The time-harried shopper: Exploring the differences between maximizers and satisficers

Schwartz and his colleagues have proposed individual differences in consumer decision goals. Maximizers are those who always strive to make the best possible decision, whereas satisficers are those who are usually willing to settle for a “good enough” option. In this study, we explore the influence of the maximizing trait in situations where consumers have to make quick purchase decisions. The context for our empirical study is online gift purchases made under a time constraint. The results support our predictions that maximizers (vs. satisficers) engage in more prepurchase browsing behavior and also perceive more decision time pressure. Furthermore, these effects are moderated by the size of the available choice assortment. The results also show that maximizers are more likely to change their initial time-constrained choices if given the opportunity to do so. We discuss the implications of the research for the study of individual differences in consumer behavior and also for customizing retail sales and Internet marketing tactics based on buyer segmentation.     

Stock market interdependencies: Evidence from the asian NIEs

National asset markets have become more integrated in recent years. This paper investigates the interrelationship, if any, among the stock markets in four newly industrialized economies (NIEs) in Asia. The results indicate that a significant link exists between the stock markets of Hong Kong and Singapore and those of Japan and the United States. On the other hand, the markets with severe restrictions on cross-country investing, that is, Korea and Taiwan, are not responsive to innovations in foreign markets. Finally, the United States stock market influences, but is not influenced by, the four Asian markets.     

The demand for money in a small open economy: The case of Switzerland

The paper uses cointegration analysis to investigate the demand for money in Switzerland in the context of an open economy. It considers the general process of financial asset substitution and tests for the relevance of an exchange rate and a foreign interest rate variable in a conventional money demand equation. The results show that the variables entering into the demand for either monetary base or narrow money equation may not form a cointegrated system unless the exchange rate or foreign interest rate variable is included. This provides support to both the currency substitution and capital mobility hypotheses.     

A more generalized planning model of Bangladesh: Some preliminary observations

Conclusion With a simple model which is more generalized than the one used in planning in Bangladesh, it has been demonstrated that government's overall budgetary programmes (revenue expenditure and credit policy) do not conform with sectoral output projections. This lack of conformity might have been responsible for the failure of planning in Bangladesh. For example, either macroeconomic policies (e.g., liberal credit policy) instead of raising output may have generated structural inflation or sectoral development and investment programmes may have fallen apart in the face of a rising price level. Since economic policies are directed at the macro level without due information about individual production sectors, certain government fiscal and monetary policy combinations may have increased demand for some output whose production could not be increased, at least in the short-run, because of structural bottlenecks. As a result, the Keynesian multiplier may have occurred only in nominal terms.On the other hand, planners may have set some investment target to free a given sector from structural bottlenecks, but fiscal and monetary policies were possibly not accommodating to generate required resources. Moreover, since the I-O model does not explain final demands on the basis of economic behaviour but rather treats them as exogenous, it short-circuits the income propagation mechanism. This possibly led to inconsistency between the forecasts of the Ministry of Planning and the Ministry of Finance regarding changes in gross domestic product (GDP) due to changes in exogenous variables.Therefore, for the successful harmonization of stabilization policies and development strategies, the analytical framework of both the Ministry of Finance and the Planning Commission need to be bridged. For this a more general social accounting framework, the Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) is needed. The SAM provides a complete and consistent picture of the circular flow (both real and monetary) in an economy. Therefore, the Planning Commission and the Bureau of Statistics should attempt to integrate information on financial flows and institutional income distribution with the information on real flows (I-O table) in the economy. This will provide a framework for a more generalized planning model within which impacts of monetary and fiscal policies can be traced to the individual sectors, so that there could be fruitful dialogue between the two Departments of the government.This paper is based on chapters 3 & 4 of the author's Ph.D. thesis, submitted to the University of Manitoba, 1983.This paper is based on chapters 3 & 4 of the author's Ph.D. thesis, submitted to the University of Manitoba, 1983.The author wishes to express his Sincere gratitude to Professor L.R.Klein for encouraging him to take up this project and for useful criticisms later as an external examiner. Thanks are also due to the advisory Committee, Professors C. Nicolaou, R. Lobdell, and P.S. Dhruvarajan. However, for any deficiency and error that remain, the author alone is responsible.     

