Minorities in Children's Television Commercials: New,Improved, and Stereotyped

Mass media is one means by which consumers learn how to behave as consumers. Consumers’ beliefs about minorities as consumers are also influenced by mass media, and the impact is likely highest among young children. A content analysis of 813 commercials in children's television programming reveals that while Caucasians continue to be the predominant models in terms of numbers and in the types of roles they play, the numerical representation of minorities, especially Blacks, has improved. However, the study found that minorities are more likely than Caucasians to have minor roles and to be portrayed in certain product categories, settings, and relationships. Societal impacts and implications for minority consumers are discussed.     

Optimal hedging of contingent exposure: the importance of a risk premium

The focus of this article is how a non‐zero risk premium affects an economic agent's optimal hedging decision when exposed to a nonmarketed event. The analysis is not confined to the optimal use of one particular hedging instrument, rather, the optimal payoff based on the agent's preferences is derived. We show, for various preferences, how the size of a risk premium affects the degree of nonlinearity in the optimal hedging instrument. This result is in contrast to known results for contingent exposure in the case of a zero risk premium. We demonstrate an inefficacy of the approach of confining the analysis to one particular hedging instrument in the case of standard exposure. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 20:823–841, 2000     

Capital Inflows and the Real Exchange Rate: A Comparative Study of Asia and Latin America

The nexus of real exchange rate (RER) and capital inflows is examined through a comparative analysis of the experiences of emerging market economies in Asian and Latin America during the period 1985‐2000. It is found that the degree of appreciation in RER associated with capital inflow is uniformly much higher in Latin American countries compared to their Asian counterparts, despite the fact that the latter experienced far greater foreign capital inflows relative to the size of the economy. The econometric evidence suggests that both the composition of capital flows and differences in the degree of response of RER to capital flows matter in explaining these contrasting experiences. While RER appreciation is a phenomenon predominantly associated with other (non‐FDI) forms of capital inflows (OCFW), a given level of OCFW brings about a far greater degree of appreciation of the real exchange rate in Latin America where the importance of these flows in total capital inflow is also far greater. On the policy front, Asian countries seem to have used fiscal contraction and nominal exchange rate adjustment more effectively to cushion the RER against the appreciation pressure of capital inflows. There is, however, no evidence to suggest that sterilised intervention can generate a lasting impact on the real exchange rate.     

Can the Japanese Economy Rebound?

The Japanese economy has begun to show signs of recovery from its deepest post WWII recession. Although it is generally acknowledged that the recovery is not based on solid foundations, there is elation within Japan regarding the prospects for renewed economic growth. Yet little or no attention seems to be paid to what is happening to Japanese technological innovation, the engine that drives growth. The article shows that the impressive technological excellence of the famed Japanese companies is simultaneously accompanied by a decline in overall Japanese technological innovation. This is attributed to the dual nature of the Japanese economy, where super‐strong exporting industries co‐exist with super‐weak domestic sectors, and to Japan's adherence to outdated perceptions and policies. However, the potential for recovery is within reach: galvanise the backward leg of the dual economy and healthy growth would ensue; restore confidence in the healthy leg and things would be better still; add to this a recipe for responsible macroeconomic management and the prospects would be rosier.     

Benefits and Costs of International Financial Integration: Theory and Facts

This paper provides a selective review of the recent analytical and empirical literature on the benefits and costs of international financial integration. It discusses the impact of financial openness and capital flows on consumption, investment and growth, as well as the impact of foreign bank entry on the domestic financial system. It argues that, for small open developing countries, the benefits of financial integration are mostly long term in nature, whereas risks can be significant in the short run. Careful preparation and management are therefore essential to ensure that short‐run costs do not lead to policy reversals. It also stresses that the empirical evidence on the impact of foreign direct investment on domestic capital formation and growth, as well as on the effects of foreign bank entry, should be viewed with caution. In particular, the possibility that foreign bank penetration may lead to adverse changes in the allocation of credit cannot be dismissed on the basis of the existing evidence.     

EFFECT OF IT JOB TRAINING ON EMPLOYMENT AND WAGE PREMIUM: EVIDENCE FROM KOREA PANEL DATA

In this paper, we examine whether IT job training raises the probability of getting employed and enables the trainee to obtain a high wage. In this paper, it is reported that, in the Republic of Korea, IT job training as a whole affects not only employment but also wage premium, even though the effect on wage premium is somewhat less conspicuous. In particular, the intensity of IT job training is more instrumental in the opportunity of getting employed than simply whether receiving IT job training or not. This effect is intensified in the low‐education group. In this group, the probability for the persons who undergo IT job training for more than six months of getting employed is higher than that for a person without any job training. Additionally, provision of IT job training by a private institute and cost sharing with the government enhances the opportunity of employment.