Child Labor in Carpet Weaving: Impact of Social Labeling in India and Nepal

Does the labeling of tradable products like carpets which have been produced without child labor increase the welfare of children and their families? This paper presents results of surveys conducted in India and Nepal. The findings suggest a positive link between social labeling and the removal of child laborers for households above the subsistence level. However, for households below the subsistence level, no significant influence has been found.     

Financial literacy: A comparative study across four countries

This study analysed differences in financial literacy across four countries: Canada, Italy, the UK and the US. The purpose was to understand whether factors associated with financial literacy in one country can be generalized to other countries as well or whether unique national characteristics make it necessary to examine financial literacy in each country individually. A financial literacy index, based on the number of correct answers to four multiple‐choice questions, was used to test the relevance of country of origin to financial literacy. Results suggest significant differences among countries indicating that there are national and cultural differences in what households know and need to know about their personal finances. Policy makers should consider these differences when developing financial literacy assessment tools for their respective countries.     

Channel design,coordination, and performance: Future research directions

The marketing literature has made significant progress toward a better understanding of how firms can effectively design and manage their channels of distribution. However, the complexity of today’s channel systems raises additional issues that remain unaddressed. The purpose of this article is to suggest promising research directions in this domain. We suggest several possible avenues to relate multiple channel design and management to channel-system, channel-relationship, and customer-level outcomes. In particular, we see a great opportunity to integrate multichannel customer management and traditional channel design research. We argue that future research should account for cross-level effects and incorporate variables at more than one relationship level.     

On the optimality of nonmaximal fines in the presence of corruptible law enforcers

In this paper, we develop a model of law enforcement with the possibility of corruption between enforcers and potential offenders. We study how the violation rate changes with the level of the fine imposed on violations. We find, in contrast to the conventional wisdom, that the fine level that minimizes violations can be intermediate rather than large. We then study conditions under which different fine levels would be optimal.      

A general procedure of estimating the population variance when coefficient of variation of an auxiliary variable is known in sample surveys

This paper deals with the problem of estimating population variance ${{S}_{\rm y}^2}$ of the study variable y. We have suggested a family of estimators of population variance ${{S}_{\rm y}^2}$ using the transformations on both the study variable and the auxiliary variable when coefficient of variation of an auxiliary variable x is known. The suggested family of estimators is very wide from which we can generate many estimators by putting the suitable values of scalars. The bias and mean squared error have been obtained upto the first order of approximation. The empirical study is carried out to the support of the suggested family of estimators.     

Strategy,human capital investments,business‐domain capabilities,and performance: a study in the global software services industry

Research summary : In knowledge‐based industries, continuous human capital investments are essential for firms to enhance capabilities and sustain competitive advantage. However, such investments present a dilemma for firms, because human resources are mobile. Using detailed project‐level operational, financial, and human capital data from a leading multinational firm in the global IT services industry, this study finds that deliberate investments in improving general human capital can help firms develop superior capabilities and maintain high profits. This paper identifies two types of capabilities essential for success in this industry—technological and business‐domain capabilities—and provides empirical evidence justifying such investments. Theoretical and practical implications of capability‐seeking general human capital investments are discussed. Managerial summary : The primary managerial implication of this research is that capability‐seeking investments in developing general human capital through strategic learning (training and internal certifications) can enhance firm performance. Although investing in general human capital is risky, the firm considered this a strategic necessity in order to thrive in the fast paced IT services industry. By leveraging general technological skills in combination with business‐domain knowledge to address customer's business problems firms can earn and sustain higher profits. Our study also demonstrates how a developing‐country firm responded to strong competitive challenge from global rivals possessing superior capabilities by upgrading the capabilities of its employees through internal development. In doing so the firm was able to narrow the capability gap vis‐à‐vis its foreign peers and expand its business globally. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

流行文化批判(节选)

文化批评1992年,在纪念伯明翰学派文化研究十周年的研讨会上,斯图尔特霍尔(StuartHall)以批判的口吻说起美国文化研究在理论上已变得流利无比。他说他并不是要英国同行向美国文化研究学习。问题不在于美国文化研究没有能力对文化领域的权力进行理论分析和总结,也不在于它把历史和政治关系从文化领域剥离。相反,他认为美国文化研究现在可以无边际、无休止地从理论上论述权力——政治、种族、阶级、性别、征服、统治、排斥、边缘化、     

Anticipation in leisure—Effects on labor-leisure choice

This paper introduces the idea of a forward-looking reference benchmark on both consumption and leisure in the context of a Ramsey–Cass–Koopmans growth model by assuming that in addition to consumption and leisure the household utility also depends on reference benchmarks of future anticipated consumption and leisure. We analyze the macrodynamic equilibrium, contrasting it to the case when the reference benchmarks are backward-looking. We investigate if the presence of anticipation in leisure can lead to smoother jumps in labor under productivity shocks and what effect that has on the consumption adjustment at the time of shock. We present our results using numerical simulations that confirm the existence of parameter spaces where a dual anticipation model leads to smaller jumps in labor, albeit sometimes at the expense of higher consumption jumps.