Eliciting preferences and the construction of indifference maps: A comparative empirical evaluation of two measurement methodologies

The paper reports results of experiments conducted to evaluate the following methods of preference measurement: (a) the method of eliciting certainty equivalents to gambles, for obtaining a von Neumann Morgenstern utility function; and (b) the dominance method for obtaining indifference maps. The following attributes were used for method comparison: (1) test-retest consistency; (2) linearity of trade-offs; (3) confidence in the method; (4) ease of judgment required by method; and (5) goodness of method predictions. The study also investigated the associations between method reliability and several behavioural and experimental factors such as subjects' acceptance of rationality axioms, propensities of subjects for judicial modes of evaluation, perceived realism of scenarios and subjects' discrimination bands for probabilities.     

An empirical evaluation of two assessment methods for utility measurement for life years

Measurements of utility functions over life years provide useful information for decision making in the health care field. However, biases in the assessment procedures of utility functions is a well-known and documented phenomenon. In this paper we investigate possible biases in the assessment of utility functions when two different methods (direct and indirect assessment) are used. More specifically, we examine the estimation of utility functions over different lengths of life. The main findings, obtained from an empirical investigation in which the two assessment techniques were applied to a sample of students, are: (a) the use of the different methods does not lead to significant differences in the utility evaluation from a social point of view (health program evaluation); (b) the use of the different methods does lead to significant differences in the utility evaluation from an individual point of view (clinical decision making); (c) in both methods risk aversion was found to be common for shorter periods of time while risk prone behavior, when it exists, was found mainly for longer periods of time.     

Rank-ordered logit models: An empirical analysis of Ontario voter preferences

This study provides a Bayesian investigation of rank-ordered multinominal logit models employing conjugate priors for standard multinomial logit models as well as other priors. Also considered is a specification test of the independence of irrelevant alternatives assumption. The proposed techniques are demonstrated in an empirical investigation of Ontario voter preferences before the 1988 Canadian Federal Election.     

Models of regional growth: An empirical evaluation

Cross section data are used to test two types of regional growth models: the demand and the supply based models. While the demand based model explained twice as much of the interregional variations in growth rates as did the supply model, we found that the basic element of the supply model, factor mobility, contributes significantly to the determination of regional growth. A model combining both demand and supply is developed and fitted tothe data. The performance of this model as judged by goodness of fit and dynamic simulations is remarkable. Long-run implications are derived from dynamic simulations.     

Designing vendor evaluation systems: An empirical analysis

Companies today are increasing efforts to develop their vendor evaluation system (VES) to qualify and select the best suppliers, monitor their performance and foster continuous improvement. VES lies at the intersection of three disciplines: purchasing management, supply chain management, and performance management. The extant literature especially focuses on vendor rating tools from a mathematical modeling standpoint, whereas firms are mostly concerned with guidelines necessary to design and implement an effective VES. The present study develops an encompassing research framework to investigate VES by means of thirteen case studies. In particular, the paper investigates VES design in terms of strategic alignment, process configuration and execution, as well as corresponding benefits and costs, exploring how the combination of the previous elements determines company satisfaction. Three groups of VESs are identified, leading to different levels of satisfaction.     

Federal investment impact: An empirical benefit-cost evaluation

This paper attempts to evaluate the impacts of a Corps of Engineers multimillion dollar channelization project authorized in 1948 upon a regional economy in an economic depressed area in the western part of Tennessee.Using a cost/benefit approach, this paper analyzes some major benefits and costs of the project such as flood control, land utilization, regional economic development and recreational losses. On a reach-by-reach basis this paper illustrates how tangible benefits and costs are measured empirically with available hydrological, historical, economic and other statistics. Alternatives such as reservoir building and channel clean-out are considered together with the proposed channelization work. Problems on intangibles and externalities are also delineated.The most interesting findings of this study are not those pertaining to the successes and failures of the benefit-cost approach. Rather, they are the insights into which differences between social and private considerations, joint and separated projects, authorized and not proposed alternatives, current and future choices, etc., can be enlightened. The importance of this empirical study hinges upon its results highlighting the conflicts between efficiency in resource allocation and the equality in income distribution.     

Indifference mapping: An empirical methodology for economic evaluation of the environment

There has been a rapid development of theoretical models to characterise and measure preferences for environmental alternatives. But this development does not seem to have been matched by the development of empirical methodologies to implement these models. The object of this paper is to develop, apply, and test such an empirical method. The method consists of deriving indifference maps to characterize choices between recreational opportunities. Demand curves are derived from the maps. The policy context of the study required the estimation of consumers' surplus values for one of the recreation activities. These values were read off the demand curves. They were validated in a partial prediction test.     

The cyclical nature of family income distribution in the united states: An empirical note

This note utilizes a cubic polynomial to model the cyclical behaviour of income inequality in the U.S. from 1947 to 2000. Linear and quadratic models have been used to explain the pattern, but they are not capable of detecting more than one extreme point. The simplest model capable of detecting a cycle is a cubic polynomial. By detecting the inflection points, the model can “predict” the turning points, from convergence to divergence. The model performs better with nominal data than with real data. (JEL 015, 040)     

Leisure and long-run risks: An empirical evaluation on value premium puzzle

I study the ability of a long-run risk model, with nonseparable leisure and consumption, to price the cross-section of U.S. equity returns over the 1948–2015 period. The stochastic discount factor features innovations to future leisure and consumption growth as factors. The model performs well, in terms of a variety of criteria, relative to competing models in explaining the cross-section of the spread in size and value portfolios.     

