食品安全在食物消费中的角色分析

一般意义上的食品安全只是食物消费中的一只砝码,消费者对效用最大化的追求使价格在食品消费中的作用突出,并最终使消费者对食品安全的担心停留在口头上;饮食习惯、生活方式等因素会削弱消费者对食品安全的关注程度;食品安全问题的最终解决依赖于消费水平的提高、饮食习惯的优化及贸易标准的科学合理。     

卫生部门工作人员的绿色食品购买行为及其影响因素——基于河北省调查数据的分析

本文利用河北省的有关调查数据,通过多项logistic回归方法,分析了卫生部门工作人员购买绿色食品的行为及其影响因素。结果表明,不同于一般消费者,卫生部门工作人员具有非常高的食品安全关心度和绿色食品认知度,特殊的职业特征使得通常显著影响消费者绿色食品购买行为的年龄、学历和收入水平等因素,对其绿色食品购买频率并没有明显作用,而较高的价格是促使他们购买绿色食品的显著影响因素。     

Precautionary motivation and consumption insurance: Empirical analysis of household consumption behavior in rural China

Based on a household survey in rural China, this paper discusses parameters such as precautionary motive, excess sensitivity, consumption insurance, and inter-temporal substitution in the household consumption function in rural China. The conclusions of the paper indicate that there is a significant precautionary motive in household consumption in rural China, but the function of consumption insurance is very limited, and the consumption is also excessively sensitive to the income change. Such parameters are different among consumers within different groups. __________ Translated from Zhongguo Nongcun Jingji 中国农村经济 (Chinese Rural Economy), 2006, (4): 12–19     

长株潭郊区农民绿色消费的调查与分析

绿色消费是以自然、和谐、环保以及健康为宗旨,包含多项内容的综合的现代消费模式,也是长株潭城市群构建“两型社会”的必然要求。由于各种因素的制约,长株潭郊区农民的消费习惯和行为方式与绿色消费有一定的距离。在“两型社会”建设的背景下,在长株潭郊区农民中普及绿色消费、树立正确消费观念的条件已经成熟。本文提出了一些普及绿色消费的政策建议。     

Family ties and employment behavior: The role of financial intermediaries

We study the interaction effect of financial intermediaries and family ties on labor participation and employment type in China. Although existing studies examine these effects separately, we investigate the effects of both factors in one model. We give empirical evidence to support earlier arguments that family ties negatively affect labor force participation and positively affect self‐/family‐employment behavior and that financial development positively affects labor force participation. Departing from the extant literature, our results overall indicate a compensating effect of financial intermediaries for family ties in labor participation and employment type. We further argue that there are gender, urban/rural, and age differences in the role of financial intermediaries. The effect of financial intermediaries on the strength of family ties is more relevant for female, rural, and younger people compared to male, urban, and older people.     

Long- and short-run elasticities of residential electricity consumption in China: a partial adjustment model with panel data

While it has stabilized in developed world, the per capita residential electricity consumption (REC) in developing countries such as China is growing very rapidly and this trend is very likely to continue. Built upon a provincial level panel data, we employ a partial adjustment model to investigate the future trend of REC in China and factors that affect it. We estimate the income and price short-term and long-term elasticities for urban and rural China, respectively and compare the results with REC studies in other countries or regions. The findings provide useful information to understand how the REC would grow in China as household income increases and how effective that price could be as an intervention tool.     

Renewable energy consumption and unemployment: evidence from a sample of 80 countries and nonlinear estimates

This article contributes to the discussion on the dynamic nexus of renewable energy consumption and unemployment by incorporating nonlinear cointegration and causality analysis. Using a sample of 80 countries spanning the period 1990–2013 and the advanced generation of unit root, cointegration and nonlinear Granger causality methodological approaches in panel data, we obtain mixed results about the impact of renewable energy consumption on unemployment. Although the total findings document a positive impact of renewable energy consumption on unemployment, disaggregated data across specific regions, such as Asia and Latin America, highlight the favourable effect on unemployment, implying that the effect of renewable energy consumption on jobs creation depends on the cost of adopting renewable energy technologies and energy efficiencies that seem to vary across the regions under investigation.     

