Export-led growth: a survey of the empirical literature and some non-causality results. Part 1

The economic development and growth literature contains extensive discussions on relationships between exports and economic growth. One debate centres on whether countries should promote the export sector to obtain economic growth. An abundant empirical literature on this export-led growth (ELG) hypothesis has followed. We aim to contribute to this literature in two ways. In this paper, part 1, we provide a comprehensive survey of more than 150 export-growth applied papers. We describe the changes that have occurred, over the last two decades, in the methodologies used empirically to examine for relationships between exports and economic growth, and we provide information on the current findings.The last decade has seen an abundance of time series studies that focus on examining for causality via exclusions restrictions tests, impulse response function analysis and forecast error variance decompositions. Our second contribution is to examine some of these time series methods. We show, in part 2, that ELG results based on standard causality techniques are not typically robust to specification or method. We do this by reconsidering two export-led growth applications – Oxley’s (1993) study for Portugal, and Henriques and Sadorsky’s (1996) analysis for Canada. Our results suggest that extreme care should be exercised when interpreting much of the applied research on the ELG hypothesis.     

Poststructural feminist theories of representing Others: a response to the ‘crisis’ in leisure studies' discourse

References made to a contemporary theoretical ‘crisis’ in leisure studies discourse have been made by a number of scholars in the field (Scraton, 1994; Coalter, 1997; Mommaas, 1997). This article examines the origins and nature of such a ‘crisis’ and attempts to map one possible route through the current academic impasse. It is argued that leisure studies’ reluctance to embrace recent theoretical advances in cognate disciplines and subject fields, together with a reticence to engage with poststructural discourse, has rendered culture marginal to leisure studies research. Increasing cultural analyses in sociology, geography and gender studies have been accompanied by widespread engagement with postmodernism and a concomitant disengagement with social and material analyses of power. This article discusses the role of the subaltern discourses of poststructural and postcolonial feminism as theoretical and political projects capable of addressing cultural and material power. The false dichotomy of social and cultural analyses in leisure, tourism and culture is then addressed in a dicussion of Othering. This discussion reveals the significance of the social-cultural nexus of leisure relations and the potential for research that engages with poststructuralism whilst continuing to further leisure studies' welldeveloped social policy discourse. In summary, poststructural feminist analyses are cited as one means of enhancing the theoretical sophistication of the subject field and of addresssing the current ‘crisis’.     

Dispersion trading: Empirical evidence from U.S. options markets

This paper develops empirical evidence on the viability of a form of volatility trading known as “dispersion trading.” The results shed light on the efficiency with which U.S. options markets price volatility.Using end-of-day implied volatilities extracted from equity option prices for the stocks that comprise the S&P 500, the implied volatility of the S&P 500 is computed using a modification of the Markowitz variance equation. This Markowitz-implied volatility is then compared to the implied volatility of the S&P 500 extracted directly from index options on the S&P 500. These contemporaneous measures of implied volatility are then examined for exploitable discrepancies both with and without transaction costs. The study covers the period October 31, 2005 through November 1, 2007.It is shown that, from a trader's perspective, index option implied volatility tended to be more often “rich” and component volatilities tended to be more often “cheap.” Nevertheless, there were times when the opposite was true; suggesting that potential dispersion trades can run in either direction.     

Agri-environmental schemes: Adverse selection, information structure and delegation

This work analyzes alternative designs of agri-environmental schemes and how different incentive mechanisms impact on their overall efficiency. It focuses on spatial targeting and delegation in an asymmetric information context. First, the optimal contract under adverse selection is modeled. This model underlines the trade-off between information rents and allocative efficiency. The impact of spatial targeting is then addressed. Disaggregated information structures increase the optimal efforts asked of the farmers. It may also involve higher information rents and may reduce the net contributions of some farmers. Finally, the consequences of delegating authority within the principal-agent relationship are investigated. The results illustrate that spatial targeting and delegation, when combined, have asymmetric impacts on farmers' payoffs.     

