Private Sector Wealth: Quarterly Estimates for use in an Aggregate Model*

The paper presents some estimates of private-sector wealth in Australia for the 1958-75 period. Basically, we have attempted to consolidate the balance sheets of all sectors, except the government and the foreign sector. Different procedures have been used for the various components of private-sector wealth and estimates are presented for real assets of the household sector (dwellings, motor vehicles and consumer durables), for fixed assets and inventories of the business sector, and for government liabilities to the private sector. Broadly, the data indicate that over the 1958-75 period, private wealth grew faster than population but slower than output and business capital stock. Dwellings and motor vehicles were the fastest growing components of private wealth. Reflecting the rise in the share of foreign claims on businesses in Australia, the Australian claims on business assets increased at a slower rate than the increase in the business-capital stock.     

HOME LAUNDERING PART I. AN EVALUATION OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF LAUNDERING SOILED TEXTILES

The washing performance of a popular U.K. detergent product has been evaluated at two different temperatures. The results are discussed in terms of potential energy savings which can be achieved by washing at cooler temperatures and the acceptability of the clean laundry as determined by a panel of consumers.     

FAMILY LIFESTYLE AND ENERGY CONSUMPTION: AN ENERGY ADAPTATION MODEL*

The premise of the paper is that family energy consumption is a consequence of family lifestyle. To facilitate the development of policies that allow families to make satisfactory lifestyle choices as energy resources decline, we explore in detail the relationship between family lifestyle and energy consumption. A model is developed to illustrate the decision making processes that link individual and family behaviour patterns with energy consumption. A series of propositions is derived from the model that relates family values, family effectiveness and family decision making to energy prices, energy conservation adoption, attitude formation and family lifestyle changes. The model can be used by public and private decision makers to identify research and consumer information programs that will facilitate adoption of more energy efficient lifestyles.     

AN ECONOMIC EVALUATION OF NON-RESIDENT HUNTING AND GUIDING IN THE EAST KOOTENAY1

Guiding is an industry closely linked to ranching in Western Canada. In the more remote areas where guiding is a significant activity, agriculture is often depressed. Such complementary non-farm sources of income are attracting increasing attention as a means of mitigating the "farm problem" in these situations.
This study attempts an evaluation of the economic contribution of non-resident hunting and the associated guiding industry in a region of British Columbia where guiding is an important adjunct to low-income ranching. The net economic gain from non-resident hunting is calculated, as are the private profits of guiding. These appear surprisingly low, though there is wide variation in the profitability of guiding. Public administrative policies are probably responsible in part for the failure of this industry to rationalize itself and for underutilization of game resources.     

FURTHER ANALYSIS OF THE TWIN DEFICITS

In a 1989 Contemporary Policy Issues article Miller and Russek published findings of a causal relation between the fiscal deficit and the trade deficit. However, they found no overwhelming support for reverse causation between the twin deficits. The authors of the analysis here gathered annual data on U.S. federal budget deficits and net exports for 1950–1988 and deflated the nominal values by the GDP deflators to examine the causal relation based on real values. They made a distinction between structural and actual budget deficits. Instead of an arbitrary choice of lag structure, they used Hsiao (1979, 1981) minimum final prediction error criterion to determine the optimum lag lengths of the explanatory variables. The analysis reveals a unidirectional causal relation running from structural budget deficits to net exports, confirming some of Miller and Russek's findings. Contrary to Miller and Russek's conclusions, however, findings here indicate a bi-directional causal relation between actual budget deficits and net exports. These findings suggest important policy implications.     

“Voice Within Voice”: Members’ Voice Responses to Dissatisfaction with Their Union

While the role of unions as collective voice is well understood, how union members themselves voice their preferences within their union is not. This study represents an important step in understanding this critical dimension of the union–member relation. Using survey data from an Australian union, I investigate how union members voice dissatisfaction with their union. Union loyalty, perceived opportunities to voice, union responsiveness, and collectivist ideology predicted willingness to voice directly to the union. Perceived union support and instrumentality did not predict members’ willingness to voice directly to the union but were associated with other voice responses.