Augmenting travel cost models with contingent behavior data

This paper proposes contingent behavior survey questions as a valuable supplement to observed data in travel cost models of non-market demand for recreational resources. A set of observed and contingent behavior results for each survey respondent allows the researcher to control for individual heterogeneity by taking advantage of panel data methods when exploring the nature of respondent demands. The contingent scenarios also provide opportunities to (a) test for differences between observed and contingent preferences and/or (b) assess likely demands under conditionsbeyond the domain of observed variation in costs or resource attributes. Most importantly, contingent scenarios allow the researcher to imposeexogenously varying travel costs. Exogenous imposition of travel costs together with panel methods reduces the omitted variables bias that plagues observed-data travel cost models of recreational demand. Using a convenience sample of data for illustrative purposes, we show how to estimate the demand for recreational angling by combining observed and contingent behavior data. We begin with simple naive pooled Poisson models and progress to more theoretically appropriate fixed effects panel Poisson specifications.The authors are at the University of Nevada and UCLA, respectively. We gratefully acknowledge the comments of both Scott Shonkwiler and participants in the W133 meetings in Santa Fe, New Mexico and for research material provided by Wayne Gray. The data were provided by Rang Narayanan. Research assistance was provided by Jerry McGraw and Natalie Tucker. Research partially supported by the Nevada Experiment Station. Any errors or omissions remain the authors' responsibility.     

阿木生态行之汽车纪念碑

~~阿木生态行之汽车纪念碑@苗斌     

Reciprocity: Anthropological and economic theoretic perspectives

Forum for Social Economics -     

More distance,more remittance? Remitting behavior,travel cost,and the size of the informal channel

The rising number of foreign workers in Italy during the last 15 years has led to a conspicuous increase in the amount of remittances sent abroad. In this paper, we examine the determinants of remittance outflows originated in Italy and transferred abroad through registered financial intermediaries. After controlling for a wide set of socioeconomic regressors, we document a strong positive relation between remittances and the cost of travel between Italy and the migrants' respective home countries. We interpret this result as indirect evidence of unrecorded flows, since the relation between remittances and travel cost should be non‐significant unless geographical proximity permits remitters to switch to informal (non‐observable) transmission mechanisms. Moreover, using data on temporal and monetary costs for a subset of bilateral corridors, we also find remittances to be negatively correlated with high transaction costs and low speed of transfer. We rely on this empirical evidence and on a model of migrants' remitting behavior to present new strategies for estimating the size of the informal outflow.     

Anthropological archaeology and the Viennese students of civilization

The Review of Austrian Economics - In this paper, I explore the parallel trajectories of anthropological archaeological and Austrian economic thought from central Europe to the Anglosphere. I note...     

汉族情歌的人类学解读

汉族民歌资源丰富,其中情歌占了很大一部分,为人类学研究提供了大量丰富可靠的原始资料。历史悠久的汉族情歌,可分为雅、俗两种,而在这两种对立的汉族情歌发展史中,蕴藏着的是其遮掩下的民族性张力,为数居多的汉族情歌则成为了缓解这种民族性张力的途径,使得这种民族性张力得以平衡、持久的发展。     

试论开展辽宁金色旅游

本文从开展辽宁金色旅游的意义及优势入手，分析了辽宁金色旅游开发中存在的问题，并针对性地提出了辽宁发展金色旅游的具体措施。     

Does international travel cause economic growth? Evidence from China's removal of travel restrictions on foreigners

International travel has been hypothesized to shape large cross-country differences in productivity and income. However, evidence supporting this hypothesis, especially from developing countries, remains scarce. This paper fills this gap by studying a novel historical natural experiment—China's removal of travel restrictions on foreigners to designated Open-to-Foreigners-Counties (OFCs). Utilizing the county-by-county rollout of the OFCs, we find that removing travel restrictions on foreigners led to a 7.4% increase in per capita industrial output for the OFCs in 1985–1991. The positive effects are larger in counties with more foreign equipment and greater industrial human capital. We highlight the role of person-based international knowledge diffusion in the economic catch-up of technology recipient countries.     

On the Anthropological Study of Economies: A Comment

This paper deals with the moral justification behind policy positions. Squeezed between the inevitability of having a welfare ideology and the mantra of value-neutrality (depoliticization), neoclassical policy economists tend to disguise their normative positions on policy matters as common sense. This attitude is particularly pronounced in what I will call "the rhetoric of worthiness," whereby the neoclassical approach justifies its advocacy that certain people should not be helped. This normative position is disguised by a vocabulary (e.g., moral hazard) claimed to be politically neutral. The present paper criticizes this neoclassical mode of policy evaluation in favor of a more socially conscious and innovative policy approach.     

