Consumers as researchers – innovative experiences in UK National Health Service Research

Consumer involvement is an established priority in UK health‐ and social‐care service development and research. To date, little has been published describing the process of consumer involvement and assessing ‘consumers’ contributions to research. This paper provides a practical account of the effective incorporation of consumers into a research team, and outlines the extent to which they can enhance the research cycle; from project development and conduct, through data analysis and interpretation, to dissemination. Salient points are illustrated using the example of their collaboration in a research project. Of particular note were consumers' contributions to the development of an ethically enhanced, more robust project design, and enriched data interpretation, which may not have resulted had consumers not been an integral part of the research team.     

From the Soviet Union to the European Union: Estonian Trade Policy, 1991–2000

This paper examines the political economy of Estonian trade policy in the 1990s. Estonia is a unique case in the world economy, in that the country rapidly implemented unilateral free trade after regaining independence and sustained it right through the 1990s. We analyse the circumstances, interests, ideas and institutions that have shaped Estonian trade policy during the past decade. Our stress is on institutions, particularly the national decision‐making setting for trade policy. Through this prism we try to understand how a free trade regime was implemented and sustained, and what this experience suggests for the feasibility of tree trade elsewhere. We also look at the increasingly ‘multi‐track’ nature of Estonian trade policy through bilateral free trade agreements, WTO accession and, especially, the movement towards EU accession. Although the other trade policy tracks to some extent provide a lockin for unilateral reforms, we argue that EU accession is undermining the simple, classical liberal trade policy regime that existed during the 1990s.     

The Trade Effects of the EU–Turkey Customs Union

In the present study we argue that the salient features of both the EU‐15 countries and Turkey are conducive to making the effects of the 1995 EU–Turkey customs union asymmetric among the incumbent EU countries. In order to support our argument we rely on a model in which trade involves the exchange of vertically differentiated products. This model generates the prediction that the more contiguous an incumbent country is to the joining country in terms of technological sophistication, the larger will be the crowding out of this country's exports to the other incumbent countries as a result of the CU expansion. Using a gravity model we estimate the effects of the customs union between Turkey and the EU‐15 by differentiating between exports from (a) lower‐technology EU‐15 countries (we term this group of countries ‘South’) to higher‐technology EU‐15 countries (the ‘North’), (b) North to South, (c) South to Turkey, (d) North to Turkey, and (e) Turkey to EU‐15. Our econometric results indicate that, in contrast to North's exports to the other EU‐15 countries (which have remained intact), the Southern countries’ exports to the other EU‐15 countries have declined as a result of the CU. Moreover, the extra penetration of the Turkish market by the EU‐15 countries has not been more favourable to the Southern group.     

A Compendium of Multi‐Item Scales Utilized in Logistics Research (2001–10): Progress Achieved Since Publication of the 1973–2000 Compendium

Forty years have passed since the first multi‐item measurement scales were employed through survey research to better understand important logistics concepts. Through the years, four leading logistics journals have published research containing a total of 1,670 scales within 283 articles. A 42% increase in utilization has occurred during the most recent decade. The research fully discloses the conceptualization, composition, and properties of the multi‐item survey scales utilized in the study of logistics and supply chain management theory and practice. By documenting each scale published from 2001 to 2010, the authors make comparisons with results from the 1973–2000 study. Primary findings indicate an increase in the percentage of research utilizing multi‐item scales, and an increase in the application of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) has assisted in producing more highly acceptable psychometric properties of the scales. This implies that researchers are utilizing more highly developed scales and following strict scale‐development procedures for building more robust scales to measure concepts important for advancing our knowledge of logistics and supply chain management. The top four conceptual categories for the scales have remained the same since 1973 and account for greater than half of the scales published. Eight additions to the categories since 2001 pertain greatly to controlling our supply chains for customer, brand, and overall security benefits. The compendium of scales provides a central document to reference as researchers seek to employ highly developed survey measures.     

