RETRACTED: Distributional effects of rising food prices in Pakistan: Evidence from HIES 2001–02 and 2005–06 survey

This article has been retracted: please see Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal (http://www.elsevier.com/locate/withdrawalpolicy).This article has been retracted at the request of the Editor and the Publisher.After a thorough investigation, the Publisher has concluded that the Editor was misled into accepting this article based upon the positive advice of at least one faked reviewer report. The report was submitted from a fictitious email account which was provided to the Editor by the corresponding author during the submission of the article. The corresponding author, Dr Zaman, wishes to admit sole responsibility and to state that his co-authors were not aware of his actions.This manipulation of the peer-review process represents a clear violation of the fundamentals of peer review, our publishing policies, and publishing ethics standards. Apologies are offered to the reviewers whose identities were assumed and to the readers of the journal that this deception was not detected during the submission process.     

Global value chains,local collective action and corporate social responsibility: a review of empirical evidence

A key debate in the corporate social responsibility (CSR) literature is the tension between global pressures and local responses. Developing country suppliers often grumble that CSR compliance adds costs. Yet, local collective action, articulated through industry associations, can potentially reduce costs and promote local embeddedness of CSR initiatives. Through case study analysis, this paper considers how demands for CSR compliance prompted collective action responses in selected developing country export industries. We argue that differences in collective responses can be partially explained by how local export industries are inserted into global value chains. We distinguish between ‘highly visible’ value chains, led by internationally well known brands as lead firms, and relatively ‘less visible’ chains, where external CSR pressures come from a variety of sources, including less dominant lead firms, international/national regulatory frameworks and national media. This differentiation suggests a possible trade‐off between the independence and the embeddedness of collective CSR initiatives. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

The Controversy of Exchange Rate Devaluation in Sudan: An Economy‐wide General Equilibrium Assessment

Abstract: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has worked with Sudan since 1997 to implement a managed float exchange rate. The IMF sees exchange rate flexibility as key to safeguard and rebuild foreign exchange reserves and essential to meet the international reserve target in Sudan. However, authorities in Sudan are concerned about the inflationary pressures that exchange rate flexibility may cause. A review of the literature reflects huge ambiguity about the outcome of exchange rate policies in Sudan. This calls for additional empirical investigations. This paper applies a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model to investigate the possible effects of devaluing the currently overvalued Sudanese pound, by simulating a depreciation of the Sudanese pound by 5 per cent, 10 per cent and 15 per cent. Based on the results, the study recommends that additional flexibility of the Sudanese exchange rate regime as suggested by the IMF be carefully considered if such flexibility devalues the Sudanese pound.     

Industrialization and Government Expenditures: The Case of South Korea

South Korea has been transformed from a nation of war torn poverty to an industrial giant in one generation. Many attribute this to the role of government and believe that the size of government spending increases with industrialization. This paper, using time series data for the 1970–1990 period, empirically tested the impact of industrialization on government spending in Korea. Our results suggest that the two major determinants of public spending are private sector's income (output) and the overall state of employment. Further, our results show that the income elasticity of demand for public goods is greater than unity, both in the short-run and long-run. [H1]     

Iranian consumer animosity and U.S. products: A witch's brew or elixir?

This research investigates the animosity of more than 900 Iranian consumers toward the U.S. and their propensity to purchase U.S.-made products/brands in the context of a prolonged hostility between the two countries. Our results suggest that the antecedent demographic variables of education, age and foreign travel experience are inversely related to consumer animosity whereas women and students tend to hold greater consumer animosity feelings than men and non-students. Additionally we found a strong and significant inverse relationship between Iranian consumer animosity and intention to buy U.S.-made products, but no moderating effects based upon product importance or product necessity were uncovered in our consumer animosity model. The major managerial implications of our study are threefold: (1) MNCs are well advised not to ignore or underestimate the economic value of hostile markets; (2) within hostile markets, MNCs ought to be proactive and pursue alternative oversight strategies when constrained by national institutions; and (3) local and foreign competitors may exploit such animosity to better position their own products against the products of a country that is a target of consumers’ animosity.     

An attempt to determine criteria for sensible rates of use of material resources

This article uses a systems framework to search for criteria for determining the rates of use of material resources. The existing criteria, which are found in the neoclassical economic theory and the environmental movement, are reexamined, and their limitations are discussed. The criteria for material resource use identified by this article emphasize that resources be selected from the environment on the basis of their regeneration time constant and consumed in a way that should maintain adequate organizational slack in the system. Based on these criteria, geological information about material resources appears to take precedence as the basis for determining their rates of use over their economic feasibility and efficiency of use.     

Optimal ordering policies in response to a discount offer

Sometimes supplier offers a temporary price discount to increase cash flow or decrease the inventory level of certain items. Thus, the manufacturer may be able to improve the effectiveness of his inventory system by ordering a special quantity at this sale period. In this paper, economic order quantity (EOQ) models with a discounted price are developed to obtain the optimal ordering policy during the sale period for five different cases: (a) coincidence of sale period with replenishment time, (b) non-coincidence of sale period with replenishment time, (c) sale period is longer than a cycle, (d) discounted price as a function of the special ordering quantity, and (e) incremental discount. Each case has its own characteristics of the sale period and the discounted price. The objective is to take the maximum possible advantage from the discounted price by ordering a special quantity during the sale period. The optimal ordering policy is obtained by maximizing the difference between the two costs: Regular EOQ cost and special quantity cost during the sale period. Moreover, a comparison of different discount scenarios is developed to sense the effect of different parameters on the ordering policies. The annual gain obtained is linearly related to the discount and the on-hand remnant inventory. Numerical analyses are provided to illustrate and testify the values of the optimal special quantity. The analysis showed an impressive improvement in the effectiveness of the inventory system when a special order is placed during the sale period. The optimal special quantity is driven for each case to visualize real-life problems. Sensitivity analysis is also initiated to study the change in the total savings with respect to the variation of the special optimal quantity.     

Labour productivity and employment in Australian manufacturing SMEs

This paper examines the relationship between labour productivity and employment in Australian manufacturing small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The results indicate that labour productivity of SMEs varies substantially between industries within the manufacturing sector, but on average labour productivity for manufacturing SMEs increased at a faster rate than that of large manufacturing enterprises across all industries. All manufacturing industries except one recorded employment growth during the period under study. However like labour productivity growth, employment growth also varies across industries within the manufacturing sector. Yet the study could not establish any definite relationship between labour productivity growth and employment. This finding is consistent with some previous studies.