THE EFFECTS OF INSTRUCTION IN CONSUMER EDUCATION ACADEMIC UNITS ON CONSUMER ECONOMIC PROFICIENCY *

This research sought to determine whetehr formal classroom instruction improves students' consumer economic competencies. Students who were enrolled in a course that presented information in the areas of credit use, money management, savings and investment, and insurance when compared to students who did not take the course demonstrated a higher level of consumer economic competency. Significant differences in competency were also found when social class, post-high school career plans, and sex of student were considered.     

A SYSTEMATIC APPROACH TO ANALYSING CONSUMER COMPLAINTS *

In conjunction with local authorities, and Citizens' Advice Bureaux, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has set up a system for recording and classifying consumer complaints. OFT aggregates statistical returns that are made quarterly to produce national figures showing the pattern of consumer complaints, classified both by type of goods or service and by trading practice. Over 400,000 consumer complaints were recorded and classified for the first full 12-month period during which the system operated, ending in September 1975. The system has two uses. First, it signals areas of difficulty for consumers which should be studied by OFT. Second, the records of individual consumer complaints held by local authorities provide a data base which can be drawn on when OFT is carrying out detailed studies.     

THE IMPACT OF EUROPEAN CONSUMER LAW IN THE UNITED KINGDOM*

In this paper the authors describe the consequences of European consumer law for British consumers. After an analysis of some of the difficulties which have been faced by the United Kingdom in coming to terms with its new-found status within a federal system, the article goes on to describe the progress which has been made with the programme of implementation. The third part looks at some EEC proposals which are in the pipeline at the moment and comments on some of the consequences which the prospect of EEC legislation can have for domestic reform. Finally, the authors examine the actual enforcement of EEC consumer law through the criminal process and the effects upon civil processes.     

AS/NZS 4360风险管理标准评介

我国风险管理才刚刚起步 ,迫切需要理论的指导和国外的先进经验的帮助。文章介绍了居于世界前沿的澳大利亚 /新西兰风险管理标准的主要内容 ,概括了国际上广泛应用的风险管理方法和程序。     

DYNAMIC MONOPOLIST'S BEHAVIOUR AND CONSUMER LEARNING*

This paper studies the features and the welfare properties of the equilibrium in a monopoly model with asymmetric information: consumers can only learn the quality of the good through experience. Because of word-of-mouth communication, cumulated sales help the process of product diffusion. It is proved that usually the profit-maximizing price policy entails a low introductory price, that is gradually increased over time. Output decreases over time, so that, in order to accelerate the process of information diffusion, the monopolist is induced to produce more than he would with perfect information. For the same reason, the quality level could also be above its full information level. Thus, consumers might even benefit from their own lack of information, becauses this induces the monopolist to offer a larger output, possibly of a better quality.     

DOMESTIC ENERGY CONSERVATION AND THE CONSUMER*

This study identifies factors influencing the behaviour of the household in energy conservation, and reports on a survey carried out to investigate knowledge in the area of energy and its conservation and the extent to which knowledge is put into practice to save energy. The survey showed that, amongst working class women, the need to reduce the bill, or at least stop it rising so fast is the greatest incentive to conservation. Knowledge of how and where heat is lost from the house is poor and there is little awareness of the need for insulation. Conservation practices in cooking are poor and where money is less tight, women easily become careless users of hot water. Most women do not have the knowledge to choose between fuels and appliances. The knowledge of women over 60 is significantly lower than that of younger women.     

A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF ELDERLY PERCEPTIONS OF THE CONSUMER MOVEMENT*

The decade of the 1970s witnessed the passage of an unparallelled amount of legislation designed to protect the needs of disadvantaged and low income consumers, characteristics which describe many members of the elderly population segment. This research was designed to assess elderly perceptions of the market-place today and of the performance of businesses and government agencies in protecting and promoting their interest as buyers. The elderly, when compared to other population segments, showed a more negative attitude toward the accomplishments of the consumer movement and the role of businesses and government in protecting buyers than other population segments.     

