The Incidence of EU Per‐Hectare Payments on Farmland Rental Rates: A Spatial Econometric Analysis of German Farm‐Level Data

This article analyses determinants for 2001 farmland rental prices from 3,819 farms in Germany. Based on specification tests we estimate a general spatial model to account for both spatial relationships among rental prices of neighbouring farmers and spatially autocorrelated error terms. A €1 per hectare higher rental price in a farmer’s neighbourhood coincides with a €0.72 higher rental price paid by the farmer. The marginal incidence of EU per‐hectare payments paid for eligible arable crop land on rental rates amounts to €0.38 for each additional €1 of premium payments. Regional livestock density, which is indirectly influenced by different policies, is also a major determinant of rental prices. Results are confirmed by sensitivity analyses. Consequently, German farmland rental rates are heavily influenced by agricultural policy instruments and therefore, these policies exhibit substantial distributional effects.     

A central limit theorem for the Hellinger loss of Grenander‐type estimators

We consider Grenander‐type estimators for a monotone function , obtained as the slope of a concave (convex) estimate of the primitive of λ. Our main result is a central limit theorem for the Hellinger loss, which applies to estimation of a probability density, a regression function or a failure rate. In the case of density estimation, the limiting variance of the Hellinger loss turns out to be independent of λ.     

Management accounting as normal social science

The publication of “Management accounting change: Approaches and perspectives” (Wickramasinghe, D., & Alawattage, C. (2007). Management accounting change: Approaches and perspectives. London, New York: Routledge) provides an occasion for considering the extent to which management accounting has become a normal social science. This review essay argues that management accounting is a social science defined by a pluralism of approaches, and it identifies the generalization of social perspectives on management accounting, and particularly their ability to transcend technical and economic aspects of accounting practice, as crucial components in reproducing this specific form of expertise. Contrary to Kuhnian expectations, this social science hosts a multiplicity of paradigms, and its scientists are not exclusively concerned with the subtlest and most esoteric aspects of the phenomena under study. Instead, as social scientists management accountants are generalists as much as they are specialists.     

On the demographic realism of the Ricardian theory of public finance

Summary The possibility of public debt-neutrality is discussed for countries experiencing demographic changes. The heterogeneity of agents plays a decisive role in destroying Ricardian equivalence of public finance. In addition to the usual explanatory factors of non-neutrality, such as distortionary taxation, public debt is not equivalent to current taxation as a consequence of (1) disconnected dynasties, (2) uncertain lifetimes, (3) diverging birth rates, (4) international migration, (5) population growth uncertainty, (6) diverging rates of time preference, and (7) capital market imperfections. The paper concludes that thepure Ricardian model of public finance serves a purpose as a standard of argument for the more realistic models of public finance.Comments by Gerbert Hebbink, Evert van Imhoff, Herman Vollebergh and members of the Department of Public Finance are gratefully acknowledged.     

Customer Touchpoints im stationären Einzelhandel — Potenzial von Pervasive Computing

Je mehr individuelle Leistungen die Kunden verlangen, desto mehr Informationen ben?tigen die Anbieter. W?hrend die H?ndler im Distanzgesch?ft über personalisierte Daten ihrer Kunden und vor allem im Online-Shop über Bewegungsdaten verfügen, hat der station?re Einzelhandel noch erhebliche Datenlücken. Diese Lücken kann man mit einer Pervasive-Computing-Umgebung schlie?en. Neue Customer Touchpoints liefern Informationen darüber, wer bei ihm einkauft und wie der Einkauf durchgeführt wird.     

Hidden liquidity: An analysis of order exposure strategies in electronic stock markets

Many stock exchanges choose to reduce market transparency by allowing traders to hide some or all of their order size. We study the costs and benefits of order exposure and test hypotheses regarding hidden order usage using a sample of Euronext-Paris stocks, where hidden orders represent 44% of the sample order volume. Our results support the hypothesis that hidden orders are associated with a decreased probability of full execution and increased average time to completion, and fail to support the alternate hypothesis that order exposure causes defensive traders to withdraw from the market. However, exposing rather than hiding order size increases average execution costs. We assess the extent to which non-displayed size is truly hidden and document that the presence and magnitude of hidden orders can be predicted to a significant, but imperfect, degree based on observable order attributes, firm characteristics, and market conditions. Overall, the results indicate that the option to hide order size is valuable, in particular, to patient traders.     

Eye-Tracking im Einzelhandel - Ein Leitfaden für die Blickaufzeichnung

Die Frage, welche Artikel wo im Regal platziert werden sollten, l?sst sich nicht allein mit Abverkaufsdaten beantworten. Vielmehr gilt es zu untersuchen, wie sich Kunden vor dem Regal verhalten und wie sie die Warenplatzierungen wahrnehmen. Ein Instrument dafür ist das Eye-Tracking. Die Blickaufzeichnung erlaubt es, das Such- und Orientierungsverhalten am Regal mit den Augen der Kunden zu sehen. Um aussagekr?ftige Ergebnisse aus einer Eye-Tracking-Studie zu erhalten, sind bestimmte Anforderungen zu erfüllen. Ein Leitfaden.     

Aufstocker – Kein Indiz für ein Niedriglohnproblem

Immer mehr Erwerbst?tige erhalten zus?tzlich zu ihrem Einkommen Leistungen durch den Staat. Um welche Leistungen handelt es sich dabei? Welche Familiensituation liegt bei diesen Aufstockern vor? Wodurch ist der Anstieg der Aufstockerzahlen verursacht? Dr. Hendrik Luchtmeier, 38, ist Referent im Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Technologie; Johannes Ziemendorff, 27, M.Sc. Wirtschaftswissenschaften ist Stipendiat am Deutschen Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung.