Unique induced preference representations

Machina [Machina, M.J., 1984. Temporal risk and the nature of induced preferences. Journal of Economic Theory 33, 199–231] considers an individual who has to choose from a set of alternative temporal uncertain prospects, and must take an action before the uncertainty is resolved, seeking to maximize the expected value of an (action determined) von Neumann-Morgenstern utility index. It is natural to ask if the set of underlying von Neumann-Morgenstern utility indices can be uniquely recovered solely on the basis of the thus induced (ordinal) preferences over temporal prospects. Machina’s conclusion is that “ordinal preferences alone will not suffice.” However, we show that it is possible to recover the action–utility set inducing the preferences uniquely if we restrict attention to action–utility sets for which no two actions induce the same preference relation on the space of temporal prospects, no action is redundant, and no action leads to a risk free outcome.     

Core tâtonnement

Two discrete time tâtonnement processes—one featuring successive tâtonnement, the other featuring simultaneous tâtonnement—for the core of coalitional games with transferable utility are introduced. For totally balanced games, the successive core tâtonnement process corresponds to the standard simultaneous price tâtonnement process of competitive equilibrium theory via the Shapley-Shubik (market game-direct market) correspondence. The simultaneous core tâtonnement process is based entirely on the intuition behind the definition of the core for games with transferable utility, and it does not correspond to any evident competitive equilibrium tâtonnement process. Both processes are proven to be globally stable. The two processes offer easily implementable algorithms for approximately computing core points.     

Rhetorical aspects of tour guiding: the Polish case

ABSTRACT

Tour guides are a significant group of stakeholders in the tourism industry. They are responsible for the quality of communication during excursions and ultimately determine the level of satisfaction of tour participants. Therefore, they use a particular language and ways of influencing tourists. This paper investigates whether the particular language of guides contains persuasive means that are crucial for building an effective interpersonal communication. The authors focused on the question of how guides try to create positive relationships with guided groups. They conducted an examination on a group of Wroc?aw city guides during guided walking city tours. In order to complete the research project, qualitative non-participant observation and rhetorical analysis of audio-visual recordings of the guided tours were carried out. This study enabled the key areas of city guides’ communication influence to be specified, and it highlighted deficiencies in their use of some persuasive means. The results may serve as guidelines for improving the communication skills of tourism practitioners.     

A revisit on the tax burden distribution and GDP growth: fresh evidence using a consistent nonparametric test for causality for the USA

We revisited the evidence of Karagianni et al. (Int Rev Econ Fin 21:186–194, 2012) and Tiwari (Econ Bull 32:147–159, 2012) by employing a recently developed and more powerful nonlinear Granger-causality test proposed by Nishiyama et al. (J Econ 165:112–127, 2011) to investigate the existence of Granger-causality from a set of alternative tax burden (ratios) to GDP (per capita GDP), for the period 1947:q1–2009:q3 for the United States of America (USA). The nonlinear Granger-causality test provides strong evidence that personal current taxes and taxes on production and imports Granger-cause GDP and weak evidence that CR Granger-cause GDP. As a consequence, in order to influence (rebalance) the USA’s GDP through taxation, it is recommended to the USA government to adjust the tax structure, focusing on PCT and taxes on production and imports’ shocks. In this case, the tax policy is oriented especially on labour supply and investments.     

Graduate Employability and the Principle of Potentiality: An Aspect of the Ethics of HRM

The recruitment of the next generation of workers is of central concern to contemporary HRM. This paper focuses on university campuses as a major site of this process, and particularly as a new domain in which HRM??s ethical claims are configured, in which it sets and answers a range of ethical questions as it outlines the ??ethos?? of the ideal future worker. At the heart of this ethos lies what we call the ??principle of potentiality??. This principle is explored through a sample of graduate recruitment programmes from the Times Top 100 Graduate Employers, interpreted as ethical exhortations in HRM??s attempt to shape the character of future workers. The paper brings the work of Georg Simmel to the study of HRM??s ethics and raises the uncomfortable question that, within discourses of endless potentiality, lie ethical dangers which bespeak an unrecognised ??tragedy of culture??. We argue that HRM fashions an ethos of work which de-recognises human limits, makes a false promise of absolute freedom, and thus becomes a tragic proposition for the individual.     

Export characteristics and output volatility: comparative firm-level evidence for CEE countries

The literature shows that openness to trade improves long-term growth but also that it may increase exposure to high output volatility. In this vein, our paper investigates whether exporting and export diversification at the firm level have an effect on the output volatility of firms. We use large representative firm-level databases from Estonia, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia over the last boom–bust cycle in 2004–2012. The results confirm that exporting is related to higher volatility at the firm level. There is also evidence that this effect increased during the Great Recession due to the large negative shocks in export markets. We find that export diversification mitigates volatility only in some cases. Exporting more products or serving more markets does not necessarily result in higher stability of firm sales.     

The gravity model,African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and US trade relations with sub-Saharan Africa

The United States of America enacted the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) in 2000 to grant sub-Saharan African countries (SSA) a preferential treatment in their exports to the USA. With this Act, most of the exports from SSA can now enter the USA duty-free, and this is expected to boost the exporting and manufacturing sectors in SSA. Hopefully, this singular act of assistance from the USA will spur entrepreneurship in SSA, thereby creating jobs and jump starting meaningful economic growth in the region. Since trade is a major catalyst in economic development, AGOA is arguably the most meaningful intervention from a developed country to an under-developed region such as SSA in recent times. Has AGOA had any impact on US trade with SSA? This paper sheds some light on this issue by examining the flow and composition of trade between the USA and AGOA countries. The analysis uses trade data (US imports) for 36 countries over 12 years. Empirical estimations based on the gravity model show that receiving AGOA status has a strong positive and significant impact on overall trade with the US. Interestingly, however, the analysis also shows a disproportionate impact of crude oil imports from the oil-producing countries of Angola, Gabon, and Nigeria, which is clearly not the intent of the Act.     

eGovernment—The Next Step Toward Efficient Public Administration

This study analyzes the development level of electronic public services by means of portal <www.e-guvernare.ro>, the single point of access for specific Romanian electronic public services. At the same time, a comparative analysis was conducted having as a purpose an emphasis on the evolution on eGovernement development in Romania within the period of March 2011–August 2012. The results showed lack of commitment of the public administration in Romania in using an entire force offered by the information technology and communication field in supplying public services.