Reviews

PLACE PROMOTION.

Gold, J.R. and Ward, S.V. (eds) 1994: Place Promotion; The Use of Publicity and Marketing to Sell Towns and Regions. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons Ltd, £35, cased.

INWARD INVESTMENT.

Hill, S. and Munday, M. 1994: The Regional Distribution of Foreign Manufacturing Investment in the UK. London: Macmillan Press Ltd. £35, cased.

COMMUNITIES AND CARING.

Mayo, M. 1994: Communities and Caring: The Mixed Economy of Welfare. Macmillan (UK), and St Martin's Press (USA), £10.99, paper.

COMMUNITY PROFILING.

Hawtin, M., Hughes, G. and Percy-Smith, J. 1994: Community Profiling: Auditing Social Needs. Buckingham: Open University Press, £12.99, paper.

SUSTAINABILITY.

Hams, T., Jacobs, M., Levett, R., Lusser, H., Morphet, J. and Taylor, D. 1994: Greening Your Local Authority. Harlow: Longman, £25, paper.

URBAN POLICY.

1994: Urban Policy: The Challenge and the Opportunity. London: Association of Metropolitan Authorities in conjunction with the Association of County Councils and the Association of District Councils, £10 (£8 to the voluntary sector), paper.

POLICY ON INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY.

Ball, R. and Pratt, A.C. (eds) 1994: Industrial Property: Policy and economic development London: Routledge.     

Estimating the incidence of wrongdoing and whistle-blowing: Results of a study using randomized response technique

Student cheating and reporting of that cheating represents one form of organizational wrong-doing and subsequent whistle-blowing, in the context of an academic organization. Previous research has been hampered by a lack of information concerning the validity of survey responses estimating the incidence of organizational wrongdoing and whistle-blowing. An innovative method, the Randomized Response Technique (RRT), was used here to assess the validity of reported incidences of wrongdoing and whistle-blowing. Surprisingly, our findings show that estimates of these incidences did not vary significantly when RRT questionnaire results were compared to those obtained from standard surveys. In fact, a large number of business undergraduates admitted cheating while only a small percentage reported peers' cheating when they observed it. These results should be sobering for managers and their implications are considered in some detail.Brian K. Burton is a doctoral student in strategic management as well as managing editor ofBusiness Horizons, the interdisciplinary business journal published by Indiana University. His research interests include business ethics, stakeholder analysis, corporate political activity, and nontraditional approaches to management.Janet P. Near is Professor and Chairperson, Management Dept., and Adjunct Professor, Sociology Dept., Indiana University. Her research interests include: (a) whistle-blowing in organizations and (b) the relationship between work and non-work domains of life, focusing especially on the correlation between job satisfaction and life satisfaction. She has published several articles on these topics and, with Marcia Miceli, a book on whistle-blowing.     

Economic Newspeak

Not all developments in economic thought are to be welcomed. In the first of an occasional series, economist John Burton casts a suitably jaundiced eye over recently debased terminology.     

An examination of market efficiency: Information order effects in a laboratory market

A series of laboratory double auction experiments is conducted to examine whether the order of information releases affects market prices. Behavioral research on belief revision has shown that individuals are influenced by the order in which a series of information items is presented. The experiments are designed to provide a controlled investigation of whether order effects as displayed by individuals also can influence prices in a market setting where outcomes are not a simple aggregation of individual behavior. Significant evidence is found of a recency effect in the experimental asset markets.     

Resolving questions about bias in real and hypothetical referenda

Despite 10 years of research on behavior in hypothetical referenda, conflict remains in the literature on whether or not the mechanism generates biased responses compared to real referenda, and the nature and source of any such bias. Almost all previous inquiry in respect of this issue has concentrated on bias at the aggregate level. This paper reports a series of three experiments which focuses on bias at the individual level and how this can translate to bias at the aggregate level. The authors argue that only an individual approach to hypothetical bias is consistent with the concept of incentive compatibility. The results of these experiments reflect these previous conflicting findings but go on to show that individual hypothetical bias is a robust result driven by the differing influence of pure self-interest and other- regarding preferences in real and hypothetical situations, rather than by a single behavioral theory such as free riding. In a hypothetical situation these preferences cause yea-saying and non-demand revealing voting. This suggests that investigation of individual respondents in other hypothetical one-shot binary choices may also provide us with insights into aggregate behavior in these situations. Alphabetical list of authors no seniority of authorship attributed.     

How Subprime Borrowers and Mortgage Brokers Shared the Pie

We develop an equilibrium model for origination fees charged by mortgage brokers and show how the equilibrium fee distribution depends on borrowers' valuation for their loans and their information about fees. We use noncrossing quantile regressions and data from a large subprime lender to estimate conditional fee distributions. Given the fee distribution, we identify the distributions of borrower valuations and informedness. The level of informedness is higher for larger loans and in better educated neighborhoods. We quantify the fraction of the surplus from the mortgage that goes to the broker, and how it decreases as the borrower becomes more informed.     

