ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF SMOKING BANS ON RESTAURANTS AND PUBS

The United Kingdom has recently enacted smoking bans in public places such as restaurants and pubs. Public health advocates argue that bans are necessary because non‐smokers need protection from second‐hand smoke. Advocates also claim that bans do not exert harm on owners because of a vast empirical literature showing that restaurants and bars in the United States never suffer harm following bans. This paper examines whether these claims are true by developing a model within the Coasian framework whereby owners of businesses have incentives to deal with smoking disputes between smokers and non‐smokers. Our model demonstrates that it is incorrect to argue that smoking bans are necessary because the private market has no method of attempting to solve smoking problems. It also predicts that bans exert different effects on different businesses: some will be unaffected while others will experience losses or gains. Our literature review reveals that predictions of differential effects are consistent with the empirical evidence.     

Investigating Smoker's Profile: The Role of Psychosocial Characteristics and the Effectiveness of Tobacco Policy Tools

This article investigates smoker's profile by addressing the determinants of cigarette demand and providing a circumstantial exposition of the psychosocial characteristics that differentiate smoking patterns. At the same time, the impact of tobacco control policies on smoking rates and their effectiveness on decreasing cigarette consumption are also analyzed. Consumers are distinguished in four smoking groups in concurrence to smoking status, and dichotomous indicators are constructed to describe tobacco control policies, psychosocial, demographic, and socioeconomic characteristics. The empirical analysis estimates an ordered probit model with sample selectivity. The results indicate the absence of selectivity bias for cigarette consumption; hence, the subsample of smokers comprises a random independent sample and smoking participation and cigarette consumption form distinct stages of smoking behavior. Most of the psychosocial factors are found to be statistically significant in the econometric analysis, implying the main determinants of smoking behavior. In addition, total smoking bans in workplaces and educational institutions comprise efficient policy tools for decreasing cigarette demand, while partial smoking restrictions are accrued to be ineffective in reducing smoking participation.     

TOBACCO DISPLAY BANS: A GLOBAL FAILURE

This paper examines the effects of tobacco display bans in four countries: Canada, Iceland, Thailand and Ireland. The empirical evidence suggests that the bans have not been effective at reducing the incidence of smoking. They have, however, succeeded in severely damaging the revenues of the independent retail sector and bolstering the illicit market in tobacco.     

Smoking in the Workplace: Balancing Smoker and Nonsmoker Rights

The tobacco industry presents an interesting American dilemma. While warning against the use of tobacco and striving for a smokeless society the U.S. government subsidizes the growth of tobacco. The economic impact of smoking is, on balance, negative for users, nonusers and society. The federal government does not legislate the use of tobacco but most states and many municipalities have smoking laws. Although such laws vary they normally attempt to protect the rights of both smokers and nonsmokers. Workplace smoking policies also vary but generally focus on applicable laws, health research findings, employee preferences, involvement in policy determination, formalization and communication, and smoking cessation programs.     

PRESCRIPTION FOR CONFLICT: WHY THE ALLIANCE BETWEEN THE PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY AND THE ANTI‐TOBACCO MOVEMENT IS NOT IN THE BEST INTERESTS OF SMOKERS

Large pharmaceutical companies are major funders of anti‐smoking lobby groups. The same firms manufacture the products used in Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) and stand to gain when governments recommend this approach to smoking cessation. There is growing evidence, however, that NRT is less effective than ‘cold turkey’ methods, and, indeed, that it has a number of harmful side effects. Its continued promotion, together with counterproductive anti‐smoking measures, raises serious questions about the influence of special interests over tobacco policy.     

The efficacy of state-level antismoking laws: Demand and supply considerations

Utilizing published ratings of state-level antismoking laws, this paper addresses the merits of limits to smoking in public places and restrictions on youth access to tobacco. Consistent with the literature, we find that clean indoor-air laws reduce demand. However, by failing to address supply considerations, the literature to date presents a biased reaction of consumption to antismoking laws. Indeed, we find that clean indoor-air laws also intensify competition, which suggests that producers mitigate demand reductions by lowering price. Nonetheless, restrictions to youth access, as well as enforcement and penalty efforts, have little impact on cigarette consumption across states.     

CONTROL POLICIES TO COMBAT THE HEALTH RISKS FROM SMOKING AND PASSIVE SMOKING1

Good information is necessary for markets to allocate resources efficiently. Tobacco is a demerit good; smoking endangers smokers but also exerts externalities on non‐smokers. Public policies, however, foster misinformation, are contradictory and damage public health. Current policies also deny feedback from the tobacco industry and reduce consumer information about tobacco products that could substantially reduce the harmful effects of smoking.     

