Environmental Decision Making and DDT Production at Montrose Chemical Corporation of California

In this article, we examine the decisions made by corporateexecutives and government officials that led to the dischargewith minimal treatment of hundreds of metric tons of dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane(DDT) waste into the Pacific Ocean over several decades. AfterWorld War II, Montrose Chemical Corporation of California'sLos Angeles plant began making the new wonder pesticide, andMontrose executives worked with local officials to develop awaste disposal system that funneled the plant's process wastesinto the county sewer system and ultimately into the ocean.Faced with increasing scientific concern about pesticides anda changed political climate in the 1960s, Montrose vigorouslydefended DDT and relied increasingly on exports to remain profitable.Years after the plant closed, a federal suit forced Montroseand related companies to pay the costs of environmental cleanup.     

The Role of Family Background for Earnings in Rural China

This paper provides estimates of brother income correlations for rural China. Brother correlations are a parsimonious measure of the importance of family and community background as determinants of individuals’ economic status. We find internationally high levels of income similarity for brothers and siblings: 0.57 and 0.58, respectively. Compared to the 1990s, income correlations have decreased in more recent years, but remain high. Furthermore, we document virtually no differences between the coastal and interior provinces and by father’s education. The high brother correlations imply that the high level of income inequality in China is likely to persist.     

Understanding liquidity shortages during severe economic downturns

One feature of economic recessions is the appearance of aggregate liquidity shortages that can exacerbate the economic downturn. We develop a model in which the demand for liquidity arises suddenly in response to continued funding needs of partially completed investment projects whose outcomes are subject to idiosyncratic shocks and moral hazard. When the economy experiences an adverse aggregate productivity shock, incentive constraints that underlie equity contracts may bind, provided the shock is severe enough. In this case, credit-rationing appears, and the heightened demand for liquidity coincides with a greater reluctance to take on equity positions or deepen investments in on-going investment projects. The consequence is a reduction in new investment and termination of on-going projects due to a lack of liquidity, thereby worsening the economic slowdown.     

The defence industry as a locomotive for technological renewal in Russia: are the conditions in place?

This article examines the extent to which the conditions for successful military to civilian technological spin-offs are in place in Russia. This is important because Russian authorities use the potential for such spin-offs as one of several arguments for justifying large defence expenditure. Six conditions are identified, all of which are derived from the theoretical literature on the transfer of technology from the military to civilian sector. We conclude that despite some government efforts to generate spin-offs by providing technology brokering, and despite some joint military–civilian technological development taking place within defence industry enterprises, most of the conditions required to generate substantial technology transfer from the military to civilian sector are not present in Russia.     

The relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and speed to the market: The case of incubator firms in Norway

Incubators and incubator firms work to promote the development and commercialization of technology and products. This study shows that entrepreneurial orientation can help achieve this aim. Using survey data from incubator firms, we show that entrepreneurial orientation has a statistically significant positive effect on ability to bring technology and products quickly to the market. This finding is important for managers of incubator firms and managers of incubators alike as they have a common interest in speed to the market. An implication of our study is that managers of incubators should try to enhance the entrepreneurial orientation of the incubator firms.     

Job Security and Risk‐Taking: Theory and Evidence From Professional Football

This article investigates how job security impacts risky decision making. In a theoretical model, we show how risk‐taking can be affected by job security. Agents with moderate job security become more risk averse as their job security increases. Conversely, agents with very high (or low) job security act in a more risk neutral manner. We test these predictions using data on head coaching decisions from the National Football League, finding that job security has a negative and statistically significant effect on risk‐taking.     

How Organizational Policies Influence Bystander Likelihood of Reporting Moderate and Severe Sexual Harassment at Work

Little is known about the causal effect of sexual harassment policies on sexual harassment outcomes at work. Based on schema theories of social cognition, organizational policies related to sexual harassment should have a greater impact on responses to moderate, versus severe, forms of sexual harassment. In Study 1, 219 undergraduate students were shown a fictitious company website describing one of three company policies on sexual harassment (a zero-tolerance policy, a standard harassment policy, or no policy), and were then assigned to read about a moderate or severe instance of sexual harassment they ostensibly observed at the organization. Results indicated participants in the zero-tolerance policy condition were more likely to intend to formally report the harassment to their organization than those in the other conditions. This effect was especially strong for the moderate, or more ambiguous, sexual harassment scenario. Study 2 replicated and extended Study 1 using 101 Human Resources professionals and actual policy statements from an organization. Results again indicated that a zero-tolerance policy leads to the highest estimates of bystander reporting, especially for instances of moderate sexual harassment. Implications for practice include a caution against using minimal or compulsory harassment policies in place of salient zero-tolerance policies.     

Information and profit sharing between a buyer and a supplier: Theory and practice

This paper is about aspects of an optimal relationship between 2 firms, a supplier and a retailer, in a 2‐party supply chain. The focus is on sharing private information when demand uncertainty exists so as to better coordinate the supply chain. It draws inspiration from a real case in Ireland of a new fish‐processing company, Oceanpath, and a supermarket chain, Superquinn, in which information was shared. The argument is that sharing the retailer's information increases supply chain profit, as well as benefiting consumers. Profit sharing will be needed to guarantee that both the retailer and the supplier gain when information is shared.     

Employment Services

The TUCE itself is the subject of this research project reported by Lewis and Dahl. The TUCE is examined in terms of its ability to discriminate between good students and poor students, whether its subparts do indeed measure different things, and to what extent the subparts are associated with critical thinking skills as measured by the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal. Their findings should help to make the TUCE a more useful instrument of diagnosis and evaluation for other researchers in economic education.     

A note on the relationship between obesity and driving

Vehicle travel and obesity rates in the United States have surged in recent decades. This paper contributes to the mounting evidence of a link between them by drawing attention to a very close relationship between trends in miles driven per licensed driver and adult obesity rates six years later. It also presents evidence on why the effect might be expected to be lagged by six years. A simple model is produced, which predicts reductions in obesity rates over the next few years. If these reductions come about, the model will be seen to offer a powerful insight into the relationship between driving and obesity. If the relationship is more than coincidental, it has implications for transport policy and supports the development of a multi-pronged, interdisciplinary approach to tackle increased driving and obesity.