Marketing supplementary food products in LDCs: A case study in Morocco

Developing country governments as well as a number of international agencies have become directly involved in the past two decades in the production and marketing of supplementary food products. This article discusses the Moroccan government's involvement in introducing a weaning food targeted for elaborates on the factors which contributed contributedm to the failure of this and other similar ventures, while drawing attention to the important low-income Moroccan children. It role that marketing plays in launching socially desirable food products in developing country environments.     

A New Data Set Measuring Income Inequality

This article presents a new data set on inequality in the distributionof income. The authors explain the criteria they applied inselecting data on Gini coefficients and on individual quintilegroups' income shares. Comparison of the new data set with existingcompilations reveals that the data assembled here representan improvement in quality and a significant expansion in coverage,although differences in the definition of the underlying datamight still affect intertemporal and international comparability.Based on this new data set, the authors do not find a systematiclink between growth and changes in aggregate inequality. Theydo find a strong positive relationship between growth and reductionof poverty.     

Explaining auditors’ propensity to issue going‐concern opinions in Australia after the global financial crisis

We document an increase in auditors issuing going‐concern opinions in Australia over a prolonged period since the Global Financial Crisis that is not fully explained by changes in client risk. Overall, our evidence is consistent with auditors reporting more conservatively with the increased level of scrutiny from Australian Securities and Investments Commission inspections and other increased regulation, and in particular, the negative attention following the 2011–2012 inspections. As a result, auditor reports with reference to going‐concern issues have become less informative regarding future corporate failure.     

Investment banking in the gulf: A case study of investcorp in bahrain

Investcorp is a low-profile investment banking company that was originally founded on the tiny island of Bahrain in the Arabian Gulf. Although little known to the general public, the company is a major player in North American and European investment markets. This case study presents a profile of the company, its founder, Nemir Kirdar, and his three “founding friends.” It relates details of the company's successes and explores how these were achieved. As most of the original Management Committee members are preparing to retire, efforts are being made to ensure the continuing prosperity of the company. This requires the risky step of appointing an almost completely new management team. Readers are invited to reflect on the likely success of this strategy and whether Investcorp's focus on North America and Europe remains appropriate in a global marketplace.     

Professor Mirrlees' Contribution to Economic Policy

This paper looks at Professor Mirlees' important contribution to the theory and practice of project evaluation. Despite the apparent relevance of this work to practical policy making, the approach has had only limited application. The paper explores why the Little-Mirrlees' technique of project evaluation has been less widely used than was initially anticipated. Given this disappointing use, the paper argues that Professor Mirrlees' main contribution to economic policy lay in the powerful support his work gave to trade liberalization.     

A mechanism for reducing small-business customer waiting-line dissatisfaction

This paper presents a technique whereby a small business (i.e. a one-cash register operation) can reduce customer waiting-line time dissatisfaction in the purchase stage of the consumer decision process. When the queue length reaches or exceeds critical value N^*, another employee is temporarily transferred to the role of ‘server assistant’ to increase the effective service rate; when the queue length eventually decreases to a second critical value N_*, the server assistant returns to primary duties. An optimal customer-reneging decision model is utilized to model the reneging character of the queue. Simulation experiments confirm key hypotheses concerning the behaviour of the queue and compare the effectiveness of a computed (N^*, N_*) policy with that of alternatives.     

Alternative radio licensing arrangements: A case study of the multipoint distribution service

Currently, the FCC assigns radio licences after making a determination of the public interest. Conflicting licence applications are resolved through comparative hearings. This mechanism is cumbersome and unreliable. This article analyses three alternatives: Increasing the available spectrum; an auction; or, lottery of radio licences. The analysis deals specifically with the Multipoint Distribution Service (MDS). The analysis suggests that increasing the spectrum allocation will create more assignments than will be demanded by MDS. Rough calculations suggest that auctions offer a more efficient selection mechanism. Lotteries with resale of the license are better than hearings, but not as good as auctions.