SATELLITE TELEVISION AND THE DEMAND FOR FOOTBALL: A WHOLE NEW BALL GAME?

A recent development in the UK television industry has been the emergence of satellite coverage of sporting events. This paper examines the relationship between broadcasting and football, culminating in the 1992 joint BBC and BSkyB contract to televise the English Premier League. A demand function is estimated which exteds the familiar model of attendance to incorporate television together with quadratic functions. We find that, although live transmission reduces attendance, the net financial consequences are positive for Premier League teams. Moreover, significant estimators are found for the quadratic functions of pricel earnings, distance, seasonal trend and length of Premier League status.     

An Economic View of the Debate on Farm Size in Saskatchewan: A Comment

In a recent paper in this Journal, Jensen (1984) continues the debate on farm size in Saskatchewan. In particular, he considers the relationship between farm size and efficiency "… to determine if it is necessary to have fewer and larger farms in order to gain cost efficiency …" Attention is focused on the notion of returns to size and the vehicle for analysis is estimates of long-run average cost (LAC) curves. Individual farm data are used for different farm types in the two years, 1977 and 1980. Equations are fitted to each farm type in each year. Hence, each estimated equation is based on cross-section data. The conclusion drawn from this analysis is that, "… at the frontier, constant returns to size are the norm in Saskatchewan agriculture" (p. 199). Moreover, "Governments could consider removing policies which favor large units …" (p. 198).     

LABOUR ON THE FAMILY FARM: A THEORY AND SOME POLICY IMPLICATIONS

This paper seeks to examine the labour-input decisions on family farms at a theoretical level and to demonstrate some policy implications of this theory. Where the family has the opportunity to work on the land, utility maximisation, rather than profit maximisation, would seem to be a more appropriate criterion for decision-making. Accordingly, the decision-making process is analysed under this alternative assumption. We then consider some of the policy implications of this model. In particular, we consider the effects of policies on the labour-inputs since the optimal allocation of labour is at the heart of most agricultural policies.     

倾销与比较优势

简单贸易模型的一个重要假设是市场完全竞争，并且贸易是源于比较优势。然而，现实中很少存在完全竞争的市场，不完全竞争市场使传统的贸易模型呈现出有趣的结果。这引起关注的一方面是不完全竞争企业在不同市场上给出不同的价格，即通常所说的“价格歧视”。在国际贸易中，最基本的价格歧视方式是“倾销”，即对于同一商品，出口商在国际市场上价格低于国内市场上的价格。如果国内企业是完全竞争的，并且在国内市场上以边际成本价格卖出，倾销就是指在国外市场上已低于边际成本价格出售。在多数的贸易模型中，商品按进口品和出口品分组，货币被认为是交换的中性媒介。对基于比较优势进行贸易的倾销的指控，主要是由于运用了与贸易不联系的汇率。我们认为，根据汇率来衡量基于比较优势的贸易获利在逻辑上是错误的，因为这种衡量往往导致明显的倾销，如果汇率市场是均衡的话。恰当的衡量方法是以贸易为基础的影子汇率。进一步来说，贸易障碍使得外汇交换和贸易不完全替代，使得汇率按接受到的价格相互高估。我们认为，只有在出口与基于比较优势的利润最大化不一致时，才能说明是倾销。     

Pleasure and arousal in the marketplace: Interpersonal differences in approach-avoidance responses

A theory of individual response to environments is discussed. This theory is extended to apply to consumer responses in the marketplace. An empirical study that tests this theory is described. This study examines individual differences in patronage behaviors and attitudes based on emotional responses to an outdoor retail market. In this study, it was found that a consumer's emotional response to an environment is instrumental in resultant patronage behaviors and attitudes.     

Applying Stories of the Environment to Business: What Business People Can Learn From the Virtues in Environmental Narratives

The use of narrative to communicate and convey particular points of view in society has increasingly become the focus of academic attention in recent years. In particular, MacIntyre. (1985, 1988, 1990, 1999) has paid attention to the role of narrative in the conflict between different traditions when developing his virtue approach to ethics. Whilst there has been continued debate about the application of virtue approaches, some arguing that it is incompatible with business, I disagree and have already argued for a form of virtue that will focus business on society’s needs rather than better business itself. Here I continue to develop the argument in two ways. First, I will explore the predominant business narrative and offer some comment on the ‘virtues’ that it promotes. However, rather than accepting this narrative, I want to challenge it with a narrative from the environmental tradition. I consider how adopting the virtues promoted by an environmental narrative it would shape business practices and challenge current business conventions. As a second step, I will focus on how we can change managers’ perceptions of business to reflect these environmentally based virtues.     

Pro-market institutions and labor market outcomes: A panel-data analysis of U.S. metropolitan areas

We expand previous U.S. state-level research on the relationship between pro-market institutions and labor market outcomes by examining this relationship at the U.S. metropolitan-area level. Using panel data for 1992–2012 in a fixed-effects model, we investigate the effect of pro-market institutions on the unemployment rate, labor force participation rate, employment-population ratio, and employment growth across 366 U.S. metropolitan areas. The results indicate that pro-market institutions are associated with a lower unemployment rate, higher employment-population ratio, and faster employment growth. These results suggest that local-area policies are important for achieving favorable labor market conditions at the local level.