Who buys newspapers in Spain? An analysis of the determinants of the probability to buy newspapers and of the amount spent

In this paper, we examine the determinants of household consumption of newspapers and the amount spent on their purchase by considering several explanatory variables related to household characteristics and the main household wage earner. Results show that the variables have quite similar effects on both the relative probability of buying newspapers and the amount spent. The key variables are the age and occupational status of the main wage earner, the number of household members, income and having to pay for the house, as well as a number of geographical variables. However, certain differences are also observed. The most important is the education of the main wage earner: while its effect on buying newspapers is very small (only those who did not complete primary education are less likely to buy), its effect on the amount spent increases with the level of education. As other studies of cultural goods and services consumption have suggested, education and occupational status are more relevant determinants than income.     

Asymmetry in the effects of economic fundamentals on rising and falling exchange rates

Empirical research provides evidence for exchange rates overreaction to changes in economic fundamentals over a short run, but convergence in a long run. In this research we use statistical method developed by Cox [Cox, D.R., “Regression models and life-tables,” Journal of the Royal Statistical Society. Series B (Methodological), Vol. 34, Iss. 2 (1972), 187-220.] to examine the differences in the effects of local economic fundamentals on the probability of occurrence of extreme fluctuations in exchange rates over time periods of rising and falling exchange rates. We identify an extreme fluctuation as a 10% decrease or increase in exchange rate over a three month period and 20% over a one year period. We find asymmetry in the effects of economic fundamentals on exchange rates (eight countries' exchange rates quoted as f/$) during time periods of rising and falling exchange rates: the probability of extreme fluctuation is greater during time periods of rising exchange rates as compared to falling.     

Local sites of globalisation: A look at the development of a legislative framework for auditing in Russia

The central focus of the study is on the evolution of a legislative framework for auditing in Russia. Particularly, the study looks at three episodes of audit policy making pertinent to the development of the Russian audit law and auditing standards. Largely drawing on the concept of transnational communication, the study analyses the manner in which international policy templates penetrate the local audit environment focusing on relevant actors and motivations behind it. The study concludes that the representation of globalisation as an impersonalised power ruling the world fails to convey the increasingly transnational nature of the present-day world order where, apart from the nation states, cross-border activities of various private and public actors and organisations with transnational jurisdiction increasingly shape national practice localities.     

The impact of Milton Friedman on modern monetary economics: Setting the record straight on Paul Krugman's “Who was Milton Friedman?”

Paul Krugman's essay “Who Was Milton Friedman?” seriously mischaracterizes Friedman's economics and his legacy. In this paper, we provide a rejoinder to Krugman on these issues. In the course of setting the record straight, we provide a self-contained guide to Milton Friedman's impact on modern monetary economics and on today's central banks. We also refute the conclusions that Krugman draws about monetary policy from the experiences of the United States in the 1930s and of Japan in the 1990s.     

Underwork,Work‐Hour Insecurity,and A New Approach to Wage and Hour Regulation

When it was passed in 1938, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) sought to address the “evils” of underpay and overwork by establishing an hourly minimum wage and requiring premium overtime pay. However, today's low‐wage, hourly workers more often face underwork than overwork, as well as fluctuating, unstable schedules, neither of which is addressed by the FLSA. This paper presents and assesses the effectiveness of an alternative approach to wage and hour regulation, the “reporting pay” guarantee. We begin by examining the problem of work‐hour insecurity, particularly employers’ practice of sending workers home early from scheduled shifts. We then move to a detailed assessment of state laws that require reporting pay, as well as reporting pay guarantees in union contracts and private‐employer practices that attempt to address the problem of work‐hour insecurity. We conclude by considering paths for strengthening such protections in law.     

Farmers,Middlemen and Exporters: A Model of Market Power,Pricing and Welfare in a Vertical Supply Chain

Markets for cash‐crops in developing countries are typically characterized by a concentration of buyer power at different levels of the supply chain. For instance, small‐scale coffee farmers sell their produce to a middleman, who in turn sells the coffee onward to an exporter, often a foreign multinational, with monopsony power in the hands of the purchasers at both levels. We analyze pricing behavior and welfare with different assumptions regarding market power. In particular, we show that a more powerful exporter is likely to benefit the producers and may even lead to higher welfare for the producer country as a whole.     

Is the FHA Creating Sustainable Homeownership?

We produce first estimates of the sustainability of homeownership for recent Federal Housing Administration (FHA) borrowers. Unfortunately, the FHA does not produce its own statistics on sustainability. Neither does it permit researchers access to its data on internal refinances. This imposes significant barriers to entry for researchers who wish to track FHA borrower performance over time. We carefully construct the required tracking data to overcome this barrier. We forecast that no more than 75% of the 2007–2009 vintages of FHA borrowers will be able to successfully exit the FHA system. Our work raises questions about FHA's role, its accounting and its accountability.