Dietary patterns and body mass indices among adults in Korea: evidence from pseudo panel data

The debate over the association between dietary patterns and obesity has not been settled in the literature. Some studies suggest that there are significant differences in mean body mass index across dietary patterns whereas other studies refute that result. The objective of this study is to test whether dietary patterns have a significant effect on body mass index in Korean adults when controlling for calorie intake and several sociodemographic factors. We present new evidence derived from pseudo panel data created from a series of cross‐sections. Our results from the pseudo panel analysis show that some of the dietary patterns that were identified from the Korean adults’ food intake survey have a significant effect on body mass index. Specifically, males with the “beef and processed food” (P < 0.05), or “pork and alcohol” (P < 0.05) dietary pattern had significantly higher BMIs, whereas females with the “fast food” (P < 0.1) or “ramen and bakery” (P < 0.01) dietary pattern had higher BMI.     

CEO's Operating Ability and the Association between Accruals and Future Cash Flows

This study investigates whether an individual CEO's operating ability, operationalized as the extent to which an individual CEO utilizes the company's assets efficiently to generate profits, explains the association between accruals and future cash flows. While this mapping can be driven by both the quality of accounting measurement and CEO operating ability, there is little empirical evidence on the latter link. After controlling for the CEO's accounting estimation ability, we find that the association between current period accruals and future cash flows is stronger when the CEO demonstrates superior operating ability. This suggests that a CEO's operating ability is an important determinant of the informativeness of current accruals for future cash flows.     

The Influence of an Observer’s Value Orientation and Personality Type on Attitudes Toward Whistleblowing

This study examines the influence of an observer’s value orientation and personality type on attitudes toward whistleblowing. Based on a review of the literature we generated three hypotheses to explain the relationship between these two factors and attitudes toward whistleblowing, and these were tested using data collected from 490 university students in South Korea. The survey comprises two parts, a measure of MBTI personality types, and a section assessing value orientations and attitudes toward whistleblowing. Regression analysis was conducted to clarify the influence of the independent variables. The study offers two main contributions. First, it examines what role an observer’s value orientation and personality type play in determining the attitudes. Second, it provides insights into designing customized ethical training programs and developing policy aimed at changing negative attitudes toward whistleblowing.     

Does Korea follow Japan in foreign aid? Relationships between aid and foreign investment

Korea, an emerging donor country, largely considers its economic relations to recipients when allocating its aid. Such practices were preceded by Japan before the 1990s. We expect those similar practices between the two countries will make resemblance in aid outcomes. On a macro-level, we show similarities in aid allocations by type, region, income, and sector. The similarities are ascertained also at a micro-level by our statistical analysis on the relationships between aid and FDI. The analysis based on the FDI gravity model and panel dynamic system GMM estimation shows that only aids from Korea and Japan create more inflow of FDI into their respective recipient developing countries. Those are contrasted with other donors’ aids, which are not related to FDI or the substitute for FDI.     

Income Inequality and Economic Progress

A bstract . The institutionalist approach to income distribution and economic progress is compared to the conventional approaches such as neo classical and neo-Keynesian schools. A two step causal model reflecting the institutionalist view on the relationship of these two variables is constructed. The empirical results show that the greater the inequality in the distribution of personal incomes, the greater the level of socio- political instability , and that the greater the level of socio-political instability, the slower the economic progress.     

Welfare Implications of RTAs Within the WTO System in the Presence of FDI

We examine the welfare implications of the two major types of regional trade agreements (RTAs)—free trade agreements (FTAs) and customs unions (CUs)—within the WTO system in the presence of FDI. To do so, we analyze multilateral tariff cooperation in the context of two types of WTO regimes: a pure WTO regime without any RTAs and a modified WTO regime in which RTAs coexist with the multilateral framework. Our main finding is that in the presence of significant foreign ownership, RTAs within a multilateral system do not raise the national welfare of its members, thereby weakening the incentives of countries to form RTAs.     

The impact of technology advancement strategies on consumers' patronage decisions

Among the many factors that encourage return patronage of incumbent technology, two that have received scholarly attention in other contexts are network externalities and switching costs. However, the roles of network externalities and switching costs in encouraging return patronage of technology have not yet been subjected to rigorous empirical testing. Furthermore, no examination has been conducted of the degree to which these factors play a role in the success or failure of corporate technology advancement strategies designed to encourage return patronage. In this context, we propose a systematic framework to explore the nature of the links between technology advancement strategies and consumer technology patronage via network externalities and switching costs. Based on consumer survey data from South Korea, we find empirical support for the link between technology advancement strategies and consumers' technology patronage. Specifically, both network externalities and switching costs are found to be positively associated with technology patronage. According to this study, consumers value compatibility because it gives them access to a larger network. Further, compatibility strategy is associated with the costs involved in switching away from incumbent technology because of an abundant or varied supply of complementary goods. The results also show that preannouncement is a key marketing strategy to achieve favorable expectations and to retain the patronage of current technology users. © 2002 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.