Measuring the Value of Product Characteristics in the Presence of Price Dispersion

Modeling the price of multi‐attribute products generally requires an assessment of each attributes' market value. In the presence of price dispersion, when similar products are sold at different prices, hedonic pricing models provide users with biased estimates of attribute value. This paper develops the hedonic pricing literature by proposing data envelopment analysis as a prior means of identifying a sub‐sample of products which, after adjusting for attribute provision, display no price dispersion. These products then display a homogenous link between attributes and price, which can be modeled using hedonic pricing. This paper implements and evaluates this two‐stage approach using 1000 observations from the UK mortgage market. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

CAPITALIZATION OF GOVERNMENT SUPPORT IN AGRICULTURAL LAND PRICES: WHAT DO WE KNOW?

Abstract.  The objective of this paper is to provide an overview of existing literature, both theoretically and empirically, on the extent to which agricultural subsidies do translate into higher land values and rents and finally benefit landowners instead of agricultural producers. Our review shows that agricultural support policy instruments contribute to increasing the rental price of farmland, and that the extent of this increase closely depends on the level of the supply price elasticity of farmland relative to those of other factors/inputs on the one hand, and on the range of the possibilities of factor/input substitution in agricultural production on the other hand. The empirical literature shows that land prices and rents have in general a significant positive and inelastic response to government support. Such inelastic response is thought to reflect the uncertain future of the farm programmes. And in general, studies have indicated that land prices are more responsive to government-based returns than to market-based returns.     

International patterns of cigarette smoking and global antismoking policies

This paper provides a recent look at global smoking trends across population subgroups for a large sample of countries. Attention to international aspects has been scarce in the literature. The prevalence of various smoking control policies across different country groups is discussed. The level of economic development in a country and the demographic characteristics of the population appear to be crucial determinants of smoking prevalence. Among four categories of smoking control policies—advertising restrictions, sales restrictions, territorial restrictions, and packaging requirements—territorial restrictions on tobacco use seem most popular across countries, while sales restrictions are least popular. Price (tax)-based policies to control smoking are not effectively being used in many countries, especially developing countries.     

政府基金政策下电器电子产品再制造闭环供应链决策

为分析我国现有废弃电器电子产品回收处理相关政策对其闭环供应链决策的影响,分别构建有政府基金政策、无政府基金政策两种情况下废弃电器电子产品回收再制造闭环供应链决策模型,探讨政府基金政策设置的环境税和回收处理补贴力度对闭环供应链各成员最优决策和利润的影响。结果表明:政府征收环境税越高,新产品批发价格和零售价格越高,市场需求量越低。政府补贴力度越大,废弃电器电子产品回收价格越高,回收量越高。     

对当前我国房地产市场宏观调控政策的理性思考

由于住房价格持续上涨,从2003年开始,我国政府开始对房地产市场进行新一轮的宏观调控。这些宏观调控措施在平抑房价上虽取得一定效果,但房价总体上仍居高不下。在分析我国房地产价格的前提下,总结我国政府所采取的宏观调控措施,并对其进行评价,分析导致我国房地产价格长期居高不下的原因,提出进一步解决的思路。     

The cross market effects of short sale restrictions

This paper considers the impact of the 2008 short selling bans on the cross-market dynamics of stock indices across a wide range of countries. We measure the transmission of shocks between markets using a modified version of the spillover index of Diebold and Yilmaz (2009). The results show that the transmission of shocks between countries which did impose short sale bans was reduced and transmissions from countries with bans to countries without bans were also generally lower. In contrast, short sale bans did not provide protection from shocks emanating from countries which did not impose bans, as shocks from non-banning markets tended to have an increased impact on other markets during periods where bans were in place. Overall, the evidence supports the redirection of volatility in the system affecting the relationships between the groups of markets with bans and those without.     

Capability building through innovation for unserved lower end mega markets

Although product innovation for unserved lower end mega markets in large developing countries has been recognized as an opportunity for improving the competitiveness of local firms, limited research has been conducted that explicitly explores how innovation capabilities can be built for these markets. This study investigates Tata Motors' Nano as an exploratory case of building innovation capabilities. This paper shows that the building of innovation capability could be achieved through creating a process that overcomes ‘the deficiency problem’ in generating radically cheap priced original products.The study's contribution to the literature is that it addresses issues of building local firms' innovation capabilities through creating original products for the unserved lower end market, in which advanced country firms have limited experience.Nano, as an unprecedented innovation in the automobile industry, reveals a path to building innovation capability that has not previously been observed. We show that detailed processes involved in generating an original product for the lower end market provide insights on the strategy in terms of target price setting, initiating innovation process overcoming ‘the deficiency problem’, and creation of complementary resources.     

