The impact of mandatory trans fat labeling on product mix and consumer choice: A longitudinal analysis of the U.S. Market for margarine and spreads

The impact of changes in food labeling policy on food consumption depends on how market participants—both firms and consumers—react to the changes across all products in the market. We investigate how both responded to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s 2006 rule mandating that the quantity of trans fat in food products be separately labeled on the mandatory Nutrition Facts Panel across an entire differentiated product category. Using a longitudinal data set tracking both product offerings and consumer purchases in the market for margarine and spreads for over a decade, we analyze how product mix and consumer purchase behaviors were influenced by the new regulatory requirement. We find that the number of products bearing voluntary “trans fat free” labels increased after the labeling regulation was implemented. However, a large number of the newly introduced products exited the market within five years. As a result, the FDA’s 2006 rule had a stronger short-run than long-run effect on product offerings. Even after the introduction of additional “trans fat free” labeled products, such products remained only a small percentage of margarine and spreads product offerings, increasing from a pre-regulation level of 2.3% of the market to a peak of 6.5% in 2007 before dropping to 3.1% by 2011. In addition to firm response, we examine demand-side reactions to the 2006 rule and find that consumers significantly increased their expenditures on “trans fat free” labeled products soon after the labeling changes were implemented, increasing from about 1.2% of the market in 2001 to a peak of 5.9% in 2007, before returning to 1.8% in 2011. We further explore variations in responses across different demographic characteristics. Although long-run effects are small, the market for “trans fat free” labeled margarine and spreads settled into a new equilibrium with a somewhat higher level of products in the market than prior to the 2006 rule taking effect and a somewhat higher share of expenditures in the category. Overall, our category-wide analysis of both firm and consumer behavior indicates that the effects of the labeling policy change were smaller in the longer run in this market than would be indicated by an analysis of only new product introductions in response to the policy change.     

Dynamic capabilities and entrepreneurial management in large organizations: Toward a theory of the (entrepreneurial) firm

Mainstream economic theory has generally excluded consideration of the role of managers, which has, in turn, impaired its ability to explain resource allocation by, and heterogeneity among, firms. In the real world, managers are called on to fill entrepreneurial and leadership roles: sensing opportunities, developing and implementing viable business models, building capabilities, and guiding the organization through transformations. These entrepreneurial management tasks are part of the organization׳s capabilities, which also encompass embedded organizational processes that can be slow to change. An understanding of entrepreneurial management and organizational capabilities will contribute to more realistic economic models and a better understanding by policy makers of industrial dynamics and the requirements of innovation.     

Wish you were here? Quasi-experimental evidence on the effect of education on self-reported attitude toward immigrants

We use European Social Survey and Labour Force Survey data from 2002 to 2012 to estimate the causal effect of years of education on European natives׳ opinion toward immigration, by exploiting the exogenous discontinuity generated by reforms in compulsory education in Europe in the 1940s through the 1990s. Our findings show that higher levels of education lead to a more positive reported attitude toward immigrants. We also investigate the mechanisms behind the effect of education on reported attitudes by evaluating both economic and non-economic channels. We find that higher levels of education place individuals in occupations that are less exposed to the negative effects of migration, although not in sectors/occupations where the share of migrants is necessarily smaller, suggesting that migrants and low-educated natives may be complementary rather than substitutes in the labour market. In addition, education alters values and the cognitive assessment of the role of immigration in host societies, with a positive effect on reported attitude toward diversity and on the assessment of immigration׳s role in host countries. Our findings suggest that education as a policy instrument can increase social cohesion in societies that are subject to large immigration flows.     

高管团队异质性、团队冲突与企业绿色绩效——差异化CEO领导风格调节下的整合分析框架

基于高阶梯队等理论，从高层管理团队异质性等要素整合分析视角切入，在探讨高层管理团队驱动企业绿色绩效作用机制的基础上，尝试构建差异化CEO领导风格调节下高管团队（TMT）异质性、团队冲突与企业绿色绩效的理论模型；通过层次回归分析、Bootstrap等方法实证检验异质性高层管理团队的作用机理和边界。研究结果显示：①TMT异质性、任务冲突能显著提升企业绿色绩效，且任务冲突在TMT异质性与企业绿色绩效的关系中起部分中介效应，而关系冲突显著降低企业绿色绩效。多元化构成的高层管理团队拥有更多差异化思想，这些观点通过高层管理团队成员不断分析整合后作用于绿色绩效，而成员间“对人不对事”的关系冲突会弱化该过程，进而对绿色绩效产生负向影响；②变革型CEO领导风格负向调节任务冲突与企业绿色绩效的关系，表明CEO适度简政放权，指导、关怀和保障高管团队成员充分表达观点非常重要。交易型CEO领导风格负向调节关系冲突与企业绿色绩效的关系，说明CEO通过奖惩激励，降低高层管理团队情绪冲突，提升团队凝聚，是推动绿色转型的重要举措。     