Travel patterns and environmental effects now and in the future:: implications of differences in energy consumption among socio-economic groups

Travel patterns among different socio-economic groups in Sweden are investigated. It is shown that elderly persons, persons with low incomes and women in general do not travel extensively. Middle-aged persons, persons with high incomes and men travel much farther. Cars are the dominant transportation mode for all population groups. Aeroplanes are used mostly by high-income earners and men, while public transportation is mostly used by young people and women. Energy consumption for the different travel patterns differs substantially. Men with high incomes consume the most energy, with 94 000 MJ during one year, while elderly women consume 12 000 MJ. When compared to a calculated sustainable level of energy consumption for travel, most population groups are in excess. The level for sustainable energy consumption is calculated based on an assumed global potential for renewable energy of 360 EJ per year, divided equally among the global population. A certain share of this energy potential is supposed to be used for travelling. A scenario for 2020 is presented in which vehicle energy efficiency has increased and travel patterns have changed from what they are today. Sustainability can only be reached when both travel patterns and vehicle technology have changed radically. Differences in energy consumption for travel due to age and gender are likely to remain in the future. Scientific knowledge from the social domains seems to be important for devising efficient strategies for a sustainable society. Current focus on policy measures has been mainly on technical issues.     

The role of financial systems for cross-country differences in the link between income and consumption inequality

This article discusses why consumption inequality stays low despite high income inequality in the U.S; but income inequality is closely followed by consumption inequality in China. We show that different financial systems can play a critical role in shaping the cross-country different links between income and consumption inequality. This phenomenon is consistent with the cross-country different relationships between income inequality and saving rates. Consumer credit expansion in the U.S. makes inequality much less serious for consumption than for income, and this result holds to an even larger extent if more domestic credit can be financed by foreign savings. But this is not the case in China, whose financial system focuses only on investment and trade while neglecting liquidity constraints on consumption. Our assertions accord well with evidence found from the U.S., China, and other related economies.     

The origin of utility: Sexual selection and conspicuous consumption

This paper proposes an explanation for the universal human desire for increasing consumption and the associated propensity to trade survival opportunity off conspicuous consumption. I argue that this desire was moulded in evolutionary times by a mechanism known to biologists as sexual selection, whereby an observable trait – conspicuous consumption in this case – is used by members of one sex to signal their unobservable characteristics valuable to members of the opposite sex. It then shows that the standard economics problem of utility maximisation is formally equivalent to the standard biology problem of the maximisation of individual fitness, the ability to pass genes to future generations, and thus establishes a rigorous theoretical foundation for including conspicuous consumption in the utility function.     

Sustainable food consumption among young adults in Belgium: Theory of planned behaviour and the role of confidence and values

This study investigates determinants of sustainable food consumer behaviour in Belgium. To gain a better insight in sustainable consumption, a study was conducted in which attitudes and behaviour as well as the role of individual characteristics like confidence and values related to sustainable products are analyzed. The focus of the analysis is on exploring the influence of determinants as hypothesised by the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) - attitudes, perceived behavioural control, social norms - on sustainable consumption intention in general, and specifically depending on consumer's perceived confidence and personal values. The empirical research builds on a survey with a sample of 456 young adults using a questionnaire and showing an advertisement for hypothetical sustainable dairy products. Stepwise multiple regression models showed that 50% of the variance in intention to consume sustainable dairy was explained by the combination of personal attitudes, perceived social influences, perceived consumer effectiveness and perceived availability. In addition, different levels of confidence and value orientation yield different strengths of the determinants. The findings yield public policy and marketing recommendations for stimulating sustainable food consumption among young adults.     

The private and social consequences of purchasing an electric vehicle and solar panels: Evidence from California

Rising greenhouse gas emissions raise the risk of severe climate change. The household sector׳s greenhouse gas emissions have increased over time as more people drive gasoline cars and consume electricity generated using coal and natural gas. The household sector׳s emissions would decline if more households drove electric vehicles and owned solar panels. In recent years automobile manufacturers have been producing high-performance electric vehicles, and solar panels are becoming more efficient and less expensive. Using several data sets from California, we document evidence of the growth of the joint purchase of electric and hybrid vehicles and solar panels. We discuss pricing and quality trends for these green durable goods.     

The Determinants of Sticky Prices and Sticky Plans: Evidence from German Business Survey Data

So far, there is no consensus on the price adjustment determinants in the empirical literature. Analyzing a novel firm‐level business survey data set, we provide new insights on the price setting behavior of German retailers during a low inflation period. Relating the probability of both price and pricing plan adjustment to time‐ and state‐dependent variables, we find that state‐dependence is important; the macroeconomic environment as well as the firm‐specific condition significantly determines the timing of both actual price changes and pricing plan adjustments. Moreover, input cost changes are important determinants of price setting. Finally, price increases respond more strongly to cost shocks compared to price decreases.     

