A comparison of alternative methods of updating input-output coefficients

In recent years there has been a growing number of input-output models of economies ranging in scale from the rural to the national. While offering invaluable insights into the interaction of sectors within an economy, the input-output model suffers from the fact that its coefficient values are altered over time due particularly to technological change. Two of the prominent techniques designed to update these technical coefficients, the RAS and linear programming methods, are compared herein with regard to changes in U.S. national coefficients between 1963 and 1967. Suggestions for improvements to the latter method are outlined.     

The relationship between job satisfaction and managerial remuneration in small and medium-sized enterprises: an empirical test of ‘comparison income’ and ‘equity theory’ hypotheses

The relationship between job satisfaction levels and the remuneration of non-owner managers employed by a sample of 97 UK small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) is investigated. The main empirical findings are that relative remuneration levels appear to be largely explained by differences in human capital and job/firm characteristics and that job satisfaction is positively related to deviations from these estimated comparison-income levels. Moreover, the equity theory expectation that individuals with the least prospect of redressing payment inequities will have the greatest incentives to respond to payment inequities by congitive adjustment is also supported. The results indicate that job satisfaction levels for individuals expecting to remain in their current post are not significantly affected by current payment inequities. For those managers who expect to move firms, the amount of payment inequity has a significantly positive effect upon their job satisfaction.     

A review of empirical studies of aggregate marketing costs and productivity in the United States

This article reviews empirical studies of aggregate marketing cost and aggregate marketing productivity in the United States. A methodological comparison is made of five cost studies for 1929 and seven productivity studies covering a period from 1869 to 1968. The cost studies do not clarify—one way or the other—if marketing costs too much or too little. The productivity studies, on the other hand, despite a variety of methodologies, reveal a rising secular trend over the past century. Thus, it may be concluded that irrespective of changes in cost, marketing is becoming more productive.     

Does prenatal WIC participation improve birth outcomes? New evidence from Florida

We study the effects of prenatal receipt of nutritional and educational services provided by the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) on birth outcomes. Our identification strategy consists of two elements: (1) identifying families in a very tight income range surrounding the WIC eligibility threshold; and (2) exploiting a policy change that differentially influenced the WIC takeup rates of the families on each side of the eligibility threshold. We conduct this analysis by merging three large statewide administrative datasets from Florida concerning all births during the period 1997–2001. We match the birth records of infants and the school records of their older siblings in order to relatively precisely identify “marginally eligible” and “marginally ineligible” families that are very similar in their observable characteristics. We find that WIC participation has no effect on mean birth weight and gestational age, but substantially reduces the likelihood of adverse birth outcomes, e.g. birth weights below 2500 g.