Gold and platinum: Toward solving the price puzzle

Gold and platinum prices are positively correlated over 1985–2006. Yet, over shorter sample periods the correlation changes from positive to negative (1996–2001) and back. The objective of this paper is to determine whether this shift is the result, at least in part, of the rapid increase in forward sales by gold producers, which had the effect of substantially lowering gold prices in the second half of the 1990s (Kearney, A. & Lombra, L. (2008). The non-neutral short run effects of derivatives on gold prices. Applied Financial Economics, 18, 985–994). The results show declining gold prices are associated with large net increases in forward sales, while rising gold prices are associated with declining forward sales or producer dehedging.     

Sectoral adjustment in government expenditure in the 1970s: The educational sector in Latin America

As a consequence of economic stagnation and the increasing difficulties faced by developing country governments in financing their budgets, it might be expected that the education sector in these countries would suffer cutbacks. On the other hand, in most countries the education sector has high political, social and economic priority and is therefore one of the more difficult sectors within which to make adjustments. This paper examines the experience of 18 Latin American countries in terms of how educational spending has evolved at each educational level during the period 1965–1978. A comparison is made of the periods before and after the adjustment of the 1970s. The authors evaluate the form that expenditure adjustments have taken and conclude with some remarks on the patterns which emerged.     

Complementary or conflictual? Formal participation,informal participation,and organizational performance

Most studies of worker participation examine either formal participatory structures or informal participation. Yet, increasingly, works councils and other formal participatory bodies are operating in parallel with collective bargaining or are filling the void left by its decline. Moreover, these bodies are sprouting in workplaces in which workers have long held a modicum of influence, authority, and production‐ or service‐related information. This study leverages a case from the health care sector to examine the interaction between formal and informal worker participation. Seeking to determine whether or not these two forces—each independently shown to benefit production or service delivery—complement or undermine one another, we find evidence for the latter. In the case of the 27 primary care departments that we study, formal structures appeared to help less‐participatory departments improve their performance. However, these same structures also appeared to impede those departments with previously high levels of informal participation. While we remain cautious with respect to generalizability, the case serves as a warning to those seeking to institute participation in an environment in which some workers have long felt they had the requisite authority, influence, and information necessary to perform their jobs effectively.     

Risk perception,regulation, and unlicensed child care: lessons from Ontario,Canada

In 2014, the Province of Ontario, Canada undertook a number of legislative changes regarding child care. Part way through the process, a series of tragic focusing events occurred: a number of infants and children died in unlicensed child care over a short period of time. Despite these events, the Province chose to allow a portion of the family child care (FCC) sector to remain unlicensed and essentially unregulated in a sector that is otherwise subject to strict licensing and regulation. Drawing on research on risk regulation, we analyse FCC regulation in comparison to other sectors and find that FCC is surprisingly under-regulated, given the health and safety risks. Legislative debate analysis reveals a number of rationales for non-regulation. In addition to pragmatic political concerns such as costs associated with licensing, analysis reveals concerns about choice and accessibility over quality and safety. We conclude with a call for a research agenda to further examine parents’ and policy-makers’ perceptions of risk.     

The Consumer Costs of Food Certification: A Pilot Study and Research Opportunities

Certification labels have become a ubiquitous feature on food products across grocery store shelves. Although it is widely acknowledged that certified products often garner higher prices than their noncertified competition, less is known regarding what those price differences are based on, and what the personal, political, or ethical implications are for consumers. This research note argues for greater attention to the implications of certified food prices—which we conceptualize as the “consumer costs” of food certification. The paper discusses the theoretical linkages between food certifications and prices, and outlines the resulting consumer costs of which we are concerned. Through a pilot study in Salt Lake City, Utah, we investigate prices found on certified grocery store rice, and consider the causes and implications of the consumer costs of food certification.     

Interest group incentives for post-lottery trade restrictions

The rights to use publicly-managed natural resources are sometimes distributed by lottery, and typically these rights are nontransferable. Prohibition of post-lottery permit transfers discourages applicants from entering the lottery solely for profitable permit sale, so only those who personally value the use of the resource apply. However, because permits are distributed randomly and trade is restricted, permits may not be used by those who value them most. We argue that restrictions on permit transfers is a policy response designed to limit entry when interest group membership is not distinguishable ex ante, and characterize the economic/informational conditions under which post-lottery prohibitions on trade are likely to arise. We develop our model using the specific case of the Four Rivers Lottery used to allocate rafting permits on four river sections in Idaho.     

When technological discontinuities and disruptive business models challenge dominant industry logics: Insights from the drugs industry

An industry's dominant logic is the general scheme of value creation and capture shared by its actors. In high technology fields, technological discontinuities are not enough to disrupt an industry's dominant logic. Identifying the factors that might trigger change in that logic can help companies develop strategies to enable them to capture greater value from their innovations by disrupting that logic. Based on analyzing the changes that biotechnologies and bioinformatics have brought to the drug industry, we identify and characterize three triggers of change that can create disruptive business models. We suggest that, in mature industries experiencing strong discontinuities and high technological uncertainty, entrants' business models initially tend to fit into the industry's established dominant logic and its value chains remain unchanged. But as new technologies evolve and uncertainty decreases, disruptive business models emerge, challenging dominant industry logics and reshaping established value chains.     

Sixty years of discrimination and diversity research in human resource management: A review with suggestions for future research directions

This article reviews discrimination and diversity research published in Human Resource Management (HRM) over the past 60 years. While discrimination and diversity are very different constructs, it is often informative to study them together, because when people recognize each other's diversity, this can result in bias, stereotyping, and discrimination. We conducted bibliographic searches for terms related to discrimination and diversity as well as a manual search through every title and abstract published in HRM over the last 60 years to assess article relevance. The search resulted in 135 research articles with 136 unique studies (i.e., samples) which are reviewed in this article. Sex and race are the demographics that have been examined the most in HRM, while religion has been examined the least. Moreover, the number of studies examining lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) employees in the workplace in HRM has grown quickly within the past 10 years, culminating in a recent meta‐analysis. Our review looks at some of the earliest research published, the most recent research published, and the overall trends we identified in the research over the years for both discrimination and diversity articles. We then make future research suggestions and recommendations to advance the study of discrimination and diversity in the coming years.