ARTIFACTUAL BIAS IN CONSUMER RESEARCH

Cognitive complexity has been found to affect the scope and quality of consumer information search. This research demonstrates that the characteristics that define cognitive complexity may result in an unintended subject bias in consumer information studies using college students as subject populations.     

THE FUTURE IN CONSUMER EDUCATION

A model of the household enterprise is examined in the light of significant socio-economic trends and the uncertainties these produce. The implications of the growth of the household-enterprise sector of the economy is examined for relationships between consumers and industry. The case is argued for a shift in the emphasis of consumer education from consumer technology to an awareness of alternative futures.     

A PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION OF CONSUMER PREFERENCE FOR WHITE FISH OF DIFFERENT SPECIES*

White fish of different species were compared in a series of experiments involving the use of taste panels. Problems encountered in presenting uniform samples are described and the preferences established are discussed. It was established that appearance, texture and flavour all contributed to determining the relative acceptability offish species, and that very small differences in these properties led to definite preferences for certain types of fish.     

跨国快速消费品跨入“快速换装”时代

“山德士上校”穿上红围裙，可口可乐“随我酷”应用中国团队设计，百事2007年2月起“换装”35次，这些跨国消费品巨头所为何事？一句话，更新品牌形象，防止品牌老化，挤占中国市场份额。[编者按]     

PERCEPTIONS AND MISPERCEPTIONS IN CONSUMER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

The extent to which respondents are able to correctly perceive and subjectively report their relative level of household food consumption is examined. The role of perception and misperception is examined in the context of a family economics-resource management framework and a causal path model. Findings suggest that the perceptual error is remarkably modest. The characteristics of households systematically associated with positive and negative perceptual error are identified.     

A COMPARISON OF ACTUAL AND INTENDED CONSUMER BEHAVIOR IN RESPONSE TO RETAIL STOCKOUTS

Studies of consumer response to stockouts typically capture intended behavior. After a stockout experience, consumers are asked what they intend to do. In contrast, this research measured both intended and actual behavior. Consumers were interviewed twice; once immediately following the stockout experience to gauge intended behavior and a second time 30 days later to ask what they had actually done in response to the stockout. Accordingly, the goals of this research are to (1) compare consumer actual and intended behavior in response to stockouts and (2) examine product characteristics, consumer characteristics and situational variables that may explain the consumer's response. Key results suggest that indicated behavior is a good indicator of actual behavior in situations where the consumer intends to quit the search and a rather poor indicator when the consumer intends to delay the search. Finally, of the several product characteristics, consumer characteristics and situational variables examined, store loyalty, pre‐visit agenda and product uniqueness have shown most promise to help managers understand consumer actual and intended response to stockouts.     

CONSUMER INFORMATION SYSTEMS IN VIDEOTEX: DESIGN AND ACCEPTANCE

Comprehensive information about complex products with frequent product changes is delineated as an area where consumer information systems in videotex could be most promising. Four psychological principles for the design of such systems are presented and applied to construct an information system to support automobile purchases. Results from an empirical study show very favourable evaluations of this information system by videotex users. Several possible determinants of acceptance are discussed.     

LONG RUN DEMAND FOR LABOUR IN THE CONSUMER GOOD INDUSTRY

We consider, for alternative models of production, the comparative statics of constant‐returns economies in long run competitive equilibrium, for which reswitching, capital‐reversing and consumption‐reversal are all completely absent. Notwithstanding the ‘well‐behaved’ nature of these economies, the use of labour per unit of output in the consumer good industry is always positively related to the real wage rate.     

对我国尽快制定《反垄断法》的理论思考

近些年来,反垄断问题已经成为我国法律界乃至全社会关注的一个焦点。当前国内市场上出现的大量为WTO所不容的垄断行为,已危及到了统一开放、竞争有序的社会主义市场经济体制的正常运行。因此,我国应尽快地制定出一部符合国际惯例及我国国情的《反垄断法》,从而规范国内市场,履行我国为加入WTO做出的相应承诺,提高我国的国际威望和地位。