Simple tests of target zones: the Irish case

In a small open economy with fixed exchange rates, tandard theory suggests that domestic inflation and interest rates should equal those abroad. In a credible target zone, the same theories suggest that inflation and interest rates should be ‘close’. Here, we seek to make precise this idea of limits on inflation and interest rate differentials consistent with limits on exchange rate movements. We then examine the case of Ireland, which joined the Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM) of the European Monetary System (EMS) in 1979 attracted by the prospects of lower, German influenced, inflation and interest rates. We find in the early years of the ERM, both Irish inflation and interest rastes were inconsistent with credibility of the exchange rate regime; in he latter years, from 1987 on, rates were in the derived range around German rates.     

Strategic giving and the nursing shortage

• Health care organizations in the United States face a significant nursing shortage, which seriously impacts the quality and availability of health care. Confronting this challenge requires involvement from organizations beyond the public sector. This paper explores an initiative by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida, exemplifying the concept of ‘strategic philanthropy,’ to contribute their financial resources and strong institutional ties to respond to the current and future shortage of nurses in Florida. Through this intervention, the company and partnering organizations hope to benefit the health care sector, the public, and themselves from the outcomes associated with the generation of a greater supply of nurses.

Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

4. Can Historical Responsibility Strengthen Contemporary Political Culture?

This paper deals with the question of historical responsibility. It can be subdivided into whether historical responsibility exists, consequently what it is about , and then how it can be put into practice. I am raising these questions as a third-generation German against the background of the Holocaust. In this paper I unfold various views and thus dimensions of historical responsibility, which I finally complement in the form of six models of historical responsibility. These models provide a multilayered perspective on and approach to the philosophical and practical dimensions of historical responsibility and, as a consequence, are of relevance to contemporary political culture.     

Audit Judgments of Revalued Non-current Assets: The Effect of Conflicting Risks

This paper reports the results of an experimental study concerning the effect of conflicting risks on the audit of revalued property assets. It is likely that the views of clients concerning the appropriateness of a valuation will be in conflict with those of interested third parties such as lending institutions or debenture holders. The pressures imposed by clients and third parties were examined experimentally by manipulating two factors in a 2 x 2 between-subjects design. These were the risk of breaching a debt covenant and the risk of losing the client, with high and low risks for both variables. Owner-occupied property and an investment property were revalued by a hypothetical client company. Subjects were asked to estimate the number of hours the audit team would spend on the audit of each asset and also the likelihood that the valuations would be accepted as reasonable. For the planned audit hours, results indicated a strong interaction effect between the two factors, with auditors planning to spend significantly more time when both the risk of breaching a debt covenant was high and the risk of losing the client was low. Similar results were found for the likelihood judgment that the valuation would be accepted as reasonable.     

Developing an understanding of problems being experienced by traditional healers living on the western border of the Kruger National Park: Foundations for an integrated conservation and development programme

The World Health Organisation estimates that 70‐80 per cent of Third World populations utilise traditional medicines. In South Africa this number is increasing due to population growth, rapid urbanisation, lack of alternative medical facilities, widespread poverty, violence and a belief that certain diseases can only be cured with traditional medicine. In 1994, traditional healers living on the western boundary of the Kruger National Park in South Africa requested assistance in obtaining scarce medicinal plant and animal species. It soon became apparent that developing a participative programme would require a deeper understanding by conservationists of the sociological, cultural and environmental factors affecting traditional healers. This research project was aimed at investigating these factors, as well as providing traditional healers with an opportunity for learning more about the problems conservationists are experiencing, thus building a foundation for a future integrated conservation and development programme.     

Displacement and self-employment entry

Displacement is expected to decrease the reservation wage of self-employment by decreasing earnings in paid employment and increasing the probability of unemployment. This paper examines whether displacement increases the probability of self-employment using propensity score matching on Swedish register-based data. The data include all individuals displaced due to plant closures in 1987 and 1988, and a random sample of 200,000 employed individuals. The results suggest that displacement almost doubles the probability of entering self-employment the year after displacement. A sub-sample analysis indicates that individuals with a potentially worse position on the labor market react more strongly to displacement in terms of entering self-employment.     

Willingness to pay for organic products: Differences between virtue and vice foods

Faced with growing environmental problems, food safety issues, and increasing obesity rates, many consumers desire healthier, less processed natural foods that are less harmful to the environment. Yet organic foods only partially benefit from this market environment, and their market share remains quite low despite high growth rates. The usual explanation for this discrepancy is that consumers are not willing to pay the price premium prompted by an organic claim. In this paper, we explore the reasons behind consumers' (un)willingness to pay for organic food and investigate whether it differs between virtue and vice food categories. The results indicate that in vice food categories, organic claims are associated with lower quality, which seems to be only partly compensated by higher prosocial benefits. The lower-quality perceptions translate into a decreased consumer willingness to pay (WTP). We supplement the empirical results with data on organic purchases in the Dutch food market. These data show that market shares of organic food are indeed lower for vice categories of organic food.     

Auditors' Conflict Management Styles: An Exploratory Study

This study explores the conflict management styles used by auditors when resolving disputes with clients concerning financial statement issues. Rahim's (1983a, 1990) ROCI–II conflict management instrument was used to establish both the styles generally used and also those used in a scenario concerning possible inventory obsolescence. Size of the client and the strength of its corporate governance mechanisms were manipulated in the scenario. It was found that auditors indicate that they primarily use the integrating style to resolve disputes. The compromising and dominating styles are used to a lesser extent while the obliging and avoiding styles are rarely used. Partners are more likely than managers to use more assertive styles of conflict management. The size of the client and the strength of corporate governance mechanisms in place have a significant but relatively minor impact on the choice of styles. The study also identifies the parties whom the auditor would expect to help resolve the dispute. It was found that, when resolving a dispute with the client's chief financial officer, the audit committee is perceived to give the most assistance, followed by the chief executive of icer.