Is ‘Good’ governance good for business? A cross-national analysis of firms in African countries

Good governance can reduce uncertainty, transaction, search and production costs, and ultimately affect firm performance. In this paper, we explore the link between good governance and the profitability of individual firms in African countries. We employ the governance indices developed at the World Bank and assemble a sample of companies from 21 countries over four years. Contrary to prior research that found a negative association between institutional development and profitability, our evidence shows that an improvement of good governance in countries currently with low levels of governance ratings has greater positive effects on the firm profitability than a similar improvement in countries with relatively higher ratings of good governance. Good governance reduces the variability of the company's profitability, leading to high-return and low-risk investments. Finally, we find that the role of good governance depends upon the country's income level. When the income level is lower, an improvement in public governance is more likely to impact firm performance than when the income level is relatively higher. Good governance is more important for the stability of the profitability of firms in countries with higher levels of good governance ratings than lower ratings.     

Domain-Specific Consumer Involvement in the U.S. Wine Market

An 18-item multidimensional scale was developed to measure wine consumer involvement level impact on behavior and consumption dynamics. Data were collected at wine tasting events in Portland, Oregon, U.S., yielding a final sample size of 101 respondents. Male wine consumers do not display a higher level of involvement with wine as a product than females, and neither do consumers 45 years and older in comparison with younger consumers. Consumers with high education and income levels do not use these as a basis of their involvement level with wine. Price is not more frequently used by low involvement wine drinkers in the wine purchasing decision.     

Social class and consumption: employers as a special case

During the last few years it has become popular to argue that the impact of social class on personal consumption and other aspects of social behaviour is declining. This paper has two basic objectives. The first objective is to ascertain the extent of variation in consumption patterns between socio-economic groups, independent of income and type of household. As a number of studies of the class structure show, the long-term decline trend in self-employment outside of agriculture was halted or even reversed in many developed countries in the mid-1970s. However, despite evidence for the ‘new rise’ of the self-employed, and perhaps for reasons connected to the way social science has traditionally viewed it, little research has been conducted so far into the life styles and attitudes of this important group. Consequently, the second objective of this article is to analyse and compare the consumption pattern of the self-employed with that of employees — especially where income levels are the same. The results of this analysis, based on the Finnish household survey, indicate the effect of the socio-economic group is stronger than that of the income group and that the consumption pattern of the self-employed does not diverge greatly from that of the ‘well-off employee group. Nonetheless, the information on the detailed expenditure groups also reveals some interesting differences.     

Keeping Up With the Joneses: Analyzing the Effect of Income Inequality on Consumer Borrowing

Household debt relative to disposable income increased from 60% in 1980 to 104% at the end of 2003. ‘Buying on credit’ has become so popular that an increasing number of firms generate more profit from financing than from selling their products. In this paper, we show that rising income inequality has substantially contributed to increased consumer borrowing. Income inequality affects all components of total household debt, but the impact is strongest on non-revolving debt (installment loans), which is used to finance the purchase of consumer durables. We argue and provide evidence that the income inequality effect on consumer borrowing is a result of conspicuous consumption. Rising income inequality has forced households with smaller income gains to use debt to keep up their consumption level relative to households with larger income gains.JEL Classification: D12, G29, J31, M30     

财税政策、城乡收入差距与中国居民消费的非线性效应研究

为了验证财税政策对居民消费存在的非线性效应, 文章系统考察了因城乡收入差距的第三方外部因素存在差异时, 财税政策对居民消费影响效应的变化情况. 面板门槛计量模型研究发现, 以城乡收入差距门槛值作为外生变量构建的分段函数中, 税收负担和财政支出规模促进居民消费的城乡收入差距绝对数最优区间分别为4015元-7016元和7912元-10323元; 税制结构和财政支出结构促进的城乡收入差距相对数最优区间分别为0.126-0.171和0.127-0.172. 因此, 应当辩证看待政府财税政策对居民消费的影响作用, 促进我国居民消费的关键点在于财税政策的合理制定与实施.     

