Testing the restrictions implied by the rational expectations hypothesis

The nature and form of the restrictions implied by the rational expectations hypothesis are examined in a variety of models with expectations and the properties of appropriate test statistics are analyzed with Monte Carlo evidence. Specifically, we consider the implications of lagged variables, simultaneous equations, and future period expectations upon the number and functional form of the rational expectations restrictions. Two asymptotically equivalent test statistics — a likelihood ratio and a Wald test — are available for implementing a test of these restrictions. Monte Carlo evidence is offered to provide a comparison between the properties of the alternative test statistics in small samples.     

Coping with poverty in international assistance policy: An evaluation of spatially integrated investment strategies

International assistance agencies have turned increasingly to integrated rural development policies in an attempt to ameliorate the inequitable distribution of economic growth plaguing Third World nations since World War II. This paper reviews the functionally and spatially integrated investment strategies of the World Bank, USAID and the United Nations, outlines their objectives, perceptions of the problem, basic assumptions and programmes, and evaluates them in terms of potential difficulties for implementation. Those factors crucial to making integrated development policies operational — knowledge of human ecosystems in rural areas, analytical ability, operational procedures, arrangements for local participation, subsistence systems indicators and administrative capacity of local and national governments — are discussed and assessed.     

An integrated approach to managing absence supports greater organizational productivity

Both absenteeism and "presentee-ism" significantly erode productivity and impact the bottom line. The author discusses what drives absence, why companies are looking at total absence management, and how employers can implement integrated programs to reduce the impact of absence and associated productivity losses on their businesses.     

Wages,Health Insurance and Pension Plans: The Relationship Between Employee Compensation and Small Business Owner Income

Small business owners claim that their ability to provide higher wages and more frequent employee health insurance and pension benefits is severely constrained by the profitability of their firms. This paper examines the proposition that employee wage levels, provision of employee health insurance, and sponsorship of an employee pension plan are associated with small business owner income. A large trade-association survey supplies the data for the inquiry. Regression analysis (OLS and logistic) demonstrates that all three forms of employee compensation are tied to business owner income. Further, the business owner income variable "washes out" the generally accepted relationship between size of business and wages, though not the relationships between size of the business and the presence of health insurance nor between the size of business and the presence of pension benefits. The regressions also indicate that unit costs of health insurance and pension benefits are higher for those employing 10 or fewer and 20 or fewer respectively compared the other small businesses.     

Ethical and Unethical Bargaining Tactics: An Empirical Study

Competitive negotiators frequently use tactics which others view as "unethical", in that these tactics either violate standards of truth telling or violate the perceived rules of negotiation. This paper sought to determine how business students viewed a number of marginally ethical negotiating tactics, and to determine the underlying factor structure of these tactics. The factor analysis of these tactics revealed five clear factors which were highly similar across the two samples, and which parallel (to a moderate degree) categories of tactics proposed by earlier theory. Data from one sample also permitted comparisons of the appropriateness of certain tactics across gender, nationality, ethnic origin and perception of one's negotiating style.     

Raising rivals' costs: The entry of an upstream monopolist into downstream markets

A regulated upstream monopolist provides an input to firms in a downstream market. If the monopolist enters the downstream market, a natural concern is that it will act so as to raise its downstream rivals' costs. An offsetting incentive is that a higher downstream price will reduce demand for the input, which reduces the monopolist's profit. Conditions under which one incentive dominates the other are derived. The monopolist may desire to lower its downstream rivals' costs rather than raise them. These findings suggest that regulatory policy towards such downstream entry should not focus exclusively on the ability to discriminate.