Family Communication Patterns and Marketplace Motivations,Attitudes, and Behaviors of Children and Mothers

This study examined the relation between family communication patterns (FCP) and mothers' marketplace motivations, attitudes, and behaviors (MAB). Adolescents' prediction accuracy of mothers' consumption motivations was also investigated. Results indicate mothers' materialistic and shopping tendencies, advertising attitudes, information use, and consumption motivations are linked to FCP. Adolescents' predictions of mothers' consumption motivations coincided with mothers' self-reported motivations. The findings suggest that FCP may play a role in the acquisition of marketplace MAB.     

RACIAL DISPARITIES IN FEDERAL DISABILITY BENEFITS

We estimate racial differences in the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) decision to award federal disability benefits using newly available data, multivariate econometric models, and Oaxaca decomposition methods. We focus on the appellate level of SSA’s disability decision‐making process. We find that for claimants represented by attorneys there is no statistically significant difference in benefit award rates between whites and African‐Americans. However, for claimants without attorney representation, we find sizable and significant differences between whites and African‐Americans. (JEL J15, H53)     

ESTIMATING THE IMPACT OF BEER PRICES ON THE INCIDENCE OF SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES: CROSS‐PROVINCE AND TIME SERIES EVIDENCE FROM CANADA

We attempt to contribute to the literature by evaluating the effects of higher beer prices on gonorrhea and chlamydia rates through pooling data across Canadian provinces and over time. Ordinary least squares as well as instrumental variables estimates suggest that higher real beer prices are correlated with a reduction in both gonorrhea and chlamydia rates, with corresponding implied elasticities within a tightly defined interval of (roughly) ?0.7 to ?0.9. However, the increase in real beer prices over the sample period is only responsible for less than a tenth of the decline in gonorrhea rates. (JEL I18)     

The micro‐foundations of the early London capital market: Bank of England shareholders during and after the South Sea Bubble, 1720–251

Using two sources, Bank of England Transfer Books and Stock Ledgers, this article explores the nature of the ‘customer base’ for Bank shares during and after the South Sea Bubble. This examination uncovers the nature of individual participation in this early capital market. The Transfer Ledgers record roughly 7,000 transfers during 1720, while the Ledger Books from 1720–25 record over 8,000 individuals holding stock. The analysis finds the customer base had breadth and depth, comprising individuals from across the social spectrum, from all over England and Europe. The market was diverse and liquid. Activity during the Bubble came from those living in and around London, with most traders participating in the market only twice at most. While the majority of participants were men, there was a sizeable female presence. Men as a group lost money from their market activity, but women made money. In the five years after the Bubble, the customer base was sustained. The analysis argues that the secondary market in financial assets cannot be dismissed as mere gambling devices, and that the basis for a mutually productive interaction between the financial sector and the real sector of the economy was already in existence and was sustained through the shock of the South Sea Bubble and its collapse.     

Trends in Child Poverty in Australia, 1982 to 1995–96

This study suggests that child poverty in Australia fell by about one-third between 1982 and 1995–96, largely as a result of the very substantial increases in government cash payments to lower income families with children. However, while there were sharp falls in poverty among dependent children, poverty rates among 15 to 18 year-olds who had left the parental home or who were still living at home but not in full-time study increased very sharply. In addition, the after-housing poverty picture did not look so optimistic, apparently due to a compositional shift in the types of families in after-housing poverty.     

Disclosures Exposed: Banner Ad Disclosure Adherence to FTC Guidance in the Top 100 U.S. Web Sites

With banner ads accounting for one‐fifth of the $16.4 billion spent on Internet advertising in 2006, this advertising format has become an integral marketing communications tool. Inclusion of required disclosure language and presenting those disclosures in a clear and conspicuous manner are important areas of regulatory interest and in recent years have extended to the online environment. This study examines the extent to which disclosures in banner ads in the top 100 U.S. Web sites adhere to Federal Trade Commission guidance in these two areas. Additionally, this study compares the banner ad results for clear and conspicuous presentation to those of a prior study that examined television advertising. All the banner ads in the study contained at least one disclosure; yet, adherence was mixed in terms of providing all the required information clearly and conspicuously. Implications of these results are discussed.     

IMPACT OF INCOME AND WIFE'S EDUCATION ON FAMILY CONSUMPTION EXPENDITURES

Data from the 1972–73 Consumer Expenditure Surveys were used to investigate whether wife's education influences family expenditure once the effects of income and other factors are taken into account. The double-log function was used in the multiple regression analysis of fifteen consumption expenditure categories. Education and income elasticities were also compared. Wife's education was influential in determining family consumption expenditures even after taking family income and other factors into account.