Household's preferences and monetary policy inertia

Interest rates set by central banks puzzlingly move with a certain inertia. We show that household's preferences can be important determinants of the optimal interest rate inertia due to their impact on the efficiency of the monetary policy transmission mechanism.     

The Effects of Marginal Employment on Subsequent Labour Market Outcomes

Abstract. Unemployed workers in Austria do not lose their unemployment benefits (UI) if they work in a job where their earnings are below a certain threshold [‘marginal employment’ (ME)]. ME might improve their labour market status by signalling effort, or worsen it through reduced job‐search effort. Those who work in ME while claiming UI have less employment and lower earnings afterwards than those who do not. The penalty lessens over time but is still present after three years.     

Increasing Public Expenditure: Wagner's Law in OECD Countries

Abstract. The paper proposes a panel cointegration analysis of the joint development of government expenditure and economic growth in 23 Organization Economic Cooperation and Development countries. The empirical evidence provides indication of a structural positive correlation between public spending and per‐capita gross domestic product (GDP), which is consistent with the so‐called Wagner's law. A long‐run elasticity larger than 1 suggests a more than proportional increase of government expenditure with respect to economic activity. In addition, according to the spirit of the law, we found that the correlation is usually higher in countries with lower per‐capita GDP, suggesting that the catching‐up period is characterized by a stronger development of government activities with respect to economies in a more advanced state of development.     

Patientenverfügung – alles klar?

Umgang mit Patientenverfügungen im klinischen Alltag – Immer h?ufiger bringen Patienten Patientenverfügungen mit. Zudem ist seit zwei Jahren die Verbindlichkeit von Patientenverfügungen gesetzlich geregelt. Doch nach wie vor treten im Umgang mit den Willenserkl?rungen Fragen und Unsicherheiten auf – eine Herausforderung an die ethische Reflexion.     

From Schumpeterian Democracy to Constitutional Democracy

A critical issue of a constitutional democracy is to determine an optimal limitation of citizens' political liberties. This problem is analysed here within the framework of a parliamentary system of government, and in the context of Rawls' principle of equal political participation. It is argued that optimal barriers to entry into political competition are a function of the legislative decision rules, the domain of collective choices, and the rules for selecting (and dismissing) the executive. Contrary to Schumpeter and Riker who rejected populism (the approach that public policy should be a result of citizens' preferences), we argue that it is possible to reconcile greater citizen participation and liberal democracy with an appropriate institutional design.     

Does Attending a Catholic School Make a Difference? Evidence From Italy

This paper analyses whether attending a Catholic high school in Italy yields higher benefits in student achievement compared with enrolment at a public school. Because a measure of the success of a given high school might be how its students perform after leaving high school, our attention is focused on university participation and the risk of university dropout. We find that attending a Catholic school increases the likelihood of enrolling at university but has no effect on dropout behaviour. Additionally, our findings show that the source of the effectiveness of Catholic schools in boosting university participation does not lie in better resource availability, peer group influences or positive selection.     

Investment allocation: A comparison of the reform experiences of Hungary and Yugoslavia

Both Yugoslavia and Hungary, despite reform efforts, have continued to exhibit investment cycles. An analysis is presented of why the Yugoslav and Hungarian experiences have been so similar despite major institutional differences. An examination of three different capital allocation systems in Yugoslavia identifies both institutional and behavioral factors that undermine reform efforts and reproduce investment cycles not only in Yugoslavia, but also in Hungary and other socialist economies.     

Attributions and behavioral intentions of inexperienced salespersons to failure: An empirical investigation

The goal of this research was to determine how inexperienced sales representatives (rookies) interpret and respond to their sales failure situations. The authors studied 296 rookie financial services sales representatives'performance attributions for a previous unsuccessful sales interaction and their intended behaviors for a future, similar selling situation. This provided the authors the opportunity to compare their results with Dixon, Spiro and Jamil's (2001) findings for experienced sales representatives (veterans). In the event of a sales failure, rookies'responses do not parallel those of veterans. The results suggest that rookies are likely to engage in several inappropriate behaviors in response to failed sales encounters. Implications for managers and directions for future research are discussed. Andrea L. Dixon (Andrea. Dixon@uc.edu) (Ph.D., Indiana University) is an assistant professor of marketing at the University of Cincinnati. Her research focuses on selling behaviors, team selling, integrating technology and personal selling, and the role of developmental relationships in enhancing creativity and productivity in the sales division. The primary focus of her research is improving the performance of sales representatives and the sales organization or unit. She has published in theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, theJournal of Marketing, and theJournal of Personal Selling and Sales Management. She currently serves on the editorial review boards of theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science and theJournal of Personal Selling and Sales Management. Dixon is the vice chair for conference programming of the Selling and Sales Management Special Interest Group of the American Marketing Association. Rosann L. Spiro (spiro@ indiana.edu), Ph. D., is a professor of marketing and chairperson of the Marketing Department at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, where she teaches Sales Management, Personal Selling, International Marketing, Business-to-Business Marketing Strategy, and Managerial Research in Marketing. Her research interests focus on sales strategy, sales management, and personal selling. Her work has appeared in numerous publications, including theJournal of Marketing Research, theJournal of Marketing, theJournal of Consumer Research, theJournal of Business, and theJournal of Personal Selling and Sales Management. She currently serves on the editorial review boards of theJournal of Personal Selling and Sales Management andMarketing Management. She is also a coauthor of a leading sales management text,Management of a Sales Force (11 th ed.). She formerly served as the chairperson of the Board of the American Marketing Association. Curtently she serves on an Advisory Board for the Univted States Bureau of Census and is the chair of the Selling and Sales Management Special Interest Group of the American Marketing Association. Lukas P. Forbes (Lukas.Forbes@wku.edu) is an assistant professor of marketing in the Gordon Ford College of Business at Western Kentucky University. He received his B.S. from the United States Military Academy at West Point, his M.B.A. from worcester Polytechnic Institute, and is completing his Ph.D. at the University of Kentucky. His research interests include personal selling, services, and product development. He has previously published in the American Marketing Association Educators and Frontiers in Services conference proceedings.     

An Analysis of European Banks' SND Issues and its Implications for the Design of a Mandatory Subordinated Debt Policy

During the last twenty years an increasing number of proposals to improve bank market discipline through the introduction of a mandatory subordinated debt policy (MSDP) have been presented and critically discussed by academic economists and bank regulators. While theoretical issues are key in this debate, a proper understanding of the market for banks' subordinated notes and debentures (SND) and the main features of securities is also considered relevant for the potential introduction, design and goals setting of such a policy. This paper builds on information concerning issuers, investors, markets, pricing and the technical features of securities to critically discuss these aspects. Data on over 1800 European banks SND issues completed during the 1988–2000:Q1 period together with information on primary and secondary market functioning are presented.     

Warrant price responses to credit spread changes: Fact or fiction?

We use a new approach to analyze the relationship between warrant prices and issuers’ credit spreads. This approach allows us to gain insights into whether issuers use their credit risk systematically to increase their profits. In a post‐Lehman sample, we find strong support for a systematic use since issuers decrease prices less after cred it spread increases than they increase prices after credit spread decreases. Credit spread decreases are accompanied by price increases on several successive days. This sluggish adjustment in prices can be explained by the fact that retail investors’ purchase decisions depend on product prices.