Simplified Risk Analysis in Agricultural Extension

Attention is given to the major methods of assessing risk in order to make choices. The literature frequently reports studies on mean-variance (E-V) analysis and stochastic dominance rules. Both of these methods are compared, in an agricultural application, with the approach outlined by Hanoch and Levy. The empirical results suggests that Hanoch and Levy's criterion appear to reduce the size of the risk-efficient set, and that the sets of recommendations from the methods under comparison were consistent. The two recommendations generated by Hanoch and Levy's rule were found to be reasonable for this particular decision process.     

A general equilibrium analysis in the Phillips space

The relationship between inflation and unemployment is analyzed within a general equilibrium framework in which the equilibrium rates of inflation and unemployment are solved simultaneously. The locus of points in the Phillips (inflation-unemployment) space depends on the dynamic adjustment mechanism postulated and the value of the behavioral parameters of the model. Changes in fiscal and monetary policy may lead to clockwise or counter-clockwise loops or spirals and to movement of the system in any direction in the Phillips space. The traditional inverse relationship between inflation and unemployment represents only one of a number of possibilities.     

Gender equality still on the European agenda—but for how long?

While the momentum has certainly not yet disappeared from the gender equality agenda within Europe, the impact of that agenda remains patchy. Progress within individual member states has been significant but not always steady or cumulative. At the European level more attention has been paid to the gender pay gap but policy initiatives remain weak. The loss of the equal opportunities pillar in the new employment guidelines puts this momentum at risk but the new phase still includes commitments to an integrated strategy of gender mainstreaming and equal opportunities.     

Chinese Consumers and E-Commerce

I. IntroductionThe rapid development in information technology has bridged the gap and improved links between people of the world. A consequence of such wide-reaching contact among people is the boost in international trade. Although the proliferation of international business is also due to liberalization of the economy and the removal of trade barriers between countries, it is indisputable that the availability of     

The ups and downs of European gender equality policy

In 2003, equal opportunities policy in the European Union suffered both ups and downs. New opportunities came in the guise of the hotly contested new directive on gender equality outside the field of employment, in the invitation to present the first of an annual report on equality between women and men to the Spring Council, in the consolidation of gender mainstreaming within the second round of the National Action Plans on social inclusion and in the new commitments to ‘substantial reductions by 2010’ in gender gaps in employment, unemployment and pay that were included in the new employment guidelines in 2003. These new guidelines presented, however, a major challenge to gender equality as the new phase of the European Employment Strategy dispensed with the four pillars, and therefore the equal opportunities pillar. Instead gender equality became just one of 10 new guidelines. In December the launch of the Employment Taskforce report appeared to push employment policy back more to a ‘full employment with flexibility’ approach and away from concerns with job quality. The focus was therefore more on the integration of women into employment rather than on closing the equality gap.     

Shared Sectoral Growth Versus the Dual Economy Model: Evidence from Côte d'Ivoire,Ghana, and Zimbabwe

Abstract: Though recently challenged, the dual economy view has affected development economics and development policy, either explicitly or implicitly, for more than half a century. According to this view, agriculture merely serves to build the industrial sector — in particular, agriculture has no role as an engine of growth in the long term. Examining agriculture, industry and service sector growth in Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, and Zimbabwe over more than three decades, we find little empirical support for this view. On the contrary, our analyses find a large degree of interdependence in long‐run sectoral growth, implying that the sectors ‘grow together’ or, similarly, that there are externalities or spillovers between sectors. Policy implications are also discussed; these include directing more attention towards the interdependencies in sectoral growth broadly defined. In particular, our findings have implications for the design of education and health programs, as well. This improved understanding of inter‐sectoral dynamics at all levels may facilitate policy implementation aimed at increasing economic growth — and thereby ultimately improving peoples' livelihoods — in Africa and elsewhere.     

Opening services markets within Europe: Modelling foreign establishments in a CGE framework

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in services is often more important to supply foreign markets than cross-border trade. A complete analysis of services liberalization therefore requires the modelling of FDI. This paper presents the treatment of FDI in our CGE model WorldScan based on the ideas of Petri [Petri, P.A., 1997. Foreign direct investment in a computable general equilibrium framework. Paper Prepared for the Conference, Making APEC work: Economic Challenges and Policy Alternatives, March 13–14. Keio University, Tokyo] and Markusen [Markusen, J.R., 2002. Multinational Firms and The Theory of International Trade. MIT Press] that firms which establish affiliates abroad also transfer firm-specific knowledge. Consequently, capital owned by suppliers from home and foreign countries are not perfect substitutes. We apply this model to the proposals of the European Commission to open up services markets. Even when FDI in services could increase by 20% to 35%, the overall economic impact is limited. Our assessment suggests that GDP in the EU25 could increase up to 0.4%. These effects could be up to 0.8% higher if foreign capital also increases the overall productivity of the services sector.     

An analysis of growth competitiveness

The publication of the Global Competitiveness Report 2005‐2006 by the World Economic Forum (WEF) (2005 World Economic Forum. 2005. The global competitiveness report, 2005–2006, Hampshire: Palgrave MacMillan.  [Google Scholar]) has focused attention once more upon the relative abilities of many countries to compete in world markets. This article provides an analysis and evaluation of the approach taken by the WEF in constructing its measure of international growth competitiveness, the Growth Competitiveness Index (GCI) which is used to rank countries. In particular, the study identifies three areas where the GCI is vulnerable to criticism. First, the treatment of outliers for hard data items is ambiguous and we identify alternative methods for dealing with outliers that are justifiable or even superior. Second, the crucial role of the variable utility patents in the calculation of the GCI is questioned and serious doubts concerning the use of this variable are raised. Third, the article suggests an alternative approach, based upon structural equation modeling, which should be used for the determination of weights in the index calculation process, rather than the arbitrary method adopted by the WEF.     

Improving the Performance of a Long‐Run Variance Ratio Test for a Unit Root

Cai and Shintani (2006, Econometric Theory, 22, 347–372) considered the impact of introducing an inconsistent long‐run variance estimator when constructing a class of kernel‐based ratio tests for testing non‐stationarity in the series. They found that the quotient of two estimators with different rates of convergence under the null and the alternative hypotheses may lead to a test having an interesting size and power trade‐off. This paper develops modified versions of this test, presents new asymptotic results and tabulates critical values. The finite sample performance is explored through Monte Carlo simulations. The results show that the modifications proposed lead to more powerful unit root tests.     

Direct and indirect effects of SEWi,family human capital and social capital on organizational social capital in small family firms

International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal - Given the importance of social capital in organizations, this research answers the question of how socioemotional wealth importance (SEWi),...