The effectiveness of monetary reform under rational expectations

Automatic monetary stabilizers based on interest rate information are analyzed in a rational expectations framework. Their impact on price level variability is studied, and their effectiveness is compared to optimal decentralized monetary instruments.     

Implications of marketing and promotion for the development of tourism

The author considers some oft-neglected aspects of marketing and promotion in the development of tourism, with special reference to the implications of travel marketing and promotion for the tourism industries of developing countries.     

Gender Mainstreaming and Corporate Social Responsibility: Reporting Workplace Issues

This paper investigates the potential and actual contribution of corporate social responsibility (CSR) to gender equality in a framework of gender mainstreaming (GM). It introduces GM as combining technical systems (monitoring, reporting, evaluating) with political processes (women’s participation in decision-making) and considers the ways in which this is compatible with CSR agendas. It examines the inclusion of gender equality criteria within three related CSR tools: human capital management (HCM) reporting, CSR reporting guidelines, and socially responsible investment (SRI) criteria on employee and diversity issues. Although evidence is found of gender equality information being requested within several CSR related reporting frameworks, these requirements are mostly limited in scope, or remain optional elements. The nature and extent of relevant stakeholder opportunities are investigated to explain this unfulfilled potential.     

Trade Union Membership Concentration, 1892-1987: Development and Causation

Existing studies of British trade union membership concentration have used the variance of logs and concentration ratio measures to show a tendency towards increasing concentration. This paper proposes the Herfindahl index as a more appropriate measure. The annual variation in concentration is analysed by means of the Herfindahl index and shows some fluctuation, particularly prior to 1947. Divergent trends are also shown for manual and white-collar membership concentration. An explanation of the aggregate trend and of these different occupational trends is advanced in terms of bargaining structure and the development of general unionism.     

Strategy in motion: Using motion pictures to illustrate strategic management concepts

A company is more likely to enjoy excellent organizational performance if its employees understand the importance of strategic management and are actively engaged in helping the company pursue its strategies. Many employees view strategy as disconnected from their jobs, however, and getting them to embrace strategy can be challenging. Using a series of vivid examples, we describe how motion pictures can bring strategic management concepts to life for employees. By making strategic management concepts more relevant and less abstract, movies can lead employees to enjoy thinking about and discussing strategy.     

Specialization,diversification, and productivity: a panel data analysis of rice farms in Korea

This article examines the microeconomics of productivity associated with specialization/diversification in production activities, with an application to Korean rice farms. Korean rice farms tend to be very small and highly specialized. Our analysis examines the productivity effects associated with both farm size and farm specialization/diversification in Korean agriculture. Relying on farm‐level panel data, the analysis studies farm productivity in a multi‐input multi‐output context, accounting not only for changes in inputs and technical change in rice production, but also for the role of diversification in the production of other crops in current and previous periods. We find positive but small productivity gains from farm diversification. These gains come mostly from complementarity effects across farm outputs, with minimal effect of scale economies. The positive complementarity effects work against nonconvexity effects, which provide strong productivity incentives for rice farms to specialize.