Information Privacy Research: Framework for Integrating Multiple Publics,Information Channels,and Responses

This article puts forth a framework for understanding critical consumer information privacy issues in direct and interactive marketing that consists of three broad dimensions: (1) multiple publics, (2) information channel developments, and (3) the publics' responses to privacy actions. Within this structure, the authors review and integrate existing research and issues, and identify an agenda for future research.     

Is Environmental Dumping Greater when Plants are Footloose?

We address concerns that globalisation gives national governments incentives to set weak environmental policies and that these incentives are particularly strong in industries where plants are footloose. Using a simple model of imperfect competition, we compare the environmental policies that would be set by non-cooperative governments for two different move structures—where governments set environmental policies after firms decide where to locate (market share game) and where governments set environmental policies before firms decide where to locate (location game). We show that the extent of environmental dumping in the market share game can be greater than in the location game.
JEL classification F 1; H 4; L 5; Q 2     

The cyclical behaviour of European bank capital buffers

Using an unbalanced panel of accounting data from 1997 to 2004 and controlling for individual bank costs and risk, we find capital buffers of the banks in the EU15 have a significant negative co-movement with the cycle. For banks in the accession countries there is significant positive co-movement. Capital buffers of commercial and savings banks, and of large banks, exhibit negative co-movement. Those of co-operative and smaller banks exhibit positive co-movement. Speeds of adjustment are fairly slow. We interpret these results and discuss policy implications, noting that negative co-movement of capital buffers will exacerbate the pro-cyclical impact of Basel II.     

Trends and tensions in UK public house management

The management role in UK managed public houses has increased in relative importance over the years since 1970. Using material derived from both secondary sources and fieldwork in a major leisure retail company, the role of house manager is examined through the inter-related notions of landlord, manager and employee. There is a particular focus on shifts towards the employment of younger managers and the relationship between this and branding strategies. The implications of this relationship is examined through the notion of the ‘locus of interpretation’, and stress is placed on the need to view managing as a relationship.     

Medium Term Prospects for the Japanese Economy

The International perception of the Japanese economy has undergone a radical change over the last decade. Received wisdom has transformed Japan from the role model of the 1980s to the sluggard of the 1990s. In this article, Alistair Barr argues that Japan faces formidable challenges over the next twenty-five years, not least rapid ageing and population decline and the challenge of improving service sector productivity.     

Differential multipliers

A modified version of the Archer tourism multiplier model is used to derive differential multipliers, at both the sectoral and firm scale, for the Cook Islands tourist industry and ancillary sectors. Firm level analysis is shown to be necessary if factors of industrial organization, such as size and ownership characteristics, are not to be overlooked. The results reveal that smaller, locally owned establishments generate more local income, employment, and gross government revenue than their larger, overseas controlled counterparts. The model is shown to be a highly suitable surrogate for conventional input-output models, which, due to factors such as cost and lack of data, cannot always be used in small nations or regions to develop a data base suitable for the planning of tourist development.     

The revival of cities in medieval Europe: An application of catastrophe theory

In early medieval times, a great change came over Europe. One of its most noticeable aspects was the growth of cities which had been static or declining for centuries. This paper discusses the possibility that the growth was due to the fact that trade was gradually becoming easier. Using the notions of catastrophe theory, it is shown that even a slow improvement in communications could result in a sudden change in the nature of the system, with regions that had previously been unspecialized and self-contained changing over to active concentration on manufacturing or farming. The resulting improvement in living standard could explain the increase in total population which happened concurrently with the growth of the cities. A different explanation is also discussed: cities may have originally grown in response to the pressure of an independently increasing population. It is shown that in this case the growth patterns would be different, making it possible to test which of the two explanations is incorrect.     

International regulation and air transport

The future growth of world tourism is inextricably linked to the growth of the air transport industry. Trends in the industry will thus have an important bearing on tourism development strategies. This article reviews the past, present and likely future of the regulation of the air transport industry.