MEASURING HOUSEHOLD ACTIVITIES: SOME INTERNATIONAL COMPARISONS

This paper focusses on macroeconomic approaches to the measurement of non-market household work or production in industrialised countries. It details the variety of parameters involved, the choice of which depends on the specific aim pursued by authors. A review of different aims pursued, parameters chosen, concepts used, alternative methods applied, and available statistical data is presented and results of evaluations are then compared. The money value of household activities is given in percentage of GNP and comparisons are made within the framework of similar approaches. Under this condition, results are remarkably consistent. At the same time, the paper shows how sensitive results are to the method used; it also puts emphasis on the lack of adequate statistical data which may be held responsible for a gap between the theoretical model of evaluation and its practical implementation. In the present state of knowledge, no definite assertion can be made on the time trend of household work and its money value as percentage of GNP or national income. The paper stresses the importance availability of data on the volume and nature of non-market household output would have for future research on the economic contribution of households in industrialised as well as in developing countries. Such data permitting an output approach to measurement would lead to better understanding of the interrelation between market and household sectors and would therefore improve economic analysis and forecasting. Adequate statistical data could possibly be collected through a process similar to that used for time use data in national surveys.     

Do tourists disperse weed seed? A global review of unintentional human-mediated terrestrial seed dispersal on clothing,vehicles and horses

Human-mediated seed dispersal is recognised as an important, but under-researched, issue. To assess the potential for tourists to act as unintentional seed dispersal agents, we reviewed published and unpublished data on seed dispersal via clothing, vehicles (cars) and in/on horses and donkeys, all of which can be used by tourists. Seeds from 754 species of terrestrial plants have been collected from these vectors, 15% of which are internationally recognised environmental weeds. Seeds were collected from personal clothing and equipment (228 species), the fur of donkeys and horses (42 species), horse dung (216 species) and vehicles (505 species). Most were herbs (429 species) or graminoids (237 species) and native to Europe. Annual Poa, White Clover, Kentucky Bluegrass and Yorkshire Fog were the most frequent species. There have been eight studies specifically on tourists, which identified 12 species on clothing, 26 on vehicles and 133 from horse dung. Methods that minimise the risk of tourists as human-mediated dispersal agents may therefore be appropriate for some tourism activities/destinations: suggestions are made. Further sampling using standardised experimental techniques is required to assess the relative risk associated with specific tourist activities and locations and determine which, and how much, seed is transported.     

The Distributional Impact of Selected Commonwealth Outlays and Taxes and Alternative Commonwealth Grant Allocation Mechanisms

This article examines the redistributive impact of Commonwealth outlays and taxes (including outlays directed through and to the States)and two possible alternative systems of distributing Commonwealth funding amongst the States.     

Determinants of Consumer Preferences for Honey in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Honey is one of the important non-timber forest products consumed in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and, as such, an important source of income for many households. However, poor knowledge of buyers’ preferences in the marketing of honey presents a major challenge to the profitability of the honey enterprises. The research presented in this article identifies key consumer characteristics that influence the preferences of honey consumers in the DRC. The primary data source used in this analysis is drawn from a survey of 214 consumers. Results show that consumers who are married and have reached at least the level of secondary education have a strong preference for local forest and savannah honey. Those between the ages of 30 and 50 do not prefer honey from beekeeping, but would rather have it imported. We conclude that segmentation of the honey market and increasing consumer awareness must go in tandem in order to develop a good marketing strategy.     

The Political Economy of Addressing the Climate Crisis in the Earth System: Undermining Perverse Resilience

The Earth system is a complex adaptive system, characterised by non-linear change and with significant capacity for surprise. In times of systemic crisis, such as dangerous anthropogenic climate change, perverse resilience (for example the structural power of fossil fuel interests in the global economy) can threaten overall Earth system stability. Critical political economic analysis recognises climate change as a threat with significant political economic characteristics and implications. However, key dimensions of climate change as a globally coherent phenomenon, including the important implications of Earth system dynamism and non-linear change, can remain unrecognised, mischaracterised or underestimated. In contrast, resilience approaches describe social-ecological systems but neglect the significance of norms and power relations in human societies. This article builds theory by linking key concepts – hegemony and resilience – from neo-Gramscian political economic analysis and resilience approaches to social-ecological systems. Our objective is to generate a new conceptual framework to improve understanding of the role of politics in social-ecological systems. We use climate change and its mitigation to demonstrate the new framework's potential.     

Perceptions of Business Ethics in a Multicultural Community: The Case of Malaysia

Leaders and managers of today's multinational corporations face a plethora of problems and issues directly attributable to the fact that they are operating in an international context. With work-sites, plants and/or customers based in another country, or even several countries, representing a vast spectrum of cultural differences, international trade and offshore operations, coupled with increased globalisation in respect to political, social and economic realities, contribute to new dilemmas that these leaders must deal with. Not the least of these being a Code of Ethics and ethical decision making.This paper examines the differences in culture between a group of managers from the United States and similar group from Croatia using Hofstede's theory of International Cultures. The study explores how these cultural dimensions may help in our understanding of the differences in reported whistleblowing. The authors then postulate four hypotheses regarding various aspects of whistleblowing. These Hypotheses were than tested using a survey administered to a sample of U.S.A. and Croatian managers. Finally, the paper discusses the findings and practical implications for contemporary managers in the international arena.     

An Investigation of the Relationship between Use of International Accounting Standards and Source of Company Finance in Germany

This study examines the relationship between use of international accounting standards and companies’ source of finance. We investigate the proposition contained in Nobes’ (1998) model that postulates outsider companies (those with a higher level of public finance) in weak equity–outsider markets (capital markets where public equity finance is not the dominant source of finance) are more likely to change their type of accounting system from one focused on information for creditors and tax authorities to one that meets the needs of external financiers. We found strong support for Nobes’ model. Using 408 German listed companies at 1999, we observed that companies with more outsider finance (the proportion of shares held by outsiders and the presence of public debt) were more likely to use international standards (U.S. GAAP or IAS). The results indicate the importance of controlling for source of finance at the company rather than country level in cross‐country studies investigating the benefits of adoption of international standards.     

Banks,finance and investment in Germany: A review article

The author wishes to thank David Audretsch, Lee Baldwin, Wendy Carlin, Richard Deeg, Colin Mayer, Sigurt Vitols, and three anonymous referees for their helpful suggestions on an earlier version of this article.     

The challenge for women expatriates and spouses: some empirical evidence

This is an exploratory study examining issues associated with women expatriates and their spouses. Individuals representing three groups - organizations, women expatriates, male spouses - were interviewed to identify their experiences and concerns. The authors conclude that this issue will pose a dramatic challenge for international organizations in the coming decades, and that it is timely to investigate the issue in more depth.