Inducement Prizes and Innovation

We examine the effect of prizes on innovation using data on awards for technological development offered by the Royal Agricultural Society of England at annual competitions between 1839 and 1939. We find large effects of the prizes on competitive entry and we also detect an impact on patents, especially when prize categories were set by a strict rotation scheme, thereby mitigating the potentially confounding effect that they targeted only ‘hot’ technology sectors. Prizes encouraged competition and medals were more important than monetary awards. The boost to innovation we observe cannot be explained by the re‐direction of existing inventive activity.     

A Closer Examination of the Impact of Zoo Visits on Visitor Behaviour

Zoos suggest that they can play a role in fostering conservation behaviour, but there is only limited research support for such claims. This article examines why there might be a difference between the stated potential for zoos to influence visitor behaviour and existing research findings. The present study utilises a research design, methods and instruments that provide more sensitive measures of conservation behaviour outcomes. In particular, a distinction is made between behaviours that were already known to visitors and new/unknown behaviours. Two behaviours communicated during a bird presentation at an Australian zoo (recycling and removing road kill from the road) were chosen to test. Results include that, 81% of the respondents recalled hearing the conservation actions during the presentation and 54% stated an intention to increase their commitment or start an action. In 38 follow-up telephone interviews six months after their visit, 26 stated that they had started or increased their commitment to an action. However, only three had started a new action and these were actions previously known to them. The results frame a discussion on actions that zoos may wish to target if they wish to communicate more successfully.     

Macroeconomic shocks under alternative exchange rate regimes: the Irish experience

The paper investigates the nature of Irish macroeconomic shocks and their correlation with German and UK shocks. A restricted VAR of real output and prices is employed to distinguish aggregate demand and supply shocks for the three countries. To identify the role of Irish exchange rate policy two periods are considered: the preERM period and the ERM period. The results indicate that while the change in exchange rate policy had an effect on the nature of demand and supply shocks, the ERM did not have the effect of increasing the correlation of Irish shocks with Germany or the UK. Evidence of substantial asymmetric shocks with Germany and the UK exist. Thus, Ireland as a member of the EMU faces increased cost of adjustment to asymmetric macroeconomic shocks.     

Emerging markets and portfolio foreign exchange risk: An empirical investigation using a value-at-risk decomposition technique

The correlation between a portfolio's equity and foreign exchange components plays a role in reducing foreign exchange exposure. Investors must account for this correlation when determining the extent of foreign exchange risk in emerging market equity portfolio investments. This study employs a VaR risk factor mapping technique, under the variance–covariance VaR approach, to decompose portfolio risk in Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Mexico and Russia. For comparison purposes, the same technique is used to decompose portfolio risk in the US. The study is conducted from the perspective of a European equity investor with a portfolio of equities in each country. By employing the VaR decomposition technique, the correlation between a portfolio's equity and foreign exchange components is taken into account and portfolio foreign exchange risk is extracted from portfolio systematic risk. Our results uniquely demonstrate significant variation in foreign exchange risk in emerging markets.     

Corporate Expenditure on Environmental Protection

We examine the determinants of firm’s current environmental expenditure and firm’s capital investment in equipment for pollution control in Irish manufacturing industries using a Heckman selection model. The main determinants for the two types of expenditure are similar: larger, exporting and energy-intensive firms are more likely to spend. Being subject to environmental regulation also has an effect. Once the decision to commit resources has been taken, larger, older, foreign-owned, exporting and energy-intensive firms incur higher environmental expenditure. For the amount of capital investment only firm size and age play a role. This suggests that the economic and regulatory incentives in place are such that it is the largest and most polluting firms that do most to reduce pollution.     

Racial discrimination in umpire voting: an (arguably) unexpected result

Using data from an official most valuable player award in professional sport, we test for the presence of discrimination by match officials (umpires), who are responsible for ranking the top three players within each match. These umpires are found to award significantly more votes to (and have a higher probability of voting for) players identified as (Australian) Indigenous, after controlling for within-match production. The result offers further evidence on racial discrimination, and runs counter to numerous analogous studies both in sport, as well as in labour and other socio-economic outcomes in general.     

Taxation,inflation, and the terms of trade

The interaction between changes in the rate of inflation and tax systems can have potential terms of trade effects. An open-economy macroeconomic model is presented in which such effects are analyzed. The asset menu consists of money, corporate capital whose nominal income is subject to taxation, and consumer durables whose return is tax exempt. This may be contrasted with the conventional menu of money and capital and/or bonds. Durables are imported. An increase in the rate of inflation then implies that the terms of trade of the country in question deteriorates in the long run.     

Accounting for Changes in Income Inequality: Decomposition Analyses for the UK, 1978–2008

We analyse income inequality in the UK from 1978 to 2009 in order to understand why income inequality rose very rapidly from 1978 to 1991 but then remained broadly unchanged. We find that inequality in earnings among employees has risen fairly steadily since 1978, but other factors that caused income inequality to rise before 1991 have since gone into reverse. Inequality in investment and pension income has fallen since 1991, as has inequality between those with and without employment. Furthermore, certain household types – notably the elderly and those with young children – which had relatively low incomes in the period to 1991 have seen their incomes converge with others.     

Sludged! Can financial literacy shield against price manipulation at the shops?

Retailers lure consumers with clever use of choice architecture; examples include “bargains” heavily restricted in the fine print and discounts structured to exaggerate the true saving. Given that financial literacy is a key competency for managing money, good financial literacy may provide protection from these “sludges.” In an exploratory experiment, we measure 48 university students' retail literacy and financial literacy, while concurrently tracking their emotional reactions and decision time using FaceReader software. We then test hypotheses on a larger sample using an online survey. We find that strong financial literacy supports retail literacy and vice versa, but the two constructs are distinct. The differences are identified through mathematical and methodological reasoning, gender, and emotion. While gender remains a factor for financial literacy, it is less prominent in retail literacy, and women respond more positively to retail literacy performance measurement. We recommend future investigation into building women's financial literacy performance using materials that are aesthetically pleasing and based on familiar financial frames and scenarios.