食品价格上涨对城镇家庭消费与福利影响研究——基于EASI模型

文章基于与2015年度诺贝尔经济学奖得主迪顿的接近理想需求系统 AIDS 来源相同的EASI需求系统 ,采用CHNS调查数据 ,运用 EASI需求系统实证分析了各类食品价格上涨对不同收入等级城镇家庭消费与福利的影响 ,并比较了收入补贴与价格补贴的经济效果.研究发现:(1)我国城镇居民动物性食品消费支出占食品总支出的比重最大 ,其次是粮食和蔬菜 ,城镇居民的食品消费结构为"动物性食品+粮食+蔬菜" ,这说明动物性食品价格上涨对我国城镇居民日常膳食消费的影响相对较大.(2)粮食价格对困难户和最低收入家庭的福利影响最大 ,动物性食品价格对较低收入家庭的福利影响最大.(3)对低收入家庭而言 ,当动物性食品价格上涨时 ,收入补贴政策的效果优于价格补贴政策 ;当粮食价格上涨时 ,价格补贴政策的效果优于收入补贴政策.文章最后从生产、补贴政策和分配制度的角度提出了政策建议.     

Government spending, capital accumulation and the optimal policy rule: The role of public service capital

In this paper, we modify the Djajić [Djajić, S., 1987. “Government Spending and the Optimal Rates of Consumption and Capital Accumulation,” Canadian Journal of Economics 20, 544–554.] model in such a way that government consumption expenditure provides utility to households via the total stock of government services rather than the government consumption flow alone. By using such a framework, we show that the optimality condition for the public service capital stock is the marginal rate of substitution between public service capital and consumption that equals the intertemporal marginal rate of transformation between the two goods. In addition, we show that the relationship between private consumption and public service capital in a household's utility plays an important role in determining the transitional behavior of relevant variables. We also examine the second-best government consumption expenditure policy. By contrast, in the standard flow specification, e.g., Turnovsky and Brock [Turnovsky, S.J. and Brock, W.A., 1980. “Time Consistency and Optimal Government Policies in Perfect Foresight Equilibrium,” Journal of Public Economics 13, 183–212.], Ihori [Ihori, T., 1990. “Government Spending and Private Consumption,” Canadian Journal of Economics 23, 60–69.], and Turnovsky and Fisher [Turnovsky, S.J. and Fisher, W.H., 1995. “The Composition of Government Expenditure and its Consequences for Macroeconomic Performance,” Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control 19, 747–786.], the second-best government consumption expenditure is decided on the basis that the marginal utility of consumption is equal to the discounted sum of the marginal utility of the government's flow spending.     

Income and consumption smoothing and welfare gains across Pacific Island Countries: The role of remittances and foreign aid

We examine the potential welfare gains and channels of income smoothing for Pacific Island Countries (PICs) and find that, under full risk sharing overall welfare gains across all PICs (particularly, Kiribati, Palau, and Papua New Guinea) are at desirable levels. However, for Australia, the potential welfare gain from risk sharing is almost similar to the gain it obtains if Australia attains full risk sharing with the rest of the OECD countries or with New Zealand alone. We also break down output using the framework of Sørensen and Yosha (1998) to quantify the extent and channels of risk sharing across PICs. For PICs, income-smoothing channels (net factor income and current transfers) play a significant role in buffering the output shock compared to the performance of those channels on smoothing the output shock for OECD countries. Domestic savings also smooth a fair portion of shocks to output, but the extent is much lower compared to that of OECD countries. Further, we analyze the effect of remittances and foreign aid on income smoothing for the PICs excluding Australia and New Zealand. Income smoothing via remittances is highly volatile and significant in recent years, while foreign aid seems to be a stronger and more stable channel for smoothing domestic output shocks for PICs.     

The changing role of consumers and suppliers in a food safety event: the 2006 foodborne illness outbreak linked to spinach

This article provides a means for testing whether buyers or sellers are responsible for a drop in sales following a market shock. We show that suppliers’ responses dominated the market reaction to the 2006 US Food and Drug Administration warning to avoid fresh spinach contaminated with potentially deadly bacteria Escherichia coli O157:H7. A modified Durbin-Wu-Hausman test for temporary price endogeneity is developed and used in a leafy green vegetable demand model. Test results indicate the price of bagged spinach was exogenous before the announcement but endogenous for approximately 12 weeks afterward. We show these results are consistent with the notion that suppliers temporarily limited the availability of spinach to consumers. Instead of consumers choosing the quantity purchased given exogenous prices, it was suppliers who limited the quantity marketed and consumers’ choices established the market price.