The role of attitude in learning economics: Race and gender differences

This study identifies and analyzes factors that affect a learner's knowledge, comprehension, and application of economics by racial and gender grouping. A decomposition model is used to evaluate the impact of attitudinal effects and other exogenous variables on economic cognition. Preliminary findings suggest that the attitude of black students towards economics instruction differs from their white cohorts while no gender differences are found.     

Exchange rates, tax-subsidy schemes, and the revenue from foreign trade in a centrally planned economy

Conclusions It has been argued that while in the traditional analysis of the classic CPE the exchange rate has only an accounting function, inappropriate methods of national income accounting can lead to changes in the exchange rate generating changes in the real economy, provided that trade in unbalanced in foreign currency prices. This thesis was explored by examining the way the profits from foreign trade were calculated by the Ministry of Foreign Trade, and then transferred to the state budget. It was shown that the correct measure of the state's increased command over domestic resources from engaging in foreign trade, derived from the implicit taxes on that sector, was the ministry's profits on its domestic operations, the first term in (2). However, evidence was presented which suggested that its profits on foreign currency account measured in domestic currency, the second term in (2), were also passed over to the state budget. This implies that transferred profits from foreign trade will overstate the underlying command over resources when there is a balance of payments surplus, and understate them when there is a deficit. The consequence of this is that the domestic economy faces a series of erratic, though small, inflationary and deflationary impulses, regardless of changes in the exchange rate.The theoretical role of the preisausleich system was explored in some detail and it was argued that, although the system has been designed to insulate the domestic economy from external disturbances, there were clear reasons why it had come to play a major part in revenue raising. Specifically, it is administratively convenient to tax resources at their point of entry into or exit from the economy; the taxation of foreign trade widens the tax base and reduces the visibility of the tax system. But, of course, this grafting onto the preisausgleich of a second major function of revenue raising does lead to the development of a further channel through which external disturbances can pass into the domestic economy. That is external disturbances impact on the domestic economy not only through the production and welfare effects of changing exports and imports, and through whatever tenuous links are allowed between foreign and domestic prices, but also insofar as those disturbances affect the ministry's profits from foreign trade. In short, foreign economic disturbances show up in variations in the position of the non-inflationary government budget constraint. To that extent the second function of the preisausgleich impairs its ability to perform its original insulation function. In a minor way, the successful non-inflationary performance of the insulation function has always required adjustments in the government budget constraint. But the growth in the importance of foreign trade taxation has magnified the importance of this phenomenon, and led to a trade-off between the two functions.University of Bath. Initial research for this paper was carried out under ESRC grant HRP 7417/1.     

How the Ageing Population Contributes to UK Economic Activity: A Microsimulation Analysis

In the United Kingdom, as in several other countries, increasing life expectancy is leading to a shift in the age distribution of the population. Meanwhile, at the level of individuals, spending patterns change as people age. This paper investigates the extent to which demographic change is likely to affect household spending patterns by combining the techniques of dynamic microsimulation with an imputation method known as random assignment. While there has been significant concern about the economic cost of the ageing population, this paper finds a potentially beneficial effect in the form of an increase in total spending for most expenditure categories.     

Improving Supplier New Product Development Performance: The Role of Supplier Development

Suppliers play an increasingly central role in helping firms achieve their new product development (NPD) goals. The literature implicitly assumes that suppliers are able to meet or exceed the quality standards and technological expectations of the firm, and yet, in practice, suppliers often lack the technological capabilities needed to undertake collaborative NPD. In such situations, a firm may choose to intervene and actively develop the supplier's technological and product development capabilities. We develop a theoretical framework that conceptualizes supplier development activities within interorganizational NPD projects as part of a bilateral knowledge‐sharing process: design recommendations, technical specifications, and new technology flow from supplier to the firm, and in turn, the firm can implement supplier development activities to upgrade the supplier's technological capabilities. Antecedents (supplier responsibility, skills similarity, single sourcing strategy) and consequences of supplier development activities (on supplier, product, and project performance) are examined using a sample of 153 interorganizational NPD projects within UK manufacturers. We find broad support for our hypotheses. In particular, we show that the relational rents (in the form of improved product and project performance) attained from supplier development activities in new product development are not achieved directly, but rather indirectly, via improvements in the supplier's creative and technological capabilities. Our results emphasize the importance of adopting a strategic view of the potential returns available from investing in the NPD capabilities of key suppliers, and provide clues about underlying reasons for the suboptimal experiences of many companies' collaborative NPD projects.     

The transformational model of social activity and economic analysis: a reinterpretation of the work of J.R. Commons

The work of J.R. Commons, I want to argue, bears a close relationship to, is clarified by and informs, recent developments in social theory. Specifically, recent developments in social theory, elaborated under the heading of critical realism, serve to organize or systematize Commons' work in such a way as to defend it against the commonly made criticisms of incoherence and irrelevance to more general or theoretical concerns. On the other hand Commons' work, based as it is upon practical case study and intervention, serves both to extend or ‘deepen’ existing critical realist accounts and demonstrate their relevance for political economy.     

Sector- and economy-wide effects of terminating the use of anti-microbial growth promoters in Denmark

In Denmark the poultry industry and the National Committee for Pig Production, together with the feedstuff industry, decided to voluntarily abolish the use of all Anti-microbial Growth Promoters (AGP). The poultry industry abolished the use of AGP from 15 February 1998 and the pig industry followed on 1 March 1998 (for pigs over 35 kg) and 1 January 2000 (for pigs under 35 kg). To evaluate the effects of the removal of AGP, data from both the poultry and pig industries were collected prior to and after the removal of AGP from animal feed. Utilizing these production data, this paper calculates economy-wide effects of the removal of AGP using the Agricultural Applied General Equilibrium (AAGE) model of the Danish economy. The results show that the long-term effects are a moderate decline in the production and export of pig meat, and a positive indirect effect on other industries including poultry due to lower rental rates for primary factor inputs. The overall implication is a small decline in real GDP of 0.03%, reducing public and private consumption by 68 DKK per capita per year in Denmark.     

Controlling human capital costs in the new millennium

Low productivity and high turnover can be more costly to employers than insurance premiums and medical claims. This article discusses the need for coordinated management of all behavioral health benefits. It provides two case studies that illustrate how such coordination can avert possible long-term costs and loss of a valued employee.