When Do Nutrient Content and Nutrient Content Claims Matter? Assessing Consumer Tradeoffs Between Carbohydrates and Fat

Substantial concern about the wide variety of carbohydrate‐related claims appearing on consumer packaged food products have been expressed by members of both the marketing and public policy communities. As a result, a number of petitions requesting the establishment of carbohydrate levels required for a low‐carbohydrate nutrient content claim have been submitted to the Food and Drug Administration, and the agency is considering the establishment of criteria for such a claim. This research examines the potential effects of a “low‐carbohydrate” claim, relative to the effects of a “low‐fat” claim, across selected product fat and carbohydrate levels. The study also considers whether consumers’ motivation to process nutrition information serves as a potential moderator of the effects of the nutrient content claims and nutrient levels on the dependent measures. As predicted, the results show key differences across consumer motivation levels. The policy implications of our findings are discussed.     

The Relationship between Retirement Wealth and Householders' Lifetime Personal Financial and Investing Behaviors

While previous research indicates wide wealth dispersion at retirement within households with similar lifetime incomes, there have been few attempts to identify personal financial behaviors associated with retirement wealth in households matched for lifetime income. Householders with similar demographics and lifetime income but differing markedly in net worth near retirement were surveyed in terms of personal financial behaviors undertaken during their lifetime. Results revealed key differences between householders with low and high retirement wealth in their financial behaviors and how these were acquired.     

Playing With Food: Content Analysis of Food Advergames

This study examines how food marketers use advergames, custom‐built and branded online games, to promote food products to children and provides the nutritional content of the food products featured in the advergames. The results reveal that food marketers use advergames heavily, with candy and gum or food products high in sugar most frequently appearing in the analyzed games. Children are often invited to “play with” the foods integrated as active game components. Finally, despite the educational benefits of interactive games, fewer than 3% of the games analyzed in this study appear to educate children about nutritional and health issues.     

Gender, Race, and Promotions within a Private-Sector Firm

This article empirically tests the proposition that the gender-race composition of an employee's occupation significantly affects the likelihood of promotion. Using data obtained from the personnel files of a financial services firm, we find that a high concentration of white females in an occupation adversely affects the probability of promotion, but only for white females and minorities in that occupation. A similar, attenuated pattern exists in occupations with either high concentrations of minority females or high concentrations of minority males. Additional empirical evidence suggests that the system of rules governing the promotion of white males differs significantly from that of the other three gender-race groups.     

EDUCATIONAL VOUCHERS WHEN THERE ARE PEER GROUP EFFECTS—SIZE MATTERS*

In this article, I study the effects various educational voucher policies have on the sorting of children across schools and the per‐student expenditure levels at these schools, when a child's peer group matters and students differ over income and ability. I find that, depending on the magnitude of the voucher, switching from a public system to a voucher system could entail either welfare gains or losses. All voucher policies under consideration lead to greater inequality than the public system; however, these increases are not monotone in the voucher size.     

Product Safety Regulation as a Model for Financial Services Regulation

Because of product safety regulations, exploding toasters and other dangerous products are rare in the American marketplace. Despite the fact that financial products can also be dangerous, with terms as incomprehensible as an electrical wiring diagram, regulation is far less comprehensive. Most financial regulation turns on the identity of the issuer—federal bank, state thrift, and private issuer—rather than on the product itself. Instead of using safety experts, financial products are regulated mainly by agencies whose principal responsibility is to protect the profitability of the financial institutions that issue the products. A Financial Product Safety Commission would provide coherent regulation of financial products, eliminating their most dangerous features.     

What Am I Drinking? The Effects of Serving Facts Information on Alcohol Beverage Containers

Excessive alcohol consumption is associated with numerous adverse health conditions and is the third leading cause of preventable death in the United States. Unlike manufacturers of most other packaged food and beverage products, alcohol beverage producers are not required to disclose product nutrition information. This situation may soon change. On July 31, 2007, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau proposed a rule that will require a Serving Facts panel containing a statement that includes levels of calories, carbohydrates, fat, and alcohol content on all alcohol beverage containers. The primary purpose of this research was to test predictions and provide insight regarding consumers’ potential responses to the provision of Serving Facts information on alcohol beverage labels. Implications of the results for public policy makers and consumer welfare are offered.     

A Model of the Commercial Loan Rate

This paper explores the theoretical and empirical determinants of the commercial loan rate charged by commercial banks based on a model of financial intermediary behavior which assumes monopolistic competition in asset and liability markets. The model incorporates the constraint that banks must maintain at least a minimum quantity of bonds in asset portfolios. Equations are estimated on a time series basis to explain the behavior of commercial loan rates over the period 1953 to 1980. The evidence appears consistent with the hypothesis that commercial banks operate in a market characterized by imperfect competition and that they explicitly set loan rates.     

HOME ECONOMICS IN CANADIAN UNIVERSITIES 1978

This paper outlines the development of programmes in home economics education in Canadian Universities in this century. It also considers the work done at postgraduate level and Home Economics enrolment statistics for 1976–1977 are included. Opportunities for graduates in Home Economics in Canada are also discussed.     

Labour Market Programs and the Australian Beveridge Curve: 1978 to 1997

Labour market programs are often advocated on the basis that by re-introducing unemployed people to the culture of the workplace, they will re-skill and motivate them enough to make them suitable employees to prospective employers. Accordingly, total employment should rise and vacancy rates fall. If programs work in this manner, we should be able to detect a systematic relationship between labour market program expenditure and the distance of the Beveridge curve from the origin ceteris paribus. There are few studies in the world that have directly tried to assess the impact of labour market program expenditure on the Beveridge curve. Our estimates for Australia over the last 19 years give limited support to the view that most labour market programs nave moved the Beveridge curve inwards.