Linkages among welfare,food assistance programmes and labour supply: evidence from the survey of programme dynamics

At the centre of the debate on welfare reform is whether incentives-based systems help poor families move out of poverty into jobs. Recent data from the first Survey of Programme Dynamics longitudinal and the 1998 experimental data files allow evaluation of the interaction among the Food Stamp Programme (FSP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programme and labour force participation under different programme design and economic conditions. A model that incorporates jointly determined programmes participation and work decisions is applied to a sample of working age, lower income and asset households. Participation in TANF increases the probability of FSP participation and decreases the probability of being in the work force; working decreases the probability of receiving food stamps. Work, TANF, and FSP participation are related, and TANF and FSP participation rates among poor households who are potentially eligible for TANF are sensitive to changes in programme parameters; as expected, labour force participation is affected by the general economic conditions.     

Managed care and the near-elderly: effects of plan enrollment on functionality

This paper examines the effects of enrollment in a health maintenance organization (HMO) or a preferred provider organization (PPO) on the functional status of near-elderly adults (aged 55–64), compared to traditional fee-for-service (FFS) plans. A sample of 1306 near-elderly adults with employer-sponsored health insurance are drawn from the 2000–2002 waves of the Health and Retirement Study, a nationally representative panel survey of community-dwelling adults. Regression models are estimated to assess the effects of different types of insurance plans on functionality, as measured by whether or not the individual has any functional limitations. The potential influence of selection bias into alternative types of plans is addressed by limiting the sample to near-elders without a choice of health plans. The effects of HMOs on functionality are shown to be comparable to those of FFS plans among the general near-elderly population. However, significant adverse effects of HMO enrollment on functional status are observed among near-elders with chronic conditions. PPO enrollees have similar functional outcome to FFS enrollees, even among those with chronic conditions. The observed differences in functional outcome across plans have important implications for the practicality of managed care plans serving older adults.     

Role of gastronomic,externality and feasibility attributes in consumer demand for organic and local foods: The case of honey and apples

Local food systems providing high‐value products are seen as a tool to sustain economic activity on family farms in rural areas. The objective of this study is to investigate the role of gastronomic, externality and feasibility characteristics in consumers' demand for local and for organic foods. An Internet questionnaire survey was conducted in 2010 among Danish consumers. 3211 respondents completed the questionnaire, which included questions about respondents' food‐related values and their specific perception of organic and local varieties of honey and apples. Variables related to consumers' food‐related values and product perception were analysed using principal component analysis, in order to identify overall dimensions (factors) in these variables. Although statements about gastronomic attributes (e.g. taste, appearance, quality) were quite strongly represented in three of these factors, externality and availability concerns also contributed significantly to the overall variation in the variables. Multinomial logit choice modelling was used for describing the relationship between these dimensions and respondents' stated choices regarding organic and local varieties of honey and apples. Results suggest that although both organic and local food supply chains are often associated with special attributes such as gastronomic characteristics and relatively beneficial externality attributes, these attributes are perceived differently for the two types of supply chains. Perceived gastronomic quality is the most important determinant for food choice, but externality and feasibility aspects are also important correlates.     

CEO Bonus Compensation and Bank Default Risk: Evidence from the U.S. and Europe

We investigate the link between the incentive mechanisms embedded in CEO cash bonuses and the riskiness of banks. For a sample of U.S. and European banks, we employ the Merton distance to default model to show that increases in CEO cash bonuses lower the default risk of a bank. However, we find no evidence of cash bonuses exerting a risk‐reducing effect when banks are financially distressed or when banks operate under weak bank regulatory regimes. Our results link bonus compensation in banking to financial stability and caution that attempts to regulate bonus pay need to tailor CEO incentives to the riskiness of banks and to regulatory regimes.     

Wie der deutsche Staat von 2010 bis 2012 konsolidiert hat

The public budget in Germany improved by yy104 billion from 2010 to 2012. It is the most impressive consolidation episode in Germany’s most recent history. The consolidation is broken down into cyclical effects, one-offs and structural effects. Structural effects are further divided into effects that are due to the end of stimulus packages and those due to more recent fi scal policy interventions. Additionally, the impact of structural shifts in the economy and low interest rates are assessed.     

The Stability and Instability of Organic Expenditures in Denmark,Great Britain,and Italy

This article concerns demand for organic foods in 3 European countries: Denmark, Great Britain, and Italy. Based on extensive sets of household panel data we categorize households into 4 groups according to their levels of organic consumption. Importance of sociodemographics is estimated by applying multinomial logit models. In all 3 countries a high organic consumption is mainly found among the more well-situated households in urban areas. Although the relative size of the user groups is fairly stable over time, we find variation in the organic consumption of individual households.     

Evolution and future direction of intensified agriculture in the central mid-hills of Nepal

Nepalese mid-hill farmers have shifted from a subsistence-based farming system to an intensified farming system. This paper attempts to describe the evolution of the process of agricultural intensification in the mid-hill region by examining external drivers, trends in fertilizer use, landholding, cropping patterns, irrigation and labour use in the years 1989, 1999 and 2009. Data were obtained by means of structured interviews, focus group discussions, key informant interviews and field observations. The study revealed that modern technology and the involvement of NGOs have facilitated the agricultural intensification process in three ways: (i) by providing access to technology without any financial cost to the farmer, (ii) by increasing the variety and number of crops and encouraging farmers to discontinue crops that had pest problems and (iii) by maximizing the use of chemical fertilizers to increase production. Results showed a significant increase in the application of urea and diammonium phosphate (DAP) and a decrease in the application of farm yard manure (FYM) and muriate of potash from 1989 to 2009 (p < 0.001). The average landholding of 0.76ha in 1989 was reduced to 0.63ha by 2009. The number of crops (rice, maize or millet) cultivated per year increased to at least three crops with the introduction of potatoes and spring rice; however, some crops such as sugarcane and tobacco were not continued as a result of pest problems. Increased nitrogen input could lead to increased N₂O emissions; therefore, a better understanding of nitrogen fertilization and quantification of N₂O emissions from intensified agriculture is urgently needed to assess the possible environmental impact of input intensification.     

Stochastic better-reply dynamics in finite games

In this paper, we analyze a model where individuals from finite populations are repeatedly drawn to play a finite game and in every period choose a weakly better reply to a sample distribution from a finite history of past play. For all finite games and sufficiently incomplete information, we prove convergence to minimal sets closed under better replies. This result complements previous findings in a deterministic continuous-time framework and implies convergence to strict Nash equilibria in many well-known classes of games.