Determinants of food consumption in rural Sierra Leone: Application of the quadratic expenditure system to the consumption-leisure component of a household-firm model

This paper reports the application of a quadratic expenditure system with demographic variables to the household consumption-leisure choice component of a household-firm model. A system of seven commodities is estimated: including five foods, non-food and leisure. Appropriate for such a level of disaggregation a demand system is used, the Quadratic Expenditure System, which allows for a flexible relationship between full income and commodity expenditures without sacrificing parsimony in parameters. Demographic data on households are explicitly incorporated into the model allowing for a richer specification than can be achieved by using per capita variables. The data are from a cross-section survey of households in rural Sierra Leone. Price variation exists by region, permitting estimation of a complete demand system. Engel curves are found to be significantly non-linear, with marginal expenditure on rice, the major staple, declining with higher income. Most foods are found to be reasonably price responsive with sizeable own price substitution effects, declining with higher income. Aggregate labor supply is found to be price inelastic.     

The next 20 years: how customer and workforce attitudes will evolve

Business projects with very long time horizons--such as those involving product R&D, workplace design, and total compensation planning--have to contend with a crucial question: What will be the needs, demands, and desires of consumers and employees decades from now? If you think the answer is "Just more of the same," you're in for a surprise. Howe and Strauss, the authors of Generations, The Fourth Turning, Millennials Rising, and other books, have studied the differences among generations for some 30 years. Their extensive research has revealed a fascinating pattern--one so strong that it supports a measure of predictability. On the basis of historical precedent, they say, we can foresee how the generations that are alive today will think and act in decades to come. Three of those generations will still be vital forces in American society 20 years from now: Boomers, Generation X, and Millennials. Their attitudes and behaviors will have profound effects on the economy, the workplace, and social institutions in general. For example, as aging Boomers eschew high-tech medicine in favor of holistic self-care, natural foods, and mind-body healing techniques, some hospitals are opening new wings featuring alternative medicine and spiritual counseling. Gen Xers, having grown up in an era of failing schools and marriages, will remain alienated, disaffected, and pragmatic as they enter midlife. Already the greatest entrepreneurial generation in U.S. history, they will be highly effective at pushing innovation, efficiency, and mass customization. In contrast, young adult Millennials will favor teamwork, close family relationships, job security, and a bland popular culture. Their unprecedented digital empowerment and talent for organizing will create a political powerhouse and may even revitalize the union movement.     

Formal Participation in the IASB's Due Process of Standard Setting: A Multi-issue/Multi-period Analysis

This paper sets out to enquire about the nature of constituents' participation in the IASB's due process in terms of representation (constituents' diversity and characteristics) and drivers to participate. We choose to adopt a multi-issue/multi-period approach to investigate constituents' formal participation. An analysis of comment letters sent directly to the IASB over the period 2002–2006, reveals that preparers sent most letters followed by the accounting profession and standard setters. With regard to timing, we find that preparers concentrate their participation efforts at a later stage in the process compared to the other constituents, who react earlier. Formal indirect participation in the IASB's due process by submitting comment letters to EFRAG is infrequently used by European constituents. In those cases where constituents exert influence to both IASB and EFRAG, they often use exactly the same comment letter. Concentrating on the drivers to participate, the data reveal that preparers, accountants and standard setters react significantly more when proposals have a major impact on the accounting numbers of a company. Users, stock exchanges and their supervisory authorities write significantly more comment letters when disclosure issues are at stake. Finally, participating preparers in the IASB's due process are larger and more profitable than non-participating preparers.     

Dynamische Preissetzung — Wer profitiert?

In the context of digitalisation, recent approaches for automatic price adjustment are gaining importance. However, these approaches can affect consumer behaviour in a way which is disadvantageous for consumers, businesses and the state as a whole. In September 2016, consumer researchers met at the Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf in order to discuss the impact of dynamic pricing from the viewpoint of their research fields. As the articles make clear, the researchers found that dynamic pricing based on competitors’ prices is common, while personalised prices are extremely rare. The question arises as to what extent consumers consider dynamic prices unfair. The experts disagree about the necessity of a stricter legal regulatory framework. Furthermore, digital technology can be used to help consumers find their way through the complex online world. Ultimately, the question of who profits–the consumer or the trader–has not been settled. The discussants conclude that there is need for further research in many different research fields.     

Factors motivating male consumers’ eco‐friendly apparel acquisition in the South African emerging market

The necessity of pro‐environmental apparel behaviour is to date a neglected concept in the local South African apparel industry. This study focuses on male consumers’ underlying motivation and intent to acquire apparel in an eco‐friendly manner. The research hypotheses and framework for this study are based on the Norm‐Activation Theory and the Theory of Planned Behaviour to clarify underlying motivational factors that contribute to pro‐environmental apparel acquisition. Pro‐environmental approaches were conceptualized as consumers’ purposive reduction of the amount of apparel acquired as well as the evaluation and selection of apparel based on pro‐environmental attributes. A quantitative, cross‐sectional survey approach was used for explanatory research purposes. Male consumers (18 years and older, n = 305) were reached by means of non‐probability, purposive sampling. Respondents completed online and paper‐based questionnaires that included adapted scale items for use in the local context. Results suggest that respondents are aware of the environmental consequences of their apparel behaviour, which then ultimately influences their behavioural intent. In contrast to studies conducted abroad, social and moral norms did not significantly influence their decisions to acquire apparel in a pro‐environmental manner. Respondents’ attitudes and self‐efficacy (i.e. a dimension of perceived behavioural control) contributed to their pro‐environmental intent. Yet, controllability (another dimension of perceived behavioural control) was not a significant predictor of intent and warrants further empirical research. The findings of this study substantiate important recommendations for the development of intervention strategies to promote pro‐environmental apparel behaviour in emerging market contexts such as South Africa.     

Optimal rate classification for enhanced annuities

For a given premium, enhanced annuities pay higher pensions to policyholders with impaired health. Even though risk classification is a common concept in the insurance sector and should allow insurers to increase their profitability, enhanced annuities are rarely offered outside of the United Kingdom. The paper provides a general method of determining an optimal risk classification system for enhanced annuities that will maximize an insurance company’s profits. The cost of risk classification, as well as that incurred when insureds are assigned to inappropriate risk classes (a chief component of underwriting risk), are explicitly considered.     

The downside of formula apportionment: evidence on factor demand distortions

This paper investigates the impact of corporate taxes on the input factor choice of multi-jurisdictional entities (MJEs) under a formula apportionment (FA) regime. Our testing ground is the German local business tax that applies FA regulations with income apportionment according to the relative payroll share. Using unique data on the population of German firms, we find that MJEs distort their employment and payroll costs in favor of low-tax locations. On average, a 1-percentage-point-increase in the tax rate differential between an affiliate and foreign group members is found to lower the affiliate’s payroll to capital ratio by 1.9%.     

There's No Place Like Home: The Profitability Gap between Headquarters and their Foreign Subsidiaries

Using data on European firms, this paper provides evidence that an overproportional fraction of multinational group profits accrues with the corporate headquarters. Quantitatively, the estimates suggest that headquarters are by around 25% more profitable than their foreign subsidiaries, whereas this gap tends to decline over time. The effect turns out to be robust against controlling for observed and unobserved heterogeneity between the entities. Analogous (although quantitatively smaller) effects are found for national groups. We discuss various welfare implications of our findings.