The Use of Quality and Reputation Indicators by Consumers: The Case of Bordeaux Wine

The absolute and relative impact of current quality and reputation variables on consumer decisions are examined using data from the market for Bordeaux wine. The estimates indicate that a model of consumer decision making which incorporates information on reputation (past quality) and collective reputation (average group quality) rejects alternative models that include current quality. The results also indicate that reputation has a large impact on the willingness to pay of consumers, that long term reputation is considerably more important than short term quality movements, and that consumers react slowly to changes in product quality. Collective reputation is shown to have an impact on consumer willingness to pay that is as large as that of individual firm reputation. If reputation and collective reputation effects are ignored, the estimated impact of current quality and short term changes in quality on consumer behaviour are overstated.     

The ‘Real’ Impact of GATT/WTO – a Generalised Approach

Rose’s result in 2004 that GATT/WTO has no significant impact on bilateral trade triggered off a series of empirical studies. Each of those studies augments Rose’s paper in one specific methodological aspect with the general finding that GATT/WTO significantly fosters members’ trade, although the estimated impact varies between 2 per cent and 195 per cent of trade creation. We combine the methodological contributions of previous studies to overcome these isolated approaches, to account for possible interactions and to develop a more general view on the impact of GATT/WTO. In particular, we find that GATT/WTO promotes members’ trade by around 86 per cent.     

Determinants of Trade Costs and Trade Growth Accounting between India and the European Union during 1995–2010

This study aimed to utilise the micro‐founded measure of trade cost derived by Novy to estimate the relative bilateral trade costs of India with its European Union partners. The advantage of using such a model is that the trade costs can be derived entirely using observable trade data. The results show that Indian tariff equivalent with its major EU trading partners has declined by 20 percentage points between 1995 and 2010, with Malta and Latvia experiencing the greatest decline. The study then decomposes the bilateral trade growth to ascertain whether it is an outcome of increased domestic production or reduction in bilateral and multilateral trade barriers. Novy's model indicates that the decline in relative bilateral trade costs explains the greatest percentage of this trade growth, which is partially offset by decline in multilateral resistance terms that has diverted trade away to other trading partners primarily in South and South‐East Asia and North America.     

An analysis of the Journal of Consumer Studies and Home Economics 1977–93

Any field of study worthy of academic consideration and development needs a research base to support it. Many research practitioners working within the consumer studies and home economics areas have expressed fears about not only the lack of development of a research base but also the communication network within the research community. This study analyses one of the main research journals that is used by this research community, the Journal of Consumer Studies and Home Economics, and examines its contribution. By analysing its development over the first 17 years of its existence, it has been shown that there is an international research community which is beginning to communicate with itself. However, these research practitioners still seem to rely more on research material from outside their own professional area rather than from work published in their own research journals. A lack of an indexing service covering the consumer studies and home economics areas continues to hamper dissemination of research material to a wider academic audience.     

Retailers and Consumers: The Pass‐through of Import Price Changes

In this paper, we estimate pass‐through rates of import price changes to retail prices across retailers and consumers for apparel purchases in Germany for the period of 2000–07. We find that high‐price retailers do not pass through changes in the import price. Pass‐through rates for low‐price retailers are 53 per cent within three months. Consequently, pass‐through rates for low‐income households are 58 per cent, significantly larger than those for high‐income households. We then present one possible explanation for these observations in a theoretical model with endogenous vertical product differentiation due to bundling an ex ante homogeneous import goods with services. Following an import price change, retailers who sell a cheaper unbundled product change prices to a greater extent than retailers who sell a higher‐priced bundle of product and service.     

