Examining the Cognitive and Affective Trust-Based Mechanisms Underlying the Relationship Between Ethical Leadership and Organisational Citizenship: A Case of the Head Leading the Heart?

In this paper, we investigate the trust-based mechanisms underlying the relationship between ethical leadership and followers’ organisational citizenship behaviours (OCBs). Based on three-wave survey data obtained from 184 employees and their supervisors, we find that ethical leadership leads to higher levels of both affective and cognitive trust. In addition, we find support for a three-path mediational model, where cognitive trust and affective trust, in turn, mediate the relationship between ethical leadership and follower OCBs. That is to say, we found that ethical leadership leads to the development of cognitive trust, which subsequently influences the development of affective trust. Affective trust, in turn, induces followers to exhibit OCBs as a means of reciprocating the leader’s favourable behaviour. Our findings suggest that both affective and cognitive trust plays an important role in the social exchange processes that underlie the relationship between ethical leadership and the discretionary behaviour of followers.     

Second chance offers in auctions

This paper examines situations in which a seller might make a second chance (take-it-or-leave-it) offer to a non-winning bidder at a price equal to their bid at auction. This study is motivated by the take-it-or-leave-it second chance offer rules used by eBay and a number of state procurement agencies. Equilibrium bidder behavior is determined for IPV sealed bid first price, second price, English, and Vickrey auctions when a second chance offer will be made with an exogenous probability $p$ . In all but the Vickrey auction (which elicits the dominant strategy of bidding one’s value) equilibrium bids are lower than if there were no possibility of a second chance offer and higher than if a second chance offer will be made for certain. Further, the possibility of a second chance offer erodes the strategic equivalence between second price bids and English auction drop out levels. If bidders are risk averse (with CRRA preferences), this difference leads to expected revenue dominance of the second price over the English auction, both of which dominate the Vickrey auction. The first price auction is also shown to revenue dominate the Vickrey auction, and moreover, numerical results and intuition from existing literature suggest that the first price auction revenue dominates the second price auction.     

代价高昂的客户满意度

正在某种程度上,管理者认为更高的满意度会令客户更加偏爱自己的品牌。但事实上,真正的关键在于客户对某一品牌的满意度是否高于其同时正在使用的其他竞争品牌,或者说消费者心目中的首选品牌是什么大多数公司都恪守客户满意至上的承诺,认为"客户满意才能保证收入"。因而,在公司的使命宣言和营销策划中,随处可见对客户满意度的强调;     

Native American Obesity: An Economic Model of the "Thrifty Gene" Theory

Native American obesity is hypothesized to result from three potential causes: (1) a genetic predisposition, or the "thrifty gene," (2) a rational addiction to nutrients, and (3) dietary adjustment costs. These hypotheses are tested using a two-stage household production approach and scanner data from a panel of Native and non-Native supermarkets. Nutrient intake for both groups is strongly influenced by adjustment costs. Native Americans tend to place higher implicit valuations on protein relative to fats and carbohydrates compared to non-Natives. Consequently, reductions in real carbohydrate prices over time may be a cause of high incidence of Native American obesity.     

从NAFTA到TPP（上）--纪念北美自由贸易协定签订20周年

1993年12月,克林顿总统正式签署了北美自由贸易协定（NAFTA）的实施法案。由于贸易和投资会受到各种经济变量的影响,因此,目前要对20年来北美自由贸易协定的影响做一整体评估还有难度,但有一点是可以肯定的,即北美自由贸易协定有力地推动了北美地区和整个世界的贸易自由化进程。北美自由贸易协定是最全面的自由贸易协定,提出了一些具有历史意义的条款,成为美国新一代自由贸易协定的模板或范例,并且为乌拉圭回合的多边贸易谈判提供了理论和经验基础。在美国与其他11个国家（包括加拿大和墨西哥）关于跨太平洋伙伴关系协定（TPP）的谈判中,与北美自由贸易协定相关的政策问题仍是美国政府关注的焦点。到目前为止,反对者所担心的情况没有发生,支持者所预言的巨大的经济利益也没有出现,北美自由贸易协议对美国经济的实际影响似乎并不太大。一方面是因为美国与加拿大和墨西哥的进出口贸易占美国国内生产总值的比重较小;另一方面是因为当这三个国家真正实行了更加开放的贸易和投资时,三国之间的企业也随之产生了成本调节机制。     

On the systematic volatility of unpriced earnings

Some important puzzles in macro finance can be resolved in a model featuring systematically varying volatility of unpriced shocks to firms? earnings. In the data, the correlation between corporate debt and stock market valuations is low. The model accounts for this via the opposing effect of unpriced earnings risk on levered debt and equity prices. The model also explains the low (or nonexistent) risk-reward relation for the market portfolio of levered equity via the opposing effects of unpriced and priced uncertainty (both components of stock volatility) on the levered equity risk premium. Versions of the model calibrated to empirical measures of both types of fundamental risk can quantitatively substantiate these explanations. Variation in residual earning dispersion accounts for a significant fraction of observed disagreement between debt and equity valuations and of realized stock volatility. The implication that the two components of risk should forecast the levered equity risk premium with opposite signs is also supported in the data. The results are a notable advance for risk-based asset pricing.     

Retail Price Fixity as a Facilitating Mechanism

Previous theoretical explanations for retail price fixity show that fixed retail prices can be consistent with either competitive or imperfectly competitive behavior. We develop a conceptual model of retail pricing wherein fixed price points are facilitating mechanisms for tacit collusion. A non-cooperative equilibrium in fixed retail prices is supported through credible threats to revert to Nash pricing if cheating is suspected. We test the implications of this model using a two-stage, ordered probit approach in weekly supermarket pricing data. The results show that price fixity does support collusive equilibria among retailers, but other factors may also explain retail price behavior.     

Woodsy the optimal owl: Environmental campaigns, norms, and implications for public goods policy

Norms regarding private provision of a public good (e.g. cutting down on energy use, not littering) can affect the marginal gains from contributing to a public good and therefore people's decisions about contributing to the public good. A model is proposed in which norms of private contributions to a public good can be influenced by public policy, and these norms affect people's self-image, which derives from a comparison of one's own contribution with the norm contribution. In this context, we examine the conditions under which private contributions to a public good are efficient, and the conditions under which policy affecting these norms improves social welfare. We find that (1) a benevolent social planner who fails to account for private provision norms will underprovide the public good, and (2) public policy that attempts to raise the norm contribution of private provision can increase social welfare if the effect of raising the norm does not have an extreme negative effect - either extremely small or extremely large - on peoples' self-image.