HOME ECONOMICS IN CANADIAN UNIVERSITIES 1978

This paper outlines the development of programmes in home economics education in Canadian Universities in this century. It also considers the work done at postgraduate level and Home Economics enrolment statistics for 1976–1977 are included. Opportunities for graduates in Home Economics in Canada are also discussed.     

Does the Progressivity of Income Taxes Matter for Human Capital and Growth?

We develop a model with heterogeneity in skills to study the effect of tax progressivity on economic growth. The probability of becoming skilled depends positively on expenses on teacher time. We consider growth resulting from an externality due to skilled workers and from their employment in research and development. We show changes in the progressivity of taxes can have growth effects even when changes in flat rate taxes have none. The response is stronger with externality‐driven growth. Progressive taxation, often suggested to reduce inequality, can increase the long‐run skill premium and decrease the upward mobility of the poor.     

Stock Exchange Disclosure and Market Development: An Analysis of 50 International Exchanges

This study examines associations between measures of stock exchange disclosure and market development at 50 of the member stock exchanges of the World Federation of Exchanges. We focus on stock exchange disclosure systems (rather than actual company disclosures) because this approach links stock exchange policy with desired outcomes related to market development (such as liquidity, trading activity, and market size relative to gross domestic product). We find strong support for the hypothesis that the strength of the disclosure system (disclosure rules, monitoring, and enforcement) is positively associated with market development, after controlling for legal system, legal protection of investors, market size, and several other potentially relevant explanatory variables.     

Perceptions and Price: Evidence from CEO Presentations at IPO Roadshows

This paper examines the relation between cognitive perceptions of management and firm valuation. We develop a composite measure of investor perception using 30‐second content‐filtered video clips of initial public offering (IPO) roadshow presentations. We show that this measure, designed to capture viewers’ overall perceptions of a CEO, is positively associated with pricing at all stages of the IPO (proposed price, offer price, and end of first day of trading). The result is robust to controls for traditional determinants of firm value. We also show that firms with highly perceived management are more likely to be matched to high‐quality underwriters. In further exploratory analyses, we find the impact is greater for firms with more uncertain language in their written S‐1. Taken together, our results provide evidence that investors’ instinctive perceptions of management are incorporated into their assessments of firm value.     

Consumers' Use of Debit Cards: Patterns, Preferences, and Price Response

Debit card use at the point of sale has grown dramatically in recent years in the United States and now exceeds the number of credit card transactions. However, many questions remain regarding patterns of debit card use, consumer preferences when using debit, and how consumers might respond to explicit pricing of card transactions. Using a new nationally representative consumer survey, this paper describes the current use of debit cards by U.S. consumers, including how demographics affect use. In addition, consumers' stated reasons for using debit cards are used to analyze how consumers substitute between debit and other payment instruments. We also examine the relationship between household financial conditions and payment choice. Finally, we use a key variable on bank-imposed transaction fees to analyze price sensitivity of card use, and find a 12% decline in overall use in reaction to a mean 1.8% fee charged on certain debit card transactions; we believe this represents the first microeconomic evidence in the United States on price sensitivity for a card payment at the point of sale.     

‘So Long as I Take my Mobile’: Mobile Phones,Urban Life and Geographies of Young People's Safety

Mobile phone ownership has spread rapidly among young people in the UK. This article contributes to an expanding body of literature which is examining the consequences of this phenomenon for urban life. Our focus is the impact of mobile phones on young people's geographies, particularly their own and their parents’ fears about their safety in public spaces. Quantitative and qualitative findings are presented from two research projects in Gateshead, north‐east England on crime victimization and leisure injury risk for young people, in which the role of mobile phones in managing and negotiating safety emerged as significant. The article highlights the different ways in which young people and parents are using mobile phones for this purpose, and asks whether they are best viewed as technologies of surveillance or empowerment. We also raise questions about the efficacy of mobile phones in protecting young people from risk and fear, in particular examining the mobile as a new site of victimization. Throughout, we emphasize the social unevenness of the uses and impacts of new technologies, which is often underplayed in research. We conclude with the suggestion that although they offer some empowerment to young people in their use of public spaces and their negotiation of risk, mobile phones appear to be reshaping rather than reducing moral panics about young people's presence there. Au Royaume‐Uni, le téléphone mobile s’est répandu rapidement parmi les jeunes. Cet article s’ajoute aux documents en nombre croissant qui étudient les conséquences de ce phénomène sur la vie urbaine. Il s’attache à l’impact des mobiles sur la géographie des jeunes, notamment sur leurs craintes personnelles et celles de leurs parents quant à leur sécurité dans les espaces publics. Il présente des résultats quantitatifs et qualitatifs provenant de deux projets de recherches à Gateshead (nord‐est de l’Angleterre) sur le risque pour les jeunes d’être victimes d’un acte criminel et de se blesser durant un loisir, cas où les mobiles semblent jouer un rôle important pour gérer et négocier la sécurité. L’article met en lumière les différents modes d’utilisation des mobiles à cette fin, par les jeunes et les parents, en se demandant si ces téléphones sont d’abord considérés comme des technologies de surveillance ou de responsabilisation. Il interroge également l’efficacité des mobiles pour protéger les jeunes contre risques et craintes, notamment en envisageant ces téléphones comme nouveau terrain de victimisation. Dans son ensemble, ce travail souligne l’irrégularité sociale des usages et impacts des nouvelles technologies, souvent minimisée dans la recherche. La conclusion suggère que, même s’ils offrent une certaine responsabilisation aux jeunes dans leur utilisation des espaces publics et leur négociation du risque, les téléphones mobiles semblent remodeler, non réduire, les paniques morales liées à leur présence dans ces lieux.     

Weighing in on Fast Food Consumption: The Effects of Meal and Calorie Disclosures on Consumer Fast Food Evaluations

An analysis of consumers' Weblogs and two experiments address: (1) the differences in evaluations of menu items when consumers are versus are not provided with meal calorie information, and (2) their perception of calorie levels of different types of meals. Consumers provided their calorie estimates for specific meals offered by four different fast food restaurants, and an experiment assessed effects on consumer evaluations for calorie disclosures for actual items from two of these restaurants. Results show the complex relationship between consumer perceptions regarding the restaurants, the meals and the food items that can influence consumers' calorie estimates and evaluations of meals in restaurants.     

AESTHETIC RULES IN WOMEN'S APPAREL: EMPIRICAL FACT OR FANTASY

Aesthetic rules derived from ancient Greece abound in college textbooks used in modern apparel design and selection courses. This study attempted to evaluate these aesthetic rules empirically. Based on measurements of six persistent features (skirt length, waist length, décolletage length, skirt width, waist width, décolletage width) of women's evening apparel from 1926 to 1980, the distribution of frequencies for each dress dimension was not uniform but demonstrated a preferred value or region. Likewise, not all physically possible values for the dyadic relationships were uniformly observed. Findings of this study indicated that considerable latitude was demonstrated by designers in their interpretations of aesthetic rules. Yet an underlying order emerged. Some of this order can be attributed to existing design principles, but in several cases the sheer magnitude of the discrepancy between what is taught as good design and empirical reality suggests that certain aesthetic rules may need to be rephrased.