The political economy of regulations and trade: Wine trade 1860–1970

Dramatic changes in the 1860–1970 wine trade provide insights on the political economy of regulations and policy instrument choice and trade. An invasion of Phylloxera in the 1870s turned France from the world's leading exporter to a massive importer of wine and grapes. When French production recovered a combination of tariffs, safety regulations and quality standards were introduced to protect its French producers, causing dramatic changes in global wine and grape production and trade, including in Spain, Italy, Turkey, Greece, Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco. Changes in wine regulations were caused by relative income and loss aversion factors in political economy. Tariffs were the preferred policy instruments as they directly restrict imports, bring in revenues, have low transaction costs and are preferred political instruments when there are information imperfections. Safety regulations and quality standards, including labelling and input prohibitions, reduce asymmetric information for consumers or undesirable externalities, and simultaneously protected domestic producers. Regulations were often targeted at imported products (wine and raisins) when tariffs were ineffective or constrained by institutions (such as on colonial wine). Hence, tariffs and quality regulations were jointly used in wine policy, both as complements and as substitutes in policy design.     

Survival of commodity trading advisors: 1990–2003

This article investigates the mortality of Commodity Trading Advisors (CTAs) over the 1990–2003 period, a longer horizon than any encompassed in the literature. A detailed survival analysis over the full range of CTA classifications is provided, and it is found that the median lifetime of CTAs in this sample is different than previously documented. Through the implementation of nonparametric, parametric, and semiparametric statistical techniques, it is emphasized that CTA survivorship is heavily contingent on the strategy followed by the fund. Furthermore, a significant positive size effect on survival is shown, whereas poor returns, and to a lesser extent, high‐risk exposure, appear to hasten mortality. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 25:795–815, 2005     

Bibliometric analysis of the Journal of Consumer Studies and Home Economics, 1977–1983

Two questions formed the structure for examining the formal communication among researchers using the Journal of Consumer Studies and Home Economics (JCSHE) The first question pertained to the interrelationship between the literature published and cited in JCSHE. The second asked what impact the literature published in JCSHE had on authors publishing in other journals. By performing Bradford analysis using the 1,160 journal references cited by authors of 210 articles in the first seven volumes of JCSHE, 26 core journals were identified. JCSHE was ranked second because it was cited 54 times in 37 articles by 29 authors. Through citation analysis 17 citing articles published in 12 journals other than JCSHE were found. Seven of these 17 citing articles were published in other home economics journals.     

The Brazilian Economy in 1994–1999: From the Real Plan to Inflation Targets

This paper investigates the three main events that shook the Brazilian economy in 1994‐‐1999, a period that represented a turning point in the country's economic history. These events were the implementation of the Real Plan in 1994, the devaluation crisis in 1999, and the subsequent adoption of inflation targets. The principal contributions of this period were the drastic reduction of high inflation rates – the biggest problem in Brazil since the 1970s – and the reorientation towards economic growth, which were also supported by a privatisation programme, the openness of the economy to foreign capital, a trade liberalisation process, and the ongoing fiscal adjustments. Nevertheless, the period also left its scars, such as high budget and current account deficits, accompanied by a policy of elevated interest rates and, until 1999, a highly appreciated exchange rate. The paper concludes with a cautiously optimistic evaluation of the country's economic future based on the accomplishments of the 1990s and the possibility of a long‐term commitment to low inflation targets.     

The development of international business in Africa (1947–1997)

The genesis of international business in Africa from 1947 to 1996 is traced to colonial times. The article analyzes the dynamics and observes that international business in Africa witnessed growth but has not meaningfully influenced Africa's general economic development because of constraints: poor infrastructure, lack of maintenance culture, inadequate funding, debt burden and overemphasis on export of raw materials instead of manufactured goods. The article suggests placing a greater emphasis on the development of intermediate and capital goods industries and granting debt relief to all African countries as a means of further promoting international business entente in Africa.     

The Valuation of Equity Futures on the Tokyo Stock Exchange: 1920–1923

The futures price of an asset should depend on the spot price of that asset, the interest rate, cash flows during the contract term, the convenience yield, and storage costs. Despite many tests of the spot–future relation for commodities in historical periods, there have been no tests of this historical relation for equities. We price single‐stock equity futures on the Tokyo Stock Exchange between 1920 and 1923 and find that mispricing is considerably worse than in contemporary U.S. markets, after adjusting for (unavoidable) asynchronous data issues. The main cause of the mispricing is short‐sales constraints, rather than investor naivety. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark