The Direct and Reposting Effects of Advertorials on Sales

Advertorials have been shown to influence advertising recall and brand evaluation. However, no research has examined their impact on sales. This study uses longitudinal data on durable consumer goods in China to assess the extent to which advertorials influence sales. The study finds that advertorials have dual, positive effects on firms’ sales: a direct effect through original copy and a reposting effect through online exposure.     

AN EXAMINATION OF THE YIELD SPREAD BETWEEN INSURED AND UNINSURED DEBT

Currently, municipal bonds insured by major insurance firms receive the highest credit rating from rating agencies. The interest rates on regular triple-A municipal bonds, however, have been persistently below those of insured bond issues. The yield spread between insured and uninsured triple-A bonds in the tax-exempt market is examined here, and it is shown that the yield spread may be attributable to split ratings and default-related risks.     

Collectivization of Chinese agricultural production, 1952–1957: A land-saving organizational change

This paper applies an aggregate agricultural production function in the analysis of the change in grain production in China in 1952–1957. It shows that in that period of radical institutional transformation the marginal rate of substitution of land for labor rose sharply. Its economic effect can be understood as a land-saving organizational change with consequences similar to a disembodied land-saving technical change: rapid decline in the marginal product of land, attributed to a slow pace of increase in complementary inputs and rapid intensification of farming; and a steep rise in the marginal product of labor, directly related to its better utilization.     

Chief Financial Officers’ Power,Institutional Environment,and Corporate Effective Tax Rate: Evidence from China

Abstract

In this study, we investigate how chief financial officers’ (CFOs’) power and institutional environment influence corporate effective tax rates (ETRs). Using a sample of Chinese listed firms from 2004 to 2010, we find that firms with expert power or political power CFOs enjoy a low effective tax rate. Furthermore, CFOs’ expert power plays a more important function in reducing ETR in regions with a better institutional environment compared to those with less-developed institutions. CFOs’ political power is the most important factor in reducing ETR in regions with a less developed institutional environment than in those regions with a better institutional environment.     

When Beauty Backfires: The Effects of Server Attractiveness on Consumer Taste Perceptions

The current research tests whether and how being in the presence of attractive individuals alters consumers’ evaluations of their expected dining experience and the taste of the products consumed. Our results uncover a novel phenomenon in the domains of physical attractiveness and taste perception: attractiveness does indeed impact taste perception, but its influence varies as a function of the valence of the food consumed. When the server is attractive, good food tastes better but bad food tastes worse. Six studies demonstrate this effect and, importantly, show that it occurs for male, but not female consumers and only if the male consumers are low in need for cognition. The implications of this work and potential avenues for additional research are discussed.