A wage curve for Australia?

This paper examines the wage curve in Australia. Regressionsfor weekly earnings are estimated on a pooled cross-sectiondata set for 1982 to 1994/95. Using the preferred regressionspecification it is found that the elasticity of weekly earningswith respect to state-level rates of unemployment is -0.07 to-0.09. These findings are robust to a variety of modificationsto the regression specification. A comparison of Australia,the US and UK is undertaken to examine how differences in wage-settinginstitutions between those countries might affect wage curveestimates.     

Optimal management of a flammable forest providing timber and carbon sequestration benefits: an Australian case study*

In deciding to keep or fell a forest stand given its age, the risk of loss of timber through wildfire is an important consideration. If trees also have value from sequestration of carbon, another effect of fire is the unplanned loss of stored carbon. Factors affecting the decision to keep or fell trees, and how much to spend on fire protection, are investigated using stochastic dynamic programming, using carbon sequestration in stands of mountain ash in Victoria as a case study. The effect of treating sawlogs as a permanent carbon sink after harvesting is explored.     

Estimating the Effect of Redistricting on Minority Substantive Representation

This article applies modern Bayesian roll call analysis to estimatelegislators' support for minority-favored policies, and to determinethe likely impact of competing redistricting plans on the substantiverepresentation of minority interests. We first provide a theoryof districting and policy outcomes that points to the importanceof coalition building in advancing minority policy concernsand motivates our estimation techniques. We then apply thismethodology to the redistricting of the South Carolina StateSenate following the 1990 census. We show that this redistrictingled to more minorities being elected to office but less substantiverepresentation.     

Customer mind-set of employees throughout the organization

Previous research has provided strong evidence for the benefits of embracing a market orientation, an organizational focus highlighting the needs of customers, and the creation of customer value. This study extends this focus on the customer to the individual worker level. A construct, customer mind-set (CMS), is developed that reflects the extent to which an individual employee believes that understanding and satisfying customers, whether internal or external to the organization, is central to the proper execution of his or her job. In this exploratory study, the authors develop a parsimonious scale for measuring CMS. Relationships between CMS and significant organizational variables are examined to establish CMS's validity and provide some tentative insights into its value to researchers and practitioners. The authors believe the CMS construct will allow for operational-level analysis of the extent to which a customer orientation is embraced throughout an organization, permitting managers to implement targeted improvement strategies. Karen Norman Kennedy is an assistant professor of marketing at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of South Florida. Her research interests include customer orientation and cultural change in organizations, as well as the evolving role of customers and employees in today's marketplace. Her work has been published in theJournal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, theJournal of Services Marketing, Industrial Marketing Management, and theJournal of Marketing Education. Felicia G. Lassk is an assistant professor in the Marketing Group of Northeastern University. She received her Ph.D. from the University of South Florida. Her research interests include customer orientation, salesperson job involvement, and measurement issues. Her articles have appeared in the theJournal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, Industrial Marketing Management, and theJournal of Marketing Education, among others. Jerry R. Goolsby is the Hilton/Baldridge Eminent Chair of Music Industry Studies at Loyola University New Orleans. He received his Ph.D. from Texas Tech University. His research interests include issues related to market orientation and its implementation, customer and employee relationships, and sales interactions. His work has been published in theJournal of Marketing, theJournal of Marketing Research, theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, and other marketing journals.     

A Socioecological Examination of Observing Littering Behavior

Despite evidence of the negative health, environmental, and economic impacts, littering continues to be a problem and therefore warrants ongoing research attention. Guided by a Behavioural Ecological Framework, this study observed individual-, social-, and environmental-level factors on littering behavior across three different parks in Saudi Arabia. A total of 362 individuals were observed over 12 days. Approximately half of all disposals were improper, with litter left on the ground. The most commonly littered object was nuts (29.4%). The findings revealed that environmental factors had a significant impact, including the amount of existing litter, beautification efforts, and distance to rubbish bins, and that the only significant individual factor to have any impact on individual littering behavior was group size. Implications for litter prevention are discussed. Future research opportunities are outlined.     

Principles of Dynamic Optimization in Resource Management

The type of resource problem amenable to static analysis is distinguished from that requiring dynamic analysis. Possibly due to the apparent complexity of optimal control theory methods, often dynamic models have not been applied where they would be appropriate. In this article dynamic programming arguments are used to derive optimality conditions directly and simply. They are derived for a renewable resource such as a fishery, but they have application to resource management in general. The approach is illustrated by examples to the extraction of a depletable resource, to feeding for weight gain, and to applying fertilizer when some fertilizer carriers over from one crop season to another. Conditions for the optimal replacement of biological units are also considered.     

Defence: Markets and Bureaucracy

How can defence fit into the market economy? Gavin Kennedy, of Heriot Watt University, outlines the tension between markets and bureaucracy in national defence.     

Household Composition, Equivalence Scales and the Reliability of Income Distributions: Some Evidence for Indigenous and Other Australians

Indigenous families experience substantial and multiple forms of economic burden arising from the size and structure of their families and households. Indigenous households are more likely to have more than one family in residence than other Australian households and are more likely to be multigenerational with older Indigenous people living with younger people in extended family households. This paper seeks to characterise the economies of household size in Indigenous and other Australian households using equivalence scales that cover the range of feasible values and 1995 National Health Survey data.