Hierarchical Modelling of Disparities in Preferences for Redistribution*

We evaluate the magnitude of the disparities in the demand for redistribution across European countries and American states during the 2000s. Modelling the demand for redistribution in a multilevel framework, we identify the determinants that contribute the most in predicting support for redistribution. We observe that individual characteristics and contextual variables are associated with demand for redistribution in the same way in Europe and in the US, whereas others exert different influences on the probability of supporting redistribution. We find important differences from some well‐established evidence obtained from data collected for the 1980s and the 1990s.     

Cross-country income convergence revisited

We reassess convergence of income across countries and its determinants. The ergodic distribution of output per worker features multiple modes. In contrast to previous findings, productivity in the long run is unimodal. The long-run distribution of human capital is multimodal.     

Parametric and Non‐Parametric Estimates of Willingness to Pay for Forest Recreation in Northern Ireland: A Discrete Choice Contingent Valuation Study with Follow‐Ups

In this study we show that forest areas contribute significantly to the estimated benefits from outdoor recreation in Northern Ireland. Secondly we provide empirical evidence of the gains in the statistical efficiency of both benefit and parameter estimates obtained by analysing follow‐up responses with Double Bounded interval data analysis. As these gains are considerable, it is clearly worth considering this method in CVM survey design even when moderately large sample sizes are used. Finally we demonstrate that estimates of means and medians of WTP distributions for access to forest recreation show plausible magnitude, are consistent with previous UK studies, and converge across parametric and non‐parametric methods of estimation.     

Eliciting Consumer Preferences for Certified Animal‐Friendly Foods: Can Elements of the Theory of Planned Behavior Improve Choice Experiment Analysis?

Models used in neoclassical economics assume human behavior to be purely rational. On the other hand, models adopted in social and behavioral psychology are founded on the “black box” of human cognition. In view of these observations, this paper aims at bridging this gap by introducing psychological constructs in the well‐established microeconomic framework of choice behavior based on random utility theory. In particular, it combines constructs developed employing Ajzen's theory of planned behavior with Lancaster's theory of consumer demand for product characteristics to explain stated preferences over certified animal‐friendly foods (AFF). To reach this objective, a Web survey was administered in the largest five EU‐25 countries: France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Findings identify some salient cross‐cultural differences between northern and southern Europe and suggest that psychological constructs developed using the Ajzen model are useful in explaining heterogeneity of preferences. Implications for policymakers and marketers involved with certified AFF are discussed.     

A Bayesian approach to experimental analysis: trading in a laboratory financial market

We employ a Bayesian approach to analyze financial markets experimental data. We estimate a structural model of sequential trading in which trading decisions are classified in five types: private-information based, noise, herd, contrarian and irresolute. Through Monte Carlo simulation, we estimate the posterior distributions of the structural parameters. This technique allows us to compare several non-nested models of trade arrival. We find that the model best fitting the data is that in which a proportion of trades stems from subjects who do not rely only on their private information once the difference between the number of previous buy and sell decisions is at least two. In this model, the majority of trades stem from subjects following their private information. There is also a large proportion of noise trading activity, which is biased towards buying the asset. We observe little herding and contrarianism, as theory suggests. Finally, we observe a significant proportion of (irresolute) subjects who follow their own private information when it agrees with public information, but abstain from trading when it does not.     

Marx Inside the Circuit: Discipline device,wage bargaining and unemployment in a sequential monetary economy

The aim of this paper is to show that Marxian labour theory of value can be consistently interpreted in terms of the monetary circuit model, where firms need initial finance to start production and where the money supply is endogenous. In contrast to the recently revived Marxian monetary models, in particular the New Interpretation, it is argued here that although the money wage is bargained for on the labour market, the real wage is determined by firms' choices, since firms autonomously determine the structure of production and hence real consumption for the working class as a whole. This does not mean that firms are able to set the real wage without economic and social constraints. Starting from our circuitist reading of the labour theory of value and distribution, a model is developed in order to determine the level of employment and income distribution, on the assumptions that (i) the industrial reserve army affects wage bargaining and labour effort and that (ii) workers react to the failure of their expectations on the real wage by reducing their work intensity. In this context, it is shown that firms may increase their share of profits over time only be means of innovations.     

The antecedents of employee commitment to customer service: evidence from a UK

This paper provides a first attempt at conceptualizing and operationalizing the notion of commitment to customer service (CCS) as part of a broader concern to explore the determinants of key aspects of service quality and of individual-level performance in service organizations. Based on an explicitly behavioral definition of commitment to customer service, we first set out a model of the antecedents of CCS. We then test it using data from a representative sample of 717 employees of a major food-retailing organization in the UK. The results suggest that commitment to customer service is primarily a non-calculative phenomenon driven above all by affective. normative altruistic concerns, rather than by overtly instrumental considerations. Additional significant determinants of CCS were job pressure, job routinization. job competence and employees' understanding of customer service requirements. Research and policy implications of the study are discussed.     

Face validity in personality tests: psychometric instruments and projective techniques in comparison

Face validity is a controversial kind of test validity. Personality tests are divided into two big categories: projective techniques and psychometric instruments. They differ also for face validity, which influences the perception that people have of tests themselves. The article reports the scientific debate on face validity, and the results of a study carried out on naive subjects in order to let them compare projective techniques and psychometric instruments on the mere basis of their surface. An ad hoc questionnaire was administered. It asked subjects to compare projective techniques and psychometric instruments by using 13 adjectives. The sample, accidental, is composed of 238 participants, 45 males and 193 females. The data were substantially analyzed through techniques of Correspondence Analysis. Personality tests are principally judged through two dimensions: the aesthetic and the efficacy. The first dimension characterizes in particular projective techniques; the second, psychometric instruments. Although participants acknowledge that psychometric instruments are credible and scientific, there is a clear preference for projective techniques, principally by females, people younger than 22 and participants with lower education. Personality tests have an appearance that is judged by those who look at them. The aesthetic seems to prevail on the efficacy perception, but it would be suitable to carry on the same research with a sample stratified in respect of the personal details measured by the questionnaire.     

Financial development and remittances: Micro-econometric evidence

We estimate a behavioural model of household’s remittances to investigate to what extent the level of financial development in the home country affects decisions on whether and how much to remit.