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Heterogeneity among corporate governance practices in emerging economies presents new challenges to researchers and business practitioners. Prior research in international business and comparative corporate governance has considered this practice heterogeneity in emerging markets as an outcome of institutional voids or deficiencies to be addressed. In contrast, we propose viewing the variety of governance practices as the outcome of an innovation process that aims to better align the prototypical best practices and the idiosyncratic institutional or industry contexts. We argue that companies in emerging countries innovate their governance practices by combining different elements of external and internal governance systems using local embeddedness and global agency. Our examples of governance innovations in the emerging markets of China and Korea illustrate that this focus on embeddedness and agency offers insights into the salience and applicability of different types of governance innovations, from decoupling of local practices from global rules to experimentations with governance practices by change agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wealth inequality is among the most extreme forms of stratification in the United States, and upward wealth mobility is not common. Yet mobility is possible, and this paper takes advantage of trends among a unique group to explore the processes that generate mobility. I show that non-Hispanic whites raised in Roman Catholic families have been upwardly mobile in the wealth distribution in recent decades, and I find that unique fertility, marriage and education patterns contributed to this change. I also show that Catholic values related to work and money contributed to relatively high saving and portfolio behavior that facilitated mobility. The results provide important insight into the process by which childhood experiences shape adult well-being, particularly adult wealth ownership. The findings also contribute to understanding of social inequality by identifying important behaviors and processes that facilitate mobility. (Contains 6 tables and 28 notes.)

J. T. Li, Anne S. Tsui, and Elizabeth Weldon, eds. New York: Macmillan, 2000. 272 pp. $69.95. There is no question that research on management and organizations in China has [...]

Wealth plays a unique role in shaping later-life health risk, but the relationship between wealth and child health remains largely unexplored. Using longitudinal data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) (1994-2013), this study uses multilevel mixed-effects models and the parametric g-formula approach to both assess the relationship between household wealth and child body mass index (BMI) and identify the mechanisms linking wealth to child BMI. We find that household wealth is negatively associated with childhood BMI. In addition to finding a strong, direct association, we also find that household wealth indirectly patterns child BMI and obesity risk through household spending and family stress processes. These findings provide new insights into the links between wealth, child health, and early-life population health disparities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By Ching Kwan Lee. University of California Press, 1998. 210 pp. Cloth, $45.00; paper, $16.95. Reviewer: LISA A. KEISTER, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill While it is unlikely to [...]

The article presents the author's feelings on stepping down as the editor of the periodical "Administrative Science Quarterly." The author is thankful to the people who have served on the editorial board under her editorship. The author also admires the new editor of 'Administrative Science Quarterly,' Don Palmer, and managing editor Linda Johanson.

Background: Economic inequality in the United States is extreme, but little is known about the national origin of affluent households. Households in the top one percent by total wealth own vastly disproportionate quantities of household assets and have correspondingly high levels of economic, social, and political influence. The overrepresentation of white natives (i.e., those born in the U.S.) among high-wealth households is well-documented, but changing migration dynamics suggest that a growing portion of top households may be immigrants. Methods: Because no single survey dataset contains top wealth holders and data about country of origin, this paper uses two publicly-available data sets: the Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) and the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP). Multiple imputation is used to impute country of birth from the SIPP into the SCF. Descriptive statistics are used to demonstrate reliability of the method, to estimate the prevalence of immigrants among top wealth holders, and to document patterns of asset ownership among affluent immigrants. Results: Significant numbers of top wealth holders who are usually classified as white natives may be immigrants. Many top wealth holders appear to be European and Canadian immigrants, and increasing numbers of top wealth holders are likely from Asia and Latin America as well. Results suggest that of those in the top one percent of wealth holders, approximately 3% are European and Canadian immigrants, .5% are from Mexico or Cuban, and 1.7% are from Asia (especially Hong Kong, Taiwan, Mainland China, and India). Ownership of key assets varies considerably across affluent immigrant groups. Conclusion: Although the percentage of top wealth holders who are immigrants is relatively small, these percentages represent large numbers of households with considerable resources and corresponding social and political influence. Evidence that the propensity to allocate wealth to real and financial assets varies across immigrant groups suggests that wealth ownership is more global than previous research suggests and that immigrant groups are likely to become more prevalent in top wealth positions in the U.S. As the representation of immigrants in top wealth positions grows, their economic, social, and political influence is likely to increase as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese immigrants are a diverse and growing group whose members provide a unique opportunity to examine within-immigrant group differences in adaptation. In this paper, we move beyond thinking of national-origin groups as homogenous and study variation among Chinese immigrants in wealth ownership, a critical indicator of adaptation that attracts relatively little attention in the immigration literature. We develop an analytical approach that considers national origin, tenure in the U.S., and age to examine heterogeneity in economic adaptation among the immigrant generation. Our results show that variations among Chinese immigrants explain within-group differences in net worth, asset ownership, and debt. These differences also account for important variation between Chinese immigrants, natives, and other immigrant groups and provide important, new insight into the processes that lead to immigrant adaptation and long-term class stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By Richard A. Colignon. SUNY Press, 1997. 367 pp. Cloth, $74.50. Reviewer: LISA KEISTER, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Philip Selznick's TVA and the Grass Roots (Harper & [...]

Treating people as cases that are proximate in a behavior space--representing lifestyles--rather than as markers of single variables has a long history in sociology. Yet, because it is difficult to find analytically tractable ways to implement this idea, this approach is rarely used. We take seriously the idea that people are whole packages, and we use household spending to identify groups who occupy similar positions in social space. Using detailed data on household consumption, we identify eight positions that are clearly similar in lifestyle. We then study how the lifestyles we identify are associated with saving, an important measure of household well-being. We find that households cluster into distinct lifestyles based on similarities and differences in consumption. These lifestyles are meaningfully related in social space and save in distinct ways that have important implications for understanding inequality and stratification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article provides a review and evaluation of sociological research that explores the two aspects of transition from socialism to some form of market system, the nature of the transition process and the consequences of transition for stratification and mobility. The authors look into the two theoretical approaches, institutional and corporatist, that have been the focus of debate regarding transition and evaluate the empirical evidence for each. They also argue that empirical evidence provides support for elements of each but that detailed scope conditions and more nuanced arguments are critical.

Temporary employment in the United States has increased considerably in recent decades, but the financial well-being of temporary employees is not well understood. This article examines the effect of both recent and past temporary employment on asset accumulation and portfolio behavior. The authors find that temporary work reduces workers' assets and that this negative effect remains even after a worker has left the temporary position. The authors also show that suppressed or delayed homeownership substantially contributes to the reduction of assets among temporary workers. These results provide insight into the role that work status plays in creating and maintaining wealth inequality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Entrepreneurship contributes to business dynamics in all economies, and the individual benefits of starting a business are clear. Nonetheless, access to business start-ups may not be available to all people because of resource constraints. Using a unique new data set for the United States, we examine the relative importance of three forms of resources in pursuing start-up ventures: financial, human, and cultural capital. Our analysis of the Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics shows that neither financial nor cultural capital resources are necessary conditions for entrepreneurial entry. By contrast, potential entrepreneurs gain significant advantages if they possess high levels of human capital. Specifically, advanced education and managerial experience are significantly positively associated with entrepreneurial entry. Our findings suggest that attempts at entering entrepreneurship, at least in the short-term, may be increasing, as opportunities to acquire human capital are becoming more widespread. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]