The Sociopolitical Analysis of Global Inflation: A Theoretical and Empirical Examination of an Influential Basic Explanation

A bstract . One variant of the influential sociopolitical model of inflation is examined, a version distinguished by its econometric testable form and its use of relative deprivation as a principal efficient cause of global inflation. Hence its relevance to the contemporary debate on the nature and origins of the inflationary process. Specifically, the model postulates that the rate of inflation in a country is inversely related to its level of per capita income (and social security expenditure ) and directly related to its degree of income inequality. It emerges from our analysis, however, that the association between the level of economic development and the comparative propensity to inflate is of theoretically ambiguous sign. Also, the empirical robustness of the postulated relation is in doubt and the multivariate analysis is itself sensitive to the inclusion/ exclusion from the sample of outlier countries. More positively, the general focus of the model on fundamental as opposed to proximate determinants of inflation is to be welcomed. The message is that sociopolitical analysts must sharpen their analytical tools and, in the spirit of the model, formulate testable propositions in an area where economists have tended to overemphasize 'mechanical' relationships/solutions.     

Believability and consumer perceptions of implausible reference prices in retail advertisements

Based on results from three studies, this research addresses questions relating to the role of perceived believability of a reference price set at an implausible level. Compared to effects of more plausible levels of reference prices, an implausible reference price is shown to be capable of positively influencing both perceptions of a fair price and the highest price that would be paid for an advertised product, as well as more evaluative dependent variables such as perceived value of the advertised offer and purchase willingness estimates. The perceived believability of the price offer is associated with a stronger impact on evaluative dependent variables than price-related estimates. Results indicate the importance of scrutiny of retailers' use of advertised reference prices by public policy advocates, and suggest implications for theoretical bases used to address reference pricing issues. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

The accuracy of brand and attribute judgments: The role of information relevancy, product experience, and attribute-relationship schemata

A multidimensional approach for accuracy of ratings is introduced that examines consumers’ abilities to assess various brands across a set of attributes and attribute performances across a set of brands. A model is presented that addresses the roles of the relevancy of information, attribute-relationship schemata, and consumers’ product category experience on the accuracy of their brand attribute ratings. Study participants were provided either with relevant or irrelevant attribute information for various automobile brands and later asked to rate the attribute performances of brands. The results indicate that the provision of relevant information in the judgment environment increases brand and attribute rating accuracy but does not favorably affect consumers’ brand attribute-relationship schemata. Rather, consumers’ product experience was directly related to their attribute-relationship schemata, which in turn were related to improved accuracy of brand and attribute ratings. Kevin Mason is an associate professor of marketing at Arkansas Tech University. His research interests include consumer information processing and choice strategies. He has published in theJournal of Marketing Theory and Practice, Journal of Consumer Marketing, Central Business Review, Journal for the Association of Marketing Educators, andInternational Advances in Economics Research. Thomas Jensen is professor and Wal-Mart lecturer in retailing in the Department of Marketing and Transportation at the University of Arkansas. His research interests include consumer information processing, advertising and price perceptions, and retail image and patronage. His work has been published in theJournal of Consumer Research, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, Psychology and Marketing, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Journal of Retailing, Journal of Business Research, and other journals. Scot Burton is professor and Wal-Mart chairholder in marketing, Department of Marketing and Transportation, University of Arkansas. His research interests include public policy and consumer welfare concerns, survey research measurement issues, and consumer price and promotion perceptions. His work has been published in theJournal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Public Opinion Quarterly, Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, Journal of Retailing, and other journals. Dave Roach is a professor of management at Arkansas Tech University. His research interests include information processing, judgmental accuracy, and organization change. He has published inHuman Relations, Journal of Applied Psychology, International Journal of Computer Integrated Manufacturing, Journal of Information Technology Management, Journal of Consumer Marketing, Central Business Review, andJournal for the Association of Marketing Educators.     

Community acceptance of biodiversity offsets: evidence from a choice experiment

This study of the community's acceptance of biodiversity offsets in Australia provides insights relevant to future revisions of offset policies of both State and Commonwealth Governments. A choice experiment was used to measure preferences for the general acceptability of offsetting, and for a number of attributes that define how an offset can be implemented. Based on a sample of 204 respondents from Perth, WA, we found that the majority of respondents did not object to the practice of biodiversity offsetting in general. A minority of respondents preferred that offset actions be direct, but most accepted a combination of direct and indirect actions. Individuals generally preferred that the offset be located near the site of impact, and it became more unacceptable the further away that it was located. However, there was heterogeneity in preferences for protecting the impacted species or a more endangered one.