Self serving reference points in double auctions

We present a novel approach for modelling self serving bias by way of reference dependence. Bias is modelled as a systematic individual level deviation of the endogenous reference point from the expected price of a good in a two person k-double auction. We find that bias decreases the efficiency of the model, and that efficiency is decreasing in both the level of bias and reference dependence.     

Motivators and barriers to sustainable food consumption: Qualitative inquiry about organic food consumers in a developing nation

The present research attempts to qualitatively explore the motivators and barriers of organic food consumption in the Indian context. The data were collected using semistructured in‐depth interviews and analyzed using grounded theory. The theoretical sampling technique was used to interview 34 consumers who have purchased organic food in the past. The findings reported health consciousness, environmental consciousness, social identity, consumer ethnocentrism, and concern for farmers as the factors that motivate organic food purchase among consumers. The factors such as high prices of organic food, unavailability, trust issues, and limited marketing communications from the firms were identified as major barriers to organic food purchase and consumption. The study is one of the initial attempts to qualitatively explore the consumers' motivation for organic food consumption in the Indian context. The findings will help policymakers to devise suitable strategies so that they can effectively target the organic food choices by understanding the motivators/barriers, and promote the sustainable lifestyle in the society, as food consumption plays a crucial role in achieving environmental sustainability.     

Nonlinearities in the real exchange rates: new evidence from developed and developing countries

This paper investigates nonlinearities in the dynamics of real exchange rates. We use Monte Carlo simulations to establish the size properties of the Teräsvirta-Anderson test, when the dynamics of the real exchange rate is influenced by an exogenous process. In addition, we show that a modified nonlinearity test, which includes additional right-hand-side variables, performs much better than the original in both Monte Carlo exercises and in the actual data on 1431 bilateral real exchange rate series. Finally, we investigate the dynamics of the real exchange rate for both developed and developing countries using the modified test for the recent floating period. In general, the results find a greater incidence of nonlinear dynamics for developing country real exchange rates.     

Firm financing and growth in the Arab region

This paper documents how firms in Arab countries use equity, corporate bond and syndicated loan markets to obtain financing and grow. Working with a new dataset on issuance activity in domestic and international markets and firm performance, the paper finds that capital raising through these markets has grown rapidly since the early 1990s and involved an increasing number of firms. Whereas the amounts raised in equity and loan markets (relative to gross domestic product) stand well relative to international standards, bond issuance activity lags behind. However, bond financing has gained importance over time. Equity issuances take place primarily in domestic markets, whereas bonds and loans are mostly issued internationally, display long maturities and entail low levels of credit risk. Issuing firms from the Arab region are very large compared to international standards. They also tend to be larger, faster growing and more leveraged than non-issuing firms in Arab countries.     

Learning in a double-phase cobweb model

Decisions in Economics and Finance - In this paper, we study a class of markets, among which we can mention agricultural and energy markets, characterized by seasonality, i.e., in which demand...     

SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW OF TOURISM GROWTH NEXUS: AN OVERVIEW OF THE LITERATURE AND A CONTENT ANALYSIS OF 100 MOST INFLUENTIAL PAPERS

This study performs the first citation-based systematic literature review of the tourism-growth nexus. The citation analysis provides a bird's eye view of this literature, which, in turn, identifies the sources of knowledge in terms of most influential journals, authors, and articles. A detailed content analysis of 100 most influential papers has been generated on the nature of the study, variables used, country of analysis, type of analysis, the methodology, and the direction of causality. In total, 284 papers were found relevant in the Scopus database using a comprehensive list of keywords. The citation analysis reveals that Tourism Management is the leading journal with a total of 2527 citation counts, whereas Tourism Economics is the leading journal with a total of 41 publications on this topic. Juan Gabriel Brida is the most prolific author, whereas Lee and Chang (2008) is recognized as the most influential paper. The content analysis reveals that 58% have applied time series, and 38% have used panel data analysis. Tourism causing growth is the leading result of both time-series and panel studies. International tourism receipts/earnings/expenditure and the number of international tourist arrivals are the most widely used variables to measure tourism.     

Do Indian States Mimic,Compete or Interact in Local Public Spending? A Spatial Econometric Analysis

This paper analyses spatial interaction in public spending decisions across 22 Indian states during the period 1980–1981 to 2014–2015. In particular, we estimate interactive hypotheses for different proximities of states using a spatial panel data approach. The empirical results support strong spatial interaction and yardstick competition in public spending. Interactive behavior among the states has been found to be consistent and conditional on per capita income, fiscal transfers, infrastructure, literacy and population density. Interaction arising from yardstick competition significantly affects public spending decisions. The present study realizes the need for a well‐developed and comprehensive network to strengthen the interdependence in public spending among the states for higher welfare gain.     

Estimating input-mix efficiency in a parametric framework: application to state-level agricultural data for the United States

ABSTRACT

This paper contributes to the productivity literature by demonstrating novel econometric methods to estimate input-mix efficiency (IME) in a parametric framework. Input-mix efficiency is defined as the potential improvement in productivity with change in input mix. Any change in input-mix (e.g., land to labou r ratio) will result in change in productivity. The advantage of this approach is that it does not require data on input prices to estimate the mix efficiency levels. A nonlinear input-aggregator function (e.g., Constant Elasticity of Substitution) is used to derive an expression for input-mix efficiency. Bayesian stochastic frontier is estimated for obtaining mix efficiency using US state-level agricultural data for the period 1960–2004. Significant variation in input-mix efficiency is noted across the states and regions, attributable to diverse topographic and geographic conditions. Furthermore, comparisons of allocative and mix efficiencies provide insightful policy implications. The production incentives such as taxes and subsidies could help farmers in adjusting their input mix in response to changes in input prices, which can affect the US agricultural productivity significantly. The proposed methodology can be extended by i) using flexible functional forms; ii) introducing various time- and region-varying input aggregators; and iii) defining more sophisticated weights for input aggregators.     

Assessment of blockchain applications in travel and tourism industry

Quality & Quantity - Blockchain technology (BCT) is a network-based system, which is developed to create secure, smart and transparent distributed ledgers. Recently, BCT has been gaining more...