The determinants of Italian domestic tourism: A panel data analysis

In this study, a GMM panel data estimation is used to investigate the main determinants of Italian domestic tourism demand as measured by regional bilateral tourism flows. The analysis is developed both at aggregate level and for the two traditional macro-areas of the country, namely Centre-North and South. For the whole nation, the importance of traditional economic variables in determining domestic tourism flows is confirmed. However tourist actual choices appear also to be influenced by past experiences and by regional differences in the quality of the wider environment. Additionally it appears that, for Italian tourists, domestic and international destinations behave as substitutable goods. The sub-sample analysis highlights some interesting differences between macro-areas. In particular, southern tourists appear more responsive to income variations, and less sensitive to prices differentials than their northern counterparts. Moreover, the degree of competition between domestic and outbound trips is higher in the South. Finally, southern tourists seem to be more influenced by environmental attributes while northern tourists are more sensitive to cultural activities.     

THE DECISIONS OF THE SHADOW MONETARY POLICY COMMITTEE AND MONETARY POLICY COMMITTEE SINCE 2002

We analyse the decisions of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) and the recommendations of the Shadow Monetary Policy Committee (SMPC) over the period 2002–2011. We find that the SMPC policy recommendations have to a large extent agreed with the policy actions of the MPC on interest rates. We offer some suggestions as to how the recommendations of the SMPC could be enhanced.     

The FTC's handling of puffery and other selling claims made “by implication”

The Federal Trade Commission's handling of alleged false advertising representations that are made by implication is examined. Alleged false advertising presentations are held to be implied to the public by the advertiser even though they are not literally stated in his advertisement. The FTC has extended its reach over this kind of misrepresentation in recent years. Cases for 1970–76 are identified, and a catalog is developed of ten types of implications that have been attacked as deceptive during this period. Some, such as the Expansion Implication, are types established as deceptive in earlier years; others, such as the Reasonable Basis Implication, were not attacked prior to the 1970s. Some types, such as the Uniqueness Implication, have been given considerable publicity; others, such as the Inconspicuous Context Implication, are newly categorized in this paper. The consequences of FTC's identification of these types of implications, and of its growing attention to the possibility of misrepresentation by implication, are discussed in detail. A prediction is offered that attention to implications will continue to increase for some time in the future. Puffery is discussed as a category which the FTC might recognize in the future as a type of implied misrepresentation; a rationale is offered for regulating such claims. The role of the researcher is examined, using the assumption that greater attention to misrepresentation that extends beyond a message's literal meaning will produce a greater need for research. The researcher will have attractive opportunities for such work, but will have to confront the problem that playing an advocacy role in legal proceedings may involve significant conflicts with the impartial role that is appropriate for the academic researcher.     

Sex,education, and unionism: demographic determinants of attitude toward japanese direct investment

This article reports the findings of a major survey of Ohio residents’ attitudes toward Japanese foreign direct investment in the United States. Attitudinal data were collected from 448 respondents with respect to their perceptions of Japanese investment in the United States and its effects. Crosstabulation of the data reveal the existence of significant attitudinal differences. Specifically, sex, educational level, and union membership are found to be significantly related to attitudes regarding Japanese foreign direct investment Women, individuals with lower levels of education, and union members hold more negative attitudes toward several aspects of Japanese foreign direct investment than the state's population as a whole.     

On the stability of the constant relative risk aversion (CRRA) utility under high degrees of uncertainty

Growth models under uncertainty and constant relative risk aversion (CRRA) utility are fragile in explaining consumers’ choice, as equilibrium consumption is dependent on distributional assumptions. We show that, under semi-nonparametric distributions, general equilibrium models are stable, as the existence of expected utility is guaranteed.     

Agrobiodiversity,farm profits and land fragmentation: Evidence from Bulgaria

This paper presents an empirical analysis of the role of land fragmentation, crop biodiversity and their interplay with farm profitability. Original primary data are drawn from a survey conducted in the Plodiv region of Bulgaria. The econometric results stress the ambiguous role of land fragmentation on farm profitability. On one hand, land fragmentation reduces farm profitability. On the other hand, land fragmentation fosters crop diversification. We also find that crop biodiversity plays a beneficial role in farm profitability. Policies that aim to increase land consolidation and reduce fragmentation may overlook the positive link between diversity and plot heterogeneity. Policies that encourage land consolidation should, therefore, consider the crucial role that this has on other variables such as farm biodiversity.     

Accept–reject Metropolis–Hastings sampling and marginal likelihood estimation

We describe a method for estimating the marginal likelihood, based on Chib (1995) and C hib and Jeliazkov (2001) , when simulation from the posterior distribution of the model parameters is by the accept–reject Metropolis–Hastings (ARMH) algorithm. The method is developed for one-block and multiple-block ARMH algorithms and does not require the (typically) unknown normalizing constant of the proposal density. The problem of calculating the numerical standard error of the estimates is also considered and a procedure based on batch means is developed. Two examples, dealing with a multinomial logit model and a Gaussian regression model with non-conjugate priors, are provided to illustrate the efficiency and applicability of the method.