The Effect of Nutrition Information on Brand Rating: Test for a Non-Use Benefit

Although consumers tend to express positive attitudes toward nutrition labeling when questioned directly, research indicates that most people do not use the information to help them make purchase decisions. While direct usage rates may be low, there may, however, be non-use benefits associated with the information. This article describes the findings from a laboratory experiment which employed an indirect and highly structured research method to study an important non-use benefit. The results indicate that consumers have more favorable attitudes toward food products which supply more information on the label.     

The Industry Life Cycle,Acquisitions and Investment: Does Firm Organization Matter?

We examine the effect of industry life‐cycle stages on within‐industry acquisitions and capital expenditures by conglomerates and single‐segment firms controlling for endogeneity of organizational form. We find greater differences in acquisitions than in capital expenditures, which are similar across organizational types. In particular, 36% of the growth recorded by conglomerate segments in growth industries comes from acquisitions, versus 9% for single‐segment firms. In growth industries, the effect of financial dependence on acquisitions and plant openings is mitigated for conglomerate firms. Plants acquired by conglomerate firms increase in productivity. The results suggest that organizational forms' comparative advantages differ across industry conditions.     

A HIERARCHICAL THEORY OF THE FIRM*

This paper provides a mathematically coherent and concise formulation of the Williamson market-failure approach and, hence, develops models for single-level and multilevel firms and organizations. These models optimally determine the extent of integration for each viable link on every hierarchical level, When the models are reformulated in terms of four operational parameters that determine integration, applied benefit-cost methods can be utilized, in practice, to model a firm. Both static and dynamiclmodels-are presented.     

COMMERCIAL BANKS AND LDC DEBT REDUCTION

This paper investigates the relationship between the probability of default of lesser developed country commercial bank debt and the level of debt reduction granted by commercial banks. The analysis tests this relationship by regressing debt reduction totals for 29 middle-income debtors on 11 default probability indicators over the years 1985 through 1993 and finds a statistically significant relationship between the expected probability of default and the level of debt reduction. However, the findings fail to determine clearly the overall direction of this relationship. Thus, the evidence is insufficient to support the conclusion that the banks have behaved systematically as if they believed a debt-relief Laffer curve existed.     

Changing household formation patterns: implications for consumption and nutrition

The effects of anticipated changes in the composition of U.S. households on food consumption patterns and on levels of nutrition are projected to the year 1995. Despite rather substantial demographic shifts, the estimated impact on aggregate food budget shares is small for 13 aggregated food groups. Stratification of cross-sectional data by income and household composition is important to identify potential household groups at risk with respect to selected nutrition categories. Results from this analysis are useful in developing policies which can be geared to target those groups deficient in nutritional intake.     

The Effect of the Introduction of GST on Accountants' Job Satisfaction and Burnout

The introduction of the goods and services tax in Australia saw a fundamental shift in the working conditions and type of work performed by public accounting practitioners. This paper explores the impact of the introduction of GST on working conditions, job satisfaction and burnout, using data from a survey of 71 public accountants. The study finds that the introduction of the GST has caused accountants' burnout levels to increase while job satisfaction remains unchanged. An unexpected finding is that accountants' propensity to leave the profession has dramatically increased as a result of the introduction of the GST     

U.S. OIL DEMAND AND CONSERVATION

Recent history has lent casual support to three popular theories about U.S. oil demand: (i) U.S. oil consumption is very insensitive to changing oil prices, (ii) non-price conservation has reduced U.S. oil demand, and (Hi) U.S. oil consumption falls more when oil prices rise than it rises when oil prices fall. Together, these theories suggest that one could hold oil consumption constant without much economic sacrifice. The authors' econometric evidence does not support these theories. This evidence indicates that U.S. oil consumption is fairly responsive to price changes over the long run, but with a considerable lag. Sharp oil price increases—or an equivalent policy action—would be needed to hold oil consumption constant during the 1990s.     

Undetected Deviations in Tests of Controls: Experimental Evidence of Nonsampling Risk*

The objective of the study was to examine the effects of three independent variables ‐ accountability, audit workpaper structure, and type of control deviations ‐ on auditors' detection failure rates during control tests in a purchases, payables, and payments cycle. The experimental design used a between‐subjects manipulation of accountability and workpaper structure, and a within‐subjects manipulation of deviation type. Consistent with prior research, we observed an alarmingly high detection failure rate of 42.3 percent. This failure rate was not affected by levels of accountability or workpaper structure, although postexperiment evidence suggests that these variables were successfully manipulated. Failure rates did depend on the type of seeded control deviation, with nonmonetary deviations being overlooked most frequently. In addition to replicating prior research, our study makes two further contributions. First, we provide empirical evidence that supports Hirst's (1992) speculation that successful manipulations of accountability may not affect auditor performance because auditors may self‐induce levels of accountability that create a ceiling effect on auditor performance. Second, we observe that although auditors perceived that highly structured workpapers allowed them to be more effective and efficient when performing tests of controls, their actual audit performance was not more effective and, on average, was less efficient.     

REPLY TO SIEGEL ET AL.: ALCOHOL ADVERTISING IN MAGAZINES AND DISPROPORTIONATE EXPOSURE

Nelson investigated advertising placements for a diverse sample of 28 magazines and concluded that targeting of underage youth by alcohol advertisers was not occurring. Siegel et al. claim that my results suffer from collinearity, but fail to present a comprehensive measure of multicollinearity. For my model, variance inflation factors are within acceptable limits and estimation using redefined variables does not alter my prior results or conclusion. Further, Siegel et al.'s empirical results are fragile and do not support a targeting outcome. I also discuss the limitations of estimates of magazine readerships and the shortcomings of the public health literature on advertising and youth alcohol behaviors. Neither the empirical results in Siegel et al. nor their literature citations support a public policy based on a simple rule of disproportionate exposure. ( JEL L82, L66, M37)     

Evaluating Consumer Protection Programs: Part I. Weak But Commonly Used Research Designs

In this two-part article, current methodological approaches to the evaluation of consumer protection reforms are critically reviewed. In Part I, three quasi-experimental research designs commonly used to evaluate consumer protection initiatives are examined. It is shown that these designs are inherently incapable of yielding strong conclusions about the effects of a law or regulation. In Part II, which will be published in the next issue, research designs which allow stronger causal inferences about the effects of a reform proposal are reviewed. Implications of the review are then discussed in terms of future public policy and evaluation research in the consumer protection area.