THE PRIVATE RATIONALITY OF BOTTLED WATER DRINKING

This article examines evidence for the private rationality of decisions to choose bottled water using a large, nationally representative sample. Consumers are more likely to believe that bottled water is safer or tastes better if they have had adverse experiences with tap water or live in states with more prevalent violations of EPA water quality standards. Perceptions of superior safety, taste, and convenience of bottled water boost consumption of bottled water. Blacks and Hispanics are more likely to drink bottled water due to their relatively greater exposure to unsafe water and greater risk beliefs. The coherent network of experiences, beliefs, and actions is consistent with rational consumer choice. (JEL D12, D80, Q50)     

Breeding and raiding: A theory of strategic production of skills

Some of the skills that firms require are obtained only through on-the-job-training. This paper concentrates on the strategic production of skills within the firm. Firms obtain high-quality workers either by training their own (breeding) or by using the open market to bid away workers trained by other firms (raiding). Even when all firms have access to the same technology of production, training, and breeding, it will typically be the case that both breeding and raiding will be pursued, with equal profitability, in equilibrium. Thus, we explain raiding behavior as part of an equilibrium theory. This paper also studies the effect of the decision to train workers on the optimal firm size and the distribution of income.     

Understanding accounting through conceptual metaphor: ACCOUNTING IS AN INSTRUMENT?

This paper extends the conversation about metaphors in accounting that were presented in this journal by McGoun et al. [McGoun EG, Bettner MS, Coyne MP. Pedagogic metaphors and the nature of accounting signification. Critical Perspectives on Accounting 2007a;18:213–30; McGoun EG, Bettner MS, Coyne MP. Money n’ motion—born to be wild. Critical Perspectives on Accounting;2007b;18:343–61.]. Our aim is to promote further critical conversations about how metaphor is implicated in accounting. We assemble and review some of the empirical evidence we have gathered from close readings of discourse about accounting over the past decade. Based on this empirical grounding, we propose that the fundamental conceptual metaphor, ACCOUNTING IS AN INSTRUMENT, has been deployed commonly to describe the essence of accounting. We contend that such deployment has insidious, distortive and confounding outcomes because it encourages belief that accounting is incapable of reporting other than with representational faithfulness; and that it confounds the (alleged) primary qualitative characteristics of accounting information (relevance and reliability) outlined in the Financial Accounting Standards Board's SFAC 2 Qualitative Characteristics of Accounting.     

Modeling US inflation dynamics: persistence and monetary policy regimes

This paper employs the recently developed structural stability test with multiple regime shifts and grid bootstrapping methods to model US inflation dynamics over the past half century. Our empirical results suggest that the persistence of inflation has witnessed significant declines over the most recent period of low inflation and this helps to embed a low inflation environment. The finding is robust to a variety of measures of the inflation series and offers new insight on understanding the stationarity issue of the US inflation series. The authors gratefully acknowledge the two anonymous referees for helpful comments and suggestions, which have led to substantial improvements in the paper. They also wish to thank participants at the 3rd Symposium on Econometric Theory and Applications, and seminar participants at the University of Manchester and Renmin University of China, for useful comments, with particular thanks to Denise Osborn and Jushan Bai for their constructive suggestions. Chengsi Zhang acknowledges support from the China National Social Science Research Fund, Grant No. 08CJY048.     

A dynamic segmentation of U.S. women during the COVID-19 pandemic

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a vast, but uneven, influence on consumers. Diversity in consumer reactions, and the extent to which those reactions lead to lasting preference and lifestyle changes, present challenges for implementing effective marketing strategies during a period of societal crisis. To address this, we conducted a dynamic segmentation analysis involving over 14,000 U.S. women by assessing relevant psychological, experiential, and other personal factors at multiple time points during the pandemic. This analysis identified seven unique consumer segments who varied in their current and future degree of change, and who indicated responsiveness to specific forms of brand and advertising content. This seven-segment clustering was highly stable over time, suggesting that certain segmentation approaches hold continuing value for marketers even as widespread events like pandemics evolve.     

In defence of generalized Darwinism

Darwin himself suggested the idea of generalizing the core Darwinian principles to cover the evolution of social entities. Also in the nineteenth century, influential social scientists proposed their extension to political society and economic institutions. Nevertheless, misunderstanding and misrepresentation have hindered the realization of the powerful potential in this longstanding idea. Some critics confuse generalization with analogy. Others mistakenly presume that generalizing Darwinism necessarily involves biological reductionism. This essay outlines the types of phenomena to which a generalized Darwinism applies, and upholds that there is no reason to exclude social or economic entities.

Impact management,worst scenatrio: possible technological strategic options

Analysis of the present situation and future predictions leaves no doubt of the inevitability of progressive degradation of the ecosytem. A worst scenatio is an option which has to be considered in any strategic planning. Mistaken assessment, focussing on modern technology as teh cause rather than the agent porducing the current devastation, has called for its drastic curtailment. This would not help matters—in fact, technology may yet save the situation: by building refuges, in attempting to reverse the processes which undermine it, and in helping adaptations to present conditions, not only throuht mechanical devices but also through bioengineering. concurrently the main reasons for the plight of the planet—over-population, overkill and waste—have to be tackled. This can only be accomplished by a complete change in ethical standards—the taming of the ’genetic ethics‘ of growth and dominance and the institution of a new mnorality.     

做到公平为何如此之难？

人人皆知做到公平花费寥寥而收获颇丰。但为何只有很少一部分主管才能成功地做到,尽管他们中的大部分是有此想法的呢?当A公司要裁员时,它斥巨资为被其解雇的员工提供安全网。公司与雇员断绝关系的解雇一揽子安排包含有:好几周的薪水,广泛的新职介绍咨询,以及长达一年的健康保险。但