Mainstreaming sustainable tourism with user-centred design

Abstract

Efforts to design and communicate sustainable tourism products have been based on the premise of explicit market demand for sustainability. This study tests whether it is possible to design mainstream sustainable tourism products that circumvent customer scrutiny of their sustainability features, by making sustainability implicit (as part of quality product design) and communicating hedonistic benefits instead. This is akin to using the peripheral route of communication, as explained in the Elaboration Likelihood Model, as the central route emphasises the consumer-driven message of overall quality of experience; the approach lessens the need for customers to be conscious of the sustainability consequences of their actions. The methodology proposed to achieve this is user-centred design (UCD), which places insights into customer needs, values and demands at the heart of new product design. We designed sustainable tourist activities using UCD and then appraised customer demand for them. Although this may seem counterintuitive, the results show that it can be more effective than traditional methods in mainstreaming sustainable activities, through choice-editing of unsustainable ones and normalising the appearance and communication of sustainability, provided a focus on sustainability is maintained by the product provider.     

Empirical approach to the analysis of university student absenteeism: proposal of a questionnaire for students to evaluate the possible causes

Works on student absenteeism in the universities have not been preferential for the authors in the field of educational research. Usually, what has been made is an approach to the available absenteeism data as an intervening variable or as a variable characteristic of the educational process, but not as a dependent variable in the strict sense of the term. In this work, we intend to make an empirical approach to the possible reasons of student absenteeism. There is a double point of view: the students’ and the professors’; the reasons that justify it according to its protagonists are studied. This paper focuses on the six university degrees taught at the School of Economy and Business of the University of Barcelona (Facultat d’Economia i Empresa de la Universitat de Barcelona). An “ad-hoc” questionnaire has been prepared and the opinions of 1,162 undergraduates have been analyzed. The reasons given by each population differ in hierarchy and motivations.     

Inference on an extended Roy model,with an application to schooling decisions in France

This paper considers the identification and estimation of an extension of Roy’s model (1951) of sectoral choice, which includes a non-pecuniary component in the selection equation and allows for uncertainty on potential earnings. We focus on the identification of the non-pecuniary component, which is key to disentangling the relative importance of monetary incentives versus preferences in the context of sorting across sectors. By making the most of the structure of the selection equation, we show that this component is point identified from the knowledge of the covariate effects on earnings, as soon as one covariate is continuous. Notably, and in contrast to most results on the identification of Roy models, this implies that identification can be achieved without any exclusion restriction nor large support condition on the covariates. As a by-product, bounds are obtained on the distribution of the ex ante   monetary returns. We propose a three-stage semiparametric estimation procedure for this model, which yields root-n$n$ consistent and asymptotically normal estimators. Finally, we apply our results to the educational context, by providing new evidence from French data that non-pecuniary factors are a key determinant of higher education attendance decisions.     

Mapping AcroQoL scores to EQ-5D to obtain utility values for patients with acromegaly

Aims: To estimate a preference-based single index for the disease-specific instrument (AcroQoL) by mapping it onto the EQ-5D to assist in future economic evaluations.

Materials and methods: A sample of 245 acromegaly patients with AcroQoL and EQ-5D scores was obtained from three previously published European studies. The sample was split into two: one sub-sample to construct the model (algorithm construction sample, n?=?184), and the other one to confirm it (validation sample, n?=?61). Various multiple regression models including two-part model, tobit model, and generalized additive models were tested and/or evaluated for predictive ability, consistency of estimated coefficients, normality of prediction errors, and simplicity.

Results: Across these studies, mean age was 50–60 years and the proportion of males was 36–59%. At overall level the percentage of patients with controlled disease was 37.4%. Mean (SD) scores for AcroQoL Global Score and EQ-5D utility were 62.3 (18.5) and 0.71 (0.28), respectively. The best model for predicting EQ-5D was a generalized regression model that included the Physical Dimension summary score and categories from questions 9 and 14 as independent variables (Adj. R²?=?0.56, with mean absolute error of 0.0128 in the confirmatory sample). Observed and predicted utilities were strongly correlated (Spearman r?=?0.73, p?<?.001) and paired t-Student test revealed non-significant differences between means (p?>?.05). Estimated utility scores showed a minimum error of ≤10% in 45% of patients; however, error increased in patients with an observed utility score under 0.2. The model’s predictive ability was confirmed in the validation cohort.

Limitations and conclusions: A mapping algorithm was developed for mapping of AcroQoL to EQ-5D, using patient level data from three previously published studies, and including validation in the confirmatory sub-sample. Mean (SD) utilities index in this study population was estimated as 0.71 (0.28). Additional research may be needed to test this mapping algorithm in other acromegaly populations.     

Turning regulation into business opportunities: A brief history of French food mass retailing (1949–2015)

Abstract

The French retail market stands out among its European counterparts as being more concentrated. Relative to its neighbors, it has a higher number of large stores, such as hypermarkets. This article explains the origins of this market structure by assessing the impact of regulation on the French food retail industry between 1949 and 2015. Despite legislation aimed at curtailing their growth, retailers were able to circumvent legal constraints. Over the period considered, three ‘regulation-adaptation’ loops are described. Retailers’ responses to regulatory regimes affected both their bargaining mechanisms with suppliers and the business models they used to sell their products. By turning regulation into business opportunities, French retailers have managed to create a powerful oligopolistic industry, and are now among the largest retail groups in the world.     

A new instrumental method for dealing with endogenous selection

This paper develops a new method for dealing with endogenous selection. The usual instrumental strategy based on the independence between the outcome and the instrument is likely to fail when selection is directly driven by the dependent variable. Instead, we suggest to rely on the independence between the instrument and the selection variable, conditional on the outcome. This approach may be particularly suitable for nonignorable nonresponse, binary models with missing covariates or Roy models with an unobserved sector. The nonparametric identification of the joint distribution of the variables is obtained under a completeness assumption, which has been used recently in several nonparametric instrumental problems. Even if the conditional independence between the instrument and the selection variable fails to hold, the approach provides sharp bounds on parameters of interest under weaker monotonicity conditions. Apart from identification, nonparametric and parametric estimations are also considered. Finally, the method is applied to estimate the effect of grade retention in French primary schools.     

Does Employee Ownership Benefit Value Creation? The Case of France (2001–2005)

The focus of this paper is employee ownership, specifically the role of employee ownership in value creation. Based on a sample of 163 French companies, we have measured the impact of employee share ownership on value creation for both shareholders and stakeholders. Only companies with a sustained employee ownership policy over a 5-year period (from 2001 to 2005), as defined by the French Federation of Employee and Former Employee Shareholders (FAS), have been considered. The results indicate that employee share ownership plans have no effect on shareholders’ or stakeholders’ value creation.     

International briefing 20: training and development in Andorra

This briefing investigates the status of the educational system and, more specifically, of continuing training in companies in the Principality of Andorra. Part of this analysis is based on a field study designed to explore and understand both the current situation and the training needs of the main sectors within the Andorran economy. A proposal for continuing training is posed, with reference to best practice from different countries, in particular Spain and France, which share geographic borders with the principality.     

INDEPENDENT FISCAL AGENCIES

Abstract.  There has been a considerable literature regarding the incentives of policymakers as a prime reason for persistent fiscal deficits and a variety of fiscal rules have been proposed as a remedy. However, the often inadequate flexibility of rules and the success of policy delegation in the monetary realm have motivated a small but growing number of studies that suggest delegating some aspects of fiscal policy to what will here be called 'independent fiscal agencies'. This paper surveys the related literature with a focus on three aspects: the motivation for the establishment of such agencies; their potential design; and the experience with these types of institutions.