国铁企业市场化经营机制建设探讨

建立市场化经营机制是深化铁路改革的重要方向,也是提升企业核心竞争力的迫切需要。在分析国铁企业市场化经营现状及面临问题的基础上,提出国铁企业建立市场化经营机制的总体思路,即理顺国铁企业与政府部门、国铁企业与市场、国铁集团与所属企业3个方面的关系,从进一步落实国铁企业市场主体地位、建立铁路公益性运输补贴机制、加强铁路基础设施网络建设、提升铁路运输服务质量和水平、推进铁路客货运价市场化改革、着力提升国铁资本运作能力、推进国铁资本授权经营体制改革、完善国铁现代企业制度建设等方面阐述国铁企业建立市场化经营机制的重点任务,为深化铁路改革提供参考。     

How does the effect of pre-play suggestions vary with group size? Experimental evidence from a threshold public-good game

Numerous studies have examined factors influencing the likelihood of cooperative outcomes in nonzero-sum games, but there has been little study of the interaction between two of the most important: group size and pre-play cheap talk. We report results from an experiment in which groups of size between 2 and 15 play a one-shot multi-player threshold public-good game. In our random leader treatment, all group members select a suggestion (e.g., “Everyone should choose X”), with one randomly chosen to be broadcast to the group. In a choice only treatment, subjects choose suggestions but none is sent, and in a baseline treatment, there are no suggestions at all. We find a negative interaction between group size and this kind of communication: the beneficial effect of both suggestions overall and cooperative suggestions on cooperation, cooperative outcomes, and payoffs decreases sharply as the group size increases. We find a similar negative interaction in a follow-up treatment in which all group members’ suggestions are broadcast to the group. Our results suggest that care should be taken in generalising conclusions from small-group experiments to large groups.     

Is the leadership style important in R&D departments in Spanish industrial companies? An empirical analysis

This paper aims to thoroughly look into the effects of the differences between the diverse leadership styles on innovative outputs (intensive, efficient and eco-efficient) in Spanish industrial companies. A questionnaire for the factories was sent and was received between the months of September 2013 and June 2014. A total of 142 valid questionnaires were received. Several regression models were used in the empirical analysis. The results show that charismatic leadership positively induces an intensive innovative output, at the same time as it improves firms’ eco-efficient innovative output. Likewise, the individualised consideration that characterises transformational leadership makes this leadership style produce positive results on the whole group of innovative outputs considered. At the other end of the leadership spectrum, the transactional style causes negative effects on the relationship between innovative activity and innovative outputs, and more specifically, on the efficient innovative output.     

基于云计算的民族地区高校教育信息化平台建设研究——以贵州省为例

教育信息化程度成为了国家教育现代化程度的风向标,本文以"云计算"技术为抓手,从教育工作的流程出发,设计教育资源及教育管理两个平台。通过两个云平台的建设,夯实智慧教育基础,为智慧教育的应用开发提供强有力地保障。     

Education Dashboards for Enhanced Learning: A Singapore Experience

Educators continue to utilize add-ons, extensions, or replacements to traditional Learning Management Systems (LMSs) to supplement capabilities and improve the classroom experience. This work resulted in the design and development of the Education Dashboards for Enhanced Learning (EDEL) template. The EDEL template enables faculty members to create dynamic web spaces called Knowledge Portals (KPortals). A semester-long introduction of KPortals proved to be positive and useful. Students tended to view the KPortal as a “go-to” webspace. The authors hope to refine the template in future studies and examine its usefulness in other countries.     

The effect of education on the minimum wage

This research shows for the first time that the level of education has a causal, negative effect on the minimum wage. I use 2SLS, with historical educational data as an instrument for the level of education in 2010, and I find that across the US states a one percentage point greater proportion of college graduates is associated with a real minimum wage that is lower by 1.5%–1.6%. Also, in order to control for state-level omitted variables, I regress the change in the minimum wage on the change in education and I find again a negative, and significantly at the 1% level, effect. Minimum wage is a policy that is chosen by governments according to voters’ preferences. The results of this research imply that when the level of education increases voters prefer a lower minimum wage.