A decade of compulsory competitive tendering in UK sport and leisure services: some feminist reflections

The last decade has witnessed the transformation of public policy in the UK following an extensive programme of privatization across a range of public services. When compulsory competitive tendering (CCT) in sport and leisure services was first proposed in 1987 there was widespread opposition from feminists and also from the Labour party who had been out of government for eight years. This period out of office was to continue for a further ten years until New Labour was elected to government on 1st May 1997 with a landslide majority and a manifesto which embraced, rather than rejected, many of the policies of the four previous Conservative administrations. Instead of the widespread failure and subsequent abandonment of CCT predicted a decade ago by feminists, national labour politicians and local labour authorities, CCT is now widely accepted as here to stay. Following ten years of private sector involvement in local authority sport and leisure provision, and the apparent likelihood that such provision is set to continue, it is timely to reflect on CCT in sport and leisure from a feminist perspective. What have been the successes and failures of this policy transformation for women's sport and leisure; how can these successes and failures be explained; and what are the challenges facing research on women and leisure in local government in the future? This paper attempts to offer a state-of-the-art review of CCT and local government sport and leisure provision for women by providing a comprehensive review of CCT literature and surveys, supported by primary research in the form of a regional case study of CCT and its impact on policy, provision and participation for women. The findings demonstrate that, whilst CCT has led to some significant improvements in service levels in sport and leisure generally, there are many areas related to access and opportunity for women participants which still provide cause for concern. Moreover, the findings illustrate that sex-segregation within sport and leisure management continues to be combined with women's marginalization from many aspects of power and decisionmaking in sport and leisure provision. Analysis of the author's survey findings, qualitative interview data and policy analysis illustrates the need for a new research agenda to advise on future policy developments. Such a research agenda, it is argued, needs to take account of, and develop further, research within three areas if the nature of CCT and its implications for gender relations are to be more fully documented and understood: feminist sport and leisure studies, service sector management, and local government studies.     

China's Accession to the World Trade Organization: What Is at Stake for Agricultural Markets?

We analyze the impact of China's accession to the World Trade Organization on major crop and livestock markets using the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) modeling framework. We incorporate expected changes in consumer income, textile production, and trade policies as exogenous shocks to the baseline model. Following accession, revenues decline in China's livestock, grain, and oilseed industries, while cotton production prospers despite increased imports. Chinese consumers benefit from lower food prices, with vegetable oil, dairy, and meat consumption increasing significantly. Argentina, Brazil, Canada, the European Union, and the United States are the greatest beneficiaries from expanded agricultural trade with China.     

The determination of commercial bank reserve requirements

Excess reserve ratios have been studied extensively and are believed to be endogenously determined. In contrast, required reserve ratios are conventionally treated as exogenous. However, there are public policy reasons for a positive response of reserve requirements to interest rates. These are opposed by private incentives to secure lower requirements when their cost rises with interest rates. Several kinds of evidence support the hypothesis that reserve requirements are inverse functions of interest rates, sometimes with long lags that reflect the political process. The results also suggest that banks are not passive creatures of regulation but mold their environment.     

Beyond ‘chalk and talk’: educator perspectives on design immersion programs for rural and regional schools

Twenty-first century education needs to be re-envisioned to equip citizens for a lifetime of rapid change and complexity. Design has been proposed as a pedagogical framework that develops the required foundational literacies, competencies and character qualities citizens need to thrive in this new creative knowledge economy. However, widespread adoption will require systemic transformation of practice, and recognition of the value of formal and informal ‘connected’ learning environments and experiences. This paper explores the potential of design immersion outreach efforts in fostering design capabilities and building educators’ pedagogical repertoires to support twenty-first century learning. It documents educators’ experiences of goDesign, the first three-day place-based travelling design immersion experience for regional and rural Australian high school students and teachers. Drawing on observational data, and in-depth interviews with participating principals (n?=?3) and teachers (n?=?14) from six regional schools, educators believed goDesign provided new ideas for their classroom practice. They felt it broadened horizons for both themselves and their students, through: personally inspiring experiences and career aspiration; engagement in design thinking process, skills and mindset; and providing a valuable opportunity for community building. As educators in regional and rural areas often experience geographical, social and professional isolation, this paper argues that place-based informal design immersion programs might be an innovative way to engage and educate both students and teachers with design, thus building the competencies required for successful twenty-first century futures.

     

The role of conflict, culture, and myth in creating attitudinal commitment

Using qualitative methods, the authors examine commitment in the sports industry and specifically in a NASCAR context. Commitment, or the culmination of the customer-service provider relationship, plays a particularly critical role in NASCAR, for which more than 70% of fans consciously choose a current sponsor's brand over a competitor's. Previous research, primarily in the domain of business-to-business marketing, focuses on attitudinal, instrumental, and temporal components of commitment; this article examines attitudinal commitment within the NASCAR context. Whereas previous research conceptualizes attitudinal commitment as identification, value congruence, and affiliation, this research presents a wider view. Specifically, within the NASCAR consumption culture, hero/villain myths surrounding drivers create conflict that heightens attitudinal commitment to the sport. This research therefore offers implications regarding non-traditional components of attitudinal commitment.