Are large portions always bad? Using the Delboeuf illusion on food packaging to nudge consumer behavior

Exaggerated portion sizes are generally pictured on the front of product packaging in order to stimulate food craving and encourage consumer purchasing decisions. However, one problem with such images is that they can set inappropriate norms as far as food consumption is concerned and hence result in people serving themselves more than they otherwise might. The research reported here builds on the fact that depicting a food portion in a smaller (vs. larger) container (i.e., plate or bowl) creates the illusion of a larger (vs. smaller) portion, although the actual quantity of food remains the same (this is known as the Delboeuf illusion). Here, we demonstrate in two experiments that by presenting food in a smaller container (thus giving rise to the illusion of a relatively larger portion), participants have higher purchase intentions (study 1) and perceive the food as being more appetizing (study 2) but, crucially, decrease the size of the portion that they serve themselves (studies 1 and 2). Overall, by giving the impression of a larger portion on product packaging, the Delboeuf illusion could potentially be used to nudge consumers to find food more desirable, while at the same time leading them to reduce their serving, thus potentially benefitting both consumers and the food industry.     

FDI and Welfare Dynamics in Africa

This article examines the welfare impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) in a panel of 20 African countries over the period 2000–2013. We explore the multifactor and nonmonetary measures of welfare and the nonlinear effect of FDI on welfare. We used the Driscoll and Kraay standard errors and augmented mean group (AMG) estimator by Eberhardt and Teal (2010) to account for cross‐sectional dependency, endogeneity, and heterogeneity within panel units. The results indicate that although FDI is welfare enhancing, the nonlinear terms report mixed findings. When a multifactor indicator is employed, the increase in the nonlinear term is lower than the linear part. However, there is strong evidence that FDI is ultimately welfare enhancing when a nonmonetary indicator is employed. From an international business perspective, the findings have unlocked the welfare effects of international business on African host economies. International businesses through FDI can enhance welfare in Africa countries. However, the optimal efficacy of FDI‐welfare impact differs across the various dimensions of welfare. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Commercial Real Estate Market Property Level Capital Expenditures: An Options Analysis

The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics - Option pricing theory predicts that capital improvement expenditures are positively linked with high or increasing market lease rates. Ceteris...     

Exploring the use of Facebook as a marketing and branding tool by hospital foundations

This study investigated how Ontario (Canada) hospital foundations use Facebook for branding, community outreach, and fundraising. The target sample included all hospital foundations in Ontario that have a presence on Facebook (N = 81). Rich, qualitative Facebook data were collected over a 7‐month period, from the beginning of June 2016 to the end of December 2016, to get a better understanding of the marketing strategies implemented by the foundations. Results were gauged against some of the best practices for Facebook marketing in order to determine practical implications and conclusions for hospital foundations. Overall, hospital foundations are aware of the utmost importance of personalizing their messages, but they are way short of Facebook benchmarks, including Frequency of Posts and Media Type Used.     

Corporate social responsibility in emerging economies: Investigating firm behavior in the Indian context

Scholars have questioned the appropriateness of using a western‐centric framework to investigate corporate social responsibility (CSR) in emerging economies. This study assesses the appropriateness of using such a framework in one emerging economy—India. More specifically, the drivers of CSR and their impact on firm‐level CSR activity in the Indian context are investigated and compared with those in developed economies. Content analysis of 369 CSR policy statements of publicly traded Indian firms revealed the factors that drive CSR activities of Indian firms are similar to those found in developed economies. However, the ways firms respond to the drivers of CSR are surprisingly different in the Indian context, and these differences can be traced to attributes of the Indian socio‐cultural context. Implications and recommendations for future research conducted in India, and in other emerging economies, are offered.     

The Cost of War: A Comment and a Reply

Intereconomics - In the July/August issue of Intereconomics, Ilona Sologoub argued that increasing the cost of war would limit the ability of an authoritarian state to wage a war. Here, Charles D....     

The Earned Income Tax Credit: Targeting the poor but crowding out wealth

This paper quantifies the individual, aggregate and welfare effects of the US Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). In particular, we analyze the labour supply and saving responses to changes in tax credit generosity and their implications for prices and welfare. Our results show that the EITC is a subsidy on labour income and a tax on savings. An increase in EITC generosity raises labour force participation, reduces savings for many and provides insurance to working poor households. The EITC reduces earnings inequality but increases the skill premium and wealth inequality. A 10% increase in tax credit generosity increases welfare by 0.31% and benefits the majority of the population.     

Short-termism,shareholder payouts and investment in the EU

Investor-driven 'short-termism' is said to harm EU public firms' ability to invest for the long term, prompting calls for the EU to better insulate managers from shareholder pressure. But the evidence offered—rising levels of repurchases and dividends—is incomplete and misleading: it ignores large offsetting equity issuances that move capital from investors to EU firms. We show that, over the last 30 years and the last decade, net shareholder payouts have been moderate and investment and cash balances have increased. In sum, the data provide little basis for the view that short-termism in the EU warrants corporate governance reforms.     

Assessing models of individual equity option prices

Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting - This study sheds light on risk exposures of cooperative banks in Austria, Germany and Italy. We investigate how major risk elements of banks in these...