The influence of branding on adolescent smoking behaviour: exploring the mediating role of image and attitudes

• This study investigates the continuing effects of tobacco marketing communications in a post advertising era, focusing on the constructs of brand awareness, brand image, attitude formation and intention to smoke by adolescents.
• A conceptual model is presented, based on 926 respondents from a UK wide study, to assess brand‐related interrelationships and influences of peers on adolescents' attitudes toward smoking and intention to smoke.
• Results show the strong influence of branding on both attitude and intention, and have implications for government anti‐smoking policies specifically in regard to generic packaging and point of sale displays.

Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

我国青少年吸烟现状及控烟策略探讨

目的:探讨我国亲少年吸烟现状和控烟策略。方法:预防和减少青少年吸烟,依赖于政策、法规等的支持;学校、家长和社会应不断对青少年进行反吸烟教育;减少被动吸烟的危害。结果:强化法律作用,为吸烟青少年提供戒烟帮助,提高青少年戒烟率。结论:我国应当加大法律力度,调动全社会力量,为青少年的成长创造良好的控烟环境。     

A flexible inventory model for municipal solid waste recycling

State laws mandate the recycling of municipal solid waste (MSW) across most of the United States. In order to comply, municipalities recycle quotas of materials, generally without regard to fluctuating prices. An inventory system is proposed that allows municipalities to be sensitive to materials prices as they recycle in accordance with state mandates. A dynamic model is developed that uses historical secondary material prices as exogenous inputs to minimize the net present value of MSW recycling system cost. The model provides a cost effective method for municipalities to achieve their MSW recycling targets. The savings is approximately $1.28 per ton of MSW generated as based on total MSW management costs of $13.5 per ton. The model also allows one to investigate the effectiveness of various strategies for increasing the recycling rate, including reducing the transportation cost for recyclables, supporting the market price of selected secondary materials, and landfill bans on selected materials. Our proposed model may also be used to investigate the effect of market price changes on the portfolio of materials held in inventory for recycling.     

Antecedents and measures of organizational effectiveness: A systematic review of literature

The purpose of this paper is to systematically review the academic literature on organizational effectiveness (OE) through an analysis of 134 contributions. While OE is the most important goal for an organization, research views on this construct are diversified. Over time, the literature has increasingly focused on antecedents, measures, and more diversified approaches to OE. This paper contributes to the OE literature by developing an integrated conceptual model that considers the levels of antecedents (individual, group, and organizational) as well as measures of OE (financial, operational, structural, and attitudinal). Previous research has focused primarily on organizational-level antecedents and non-financial measures of OE. The paper also discusses the barriers hampering the measurement of OE. An agenda for future research is also provided.     

The utilization of diagnostic tests among the elderly: Evidence from Malaysia

Diagnostic test plays a major role in reducing the prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). The present study examines the relationships between the utilization of diagnostic tests and socioeconomic, insurance, lifestyle, and health factors among the elderly in Malaysia. Analyses based on the National Health and Morbidity Survey 2011 (NHMS 2011) suggest that high income and having private insurance are associated with a higher likelihood of utilizing diagnostic tests. However, low education levels, being employed and smoking are associated with a lower propensity to utilize. These results provide public health administrators with useful information on policy development. In particular, the proposed policies include providing the poor with nominal price of basic diagnostic tests, introducing various health education programmes to the public, creating health awareness campaigns to encourage elders who do not own private insurance to utilize diagnostic tests, as well as making basic diagnostic tests compulsory for all elders owning government insurance.     

新冠病毒疫情期间社会治理经验与问题研究——以邢台市任泽区为例

2020年初,一场突如其来的疫情席卷了全中国乃至整个世界,而中国政府反应迅速,上下联动,严防严控,保证了我们国家较低的死亡率和较高的治愈率。论文通过搜集文献、面访、电访等形式,详细了解政府所采取的具体措施和社会机构与政府间的合作,以达到探索并寻找更适合的疫情社会治理措施,对未来突发公共卫生事件提供借鉴意义的目的。