International briefing 8 Training and development in France

Two main features characterise training and development in France: the influence of the school‐based model and a strong institutionalisation of continuing vocational training which is regulated by law and collective bargaining at national and sectoral levels. In the last decade training has been affected by four major changes: the development of alternating training programmes for young people and unemployed persons; a process of decentralisation which gives to regions an essential role of coordination; strengthening of links between training and employment; and an increasing responsibility of firms in the management of training. As a result, training is on an upward trend yet large inequalities in access still exist.     

Adoption of soil conservation practices in Belgium: An examination of the theory of planned behaviour in the agri-environmental domain

Soil erosion is a problem with serious on-site and off-site consequences. There exists a broad series of measures to mitigate soil erosion, unfortunately policy makers observe little voluntary adoption. This paper reports on a study to elicit the factors explaining adoption of soil erosion control practices in Belgium. Following a socio-psychological approach, the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), adoption of cover crops, reduced tillage and buffer strips is evaluated using linear regression techniques. Results show that the most explaining factor is attitude towards the soil conservation practice. The TPB adapted to include perceived control and difficulty appears to provide a suitable framework for evaluating adoption of erosion control measures in Belgium. Future interventions directed at promoting erosion control measures should be directed at changing the attitude of farmers. Further study is, however, required in order to elucidate the cognitive foundations of the negative attitude of a majority of farmers towards the implementation of erosion control practices.     

Digestibility and asymmetric information in the choice between acquisitions and joint ventures: where’s the beef?

<In response to our empirical findings that, contrary to the predictions of the information asymmetry hypothesis, joint ventures are not more, but instead less likely when parents belong to different industries, Balakrishnan and Reurer argue that (1) the information asymmetry and the indigestibility hypotheses are theoretically complementary and (2) our results may be affected by the characteristics of our sample. In fact, the goal of our study was not to deny the theoretical validity of alternative theories of joint ventures, but only to ascertain their relative explanatory power. We therefore agree that both theories are complementary, but show that our findings are not explained by our sample, but instead by the way we test the information asymmetry hypothesis. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mail advertising and consumer behavior

This paper examines some trends in mail advertising and presents some findings from a longitudinal study on mail sent to and from U.S. households. Data from 1987 and 1991 interviews and diaries of a national probability sample of U.S. households were compared. As the third largest advertising medium, mail has grown in market share in the past decade as traditional advertising media declined or stayed the same. The paper examines how consumers feel, perceive and respond to the advertising mail they receive. It also explores how characteristics of the senders and recipients, factors outside the mail piece and the type of mail piece, influence consumer attitudes, perceptions, and treatment of the mail received. The paper concludes with recommendations to advertisers, marketers, and fundraisers for future research and for increasing the effectiveness of mail in their marketing mix. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Random encounters and information diffusion about product quality

This paper explores how social interactions among consumers shape markets. In a two-country model, consumers meet and exchange information about the quality of the goods. As information spreads, demand evolves, affecting the prices and quantities manufactured by profit-maximizing firms. We show that market prices with informational frictions reach the duopoly price with full information at the limit. However, this convergence can take different paths depending on the size asymmetry between countries. In particular, when the country producing the low-quality good is relatively large, the single market does not immediately turn into a duopoly and can be temporarily trapped in a situation of price instability where no Nash equilibrium in pure (but only in mixed) strategies exists and prices can fluctuate between their monopoly and duopoly levels. It follows that the classical price-reducing effects of international trade may take longer to appear. In view of an intense globalization process, understanding how social meetings affect market outcomes is critical for understanding the performance of international economic integration.     

How convergent are rice export prices in the international market?

This study revisits the issue of long-term price convergence of rice export prices for India, Pakistan, Thailand, Uruguay, the United States, and Vietnam using a two-stage pairwise unit root testing approach. To deduce evidence or lack of proof of convergence in price series, we also examine convergence using sigma and beta convergence specified in both unconditional and conditional frameworks. The methodology used is driven by the need to address three key concerns: (i) the likelihood of finding stationary price differentials, (ii) the magnitude of these differentials, and (iii) their speed of adjustment. To evaluate these concerns, we use monthly data for 18 price series drawn from these six countries from September 2011 to February 2021. The evidence points to a lack of international convergence. This gives rise to the possibility that a shield from a general downward export price trend is already in place for some exporters. Furthermore, we find that the likelihood of convergence is greater between pairs of price series that are characterized as high quality or having the same country of origin or having similar market share. Evidence also suggests that a converged pairing is more likely to have a smaller price differential if both price series are for low-quality rice.