The phoneless in the broadband age: A pilot study in Massachusetts

Questions about universal service continue to evolve as information and communication technology advances, bringing new platforms, services, and business models. Concerns about exclusion remain, particularly in times of transition to new technologies and platforms. While the universal service literature is rich in econometric studies that indicate the drivers of household telephone penetration, without qualitative data directly from those households that experience phonelessness, we cannot understand the causes well enough to design effective policy. This research explores why people are phoneless in the current environment of increased platform and business model choices. Particular focus is placed on understanding the relationship between new technology, platforms and business models and phonelessness. Data is obtained from surveys completed by approximately 100 individuals in Massachusetts who are currently without any voice connection, either landline or mobile, or have been sometime in the past ten years. The survey includes questions about different platforms and communication services in order to learn how they have led to phonelessness. The results of the pilot study show that the vast majority of phoneless households do not choose to be phoneless. The study also shows that the most frequent causes of phonelessness in this population are unemployment and unpredictable bills. Many instances of unpredictable bills leading to phonelessness occur with wireless service or bundled services but are the result of business models for service provision rather than the platforms themselves. Prepaid wireless service is a market-based solution that helps households prevent phonelessness by reducing unpredictability. Universal service policy for voice and broadband can better reduce exclusion with greater attention to business models and practices versus technologies and platforms, and increased emphasis on prepaid service to reduce unpredictability.     

Toeholds,rejected offers,and bidder gains: Do rebuffed bidders put targets in play to profit from their toeholds?

Previous research shows that on average acquirers who buy shares in the pre-bid market gain because the average price of the acquisition is reduced. This study addresses a different question, one that relies on the withdrawal of the bidder rather than the successful completion of the acquisition. Do some firms with toeholds bid for the target to entice other bidders into the contest for the gain that they make when they sell their shares in the target to another bidder? This paper argues that holding a toehold makes hostile bidders more likely to withdraw from the contest if another bidder enters. The evidence is consistent with our hypothesis: hostile bidders that have a toehold, on average, earn significant abnormal returns of 4.98%, with a mean toehold of 13.81%. Those without a toehold, on average, earn a significantly lower 0.06% return.     

The Determinants of Systematic Risk: A Synthesis

This paper contains a review and synthesis of the theoretical research that has examined the corporate determinats of systematic risk (beta). By delineating the underlying assumptions and by using a consistent notation to summarize the research results, this review is designed to facilitate the beta assessment efforts of financial managers, investment analysts, and academic researchers.     

How Large are the Welfare Gains from Technological Innovation Induced by Environmental Policies?

This paper examines whether the welfare gains from technological innovation that reduces future abatement costs are larger or smaller than the Pigouvian welfare gains from optimal pollution control. The relative welfare gains from innovation depend on three key factors—the initially optimal level of abatement, the speed at which innovation reduces future abatement costs, and the discount rate. We calculate the welfare gains from innovation under a variety of different scenarios. Mostly they are less than the Pigouvian welfare gains. To be greater, innovation must reduce abatement costs substantially and quickly and the initially optimal abatement level must be fairly modest.     

Business Ethical Values in China and the U.S.

The research presented in this paper focuses on business ethical values inChina, a country in which the process of institutional transformation has left cultural values in a state of flux. A survey was conducted in China and the U.S. by using five business scenarios. Survey results show similarities between the Chinese and American decision choices for three out of five scenarios. However, the results reveal significant differences in rationales, even forsimilar decisions. The implications of similarities and differences between the U.S. and Chinese samples are discussed.     

Consumer participation in the design and realization stages of production: How self-production shapes consumer evaluations and relationships to products

Psychological responses of consumers to specific stages of self-production activities are investigated in four studies. Findings reveal that consumer participation in the realization stage (physical production) enhances affective commitment to the product. However, physical production without opportunity to express choice or creativity during the production process does not change the symbolic meaning of the product (how self-expressive it is) and, therefore, does not result in identification with the product. Participation during the design stage (input-specification) enhances identification, leading to affective commitment, which in turn enhances evaluation of the self-made product. Finally, engaging consumers in both the realization and design stages of the production process does not create value for consumers over and above the main effects created by a high level of participation in either stage.     

Slotting Fees for Organic Retail Products: Evidence From a Survey of U.S. Food Retailers

Based on a survey of U.S. food retailers, our study finds that almost one third of U.S. food retailers charge slotting fees for certified organic food products, a retailing area where slotting fees had not previously been well documented. Econometric results from both ordered response and binary response models suggest that a number of firm-level attributes do influence the presence and/or relative size of organic slotting fees in a manner that is mostly consistent with an economic efficiency rationale and partly consistent with a market power/strategic behavior rationale for slotting fees.     

Decision neuroscience and consumer decision making

This article proposes that neuroscience can shape future theory and models in consumer decision making and suggests ways that neuroscience methods can be used in decision-making research. The article argues that neuroscience facilitates better theory development and empirical testing by considering the physiological context and the role of constructs such as hunger, stress, and social influence on consumer choice and preferences. Neuroscience can also provide new explanations for different sources of heterogeneity within and across populations, suggest novel hypotheses with respect to choices and underlying mechanisms that accord with an understanding of biology, and allow for the use of neural data to make better predictions about consumer behavior. The article suggests that despite some challenges associated with incorporating neuroscience into research on consumer decision processes, the use of neuroscience paradigms will produce a deeper understanding of decision making that can lead to the development of more effective decision aids and interventions.     

Does Community Participation Produce Dividends in Social Investment Fund Projects?

Social investment funds (SIFs) aim to strengthen local capacity for design, implementation, and maintenance of social and economic infrastructure projects and to increase community participation in ways that will promote their sustainability and effectiveness. We explore key features of recent SIFs, intended to promote decentralized, participatory decision-making, and management of projects, in SIF-led education projects in Honduras. We investigate empirically whether efforts to implement a participatory approach improve the outcomes of these projects and community members’ perceptions of their effectiveness. The findings identify elements of the participatory methodology which were associated with increased household and community participation and better household opinions of the projects and also show a link between participation and the probability of children’s regular school attendance.     

Vietnam's Accession to the Asean Free Trade Area: Effects on Trade and Industrial Competitiveness

MOCT-MOST: Economic Policy in Transitional Economies -