Measuring a boom and bust: The Sydney housing market 2001–2006

The Sydney housing market peaked in 2003. The period 2001–2006 is, therefore, of particular interest since it captures a boom and bust in the housing market. We compute hedonic, repeat-sales and median price indexes for five regions in Sydney over this period. While the three approaches are in broad agreement regarding the timing of the turning point in the housing market, some important differences also emerge. In particular, we find evidence of sample selection bias in our hedonic and repeat-sales data sets (with the former focusing more on better quality dwellings and the latter more on lower quality dwellings). These sample selection biases could in turn cause bias (in opposite directions) in our hedonic and repeat-sales indexes. Median indexes may likewise be biased as a result of an apparent decline in the average quality of dwellings sold in the latter part of the sample. We also find evidence of convergence in prices across regions during the boom and divergence in the subsequent bust.     

The impact of diverse measures of default risk on UK stock returns

A number of recent papers examine the relationship between default risk and equity returns, and the results are mixed. These studies employ different measures of default risk and we find that correlations between eight diverse measures of default risk tend to be less than 50%. Nonetheless, we find that the relationship between stock returns and diverse measures of default risk tends to be consistent; default risk is a significant determinant of stock returns and this relationship is “hump backed”, as predicted by Garlappi and Yan (2011).     

Stalking the Poverty Consumer A Retrospective Examination of Modern Ethical Dilemmas

This research takes a retrospective look at modern consumption opportunities of the U.S. poor from both sides of the marketing exchange relationship. The paper opens with a critical assessment of the consumer-behavior literature and its primary focus on middle-class Americans. The next section profiles the impoverished and their purchasing habits and closes with a summary of how both have changed over the last forty years. Then a theoretical account is presented using consumer literature from the same timeframe. The paper ends with a discussion of common business practices and moral dilemmas that have continued over these decades, along with an ethical paradigm involving distributive justice to guide future management tactics.     

Monitoring Tourism on the UK's First Long-Distance Cycle Route

This paper describes a research programme carried out on a newly created long-distance cycle route in northern England during 1996 and 1997. The survey sought to: profile users, monitor the overall number of users, describe their spatial and temporal distribution and quantify their economic impacts. This was achieved using a combination of automatic counters, field interview questionnaires, self-completion questionnaires and telephone interviews. The data showed that for 1996 between 12,000 and 15,000 people used the route spending between £1.07 and £1.85 million. Over half the service providers along the route were found to have benefited. In 1997 fewer people used the route, 11,000 cyclists, and the economic impacts have declined in proportion to the use levels. Causes of the reduction of user numbers are considered. The methodology applied is described, and associated issues are discussed. Conclusions are drawn concerning the performance of the route in terms of the cycle tourism niche market. The implications for other cycle routes with tourism potential are considered.