Parametric Identification of Multiplicative Exponential Heteroscedasticity

Harvey ( 1976 ) first proposed multiplicative exponential heteroscedasticity in the context of linear regression. These days it is more commonly seen in latent variable models such as Probit or Logit where correctly modelling the heteroscedasticity is imperative for consistent parameter estimates (Yatchew and Griliches, 1985 ). However, it appears the literature lacks a formal proof of point identification for the parametric model. This paper presents several examples that show the conditions presumed throughout the literature are not sufficient for identification. As a contribution, this paper discusses when identification can and cannot be easily obtained and provides proofs of point identification in common specifications.     

Examining the Customer Experience of Using Banking Chatbots and Its Impact on Brand Love: The Moderating Role of Perceived Risk

In today’s digitally enabled world, banks offer chatbots to improve customer service. This research looks at chatbots as a form of an information system. It observes the effect of the three quality dimensions of the information system success model on customer experience, further leading to love for the bank brand. As chatbots are a new technology platform, consumers may find some risk in its use. Hence, the moderating role of perceived risk between the three quality dimensions and customer experience is also observed. The survey method was employed to conduct the study. Data were collected from 258 respondents. The results provide a definite direction for banks to strengthen the consumer–brand relationship by offering chatbots suiting their customers’ expectations.     

Airline passenger traffic openness and the performance of Emirates Airline

This paper uses cross-sectional data for 155 routes connecting Dubai to various international destinations to assess the relationship between air travel openness, representing airline agreements and the framework governing airlines, and the economic performance of Emirates Airline. We find that increased openness is associated with higher enplanement and lower fares. We also find that code-sharing agreements are associated with higher enplanement and higher fares. Given the complementary nature of such agreements for Emirates, this suggests potential collusive behavior. While these findings are specific to Emirates, they are regionally relevant as most carriers in the Gulf operate in an environment that is similar to Emirates's. Thus, further liberalization of the passenger airline markets of UAE and other Gulf carriers – which includes the elimination of code-sharing-related collusive agreements – would likely result in increased expenditure on air travel and lower production costs (from ensuing competitive pressures). Such outcomes can potentially yield net welfare gains for the UAE and other Gulf countries.     

Why has US monetary policy become ineffective lately?

Some recent studies show that US monetary policy has lost its stimulative traction, especially since the early 1980s. They argue that the Fed’s forward guidance has enabled economic agents to anticipate the changes in interest rates more accurately. As a result, it is harder to find truly exogenous monetary policy shocks, which has made monetary policy ineffective. In this article, we find that anomalous economic behaviours of financial institutions might be the true reason for the ineffective monetary policy. Our structural vector autoregressive model shows that increases in the US money supply mostly flowed into the financial sector to increase its profits instead of stimulating the real sector of the economy through business investment.     

Measurement of Political Effects in the United States Economy: A Study of the 1992 Presidential Election

This paper analyzes the link between the 1992 United States presidential election outcome and a collection of American economic sectors. Based on data from the 1992 Iowa Political Stock Market and campaign-period stock portfolio behavior, we identify 15 economic sectors, of 74 examined, whose profits varied in a statistically significant manner with movements in Iowa Market-based measures of presidential candidate standing. And, in light of 1992 campaign rhetoric pertaining to defense policy and environmental issues, we build on this finding with an analysis of selected defense firms and firms known to be toxic waste emitters.     

Toward a theory of customer engagement marketing

Customer engagement marketing—defined as a firm’s deliberate effort to motivate, empower, and measure customer contributions to marketing functions—marks a shift in marketing research and business practice. After defining and differentiating engagement marketing, the authors present a typology of its two primary forms and offer tenets that link specific strategic elements to customer outcomes and thereby firm performance, theorizing that the effectiveness of engagement marketing arises from the establishment of psychological ownership and self-transformation. The authors provide evidence in support of the derived tenets through case illustrations, as well as a quasi-experimental field test of the central tenet of engagement marketing.     

Does the Quality of Investment Protection Affect FDI Flows to Developing Countries? Evidence from Latin America

Studies on the impact of international investment agreements (IIAs), including bilateral investment treaties (BITs), on foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows have been inconclusive. This paper contributes to the debate about the effectiveness of IIAs using an original database that differentiates between investment agreements according to the quality of investor protection, and which covers a wide variety of trade and investment agreements signed and ratified in the Americas. We find evidence that in the least likely case of south–south FDI flows, high‐quality international investment treaties have a demonstrable effect on foreign direct investment inflows. Moreover, international investment agreements appear to be most effective in a context of deeper economic integration. That is, they work better when they provide higher quality protection to investors and when they are combined with other preferential economic integration agreements, such as trade agreements.     

Wandering: Youth and travel behavior

Vogt, Jay, “Wandering: Youth and Travel Behavior,” Annals of Tourism Research, Volume IV, No. 1, September/October 1976, pp. 25–41 ----The phenomenon of wandering youth, their travel experiences and resulting impact on the visited culture, is explored. The primary motivation is the quest for personal growth, which is achieved through autonomy in decision-making stimulation in daily life, learning through exposure and detachment, and transient yet intense interpersonal relationships. The impact of wanderers is felt mainly at centers of congregation, identified as gathering and resting places. Some suggestions are made as to areas of application and further research.     

Money, Monetary Policy, and Central Banking

Anna Schwartz's insights and careful analysis of the forces shaping institutions have contributed greatly to our understanding of money, central banks, and monetary policy. We discuss these contributions in the context of three issues. The first concerns governments' role in money. First, we focus on Anna's contribution to our understanding of the quality of money. In this context, we consider how the acceleration of globalization and developments in information technology has, as an external development, forced improvements in institutions and social arrangements. The second issue concerns the potential for currency boards to serve as an intermediate institution in the evolution toward and, perhaps now, away from so many central banks and sovereign monetary authorities. Finally, we turn our attention to current issues in the implementation of monetary policy.