The currency denomination of exports — A questionnaire study

We report survey results on the currency choice of a random sample of Swedish exporters. We find that for an overwhelming share of exports, the price, invoice and settlement currency is the same. The currency of the customer is the most used, with Swedish kronor and vehicle currencies accounting for approximately equal shares. Currency choice is similar for intra-firm and between-firm trade. We also find that negotiations are important for both the price and for the currency choice. A minority of firms use posted prices for their main exports — the median price adjustment for those firms is once per year.     

LOGISTICS STRATEGY — REVISITED

A study of logistics managers examined the roles of three logistics strategies (process, market, and information) in achieving logistics effectiveness. The results examined the dynamics of these three logistics strategies in managing trade‐offs among efficiency, internal and external organizational interactions, and meeting channel member needs. Insights for logistics practitioners, instructors, and researchers are discussed.     

A Decade in Perspective 1975–84: Focus and Trends in the Journal of Consumer Affairs

An analysis of research articles published in the Journal of Consumer Affairs for the issues published from 1975 (1) through 1984 (2) reveals a marked increase over time in the number of papers focusing on policy issues and a marked decrease over time on articles focusing on the consumer movement and consumer education. The largest number of authors during this period were from the University of California-Davis. Forty-four percent of all authors were from business and economics subject areas, and 26 percent were from home economics. Assistant Professors had the highest publishing rate. Papers were found to be equally divided between land grant and nonland grant institutions with the majority being of single or dual authorship. It is concluded that the Journal of Consumer Affairs is meeting its stated editorial policy.     

高利贷考验中小企业生存

目前,商息民间借贷正在全国蔓延。在信贷紧缩、楼市调控背景下,民间资金缺乏投资渠道;同时,中小制造类企业、房地产、矿业等行业资金需求量大,民间借贷空间迅速扩大。目前仅浙江民间资本就高达万亿元,通过小额贷款公司、担保公司、典当行和个人之间放贷,成为民间借贷流通的主要途径,月息回报普遍在2分以上,最高的甚至达5分,即年利率60％。     

Learning from housing environments: home economics and home ecology — A Canadian demonstration project

An effective method for providing information to bring about meaningful change and encourage the adoption of innovation is by the use of demonstration projects. This paper examines a specific housing demonstration project based on three design criteria: dynamics, life cycle cost analysis, and nexus. The paper also includes some discussion about housing and society in the future, particularly in terms of environmental stress and social change, and how housing can be responsive to changing human needs.     

A survey of commercial laundry detergents — how effective are they? Part II: liquids

The effectiveness of 11 unbuilt liquid detergents and eight built liquid detergents, of varying formulations, in cleaning a standard soiled fabric in soft water (5 ppm) were evaluated. It was found that in soft water there were no significant differences between washing in warm or hot water with either type of detergent, except for a melaleuca oil based detergent which was significantly better in hot water. However, although not significant, in general, washing with unbuilt liquid detergents did give somewhat better results in both warm and hot water.     

AN ASSESSMENT OF SUPPLIER — CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS

This research develops a classification framework of supplier‐customer relationships. Data were collected from active relationship managers and provided the empirical basis for the classification scheme. The resulting relationships were classified into seven groups. Names for each type of relationship were developed based on a set of Delphi group responses.     

The Economics of Exchange‐Rate Regimes: A Review Essay

The exchange‐rate regime issue has taken centre‐stage in discussions of international economic policy. Much of the profession appears to have been converted to ‘the hypothesis of the vanishing middle regime’; for countries well‐integrated into world capital markets, there is little, if any, middle ground between floating exchange rates and monetary unification. This paper considers the exchange‐rate‐regime issue in the context of recent books on the subject by W. Max Corden and Morris Goldstein. Both authors prescribe managed floating exchange rates, supplemented with inflation targeting, for emerging‐market economies. Under managed floating, and with a credible monetary policy, the public finances in order, and strengthened debt management and prudential regulation, the exchange rate is free to act as a market gauge for assessing policies and as a mode of conflict resolution. Both authors also argue, however, that no exchange‐rate regime is a Holy Grail. Ultimately, a credible exchange‐rate regime depends upon the trust evoked by governments. There is no exchange‐rate regime, whether of the managed‐floating or hard‐fix variety, that can eradicate a history of failed stabilisation attempts.