Transparency and the regulatory process in Europe and the United States: two research priorities

Transparency research related to the regulatory process would benefit most from two types of empirical studies. One batch of studies, described in the fifth section of this essay, would focus on the American states and the member states of the European Union to identify the factors that determine whether regulatory processes are more transparent and whether transparency is successful in improving regulations and the regulatory process. In other words, we need comparative state (for the US) and member state (for the EU) studies to develop metrics for the quality of regulations and the role of transparency is advancing or weakening the quality of regulations at the state (for the US) and member state (for the EU) level. The second batch of studies, described in the sixth section of this essay, would explore who uses the information currently provided at the levels of transparency currently available in regulatory processes at the European Union and federal government of the United States. Who benefits from transparency and how are they using the available transparency mechanisms?     

Corporate philanthropy: Insights from the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake in China

We explore the equity market impact of board announcements of corporate donations made in response to the May 12th 2008 Wenchuan earthquake in China. Our event study uses a sample of board announcements of corporate donations from Chinese A-share listed companies. We find that donor companies providing products and/or services directly to end-consumers tend to enjoy higher abnormal stock returns, thereby documenting a link between corporate social responsibility and corporate financial performance at least for some corporate citizens. In light of the empirical results, the study suggests that corporate philanthropic involvement should be treated as a differentiated type of marketing tool to obtain social reputation and publicity, as well as a relationship cultivation mechanism with local government authorities.     

Book Reviews

Andrew MacIntyre (ed.), Business and Government in Industrialising Asia, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 1994, pp. xii + 312. Paper: A$29.95.

John Bresnan, From Dominoes to Dynamos: The Transformation of Southeast Asia, Council on Foreign Relations, New York, 1994, pp. x + 115. $17.95.

Anthony Reid, Southeast Asia in the Age of Commerce 1450–1680: Volume Two, Expansion and Crisis, Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 1993, pp. xv + 390.

Binhadi, Financial Sector Deregulation, Banking Development and Monetary Policy: The Indonesian Experience (1983–1993), Indonesian Bankers' Institute, Jakarta, 1995.

Anwar Shah and Zia Qureshi, with Amaresh Bagchi, Brian Binder, and Heng-fu Zou, Intergovernmental Fiscal Relations in Indonesia: Issues and Reform Options, World Bank Discussion Papers 239, Washington DC, pp. xxxii + 279. $17.95; A$425.00; NZ$30.25.

Jacqueline Vel, The Uma-economy: Indigenous Economics and Development Work in Lawonda, Sumba (Eastern-Indonesia), Wageningen, pp. xiv + 283. $20.00 + $8 postage & handling.

Joao Mariano de Sousa Saldanha, The Political Economy of East Timor Development, translated by Theresia Slamet and P.G. Kattopo, Pustaka Sinar Harapan, Jakarta, 1994, pp. 414.

Jan-Paul Dirkse, Frans H$uUsken and Mario Rutten (eds), Development and Social Welfare: Indonesia's Experiences under the New Order, KITLV Press, Leiden, 1993, pp. 267.

W.G. Huff, The Economic Growth of Singapore: Trade and Development in the Twentieth Century, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1994, pp. xxi + 472. A$60.

Saha Dhevan Meyanathan (ed.), Industrial Structures and the Development of Small and Medium Enterprise Linkages: Examples from East Asia, The World Bank (Economic Development Institute of the World Bank Seminar Series), Washington DC, 1994, pp. v + 158. Paper: $9.95.

Thee Kian Wie, Industrialisasi di Indonesia: Beberapa Kajian, LP3ES, Jakarta, pp. xxvi + 278 (including Introduction by Mari Pangestu).     

Inductive research in last-mile delivery routing: Introducing the Re-Gifting heuristic

The last-mile problem presents a daunting challenge for many logistics service providers, especially some 7000 small, localized operations for whom the cost of complex software solutions is often prohibitive. As a result, last-mile dispatchers rely on simple heuristics to ensure adequate customer service at an acceptable cost. This research effort extends prior qualitative work by developing and testing a simple vehicle routing heuristic, based on behaviors observed in practice, that prioritizes customer service over cost against other simple vehicle routing heuristics across a variety of environments using simulation. The results support the inclusion of a customer service focus in vehicle routing and the addition of such heuristics to existing algorithm portfolios, specifically in urban areas with well-developed highway systems.     

Humor and cognitive responses to advertising stimuli: A trace consolidation approach

Despite the predictions of several attitude change theories, most empirical research suggests that humorous communications are no more persuasive than their serious counterparts. The present study adopted a trace consolidation theory approach and tested the hypothesis that humorous appeals are more persuasive than serious appeals when time for trace consolidation is allowed. The trace consolidation theory hypothesis was supported most directly by shifts in cognitive responses. On some measures, sex differences were also observed. Specifically, males were found to be more susceptible than females to the humorous persuasive appeal.