Estimating the Output Gap in a Changing Economy

Univariate filters used in output gap estimation are subject to criticism as being purely statistical and having no economic content. The information content of the output gap measures estimated by standard multivariate filtering techniques, on the other hand, can be distorted because of the possibly unrealistic restriction that system parameters stay constant over time. In this study, we seek to address these shortcomings by proposing an output gap estimation method that takes into account changing economic relations. We employ a nonlinear time series framework along with the extended Kalman filter, in which economic content is used by inflation and output gap dynamics and the parameters are allowed to be time varying. We use the Turkish economy as a laboratory to show that our method provides useful results, both in terms of the properties of output gap estimates and for the assessment of change in macroeconomic dynamics.     

Tariff Liberalisation and Increased Administrative Protection: Is There a Quid Pro Quo?

Theoretical models and intuition suggest that the amount of non‐traditional protection such as anti‐dumping duties will increase as more traditional forms such as tariffs are lowered under multilateral trade agreements. This paper is the first empirical study of the role of tariff liberalisation in the spread of anti‐dumping. Through both correlations and regression approaches we analyse the relationship between tariff concessions made during the Uruguay Round trade negotiations and the filing of anti‐dumping petitions, with particular interest in whether multilateral trade reductions have spurred the recent growth in new users of anti‐dumping policies. We find that, at least for developing economies, tariff reductions agreed to under the Uruguay Round not only increased the likelihood of a country using anti‐dumping protection but also the total number of anti‐dumping petitions filed by countries.     

The effect of manager mobbing behaviour on female employees’ quality of life

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of manager mobbing behaviour on female employees’ quality of working life and overall quality of life. A mobbing behaviour may be a long-term hostile behaviour detected in employees at workplaces. A total of 373 female employees who work in five-star hotels in Turkey participated in this study. First, correlation analysis was performed between manager mobbing behaviour and female employees’ quality of working life, and overall quality of life. The results of the study revealed that there was a negative correlation between manager mobbing behaviour and female employees ‘quality of life. Second, the structural equation model was applied to analyse the relationship among these three constructs. The results of this analysis showed that managers’ mobbing behaviour has a significant negative effect on female employees ‘quality of working life and overall quality of life. In addition, employees’ quality of working life influences their overall quality of life.     

Chinese Viewers' Perception of Informative and Emotional Advertising

A systematic analysis of Chinese viewers' perception of television advertising was conducted using a sample of sixty commercials which were viewed by 160 respondents per commercial, who selected from a list of twenty adjectives adopted from the Aaker and Bruzzone (1981) study. Results indicated great differences in viewers' perceptions: informative commercials were most frequently considered to be ‘dull’, ‘uninteresting’ and ‘informative’, while emotional commercials were described as ‘appealing’, ‘interesting’ and ‘original’. Emotional advertising scored higher on ‘liking’ and perceived brand image than informative advertising. Factor analysis was carried out across commercials and individuals.     

Reinforcing Cultural Identity by Appealing to Local Cultural Cues: National Identity Formation and Consumption in High-Context Cultures

Traditionally, U.S. firms have successfully used American appeal (hard-sell approach) as a unique selling proposition in Europe, Japan and in the developing world. However, the anti-American sentiments around the world due to the Iraqi and Afghan wars and recent upheavals in the Middle East and North Africa have negatively influenced consumer judgments about American-labeled global brands in international markets during the last decade. Such consumer perceptions may lead to a favorable environment for new competitors to emerge in specific markets, and these products may take significant market share away from global U.S. brands.     

From Agreement to Application: An Analysis of Determinations under the WTO Antidumping Agreement

Although the World Trade Organization's (WTO) Antidumping Agreement includes rules that govern the application of antidumping duties, countries still have a great deal of latitude in how they decide whether to impose this form of protection. This research is one of the first papers to explore country-specific differences in the determinants of antidumping injury decisions. Using a series of probit regressions, I compare the leading determinants of injury determinations in nine of the largest users of antidumping protection at the WTO. The results prove that investigating authorities in one country may be swayed by a very different set of economic and political factors than their counterparts in other countries.     

Organisational commitment with respect to gender variable in hospitality: a Turkish case study

This study examines differences in organisational commitment with respect to gender in five-star hotels in Ankara, Turkey. The study was conducted on 397 employees: 234 males and 163 females. The study indicated that the ‘Attitudinal Commitment’ factor as part of the organisational commitment scale was not statistically significant between female and male employees. However, the study also found that there are significant differences between female and male employees with respect to the ‘Behavioural Commitment’ factor of the scale; males reported higher levels in their behavioural commitment than their female counterparts did. This finding is also consistent with the results obtained from multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) in which the independent variable was gender and the two delineated factors were dependent variables. Gender differences in the ‘Behavioural Commitment’ factor remained significant with multivariate analysis of co-variance analysis while controlling for such variables as age, marital status, monthly income level, educational level, type of department, length of time in this organisation, length of time in the tourism sector, and frequency of job changes. However, the significance was mostly attributed to the moderating role of ‘monthly income’.     

Maintaining New Markets: Explaining Antitrust Enforcement in Central and Eastern Europe

While others have examined the implementation and/or the stringency of enforcement of antitrust laws in post-socialist economies, this paper is the first study that attempts to explain the patterns of antitrust enforcement activity across post-socialist countries using economic and political variables. Using a panel of ten European post-socialist countries over periods ranging from 4 to 11?years, we find a number of significant factors associated with enforcement in these countries. For example, our results suggest that countries characterized by more unionization and less corruption tend to engage in greater antitrust enforcement of all types. Countries more successful in privatizing have filed fewer cases, while more affluent or developed countries investigate fewer cases of all types, consistent with an income-shifting motivation for antitrust. In general, countries have tended to increase their enforcement efforts over time.