Wages,work, and unemployment

This paper provides new evidence on unemployment durations for individuals in Great Britain using a three state Markov framework in a competing risk setting and a nationally representative data set. The analysis is based on the premise that an individual's movements between labour market states can be represented by a Markov process. The modelling procedure combines the dynamic properties of the search approach to unemployment while using the labour supply decision at each moment in time in response to the expected wage to include participation decisions. Using this framework, we are able to determine the effect of individual characteristics, including the expected wage, on labour market behaviour. The model is estimated separately for men and women, and for young and mature workers, to investigate whether labour market behaviour differs for these groups. The validity of the Markov assumptions are tested using different model specifications, and changes in the model over calendar time are also presented.     

A concentration index for differentiated products: the case of religious competition

In the past, scholars have used a Herfindahl–Hirschman Index using denominational market shares to measure the competitiveness of religious markets. However, this approach ignores both the imperfect substitutability between denominations and the degree of competition within denominations. These two shortcomings make the current index a suspect measure of religious competition; it often falsely identifies which market micro-economists would generally consider the more competitive one. We develop a new religious competition index that incorporates intra-denominational competition and creates a ‘substitutability parameter’ to better specify the appropriate degree of inter-denominational competition. While the model developed in this article applies specifically to religious markets, our index of competition could be expanded to other economic markets where such a substitutability parameter is meaningful.     

An emprical model of the demand for a varied diet

This study attempts to measure some aspects of the household's demand for a varied die by invesigaing how he number of individual foods consumed b he household is affeced b is preferences and food expendiure. A heoriical model suggesed b household production theory is adopted to empirical data from a cross-section of households. It is found that the number of individual foods consumed is strongly responsive to househjold expenditure on all foods.     

Lean and mean in the civil service: the case of processing in HMRC

The public sector has been importing private sector methods and practices aimed at generating efficiencies and cost savings. However, the consequences of these changes on the working lives of civil servants are under-researched. This article uses detailed fieldwork to investigate the impact of Lean on labour processes in HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). We argue that Lean has a detrimental effect on employees, their working lives, and the service that is provided to the public. The consequences of Lean on public sector work are highly problematic, which is of serious concern given its progressive impact on other civil service departments in the UK.     

Positive versus negative comparison in advertisements: the affect priming perspective

Abstract

Comparison valence is an important element in comparative advertising. In this research, we investigated how comparison valence influences advertising effectiveness and explored the role of affect underlying such effects. The results of two studies consistently confirmed that a positive comparison elicited more favorable ad attitude and brand attitude than a negative comparison and consumers’ affective states accounted for their preference for the positive comparison. Moreover, we found some preliminary evidence suggesting that the preference for a positive message may be more remarkable in comparative advertisements than noncomparative advertisements. However, this proposition needs further validation in future research.     

Product Characteristics and the Effectiveness of Dow’s Countermeasure for Predatory Pricing

Predatory pricing theoretically occurs when a firm cuts its price below cost with the intention of driving competitors out of the market so that the predatory firm can then act as a monopolist. Herbert H. Dow, founder of the Dow Chemical Company, saw his company face such a predator, the German Bromkonvention, in the American market for bromine in the early 20^th century. Dow responded with an ingenious gambit – he secretly purchased the low cost German bromine and then repackaged and resold it on the European market at a profit. This case has been offered as evidence that predatory pricing is unlikely to exist in the real world, since the prey can simply do what Dow did. This paper explores the product and market attributes that must be present in order for the Dow Gambit, or variations of it, to be used as a successful countermeasure for predatory pricing. We examine product and market attributes in 15 other well-known cases of predatory pricing to gain some empirical insight. In only two of these were the product and market characteristics as favorable for the prey to employ the Dow Gambit as they were toward Dow himself. We conclude that the Dow Gambit can only be employed in a narrow set of circumstances     

Combining Household Income and Expenditure Data in Policy Simulations

The analysis of the distributional impact of fiscal policy proposals often requires information on household expenditures and incomes. It is unusual to have one data source with information on both and this problem is generally overcome with statistical matching of independent data sources. In this paper Grade Correspondence Analysis (GCA) is investigated as a tool to improve the matching process. GCA draws out the relationships between the common variables to enable the sample to be partitioned into more homogeneous groups, prior to matching. An evaluation is conducted using the UK Family Expenditure Survey, which is unusual in containing both income and expenditure at a detailed level of disaggregation. Imputed expenditures are compared with actual expenditures through the use of indirect tax simulations. The most successful methods are then employed to enhance data from the Family Resources Survey and the synthetic dataset is used as a microsimulation model database.     

Tied Down Or Room To Move? Investigating The Relationships Between Housing Tenure,Employment Status And Residential Mobility In Britain

Using data from the British Household Panel Survey, we investigate the relationships between labour market dynamics, housing tenure and residential mobility. Panel data allow the study of the sequence of household moves and individual labour market status changes, enabling unique analysis of the relationship between job and residential mobility. Our findings suggest that the unemployed are more likely to move than employees. A desire to move motivated by employment reasons has the single largest positive impact on the probability of moving between regions.