Bounding preference parameters under different assumptions about beliefs: a partial identification approach

We show how bounds around preferences parameters can be estimated under various levels of assumptions concerning the beliefs of senders in the investment game. We contrast these bounds with point estimates of the preference parameters obtained using non-incentivized subjective belief data. Our point estimates suggest that expected responses and social preferences both play a significant role in determining investment in the game. Moreover, these point estimates fall within our most reasonable bounds. This suggests that credible inferences can be obtained using non-incentivized beliefs.     

Real convergence,financial markets,and the current account – Emerging Europe versus emerging Asia

Global financial integration has been associated with divergent patterns of real convergence and the current account in emerging markets. While countries in emerging Asia have been running sizeable current account surpluses, countries in emerging Europe have been facing large current account deficits. In this paper we test for the relevance of financial market characteristics in explaining this divergence in the catching-up process in Europe and Asia. We assume that the two regions constitute distinct convergence clubs, with the euro area and the United States respectively at their core. In line with the theoretical literature, we find that better developed and more integrated financial markets increase emerging markets’ ability to borrow abroad. Moreover, the degree of financial integration within the convergence clubs – as opposed to the state of financial integration in the global economy – and the extent of reserve accumulation are significant factors in explaining the divergent patterns of real convergence and the current account in the regions under review.     

The impact of primary service and servicescape on customer satisfaction in a leisure service setting: an empirical investigation among theatregoers

• This paper investigates the effects of perceived primary service and perceived servicescape on customer satisfaction in theatres. According to a questionnaire study, among n = 2897 theatregoers in 12 German‐speaking theatres, factors pertaining to the perceived primary service are most influential on customer satisfaction (in particular, the perceived artistic quality, followed by visitors' emotional and cognitive response to the performance). Contrariwise, factors pertaining to the perceived servicescape (i.e. seating and view; other customers' behaviour) are only of minor relevance for customer satisfaction. Furthermore, the influence of both perceived primary service quality and perceived servicescape quality on customer satisfaction is subject to moderating individual factors, such as visitors' theatrical competence and their motivation for attending a theatre performance.

Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

German Exports to the Euro Area

This paper analyzes the determinants of German exports to the euro area, which is the biggest market for German products. Three conditional error-correction models based on regionally disaggregated data are developed. One specification includes EMU industrial production and a real external value based on consumer prices, the other two use different EMU investment aggregates, the orresponding real external values and a proxy for European market integration to explain exports. The models perform equally well in a number of diagnostic tests. For short-term forecasts, however, the model using industrial production seems to be the best, since it outperforms the other models in terms of one-step ahead out-of-sample forecasts.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the annual 2002 congress of the Verein für Socialpolitik.     

Transfer Pricing and Hold-Ups in Supply Chains

Abstract. We reconsider the hold‐up problem under symmetric information when more than two parties form a ‘supply chain’. The parties are assumed to renegotiate bilaterally and sequentially. Potential trade distortions then arise in addition to the usual investment problem. Following Edlin and Reichelstein (1995, 1996), we consider fixed‐quantity contracts. First‐best allocations are shown to be attainable if the parties are able to commit to a ‘forced‐compliance’ regime where a central office monitors the consistency of the bilateral renegotiations.     

SOME PRACTICAL GUIDANCE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF PROPENSITY SCORE MATCHING

Abstract Propensity score matching (PSM) has become a popular approach to estimate causal treatment effects. It is widely applied when evaluating labour market policies, but empirical examples can be found in very diverse fields of study. Once the researcher has decided to use PSM, he is confronted with a lot of questions regarding its implementation. To begin with, a first decision has to be made concerning the estimation of the propensity score. Following that one has to decide which matching algorithm to choose and determine the region of common support. Subsequently, the matching quality has to be assessed and treatment effects and their standard errors have to be estimated. Furthermore, questions like ‘what to do if there is choice‐based sampling?’ or ‘when to measure effects?’ can be important in empirical studies. Finally, one might also want to test the sensitivity of estimated treatment effects with respect to unobserved heterogeneity or failure of the common support condition. Each implementation step involves a lot of decisions and different approaches can be thought of. The aim of this paper is to discuss these implementation issues and give some guidance to researchers who want to use PSM for evaluation purposes.     

Holiday travel,staycations, and subjective well-being

The tourism industry thrives on the notion that holiday travel improves well-being. However, scientific evidence that holiday travel is more beneficial than spending free time at home is lacking. Using the Effort-Recovery and the Limited Resources model as theoretical basis, this study investigates whether workers behave, think, and feel differently during travel than during leisure time spent at home. In a five-week longitudinal field study, we followed 24 workers during free evenings after work, a free weekend at home, and on a free weekend of domestic travel. Within-person differences were investigated between these three occasions in behavior, cognition, and emotions. During travel, employees slept more, engaged more in physical and social activities and less in obligatory activities than during free evenings after work. Hedonic well-being was higher and ruminative thinking lower during travel than during free evenings after work. Physical distance from home and work was related to engagement in resource-providing rather than resource-consuming activities and seems to translate into mental distance from everyday worries. Differences between holiday travel and weekends at home were small. Still, the findings suggest that travel may provide feelings of remoteness in places with novel and fascinating qualities, free of chores.     

Fashion interest as a driver for consumer textile waste management: reuse,recycle or disposal

Past studies have considered the impact of fashion on consumer textile disposal behaviour, but have focused mainly on drivers of clothing waste. There is a lack of research that examines consumer attitudes towards fashion and their disposal methods. This study conducted an online survey of 410 people in Ontario, Canada with varying demographic characteristics to assess how they currently manage their textile waste including resell, swap, take‐back, donation and disposal. Respondents were asked about their fashion interest and shopping frequency and were assigned a fashion index value. The fashion index value is not a means of grouping consumers but is instead a continuum to model interest in fashion, with one extreme representing fashion consumers and the other representing non‐fashion consumers. Statistical analysis was then used to establish whether there is a link between textile waste behaviour and fashion index. The results indicate that consumers with a high fashion index (i.e. fashion consumers) and consumers with low fashion index (i.e. non‐fashion consumers) manage their textile waste differently. While the majority of participants donate and dispose of unwanted clothes, fashion consumers are more interested and more likely to participate in alternative methods (e.g. resell, swap, and take back) for removing unwanted textiles. Although fashion consumers produce more textile waste than non‐fashion consumers, textile consumption cannot be directly equated with textile waste since fashion consumers were found to have a lower disposal rate than non‐fashion consumers (38 percent to 50 percent, respectively). The distinct disposal characteristics of fashion and non‐fashion consumers (i.e. interest and willingness to participate in alternative channels) allows strategies to be tailored accordingly so that the amount of waste going to landfill can be reduced.     

Resources and bridging: the role of spatial context in rural entrepreneurship

This article contributes to the emerging discussion on the role of context in entrepreneurship as well as the development of theorizing on rural entrepreneurship. It does so by exploring the role of spatial context for rural entrepreneurs. Through a case study of 28 ventures, two modes of spatializing rural entrepreneurial activities are identified in the form of resource endowments and spatial bridging. Additionally, we develop a typology of rural entrepreneurs, which captures hitherto unexplored heterogeneity within this group of entrepreneurs. Spatial context is found to be of considerable significance to the rural entrepreneurial process and hence this study contributes to a micro-level understanding of place-specific entrepreneurial practices and the non-local circulation of value that can enrich local economies.