription of at-the-money options at the expense of in-the-money options, particularly for high risk-averse CEOs. Also, pay-performance sensitivity is found unexpectedly negatively related to the exercise price, which is attributed to an equally unexpected inverse relation between risk aversion and grant size.

The status of taxonomy in Canada and the impact of DNA barcodingThe present review is one of a series of occasional review articles that have been invited by the Editors and will feature the broad range of disciplines and expertise represented in our Editorial Advisory Board.

To assess the recent history of taxonomy in Canada and the impact of DNA barcoding upon the field, we performed a survey of various indicators of taxonomic research over the past 30 years and also assessed the current direct impact of funds made available for taxonomy through the DNA barcoding NSERC (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada) network grant. Based on results from surveys of three Canadian journals, we find that between 1980 and 2000 there was a 74% decline in the number of new species described and a 70% reduction in the number of revisionary studies published by researchers based in Canada, but there was no similar decline for non-Canadian-authored research in the same journals. Between 1991 and 2007 there was a 55% decline in the total amount of inflation-corrected funds spent upon taxonomic research by NSERC’s GSC18 (Grant Selection Committee 18); this was a result of both a decrease in the number of funded taxonomists and a decrease in mean grant size. Similarly, by 2000, the number of entomologists employed at the Canadian National Collection (CNC) had decreased to almost half their 1980 complement. There was also a significant reduction in the number of active arthropod taxonomists in universities across the country between 1989 and 1996. If these declines had continued unabated, it seems possible that taxonomy would have ceased to exist in Canada by the year 2020. While slight increases in personnel have occurred recently at the CNC, the decline in financial assistance for taxonomists has been largely reversed through funds associated with DNA barcoding. These moneys have increased the financial resources available for taxonomy overall to somewhere close to NSERC’s 1980 expenditures and have also substantially increased the number of HQP (highly qualified personnel) currently being trained in taxonomy. We conclude that the criticism “DNA barcoding has taken funds away from traditional approaches to taxonomy” is false and that, in Canada at least, the advent of DNA barcoding has reversed the dramatic decline in taxonomy. We provide recommendations on how to foster the future health of taxonomy in Canada.

Is there a firm-size effect in CEO stock option grants?

Schaefer (1998) and Baker and Hall (2004) posit a firm size effect for regular executive compensation but not specifically for executive stock option grants. They propose an inverse relation between pay-performance sensitivity and firm size along with a positive relation between the marginal productivity of executive effort and firm size. The product of pay-performance sensitivity and executive productivity is „incentive strength‟. They find a weakly positive association between incentive strength and firm size. We substitute Hall and Murphy‟s (2002) pay-performance sensitivity metric to detect a firm size effect in CEO stock option grants. After adjusting for small-firm risk aversion and private diversification „clienteles‟, we document evidence of a residual small-firm effect impacting on incentive strength principally through grant size. Given lower small-firm deltas, grant size appears to have been increased by compensation committees to ensure small-firm CEOs are not under-compensated relative to their large-firm counterparts. We also find that firm complexity influences pay-performance sensitivity as well, but not labor productivity (proxying for CEO productivity). No evidence is found that firm smallness and complexity impact on labor productivity. However, we empirically confirm a negative relation between pay-performance sensitivity and firm smallness and, by implication, firm complexity.

TEKANAN POLITIK PEMERINTAH DAERAH DALAM ALOKASI DAU

The paper analyzes the current progress of the fiscal decentralization in Indonesia, characterized by the pressure to improve the law, UU No. 22 and 25199. We apply the probit model on the municipality data in 2002, and estimate the block grant size (DAU) as a function of fiscal needs, the size of region and collusion between central and local government.The result conform the significance of political pressure from rich region to central government, but fail to prove the positive hypothetical relationship between the block grant size and the collusion. The implication is straight forward, that the implementation of the fiscal decentralization must be strengthen to avoid miss allocation of the fund.Keywords:Fiscal policy, decentralization, collussion, probit modelJEL Classification: JEL Classification: C35, E62