Intertemporal data and travel cost analysis

This paper considers the use of multi-year data in travel cost analysis. To exploit the information embedded within intertemporal data, two broad approaches are examined: multiple year cross sections and panel models. Multiple year cross sections can be used to detect trends, and to test for stability of behavior. Panel models can be used to control for unobservable factors that are individual specific. Unfortunately, the low intertemporal variability of travel cost data sets weakens the power of panel estimators. Using aggregate data from the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, the stability of demand processes over the 1980–1986 period is investigated, as well as the problems inherent in using panel estimators in travel cost analysis.     

试论旅行社的品牌化经营问题

基于旅行社目前缺乏品牌经营意识和科学管理,且市场化进程缓慢,导致我国旅行社处于恶性价格竞争的现状.在本文中,笔者对我国旅行社品牌战略的研究现状进行了阐述.并从旅行社发展现状、旅游市场、旅行社自身发展需求等方面研究旅行社管理品牌化的必要性以及旅行社管理品牌化的主要内容和途径.     

剧变的草原与牧民的栖居——一项来自内蒙古的环境人类学研究

“自然”与“文化”的二元对立是人类学的传统困境,近30年来西方环境人类学的发展力图超越上述困境,其中,英国人类学家英戈尔德提出的“栖居的视角”尤为引人注意。本文将“栖居的视角”运用于20世纪80年代草畜承包制度和市场机制引入后发生剧变的内蒙古草原,主要关注B嘎查蒙古族牧民“牧业惯习”的断裂、延续和再造,理解他们在动态历史过程中与其生活世界的整体关联方式,或者说,他们如何实现一种“矛盾的栖居”。     

Endogenously chosen travel costs and the travel cost model: an application to mountain biking at Moab,Utah

The travel cost model is frequently used to estimate net willingness to pay for recreation at remote sites by using the visitor's travel costs as a proxy for the price of recreation. However, some concern has been raised over the validity of using the visitor's stated travel costs as a proxy for price. This paper addresses some of these concerns, by examining the possible over-estimation of consumer surplus due to endogenously chosen travel costs. This paper extends past theoretical work for the linear model by developing a correction for endogenously chosen travel costs in more commonly used nonlinear models such as the Poisson or count data model. Also provided is the first empirical test of the presence of endogeneity and an estimate of the magnitude of the error from ignoring endogeneity in travel costs. After applying this test and the correction to data that was gathered for mountain biking at Moab, Utah the estimate of consumer surplus falls from US $153 to US $135, which is a 12% reduction.     

发展品质旅游的新思考

本文提出了在旅游业中发展品质旅游的新思想。文中给品质旅游赋予的内涵是：品质旅游是能带给游客真正体验的旅游，品质旅游应该是高质量的旅游而不一定是高档次的旅游。作者做了下面的研究：首先，从旅游者的角度分析了寻求品质旅游的游客消费特征；然后，从旅游企业的角度探讨了品质旅游对旅游产品开发的要求；最后得出结论——发展品质旅游是旅游业发展的重要方向。     

黑龙江省旅游区域合作存在的问题及解决对策

黑龙江省具有丰富而广袤的旅游资源,但旅游资源优势不等于旅游竞争优势,区域资源必需经过合理的、综合性地开发利用,才能转化成竞争优势创造经济效益。在全国旅游市场竞争日趋激烈的背景下,省内各旅游区域必须联手融入更大的区域旅游合作圈,解决存在的实际问题,在资源配置、联合营销、日常管理、信息交流等多方面积极合作。     

Airline passenger fatality and the demand for air travel

After the 11 September tragedy, 20% of the scheduled US airline flights were cancelled and the passenger load factor was down to 56% from 66.6% a year ago. Was the high death toll or the nature of the attack itself responsible for this dramatic decline? Using the US data, we find that the demand for air travel did fall in years of relatively high fatality rate, but the demand is not sensitive to whether the high fatality rate is due to any terrorist activities. Our estimation results suggest that even after controlling for the sharp increase in the fatality rate because of the 11 September tragedy, a considerable proportion of the decline in demand for air travel that year is still unexplained. This evidence could suggest that there has been a fundamental shift in consumers’ perception of air travel safety in the aftermath of the tragedy.     

饮食、文化传承与流变——一个藏族农村社区的人类学田野调查

饮食文化作为民族传统文化整体中的一个有机组成部分,其差异反映了文化的差异和民族的特性.不同民族对饮食的口味偏好,应该吃什么,不能吃什么,如何吃,怎样吃等饮食习俗的背后,除主要来自于地理环境的制约因素外,还有遗传学和不同民族体质差异的因素,以及宗教观念、民间禁忌、传统的思维定势等文化的因素.本文以藏族农村社区饮食结构和习俗为切入点,探讨在多元文化互动和现代化进程中西藏农村社区中所显现出来的传统文化与现代化关系问题.