Health and environmental consciousness,costs of behaviour and the purchase of organic food

This paper examines environmental and health consciousness, as well as behavioural costs and their effects on the purchase of organic products. The consumption of organic products is regarded as an investment in individual health. The low‐cost hypothesis takes environmental attitudes and behavioural costs into account and is applied to organic food consumption. The survey conducted in three German cities in 2006 using self‐administered questionnaires (n = 521) does not investigate willingness to pay but rather self‐reported behaviour. The results of the regressions using the Heckman correction show that income does not affect the regularity of organic food consumption but that it does influence individual expenditure on organic food. Furthermore, there is an inverted u‐shaped relation between age and the purchase of organic products. Although health consciousness has a stronger association with organic food consumption than does environmental concern, the interaction between behavioural costs and health or environmental consciousness shows no effect. Thus, the low‐cost hypothesis is not supported.     

农民收入水平对农村家庭能源消费结构影响的实证分析

本文依据调查资料,利用层次分析法实证分析了农民收入水平对农村家庭能源消费结构的影响,得出结论:农户的收入水平对农村家庭生活用能源种类的选择影响较大,因此不同收入水平的农户家庭能源消费的结构存在较大的差异;人均收入在4000元以下的农户,户用沼气的权系数最大,人均收入超过4000元的农户,液化气的权系数最大;农户的收入越高,对能源的舒适性、便利性、卫生特性的要求越高,农户的收入越低,对能源的经济性则考虑得越多;使用无成本、又便利的户用沼气非常适合在收入水平较低的农村地区推广。     

Rural families food intake behaviour in relation to livelihood diversification,income differences and family size

The livelihood diversification significantly contributes to the family income having effect on food varieties' consumption in rural families of different sizes. This study investigated the food intake differences among rural families considering different income levels and family sizes. Moreover, barriers faced by the rural families to increase the consumption of food varieties were also analysed. A total of 200 rural families were selected through multistage purposive and random sampling techniques in the Punjab province of Pakistan and were directly interviewed and categorized first into low and high livelihood diversified families. The food groups were derived by assigning individual food to conventional food group taxonomies, and two‐way ANOVA (4 (income groups) × 3 (family size groups) was separately conducted for low and high livelihood diversified families. The income instability, prices of food items, market distance and storage were perceived as barriers for increasing food consumption. The high livelihood diversified families significantly and regularly consumed more food items than low diversified families. The rural households both in low and high livelihood diversified family categories having low income and high family size consumed less expensive food items. The regular consumption of fruits, bakery products, and livestock and dairy items was greatly associated with high income and small family size. One of the most remarkable findings of the multivariate multiple regression model was the households belonging to the lowest income group were significantly lowering the consumption of livestock and dairy food items as the family size increased from small to large family size. The interaction effect was highly associated with per capita income because the consumption of food items increased with the rise in income irrespective of the family size. However, family size groups showed different patterns of food intakes with different income levels. Government agencies should assist rural households to diversify their income portfolios for better nutrition.     

The effects of consumer empowerment on risk perception and satisfaction with food consumption

This study intends to measure consumer empowerment related to food consumption and determine its effect on food risk perception and satisfaction with food consumption. Data were derived from an analysis of the “2017 Research on Food Consumption Behaviour” by the Korea Rural Economic Institute. Consumer empowerment, risk perception and satisfaction with food consumption were measured using a 5‐point Likert scale. The differences in consumer empowerment according to gender, age, educational level and monthly income were statistically significant. The factors that affected risk perception were information use, healthy eating, consumer rights, consumer responsibility and monthly income. The higher the scores for information use, healthy eating and consumer responsibility, the higher the score for satisfaction with food consumption.     

吉林省农村居民收入对消费的影响研究

区域农村居民消费水平的高低代表该区域农民的生活水准。随着吉林省经济的发展,全省农村居民的收入也在不断提高,居民消费水平也逐年提高。但近年来,由于吉林省农村居民的消费水平相对较低、居民未来收入不确定性增大、农村人口老龄化加剧、农村社会保障体系不完善、农村消费环境差等原因,使农村居民消费率一直呈下降趋势,居民消费不足。吉林省应加快提高全省农村居民的收入,健全农村社会保障体系,并努力提供良好的农村消费环境,以有效促进农民消费,提高其生活水平。     

广东城镇居民消费结构变动分析

本文认为,近年来广东城镇居民消费结构变化速度加快,生存型商品平均消费倾向呈下降趋势,医疗保健、交通通讯、文娱教育、居住等商品平均消费倾向呈上升趋势;食品、交通通讯、文娱教育边际消费倾向较高,衣着、家用品、医疗保健用品边际消费倾向较低;食品、衣着、家用品需求收入弹性较小,医疗保健、交通通讯、文娱教育、居住收入弹性较大;消费需求价格弹性都小于零,且自价格弹性都大于互价格弹性。文章提出,为了优化广东城镇居民消费结构,应增加居民收入,促进居民消费结构升级;调整收入分配政策,平衡收入差距;合理调整产业结构和商品结构,进一步推进消费信贷政策。     

Paraguay

Summary

Nations with low per-capita GDP may find themselves in a “poverty trap,” a vicious circle in which low income leads to low savings and investment. Similarly, if production depends in part on the level of infrastructure, a poverty trap can arise in which low infrastructure leads to low investment and income. Foreign direct investment can help break this cycle by increasing capital accumulation without causing consumption to drop. Paraguay is examined as a prototypical low income country, with stagnant GDP growth over the past twenty years. Employing a model first proposed by Figueroa (1998), FDI is prescribed as the remedy for the ill of low output.     

土家族农村居民生活消费特征:基于渝东南地区的分析

基于渝东南土家族地区农村居民人均生活消费与人均纯收入的时间序列分析,构建消费函数模型。模型表明该地区农村居民的消费特征与相对收入假说相吻合,同时显示该地区居民边际消费与平均消费倾向偏高。针对这些特点,从该地区的经济特征、居民收入水平、土家族消费文化等方面分析其缘由,并探讨其政策导向。     

The evolution of consumption inequality and risk-insurance in Chile

Using micro survey data, I show that income and consumption inequality fell substantially in Chile since 1987. Consumption inequality between and within groups fell substantially over the last 35 years, especially for within groups. During this period, households' use of financial services increased substantially. Estimating a standard consumption model, the results reject both the autarky and the full risk sharing frameworks. It is found that for services and non-durable goods, consumption is almost half-way between autarky and full risk-sharing. However, purchases of Semi-Durables, Durables, Medical, Insurance, and other financial products are strongly affected by income fluctuations.     

我国省际劳动、资本、消费有效税率的估算与比较

国际上衡量实际税收负担的一般方法为平均有效税率,采用这一国际通行方法,核算了1998－2012年我国各省级劳动、资本收入以及消费支出的平均有效税率,以反映这三种要素的真实负担情况,并将它与世界其它国家进行了比较研究。结果表明：各省劳动收入有效税率则呈上升态势,资本有效税率呈先下降再上升趋势,消费有效税率呈现不规则上升趋势;资本收入有效税率大大高于劳动收入和消费支出的有效税率;各省劳动和消费的有效税率还处于世界平均偏下水平,而资本有效税率处于世界平均偏上水平;地区比较来看,东部地区的劳动、资本、消费有效税率最大,西部次之,中部最低。表明西部地区的税负水平偏高,应该探索能够降低西部地区税负的有效途径,均衡地区之间的税收负担。     

Food security and government interventions: A study of Indian grain markets

Abstract

This study examines the future of Indian food security in light of possible liberalization of its agriculture sector. Demand for major food grains such as wheat and rice is projected after taking into account possible dietary changes due to income growth, urbanization and other demographic changes. Policy Analysis Matrix (PAM) indicators are constructed to predict changes in supply patterns in the case of reduced government intervention. The projected demand growth suggests faster increases in per capita wheat consumption due to strong income growth and urbanization whereas per capita rice consumption is projected to level off in the next few years and then will likely decline steadily for the remainder of the projection period. This indicates that Indian wheat production may need to grow at a much faster rate than rice production in order to remain self-sufficient in the future. Based on the PAM ranking, this may be possible under reduced or no government interventions because of the comparative advantage of wheat over rice in the major growing regions.     

农村居民收入及其分配差距对消费需求影响的实证分析

农村消费对我国经济增长起着举足轻重的作用。通过实证分析,我国农民的收入与消费水平呈正相关关系,收入是影响农民消费最直接、最具决定性的因素。目前我国城市化水平低下、农村剩余劳动力转移困难、农村中非农产业发展迟缓及收入分配差距加大等原因,对农民收入及消费水平的提高产生了较大负面影响,已成为我国农村消费市场一直启而不动的根本原因     

家庭债务的变动与居民消费的过度敏感性:来自中国的证据

通过引入家庭债务变量对LC-PIH模型进行扩展,并运用动态最小二乘(DOLS)方法、误差修正模型、暂时性—持久性因子分解和脉冲响应进行实证分析,结果表明:家庭债务、收入和财富的持久性变动对消费存在显著的促进效应,收入的持久性变动影响最大,其后依次为财富和家庭债务;不同于传统分析框架的结论,不但财富的持久性变动会影响消费,其暂时性变动也会影响消费,但收入的暂时性变动对消费的影响并不显著;在家庭债务和财富的持久性和暂时性变动共同作用下,消费变动更为剧烈。因此,政策当局一方面要稳步提升居民预期收入水平,完善消费信贷的相关政策,以推动消费的稳步增长;另一方面还应密切关注家庭负债水平,以防范家庭过度负债而可能引发的债务收缩,导致消费的大幅下滑。     

Consumers' awareness,acceptance and attitudes towards functional foods in Turkey

The aim of the present study was to investigate consumers' awareness, acceptance and attitudes towards functional foods in Turkey. Eight hundred and eight people participated in this study: aged between 20 and 80 years, 38.5% were male and 61.5% were female. Participants were given a questionnaire and were asked to fill it in by themselves to minimize the influence of the interviewer. Results indicated that socio‐demographic characteristics such as age, education level and income level are important indicators of consumers' awareness and consumption of functional food. The results show that the female respondents were 2.987 times more aware of functional food than the male respondents. Similarly, the likelihood of respondents having awareness of functional food was 1.431 times greater among those who had a higher educational level than among those with a lower educational level. Consumers who used vitamin supplements were 1.228 times more aware of functional food than other consumers. The results show that older respondents were 3.395 times more aware of functional food than younger respondents. Respondents with a history of familial diseases were more likely than others to have consumed margarine with plant sterol, fruit juices fortified with vitamin C, and breakfast cereals fortified with vitamins and minerals. Those with a diet‐related problem were more likely to have consumed cholesterol‐lowering products than those without a problem. As a conclusion, this study has shown that socio‐demographic characteristics such as age, education and income levels, and prices are important indicators that influence consumers' awareness and consumption of functional food. These results suggest that this type of knowledge could affect consumers' interest in functional foods, and therefore educational strategies might be necessary to encourage the consumption of functional foods.     

我国农户消费理性行为的实证研究

本文利用偏自相关函数（PACF）、DF检验、工具变量法（IV）等分析方法，对农户的消费行为进行了实证分析，得出农户消费在统计上是符合随机游走假说的，但实际上有0．223的偏差．1阶滞后以后的农户消费对当期消费仍具有一定的负向影响。根据实证分析结果，在农户消费的增加额中．有47．6％来自农户当期收入的增加，有52．4％来自农户持久收入的增加。因此，虽然理性都是有限的，但与西方典型消费者相比，我国农户呈现出了更多“有限理性”的特点。针对我国农户消费行为，为了开拓农村市场，应该提高农民素质、完善农村市场、改善农村消费环境。