Is Fiscal Decentralization Conflict Abating? Routine Violence and District Level Government in Java,Indonesia

Utilizing a newly created data set the authors examine the relationship between routine/everyday violence and fiscal decentralization in 98 districts of the Indonesian island of Java. By examining possible relationships between fiscal decentralization and routine violence, this paper fills a gap in the literature where the analysis of the relation between fiscal decentralization and violence is relatively scant. Routine violence, which is different from both civil war and ethno-communal conflict, centres around group brawls, popular justice or vigilante violence. Despite the uniform implementation of fiscal decentralization, subnational entities exhibit varying experiences with decentralization, but a common consequence is the increased size of local government. Fiscal decentralization, and the increased size of local government, can alleviate pent-up frustrations with a centralized state, as local government expenditure is seen to satisfy the needs of communities with which people identify more closely. The authors also find that the greater the share of locally generated revenues, the lower the number of violent incidents; but this capacity to generate more local revenues mainly lies in richer districts. Therefore, richer districts are likely to have a lower incidence of violence.     

Growth and dynamics of Australia's education exports

Australia is the third largest global exporter of education services and generated $18.6 billion in 2009–2010. The education sector ranks as the top services exports and number three of all export earners in recent years after coal and iron ore. This study analyses the major determinants of Australia's education exports. Using the Johansen cointegration technique, a stable long run relationship is found between education export earnings, real exchange rate, world income and terms of trade. It is also found that policy reforms relating to opening up the education sector from the mid 1980s had a positive growth effect on the sector.     

Re-Examining the Determinants of Islamic Bank Performance: New Evidence from Dynamic GMM,Quantile Regression,and Wavelet Coherence Approaches

This study is the first attempt to conduct a comparative analysis of the internal and external determinants of the Islamic banks’ profitability in the GCC region applying dynamic GMM, quantile regression, and wavelet coherence approaches. The dynamic GMM tends to indicate that equity financing and operating efficiency and macroeconomic variables such as money supply, and inflation are significantly related to Islamic banks’ performance. The bank-specific variables such as credit risk, equity ratio, and cost-efficiency ratios are not significant at different percentiles. ROA is driven by credit risk, equity ratio, and cost-efficiency ratios (as evidenced in wavelet coherence analysis).     

JOINT VENTURES, POLLUTION AND ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY

We examine the impact of emission taxes on the pollution level in a duopoly framework with endogenous market structure. We demonstrate that an increase in emission taxes could trigger a regime switch from joint ventures to Cournot competition, causing the pollution level to increase. Such a phenomenon is likely to happen when the concerned industry is reasonably profitable, and the synergistic gain between joint venture partners is not too strong. Moreover, emission taxes can implement the first best outcome if and only if the industry is not too polluting. In case it is, the second best level of taxes may or may not equal the optimal tax under either joint venture or Cournot competition.     

Borrower Targeting under Microfinance Competition with Motivated Microfinance Institutions and Strategic Complementarity

We examine how increased competition among motivated microfinance institutions (MFIs) impacts the poorest borrowers' access to microfinance. We find that competition depends on inequality, technology, and the possibility of double‐dipping (borrowing from several sources). Without competition, even a motivated MFI may lend to the not‐so‐poor in preference to poor borrowers. If double‐dipping is feasible, competition may encourage lending to the poor. The presence of double‐dipping is critical for MFI competition to have a positive effect. When double‐dipping is feasible, MFI coordination may worsen borrower targeting whenever inequality is intermediate. We discuss policy implications dealing with double‐dipping, MFI coordination, and competition.