Regulation versus pricing in urban water policy: the case of the Australian National Water Initiative

The Australian National Water Initiative (NWI) builds on the foundations of earlier water reforms, attempts to correct earlier errors in both policy and its implementation, and seeks to better define some of the policy aims with the benefit of hindsight. However, despite the deliberate effort to improve on earlier reforms, the NWI still embodies a significant economic paradox. Although policymakers have shown their faith in the market insofar as allocating water between competing agricultural interests is concerned, they have not shown the same degree of faith in the ability of urban users to respond to price signals. This paper attempts to shed at least some light on this question by examining the responses of a number of State governments across Australia to the NWI. The paper specifically explores the rationale for non-price regulation in the urban context but challenges the long-term viability of this approach.     

Social Ad Lessons

NEW YORK Social wunderkinds like MySpace and Facebook face a dilemma： advertising in these environments is a decidedly hit-and-miss affair. For all their potential, they＇re tough for advertisers to figure out.     

A Methodological Evaluation of Empirical Demand Systems Research

This paper examines recent demand systems literature from a methodological standpoint. A survey of the empirical demand systems literature has been assembled that includes 66 articles from 19 separate journals. The paper classifies empirical demand studies according to different methodological paradigms to ascertain if there is a pattern in the demand systems literature and to determine the implications of that classification. The results indicate that the bulk (67%) of demand systems research is implicitly falsificationist (for at least part of the research program). The remainder of the research program follows a conventionalist doctrine.     

Trust, Faith, and Betrayal: Insights from Management for the Wise Believer

Trust within a secular or organizational context is much like the concept of faith within a religious framework. The purpose of this article is to identify parallels between trust and faith, particularly from the individual perspective of the person who perceives a duty owed to him or her. Betrayal is often a subjectively derived construct based upon each individual’s subjective mediating lens. We analyze the nature of trust and betrayal and offer insights that a wise believer might use in understanding his or her relationship with the divine. We suggest that the parallels between trust and faith involve a willingness to relinquish one’s power or control in the expectant hope that our needs will be met. Betrayal, however, is often profoundly misunderstood.     

The Price Impacts of Open Market Repurchase Trades

Abstract:  This paper analyzes a database of 60,000+ individual repurchase trades from the Toronto Stock Exchange. The average intraday price impact of repurchase trades is negative, since, because of execution rules, 60% are seller-initiated. Prices fall less following repurchase than matched non-repurchase trades—there is an abnormal price impact. We find evidence consistent with two hypotheses: repurchases provide price support, and the market learns that the shares are undervalued. Consistent with the latter, we find that repurchasing companies have superior timing. Share prices show abnormal losses (gains) before (after) the repurchase trades. We find no significant market reaction to the mandatory public disclosure of the trade details.     

Response to cash outs for work place parking and work place parking charges

Free work place parking has long been considered to have a strong influence on whether or not individuals use their car for their trips to work. A survey of local authority employees was conducted to examine their potential responses to the removal of free work place parking spaces, how they would respond to parking cash-out policies and to work place parking charges, and finally their responses to specific values of cash out payments. It was found that as age increases individuals are less likely to accept any form of cash out. When individuals have one or more cars available they are more likely to opt for a cash out scheme. Females are more likely to opt for the various cash out schemes than males. The results seem to suggest that if an individual has a higher income it does not necessarily mean they will opt to keep their space.     

Coordination and price shocks: an empirical analysis

This paper outlines a new technique, which makes optimal control in a stochastic minimum variance framework computationally feasible. The new approach is then used to evaluate gains to policy coordination in the context of a macroeconometric model for the G-3. More specifically, we consider policy responses to a temporary price shock in a single country and in multi-country cases. The results show that coordination brings about a striking improvement in the overall control of inflation and a reduction in output costs.     

The Intraday Relation between NYSE and CBOE Prices

I extend the literature regarding price discovery across stock and option markets through an empirical model that allows information to flow through an error‐correction term and volatility. NYSE prices tend to lead CBOE prices by at least thirty minutes over the entire six‐year sample period. In addition, informed trading in the options market is revealed more strongly through persistence in volatility and the spillover of volatility to the stock market than it is through returns.