Reviews

Who gets access to training? Machin, S. and Wilkinson, D. 1995: EMPLOYEE TRAINING: UNEQUAL ACCESS AND ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE. London: Institute for Public Policy Research, £3.95 paper.

Spatial planning. Williams, R.H. 1996: EUROPEAN UNION SPATIAL POLICY AND PLANNING. London: Paul Chapman, £16.95 paper.

Small firm growth. Barkham, R., Gudgin, G., Hart, M. and Hanvey, E. 1996:. THE DETERMINANTS OF SMALL FIRM GROWTH: AN INTER-REGIONAL STUDY IN THE UK 1986-90. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, £19.95 paper.

Krakow — transition to capitalism. Hardy, J. and Rainnie, A. 1996:. RESTRUCTURING KRAKOW: DESPERATELY SEEKING CAPITALISM. Mansel, £50.00 cased.     

The Performance of State–Owned Enterprises Revisited

Many theoretical and empirical studies look at the ownership–performance relationship. So far, the literature in finance and in accounting mainly refers to the property rights, agency and public choice theories. Despite the fact that the results of these studies are more or less conclusive, it is usually considered that the private enterprise performs better than the state–owned enterprise. In this article, we argue that these studies suffer from one major limitation. They do not recognize that the goals of the state–owned enterprise are different from the ones espoused by the private firm. Using a sample of state–owned entreprises and private firms for the period 1976–1996, we present empirical evidence that the state–owned enterprises, when their main goal is to maximize profit, perform as well as the privately owned enterprises. Therefore, the alleged under–performance of the state–owned enterprises may only be the result of pursuing other goals while the poor quality of public managers may be another urban myth.     

Financial-market effects of Federal Government budget deficits

Conclusion This paper finds that, for the 30-year period 1955–1984, the federal government budget deficit in the United States had a positive and significant effect on the longer-term nominal interest rate. This finding is at odds with most of the existing literature, which finds federal budget deficits to have no measurable impact upon interest rates in the United States [cf. Evans, 1985; 1987; Hoelscher, 1983; Makin, 1983; Motley, 1983; McMillin, 1986; and Mascaro and Meltzer, 1983]. The difference between the findings here and the findings in these other studies can be traced at least in part to the way in which we specify the deficit variable. That is, we distinguish between thestructural deficit, which approximates theexogenous component of the total deficit, and thecyclical deficit, which represents theendogenous component of the total deficit. By contrast, these other related studies measure the deficit in more aggregated ways, which combine the cyclical deficit with the structural deficit into one variable.     

EU enlargement and the evolution of European production networks

We analyse the regionalisation of the European Union's production networks and the impact of enlargement by looking at trends in trade in intermediate and final products in different types of technology between 1995 and 2007. We find that enlargement has coincided with quite major changes in the structure of trade within and beyond the EU. Overall we find that the new member states of the EU12 have become a more important source of goods both for the sub-region itself and for the EU15.We look at trends in different types of products and technologies. We find that there has been greater regional consolidation of production networks in lower tech goods, while in high tech goods global sources of inputs - especially ASEAN + 3 - are becoming more important. Overall the EU12 is becoming a more important source of both intermediate and final products, especially within its own sub-region. This evolution makes the companies in the sub-region very dependent on the EU home market.     

Online Repurchasing: The Role of Information Disclosure,Hope, and Goal Attainment

The emergence of online purchasing has changed the relationship between consumers and brands. Our research focuses on online information disclosure and consumer hope in an online shopping environment. Two studies are undertaken to test the theoretically derived hypotheses. Study 1 evaluates the causal relationship between information disclosure and hope via an experiment in an online shopping context. Study 2 involves an online survey to test the nomological network presented in this research. The models identify the moderating effect of consumer product knowledge on online information disclosure and consumer hope. For academics, this research advances knowledge of how consumers' confidence in sharing personal information develops hope, consequently enabling them to attain their goals and repeat their purchases. For practitioners, it offers a better understanding of how investments are successful in aiding consumers to attain their goals and generate repeat purchase intentions in an online shopping environment.     

Efficiency,economy and effectiveness—but what about ethics? Supreme audit institutions at a critical juncture

Ethics is increasingly recognized as one of several important dimensions of performance. Yet, performance audit, or value-for-money audit, as conducted by supreme audit institutions (SAIs), does not typically include this dimension. Instead, the focus is on the classical ‘three Es’ (efficiency, economy and effectiveness). The reluctance to address issues of ethical misconduct has taken the audit practice of SAIs to a critical juncture, where the legitimacy of these audits ultimately is at stake. This paper explains why SAIs need to add a fourth ‘E’— ethical audit. Possible implications are discussed.     

Exploring the effectiveness of cigarette warning labels: findings from the United States and United Kingdom arms of the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Four Country Survey

• This paper explores the effectiveness of cigarette warning labels across two countries, one (the UK) with new and stricter legislation where text based labels have been made more prominent and one (the USA) with less stringent regulation, where labels are less visible. Using longitudinal data from the two countries, the research seeks to investigate the impact of the different types of warning labels on the information processing by consumers. This paper assesses the effectiveness of warning labels in terms of: consumer attention, elaboration, contemplation on quitting and behavioural compliance. This study provides a comprehensive examination of these key factors in a fixed causal sequence. Structural equation modelling was used to test this model based on longitudinal panel survey data from the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Four Country Survey. Analysis of a sample of 901 US smokers and 1459 UK smokers yielded results in full support of all hypothesised relationships in the model proposed for both countries. Findings suggest that the new European Union policy of more prominent warning labels has a direct effect on influencing behavioural compliance by smokers.

Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.