Productivity measurement from a deficient data base: An empirical study of Kenya's manufacturing sector

The study measures productivity growth in Kenya's manufacturing sector. Given several deficiencies of the data typical for developing countries, it focuses on methods to overcome such weaknesses of the data. The computation of total factor productivity growth uses a modified version of neoclassical growth accounting à la Solow and Denison. Data uncertainties are diminished through sensitivity analysis and comparison with some international evidence. In a second approach, labor productivity growth is broken down into two components: structural change in favor of more productive industries, and productivity increase at industry level.The refereeing process of this paper was handled through Edward Kokkelenberg. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 1989 meetings of the European Economic Association in Augsburg. The author acknowledges helpful comments from two anonymous referees of this Journal. The usual waiver applies.     

Disentangling the efficiency drivers in country-level global health programs: An empirical study

Motivated by the cost reductions and outcome improvements generated by benchmarking in many industries, we focus on in-country global health programs to identify and quantify opportunities for process improvement. We empirically study the major efficiency drivers of reproductive health (RH) country programs in Sub-Saharan Africa sponsored by international funding organizations. To ensure a level playing field for comparison across countries, we quantify the impact of cross-country heterogeneity and random shocks on the efficiency of RH programs. To analyze these relationships and isolate the effects attributable to managerial inefficiency, we use a three-stage Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA)/Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA) model. We show the impact of environmental factors on program efficiency, linking policy making decisions with operational and health outcome performance. We also show that donor fragmentation negatively impacts managerial efficiency, and we suggest actions to mitigate this effect. We then provide a way to improve performance through benchmarking efforts within groups of countries and present an initial prototype of such efforts.     

An empirical assessment of the cross-national measurement validity of graded paired comparisons

The popular use of graded paired comparisons in empirical studies assessing consumers’ preferences, and the potential effect of cross-national differences in (extreme) response styles on the quality of graded paired comparison data, supply ample reasons for an empirical verification of the cross-national validity of such scales. Using data from a cross-national margarine brand study including fourteen different nations (N = 4,560), we found sufficient statistical evidence for cross-national bias due to existing cross-national differences in extreme responses. However, the low values reported for effect size measures (intra-class correlation coefficient, R ² value) indicated that the impact of the cross-national bias is marginal. The findings from our study provided empirical support for the hypothesis that graded paired comparison data can be meaningfully compared across nations.     

Unemployment dynamics and labour market tightness: An empirical evaluation of matching function models

The implications of matching function models for the relationship between labour market tightness and the transition probability into employment are summarized. These implications are then tested using monthly data for three Canadian provinces: British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec. Testing methods use flexible regression techniques so as to reduce the effect of any extraneous restrictions. The results show rough concordance between theoretical assumptions and empirical facts. Evidence of non-linearity in the estimated relationships favours a search-theoretic model of labour markets over one based on queues and some quantitative results offer guidance to those using ‘calibrated’ search models in theoretical analysis.     

A Measurement Framework for Assessing the Contribution of Social Media to Public Engagement: An empirical analysis on Facebook

The public sector is increasingly turning to social media as a means to communicate and interact with citizens, but little is known about the contribution that these social technologies make to public engagement. This paper used a scoping literature review of studies examining social media in order to develop a framework that measures two Facebook features (popularity and commitment), which was then used to evaluate two different levels of public engagement (public communication and public participation). The framework was validated by applying it to the Facebook pages of several Italian city administrations, and a social media engagement matrix was proposed to interpret the findings.     

Thematic content analysis using supervised machine learning: An empirical evaluation using German online news

In recent years, two approaches to automatic content analysis have been introduced in the social sciences: semantic network analysis and supervised text classification. We argue that, although less linguistically sophisticated than semantic parsing techniques, statistical machine learning offers many advantages for applied communication research. By using manually coded material for training, supervised classification seamlessly bridges the gap between traditional and automatic content analysis. In this paper, we briefly introduce the conceptual foundations of machine learning approaches to text classification and discuss their application in social science research. We then evaluate their potential in an experimental study in which German online news was coded with established thematic categories. Moreover, we investigate whether and how linguistic preprocessing can improve classification quality. Results indicate that supervised text classification is generally robust and reliable for some categories, but may even be useful when it fails.     

Price-matching policies: An empirical case

Promises by retailers to match the prices of their competitors give an impression of fierce price competition. These policies, however, may deter rivals from cutting prices because the threat of price matching makes it more likely that market share will not be gained. This paper empirically tests these two conflicting theories using data collected from grocery stores in a market where several stores had announced that they would match the prices of the low-price supermarket. The evidence supports the theory that price-matching policies help supermarkets avoid price competition and therefore lead to generally higher prices.     

The measurement of employment diversity for states and regions

This paper uses an index to measure the level of employment diversity at the state level of two periods spanning two decades. The index is based on aggregating employment at eight major sectors. The findings indicate a movement toward more specialization in the latter period (2000) as compared to an earlier period (1970s).