Wal-Mart’s Impact on Local Revenue and Expenditure Instruments in Ohio, 1988–2003

This research estimates fiscal impacts of Wal-Mart in Ohio from 1985 through 2003. Using a panel of counties, and accounting for spatial autocorrelation in an instrumental variable model I estimate impact of Wal-Mart and Super-Centers on selected revenues and transfer payments. Among the findings is that the presence of a Wal-Mart increases local commercial property tax assessments resulting in collection increases of between $350,000 and $1.3 million. There is also an 18–43% reduction in per capita EITC claims in a county. However, Medicaid expenditures experience growth which amount to roughly 16 additional cases attributable to a single Wal-Mart. The magnitude and statistical certainty of these findings, suggests that local fiscal intervention, either through incentives or a “Wal-Mart Tax” is unwarranted.

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Methoden der empirischen Makroökonomik

Selten hat die Vergabe des Preises für Wirtschaftswissenschaften der schwedischen Reichsbank eine so kritische Diskussion ausgel?st wie in diesem Jahr. W?hrend das Preiskomitee die Leistungen von Thomas Sargent und Christopher Sims auf dem Gebiet der empirischen Makro?konomik würdigt, sehen Kritiker in ihnen Mainstream-Theoretiker, die Politikineffektivit?t predigen und an effi ziente M?rkte glauben. Nach ihrer Auffassung ist die Vergabe gerade vor dem Hintergrund der Finanzkrise der letzten Jahre hochgradig problematisch. Hat sich das Preiskomitee tats?chlich geirrt oder ist die Kritik letztlich unberechtigt?     

Why do employees keep choosing the high-premium health care plan? An investigation of the financial consequences and logic of employee health care plan selections

In 1991, Dannon employees had the choice to stay with their current health care plan or switch to a new plan which offered a lower premium and less hospital cost coverage that better fit the needs of most employees. Both plans were the same in all other respects. Only 25% of employees chose the new lower-premium plan over the old plan. This article reports a collaborative effort between The Dannon Company and Cornell University's Center for Advanced HR Studies to identify the patterns of employee choices, and the effects of those choices on the actual costs that employees incurred. The actual decisions of 287 Dannon employees were examined, and the out-of-pocket costs that they actually incurred in the two years after the plan was introduced were calculated. © 1996 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

On the perceived usefulness of scaling techniques in market analysis

This study examines the perceived usefulness of alternative spatial and tree-based similarity scaling techniques in a market analysis task. These techniques are typically evaluated on their ability to fit or explain customer input data. The psychological reaction of individuals who use these techniques to analyze markets has been largely ignored. The study reveals that spatial representations are perceived as more useful than tree-based clustering techniques, even though the latter provide a better fit to customer perceptions. The results have implications for both the use and development of scaling techniques in psychology and marketing. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

The impact of the internet upon fundraising

Through research on a sample of the top 2000 charities, the Voluntary Organisations Internet Server (VOIS) revealed the potential for a major initiative to provide the opportunity for voluntary organisations to create a quality brand of information on the Internet by coming together on a collective site. The Internet is an ideal medium for voluntary organisations to get their message across, build relationships and raise funds. VOIS has been designed specifically to facilitate these activities and provide the means to a collective presence. While it is mainly large organisations that are using it at the moment, the Internet represents the opportunity for smaller organisations to have a substantial presence because of its democratic nature. VOIS has utilised the principle of economies of scale in order that all organisations can afford to have a useful presence on the Internet. This paper will examine fundraising activities that are already occurring on the Internet, analyse the strengths of the Internet as a marketing tool, explain how marketers can utilise these strengths and explain how VOIS has tried to facilitate these strengths within the features of its standardised site.