As Time Goes By: Examination of Temporal Stability Across Stated Preference Question Formats

We evaluate the temporal stability of willingness-to-pay values obtained from two identical stated-preference surveys undertaken in 2004 and 2012. The surveys employ two discrete-choice elicitation formats to value reductions in two health endpoints related to tap water consumption, and are explicitly designed to make direct comparisons between formats. We find no significant differences in real willingness-to-pay between the two surveys for either format—a result that is robust to the structure of heterogeneity used to model respondent preferences. Findings lend support, at least within the context of tap water quality, to the temporal transfer of nonmarket benefits over extended time periods.     

Implications of marketing capability and research and development intensity on firm default risk

Marketing capability and research and development intensity are firm resources used to increase firm performance and reduce investor risk. This study aims to link marketing capability and research and development intensity, and their interaction to firm default risk. This study is the first to examine marketing capability and research and development intensity regarding their influences on firm default vulnerability and to demonstrate how marketing capability may strengthen research and development intensities’ power on risk reduction. The results reveal a U-shaped relationship between research and development intensity and firm default risk, while marketing capability’s impact is unidirectional. Further, marketing capability strongly moderates the relationship between research and development intensity and firm default risk. For low marketing capability firms, the U-shaped pattern is more significant. For high marketing capability firms, the pattern is not salient and the risk reduction power of research and development intensity is stronger. This research provides useful implications for marketing theories, as well as business practice.     

Understanding the intergenerational transmission of cherished possessions: Insights for estate planning,trust officers and other end-of-life professionals

In order to survive in today's increasingly competitive marketplace, retail banks must focus on emphasising relationships and must personalise service interactions, differentiating their organisation. Trust departments have an opportunity to build credibility and gain a competitive advantage by expanding the scope of advice given, and in doing so can build intergenerational business with spouses, children and grandchildren. Recent research suggests that the conflicts resulting from estate settlements are on the increase and are commonly due to the disposition of possessions, not financial assets that can often be easily divided. In this paper the authors focus specifically on how professionals dealing with end of life issues can better understand the phenomena of cherished possessions. The managerial implications of this research can have a profound impact on financial service providers and their ability to build loyalty and to increase customer retention.     

Consumer discrimination,duopoly, and black firm entry: The welfare effect of subsidies

Consumer discrimination, to the extent that it lowers expected profit for black owned firms, discourages the entry of new black firms. From a social welfare perspective, consumer discrimination may be welfare reducing, since market output is lower than otherwise. If so, a policy intervention that subsidizes new black firms may improve social welfare. This article presents a simple model of duopoly where consumer discrimination exists with uncertainty, and the only cost of production is a “loss of sales” cost. Given the Nash equilibrium, in which a black and white firm must select a price to charge, conditions are derived for which a profit subsidy to a new black firm increases, decreases, or has no effect on social welfare.     

NEA Presidential Address: Black Economists of the World You Cite!!

Economists who publish research in the economics and political economy of race seem averse to citing similar research by black economists. As citations are an important determinant of success as a research economist, black economists can possibly offset the aversion of non-black economists in citing black economists, by citing black economists themselves. This NEA Presidential address considers the relevance of black economist citations, and evaluates the extent to which black economists cite other black economists.

A fundraising mechanism inspired by historical tontines: Theory and experimental evidence

The tontine, which is an interesting mixture of group annuity, group life insurance, and lottery, has a peculiar place in economic history. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries it played a major role in raising funds to finance public goods in Europe, but today it is rarely encountered outside of a dusty footnote in actuarial course notes or as a means to thicken the plot of a murder mystery. This study provides a formal model of individual contribution decisions under a modern variant of the historical tontine mechanism that is easily implemented by private charities. Our model incorporates desirable properties of the historical tontine to develop a mechanism to fund the private provision of a public good. The tontine-like mechanism we derive is predicted to outperform not only the voluntary contribution mechanism but also another widely used mechanism: charitable lotteries. Our experimental test of the instrument provides some evidence of the beneficial effects associated with implementing tontine-like schemes. We find that the mechanism has particular power in cases where agents are risk-averse or in situations where substantial asymmetries characterize individual preferences for the public good.