Do disclosure attempts influence claim believability and perceived advertiser credibility?

Comparative messages, two-sided messages, and messages containing product performance test results represent several methods by which advertisers may attempt to provide greater amounts of information to buyers. The use of one or more of these methods may have positive or negative influence on several dimensions of advertisement effectiveness. The purpose of the factorial-designed laboratory study reported here was to explore the effects on these information disclosure attempts in print advertisements on a reader's confidence in product claims and on his or her perceived credibility of the advertiser.     

A Bug Is a Bug Is a Bug: Symbolic Responses to Contingent Valuation Questions about Forest Pest control programs?

Symbolic responses are one of many issues attending contingent valuation studies. The problem is that many objects that are the subject of contingent valuation surveys can act as symbols for larger issues. In this paper, we want to compare the attitudes of residents of five communities with two different forest pests, jack pine budworm and gypsy moth. Jack pine budworm affects commercially important forests in Canada, while gypsy moth generally affects recreational areas and has less commercial significance. All of the respondents were asked about both insects; however, not all of the communities had direct experience with both insects. The purpose is to examine whether respondents would differentiate their willingness to pay for control mechanisms between these different defoliators. The implication is that all bugs are alike and generally noxious, a notion that would not necessarily sit well with resource managers who have to deal with insect outbreaks. Respondents did not differentiate strongly between insect control programs that would impact their community and those that would not. While not conclusive, the results do suggest symbolic responses to this particular issue. This is further evidence that willingness-to-pay results from contingent valuation studies need to be cautiously interpreted as pseudo market values.     

Tax Rules and the Sale and Leaseback of Corporate Real Estate

This study examines the effect of the sale and leaseback of corporate real estate on the stock prices of the selling firms. We ask whether the Tax Reform Act of 1986 (TRA 1986) had a negative impact on the market valuation effects of corporate sale and leasebacks. The results of the comparative statics analysis predict that the net present value of the lessee should be negatively related to the tax depreciation recovery life for the lessor and to the marginal ordinary income tax rate of the marginal holder of commercial mortgage debt. However, it should be positively related to the marginal tax rate of the equityholder of the corporate lessee. Changes in the marginal ordinary income tax rates of the lessor and the corporate lessee have an ambiguous effect on the equity value of the corporate lessee. Nevertheless, results of simulation analyses suggest that the relationship between the net present value of the lessee and each of the tax rates of the lessor and corporate lessee is negative. The empirical evidence suggests that subsequent to TRA 1986, the lessee's benefits associated with sale and leaseback transactions have decreased.     

Share Ribs and Income Distribution*

The connection between changes in commodity prices and the distribution of income is a question of active interest since the 1941 Stolper-Samuelson Theorem. In higher dimensions results are obtained only if structure is imposed. Here we assume that each of n-industries is alike in the shape of the profile (rib) of distributive factor shares with a permutation of factor numbering such that industry n is most intensive in factor n. Such a structure reveals either a strong version of the Stolper Samuelson Theorem or a Neighborhood oscillation pattern depending on the shape of the share ribs.     

Crop Selection and Implications for Profits and Wind Erosion in a Semi-Arid Environment

A daily crop growth simulation model was applied to four dryland cropping systems to estimate the profit distributions for each of four price series under stochastic weather conditions on the Southern High Plains of Texas. Stochastic dominance with respect to a function was utilized to rank each crop rotation for different risk-averse intervals. Solutions from the model indicate that long-term average annual soil loss due to wind erosion was a function of the producer's risk aversion, price expectation, and discount rate which affect the optimal crop rotation selection.     

Consequences of extended work hours: A comparison of moonlighters,overtimers, and modal employees

Stringent corporate controls on employee moonlighting and/or overtime are not uncommon. But are they necessary? Even the concept of overtime may need to be rethought—what about the “normal working hours” of managers and professionals who work hours at home or on the road—hours typically uncompensated?     

Consumers' mood states: Antecedents and consequences of experiential versus informational strategies for brand choice

The relationship between mood (an affective state variable) and choice strategies that are primarily affective (experiential strategy) or cognitive (informational strategy) is examined with a literature review and an empirical study. Findings suggest consumers in positive moods may be more likely to use an experiential strategy than those in negative moods, and consumers in negative moods may be more likely to use an informational strategy than those in positive moods. Results also suggest consumers in positive moods who use an experiential strategy may have more positive post-processing moods than those who use an informational strategy, and consumers in negative moods who use an informational strategy may have more positive and post-processing moods than those who use an experiential strategy. The implications of these findings are discussed and suggestions for further research are provided.