Job Satisfaction and Quitting Intentions: A Structural Model of British General Practitioners

A structural model of job satisfaction and quitting intentions is estimated using data from a survey of general practitioners in the UK. Previous research has used reduced form models, making the interpretation of coefficients problematic. The use of a structural recursive model helps to clarify the relationships between intentions to quit, overall job satisfaction, domains of job satisfaction and personal and job characteristics. Job and personal characteristics have a direct effect on job satisfaction in addition to their indirect impact through job satisfaction domains. Job satisfaction domains have a direct effect on intentions to quit, in addition to their effect via overall job satisfaction. The structural approach provides a richer interpretation of the role and effect of job characteristics on job satisfaction and intentions to quit than is found in previous research. This is particularly relevant in some public sector labour markets, where the opportunity to alter wages to compensate for the relative advantages and disadvantages of jobs is limited because of national wage bargaining.     

A Framework for Managing the Biophysical Effects of Tourism on the Natural Environment in New Zealand

Tourists in New Zealand often impact on the natural environments that are the very reason for their visits. It is, therefore, necessary to manage those natural environments to help ensure that tourism is an environmentally sustainable activity. To assist that management process, it is helpful to establish an overarching classification framework so that consistent guidelines and environmental performance standards can be applied. This paper describes a framework for management of the biophysical impacts of tourism using a natural environment classification of the assets visited by tourists. 'Best available information' is then used to develop indicators of environmental change and associated guidelines for management at a range of levels. As a minimum, broad guidelines can be developed for the upper levels of each component of the classification. More detailed and site-specific guidelines are available in some circumstances, where appropriate research has been undertaken. Ongoing evaluation of the combination of indicators and guidelines establishes if the natural attraction is being sustainably managed. The system has been applied to 'scenic icons', wildlife attractions and caves on the West Coast of the South Island.     

Farm size and the determinants of productive efficiency in the Brazilian Center-West

This paper explores the determinants of technical efficiency, and the relationship between farm size and efficiency, in the Center-West of Brazil. This is the region where agricultural production and total factor productivity have grown the fastest since 1970. It is also a region characterised by unusually large farms. Technical efficiency is studied with Data Envelopment Analysis and county level data disaggregated by farm size and type of land tenure. The efficiency measure is regressed on a set of explanatory variables which includes farm size, type of land tenure, composition of output, access to institutions and indicators of technology and input usage. The relationship between farm size and efficiency is found to be non-linear, with efficiency first falling and then rising with size. Type of land tenure, access to institutions and markets, and modern inputs are found to be important determinants of the differences in efficiency across farms.     

Effects of Supply Chain Management on Tomato Export in Iran: Application of Structural Equation Modeling

Although Iran is one of the top 10 countries in the world that produce tomatoes, the level that they are exported into the global market is low. This issue may have resulted from a major problem within tomatoes’ supply chain management. This paper aims to develop an empirical model of the supply chain management (SCM) of tomato companies. Throughout the reviewed literature, a SCM construct with different six indicators has been developed, including information sharing, long-term relationship, cooperation, quality, flexibility, and delivery. In this study, the influence of the SCM components on tomato export was identified through the use of empirical data that were collected from 20 different tomato companies in Northeast Iran. Using structural equation modeling, the major elements of SCM were found to have significant impacts on the export of tomatoes. The results also showed that information sharing, cooperation, flexibility, quality, and delivery had significant positive effects on the export of tomatoes.     

The Demand for Vices in Malaysia: An Ethnic Comparison Using Household Expenditure Data

A trivariate Tobit system is estimated to investigate the demand for vices (tobacco, alcohol, and gambling) in Malaysia. Estimation results, segmented by ethnicity, suggest that years of formal education, occupation type, and household head’s age negatively affect both the likelihood to spend and the overall amounts spent on tobacco by all Malaysians. Additionally, while higher income Malay households are more likely to spend and have higher tobacco expenditures, affluent Chinese and households of other races are more likely to spend and to spend more on smoking, drinking and gambling. Male-headed households of all races are more likely to spend and also spend more on smoking, drinking and gambling than female-led households.     

An Examination of Alternative Approaches to Risk Management and Insurance Research

Much current risk management and insurance research follows a pattern prescribed by the science paradigm. This article discusses some well-recognized problems associated with the science paradigm, and then presents several alternatives that can supplement the science paradigm, thereby broadening and deepening the scope of risk management and insurance research and education.     

Housing Tenure Choice in Australia and the United States: Impacts of Alternative Subsidy Policies

This article compares the homeownership rates of young households in Australia and the United States and evaluates the impacts of the two countries' different approaches to subsidizing homeownership. Since about 1950, Australia's rate of homeownership has consistently been higher than that of the United States. The homeownership rate for young adults is also significantly higher in Australia. While the United States allows mortgage interest and property taxes to be deducted from income for tax purposes, Australia has provided cash subsidies for down payments and mortgage payments. We conclude that differences in housing costs and household characteristics do not explain differences in ownership rates. We also conclude that differences in subsidy policies have only a minor impact on ownership rates.     

Quasi- and Simulated-Likelihood Approaches to Censored Demand Systems: Food Consumption by Food Stamp Recipients in the United States

A quasi-maximum-likelihood estimator is proposed and applied to a censored Translog demand system for foods, using a sample of food stamp recipients in the United States. The procedure produces remarkably close parameter and elasticity estimates to those of the simulated-maximum-likelihood procedure. A two-step procedure is also considered but it produces different elasticities. Demands are found to be price elastic for pork and fish but price inelastic for all other food products. Gross complementarity and net substitutability are obvious but these cross-price effects are much less pronounced than own-price and total food expenditure effects.     

The emergence of the maker movement: Implications for entrepreneurship research

The maker movement has been touted as a harbinger of the next industrial revolution. Through shared access to tools and digital fabrication technologies, makers can act as producers in the sharing economy and potentially increase entrepreneurship rates, catalyze advanced manufacturing, and spur economic development. We develop a model of the maker movement configured around social exchange, technology resources, and knowledge creation and sharing. We highlight opportunities for studying the conditions under which the movement might foster entrepreneurship outcomes and discuss how research on the maker movement can deepen our understanding of entrepreneurial teams and corporate entrepreneurship.