Trade-Offs Between Purchased Services and Time in Single-Parent and Two-Parent Families

This research examines the influence of marital status on the demand for services using a model in which the demand for market services and mothers' time spent in related household activities are jointly determined. Three specific areas of market services are investigated: meals prepared away from home, child care, and housekeeping. In multivariate systems analyses in which mothers' household work time and purchased services were simultaneously determined, families headed by single mothers were found to (a) purchase more meals prepared away from home and (b) be more likely to purchase child care and housekeeping services than their two-parent counterparts holding income and other factors constant.     

The Public Expenditure Debate

This Briefing Paper is concerned with the structural implications of public expenditure for economic performance. It examines the growing role of public expenditure in Britain over the past hundred years, and compares the current share of public spending in the UK with that in other developed countries. Since overall public expenditure does not appear to be a useful concept in the context of the structural debate, the distinctions between different types of public expenditure are emphasised The main purpose of the Briefing Paper is to clarify the current debate.     

The Counter-Inflation Strategy in Historical Perspective

The government's counter-inflation strategy is often described as an experiment Such a view implies that present policies are without historical precedent and their likely consequences unpredictable. This Briefing Paper attempts to broaden the current policy debate by placing the counter-inflation strategy in the historical context of the UK's inflationary experience of the past one hundred years. A hundred years' data allows a very wide range of economic experience to be studied. The methods used are a mixture of historical case studies and time series regression analysis (described in the Appendix). One case study describes the rapid inflation of the 1914-18 war and the successful counter-inflation strategy of the early 1920s. This period has remarkable similarities with the present. The second case study re-examines the inflation of the 1970s. Our research shows that the government's counter-inflation strategy has a much better chance of success than is often believed. The authorities can permanently reduce the inflation rate if they control both the PSBR and the money supply and resist pressure to peg the exchange rate. While this involves a severe recession, the evidence suggests that the real economy also has strong self-stabilising properties. In the past, even deep recessions have always been followed by recoveries, often spontaneously generated within the private sector.     

Auditors and deceptive financial statements: Assigning responsibility and blame*

Abstract. Public accountants (auditors) who do not prepare the financial statements of their clients are not directly responsible for them. However, if the statements are deceptive, then the question of their indirect responsibility arises. The various kinds of defenses that auditors might present for being excused from responsibility, and/or blame, are examined and evaluated. Relevant parts of the codes of ethics of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario (ICAO) and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants are compared on this basis. The ICAO Code is a better codification of auditors' obligations regarding deceptive financial statements. One implication of the analysis is that the issue of the independence of auditors is more complex than the codes suggest, and needs further clarification. Résumé. Les experts-comptables (vérificateurs) ne sont pas directement responsables des états financiers de leurs clients qu'ils ne préparent pas. Cependant, si les états financiers sont trompeurs, alors la question de leur responsabilité indirecte se pose. Les différentes sortes de défenses que les vérificateurs pourraient présenter pour ne pas être tenus responsables et/ou blâmés sont examinées et évaluées. Les parties pertinentes des codes de déontologie de l'Institut des comptables agréés de l'Ontario et de l'American Institute of Certified Public Accountants sont comparées sur cette base. Le code de déontologie de l'Institut des comptables agréés de l'Ontario est une meilleure codification des obligations du vérificateur en ce qui a trait aux états financiers trompeurs. Une implication de l'analyse, est que la notion de l'indépendance des vérificateurs est plus complexe que ne le suggèrent les codes et demande d'être clarifiée.     

A Socialization Perspective on Selected Consumer Characteristics of the Elderly

This study examines the effects of selected antecedent variables and communication processes on the consumer behavior of the elderly. The socialization perspective is suggested as a conceptual framework for the study of elderly consumer behavior, with specific theories used as bases for formulating hypotheses. The study results suggest that the mass media and the family may be instrumental in reinforcing or developing traditional sex-role stereotypes among the elderly, whereas consumer education may help them filter puffery in advertisements. Age, sex and health were also related to various aspects of consumer behavior.