Jumps in equilibrium prices and market microstructure noise

Asset prices observed in financial markets combine equilibrium prices and market microstructure noise. In this paper, we study how to tell apart large shifts in equilibrium prices from noise using high frequency data. We propose a new nonparametric test which allows us to asymptotically remove the noise from observable price data and to discover jumps in fundamental asset values. We provide its asymptotic distribution to decide when such jumps occur. In finite samples, our test offers reasonable power for distinguishing between noise and jumps. Empirical evidence indicates that it is necessary to incorporate the presence of jumps in equilibrium prices.     

Living on the Edge: Lessons from the Peri‐urban Village

The idea of an urban renaissance — based on a celebration of city life and its possibilities — is timely given half of the world's population now resides in urban areas. Yet, as appealing as this prospect may be, both in principle and planning theory, it remains at odds with the desires of many residents who seek ‘lifestyle living’ in low‐density suburban or ex‐urban settings. This article presents the results of a qualitative investigation of what it means to ‘live on the edge’ in a peri‐urban village, as understood by residents living in those settings. These results are evaluated in light of phenomenological literature on authentic and inauthentic places, and the myriad reasons so‐called amenity migrants choose the peri‐urban village as their preferred residential location. The results of in‐depth interviews with 28 residents are presented as a four‐part typology of ‘active’ lifestylers and those searching for community, and ‘passive’ speculators and those seeking a civilized society. Though prior work suggests people are attracted to the peri‐urban village for its bio‐physical environmental features, this research suggests socioeconomic factors and opportunities for active place‐making experiences are as, if not more, important.     

Sustainable Procurement in Australian and UK Universities

Sustainable procurement is a growing phenomenon and a key component of organizations’ corporate responsibility and sustainability strategy. The focus of this paper is sustainable procurement (SP) at universities in Australia and the United Kingdom. The study identifies a dearth of academic research into SP at universities and presents actionable insights gained from practitioners. Results from qualitative data collected from Australian and UK universities highlight the continued dominance of price in procurement decisions and the practical challenges faced in changing the status quo both internal and external to the university. Implications for theory, research and policy are also presented.     

An exploratory study of environmental attitudes and the willingness to pay for environmental certification in Mexico

This paper explores how environmental attitudes of consumers in Mexico influence their willingness to pay a premium (or, marginal WTP) for environmentally-certified products. In addition, we also challenge the theoretical assumption that the relationship between environmental attitudes and purchasing is linear. We test our hypotheses with an analysis of marginal WTP based on a survey of 301 Mexican consumers. Using conjoint analysis to determine marginal WTP, we find support for the idea that as attitudes become more pro-environmental, they more than proportionally boost marginal WTP. We conclude our paper by discussing implications for research and practice that focus on environmental segments of consumers.     

Are Food Certification Costs Misestimated? Exporter‐Perspective on the European Standard

Food safety regulations aimed at controlling food contamination have sometimes been criticised as excessive burdens, disadvantaging smaller firms and exports from developing nations. Reported food safety expenditures appear relatively small (from <1 to 7% of the value of production) but can erode profit margins for many firms. This article responds to claims that reported firm‐level expenditures do not reflect true costs of compliance with food safety systems. We estimate incidental cost savings and uncounted costs associated with Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) certification among Philippine seafood producers by modelling the interactions between conventional production and food safety expenditures using translog cost functions. Results indicate a significant underestimation of reported HACCP costs by an average of US$1.10 for a dollar of reported expenditure.     

The relationships between political support,party strength,and term limits

This paper translates two implications of a recent game-theoretical explanation for term limitations [Mao, 2001] into an empirical context for testing. One implication involves the pattern of political support for a candidate over time and its relationship to the strength of the candidate's party. To test this implication, this study focuses on the careers of senators of the 106^th Congress and applies a suitable regression analysis. Consistent with Mao's theory, the statistical evidence suggests that the greater the strength of the candidate's party, the longer it takes for the politician's support to spread beyond his or her party. A second implication pertains to the effect of the majority party's strength on the likelihood of term limit legislation being passed. To test this implication, the study focuses on the states' stances on federal term limits, prior to 1995, and applies a probit analysis. In this case, the statistical evidence suggests that the greater the strength of the majority party, the less likely the state to have passed federal term limit legislation. The relationship is not statistically significant by conventional standards, though it is nearly so. However, taken together, these empirical results are generally supportive of Mao [2001].     

Further evidence of the added-worker effect among white couples

Summary A logit technique is used to estimate couples' joint probabilities of various labor force statuses, given their personal characteristics. Conditional probabilities of the labor force status of wives are inferred. Women whose husbands face employment constraints are compared with counterparts whose husbands face no employment constraints. The results tend to confirm an added-worker effect, especially among women whose husbands are unemployed.The authors aro Assistant Professor at Villanova University in Villanova, PA, and Associate Professor at Widener University in Chester, PA, respectively, and are equally responsible for the contents of this paper.     

Effects of counterfactual thought on postpurchase consumer affect

This study explored the effects of counterfactual thinking (CFT) on postpurchase consumer affect. CFT is the process of imagining what might have been, that is, comparing reality (what is; the facts) with alternative possibilities. In a vignette study, the presence or absence of CFT, its direction (upward or downward), and outcome valence (positive, negative, or neutral) were manipulated. The participants' tendencies toward strategic optimism and defensive pessimism were measured, and the impact of these factors on postpurchase affect was observed. As expected, results indicated that negative outcomes were associated with greater levels of spontaneous counterfactual thought, and greater affective amplification was associated with the presence of counterfactual thought. More surprising was the finding that consumer regret increased with both downward and upward counterfactual thought, indicating that both contrast and assimilation mechanisms may be operational. With respect to personality, strategic optimists were less sensitive to purchase outcomes and counterfactual thought manipulations than were other respondents. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The changing consumer in Germany

Changes in economic, demographic, and cultural factors in West Germany during the past decades are briefly described, as well as changes in consumption patterns and the way the major marketing variables have been used and implemented. Special attention is paid to the upheavals caused by the German reunification. Implications for marketing management are drawn by proposing eight bipolar constructs.     

Shared decision-making in tourism land use planning

A Canadian government commission dealing with environmental resources attempted to incorporate several innovative approaches for shared decision-making into its strategic land use planning process for central British Columbia. This paper describes a framework of design and evaluative criteria for guiding such shared decision-making processes. It uses these criteria to assess the efficacy of the process from the perspective of those tourism stakeholders who participated in this planning exercise. The article offers recommendations to government as well as tourism sector organizations concerning the management of future public land use planning strategies designed to fully incorporate stakeholders into such processes.

Résumé

Les décisions partagées au sujet de la politique foncière du tourisme. Une commission du gouvernement canadien s'occupant des ressources environnementales a essayé d'incorporer plusieurs nouvelles méthodes de décisions partagées dans la planification des stratégies d'utilisation foncière pour la Colombie britannique centrale. Cet article décrit un cadre de critères pour la conception et l'évaluation des processus de décisions partagées. L'article utilise ces critères pour mesurer l'efficacité du processus du point de vue des planificateurs. Il fait des recommandations au gouvernement et aux organisations touristiques au sujet de la planification et de la future gestion de l'utilisation de la propriété publique pour que tous les intéressés soient compris dans ces processus.