Rejoinder to Tomislav V. Kovandzic's Comment on Our Article "The Effectiveness of Gun Control Laws: Multivariate Statistical Analysis"

A bstract . In Professor Tomislav V. Kovandzic's "Comment on the Recent Work of Kwon, Scott, Safranski, and Bae: No, Your Evidence Doesn't Prove What You Think it Does!," he makes several blanket and ill-informed statements about our article appearing in the January 1997 issue of The American Journal of Economics and Sociology (pp. 41–50). We conclude that his comments have failed to generate any new revelations about our research and we stand by the published results.     

The Informational Role of Product Trade‐Ins for Pricing Durable Goods

This research theorizes that sellers of durable goods can utilize inferences about the buyer's willingness to pay based not only on her decision to trade in the old good but also on its characteristics. We find empirical support for this theory using transaction data for new car purchases. The results support the notion that dealers infer a higher willingness to pay and charge higher prices to consumers who trade in a used vehicle than to those who do not. We also find that dealers charge even higher prices to those consumers who trade in used cars that are similar to the new one.     

The Effects of Electronic Collaboration in Distributed Project Management

Abstact The emergence and widespread use of collaborative technologies for distributed project management has opened up opportunities for off-shore outsourcing and collaborative development. However, most tools and techniques for project management focus on on-site, long term relationships and sourcing strategies at a time when inter-organizational relationships are becoming more dynamic and geographically dispersed. This paper uses grounded theory to analyze data on virtual teams' projects. The analysis uncovers “effects” in the way in which distributed projects are managed. These effects relate to coordination, communication and adaptation to distributed electronic work environments. Following an analysis of these electronic collaboration “effects”, a model for distributed project management is presented.     

The Effectiveness of Two Online Persuasion Claims: Limited Product Availability and Product Popularity

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of two online persuasion claims: limited product availability (e.g., only 3 items left) and product popularity (e.g., 94% of consumers bought this product after viewing this site). The popularity claim appeared to enhance quality perception, particularly among highly risk-averse consumers, and purchase intention. We attribute these findings to the quality signaling effect and the bandwagon effect of the claim. On the other hand, the limited availability claim exerted no influence: low message credibility and the lack of psychological reactance are deemed to be possible reasons for the insignificant effect of the claim.     

The Effectiveness of Gun Control Laws:

Abstract The purpose of this study is to statistically and empirically evaluate the effectiveness of the gun control laws that have been adopted by states and municipalities. States are divided into two groups: states with no restrictions as to gun use and states with restrictions (e.g., waiting periods, license, etc.). Multiple linear regression models are used to evaluate the relationship between the number of gun related deaths in 1990 and sets of determinants which include state laws and regulations governing the use of firearms. The study results indicate that gun control laws have a very mild effect on the number of gun related deaths while socioeconomic variables such as a state's poverty level, unemployment rate and alcohol consumption, have significant impact on firearm related deaths. These findings suggest that any reduction in resources spent on social programs tied to the Crime Bill may be counter-productive.     

Some empirical evidence on the definition of money

Zusammenfassung Empirische Tests zur Definition des Geldes. -Das Hauptziel dieser Arbeit ist es, den Erkl?rungswert verschiedener Definitionen der Geldmenge für die Entwicklung des Bruttosozialprodukts der Vereinigten Staaten zu sch?tzen und zu vergleichen. Dabei werden eine Vielzahl unterschiedlicher liquider Verm?gensbest?nde und Kreditarten, die für die alternativen Geldmengendefinitionen konstitutiv sind, in die Untersuchung einbezogen. Die Analyse umfaβt das ?Liquidit?tskonzept? des Radcliffe Reports ebenso wie das traditionelle Konzept des Federal Reserve Board.

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Résumé Quelque évidence empirique de la définition de la monnaie.-Le principal but de cet article est d’estimer et de comparer les pouvoirs d’explication relatifs des divers agrégats de monnaie par rapport au PNB nominal des EtatsUnis. Les tests comprennent une gamme étendue de disponibilités et de crédits qui reflète des diverses vues alternatives au sujet de la définition de la monnaie, à l’inclusion du concept de la ?liquidité? associé avec le Radcliffe Report et de la vue traditionnelle de la Federal Reserve Board.

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Resumen Alguna evidencia empirica sobre la definición del dinero-El objetivo principal de este articulo es la estimación y comparación de la potencia explicativa de varios conceptos de dinero con respecto al P. N. B. nominal de los EE. UU. En los tests se ha incluido un gran número de activos líquidos y créditos que reflejan los diversos conceptos sobre la definición del dinero, entre ellos tambien el concepto de liquidez generalmente asociado con el Informe Radcliffe asi como el concepto tradicional del Sistema Federal de Reserva.

     

Provincial Rapeseed Acreage models And Some policy Implications

Econometric models of the provincial rapeseed acreage are developed for Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, acknowledging that acreage responses differ among the three producing provinces. The OLS and the seemingly unrelated regression methods are used for estimation. The effects of explanatory variables are substantially different in their magnitudes among the provinces, and yet the three models as a whole are consistent with an aggregate model for the prairie region. Price elasticities of the rapeseed acreage obtained from the models show that the acreage is quite elastic with respect to both its own price and wheat price. Finally, the models are employed in estimating the effects on the rapeseed acreage of the railway branchline abandonment recommended by the Hall Commission. This shows that individual provinces would have somewhat different impacts from the Recommendation. Le rapport expose des modèles économétriques de la production de colza en Alberta, en Saskatchewan et au Manitoba, tout en tenant compte que les variations dans la superficie cultivée diffèrent dans les trois provinces productrices. Pour leur estimation, les auteurs ont eu recours à la méthode des moindres carrés et à la méthode d'estimation simultanée. L'importance des effets des variables explicatives diffère sensiblement d'une province à l'autre; néanmoins, dans leur ensemble, les trois modèles cadrent avec un modèle global pour les Prairies. D'après les coefficients d'élasticité-prix obtenus à partir des modèles, la superficie cultivée de colza est à la fois élastique au prix du colza et à celui du blé. Les modèles servent enfin à estimer l'incidence sur la superficie cultivée de colza, de l'abandon d'embranchements ferroviaires recommandé par la Commission Hall. II en ressort pour chacune des provinces des implications quelque peu diffèrentes de celles de la recommendation de la dite Commission.