(How) Do Prerequisites Matter? Analysis of Intermediate Microeconomics and Agricultural Economics Grades

Success in intermediate economics and agricultural economics classes with respect to course prerequisites was evaluated. Prerequisites were statistically important for both intermediate microeconomics and in two of the three agricultural economics courses evaluated. The primary finding was that—for three of the four courses evaluated—the higher the proportion of students who completed the listed prerequisite, ceteris paribus, the lower the grade for any given student. Results also indicate that students with higher ex ante GPAs and to some extent higher math equivalent SAT scores, received higher grades.     

A Dynamic Model of Network Formation

Network structure plays a significant role in determining the outcome of many important economic relationships; therefore it is crucial to know which network configurations will arise. We analyze the process of network formation in a dynamic framework, where self-interested individuals can form and sever links. We determine which network structures the formation process will converge to. This information allows us to determine whether or not the formation process will converge to an efficient network structure. Journal of Economic Literature Classification Numbers: A14, C7, D20.     

Building an alternative economic network? Consumer cooperation in Scotland from the 1870s to the 1960s†

There is growing interest in the ways in which, and the values according to which, economic activity is undertaken. For instance, mutual ownership has been identified as one means of helping to ‘redeem’ capitalism. This article engages with such issues by examining aspects of the behaviour of consumer cooperative societies in Scotland from the 1870s to the 1960s. It starts by discussing whether cooperatives represent a means of conceptualizing and undertaking economic activity that provides an alternative to the paradigm of investor‐led (neo)liberal capitalism. From this, and an outline history of consumer cooperatives in Scotland, it identifies two variables—dividend on purchases and funds for education—as proxies for the values underpinning cooperatives’ economic behaviour. Analysis of these variables indicates the existence of distinct cultures of cooperation, notably in the Glasgow and Edinburgh areas. The article concludes by offering two ‘lessons from history’ for those interested in alternative economic networks. The first is that cooperation can, and has, conceptualized and sustained an alternative to the dominant (neo)liberal economic paradigm. The second is that the scaling‐up of such voluntaristic economic thought and behaviour is unlikely to present a macro‐level challenge to it.     

Local perspectives on new process technology and employment

This article examines the introduction of new process technology into a local labour market in the late 1980s and relates variations in adoption rates to establishment characteristics. The authors highlight the contrasts in the employment outcomes and training requirements in adopting and non-adopting establishments and find that 'adopters' expect more changes in employment, more skills shortages and have a greater awareness of future training needs.     

The Information in Management's Expected Earnings Report Date: A Day Late, a Penny Short

Since 1995, managers of thousands of firms have voluntarily disclosed the expected date of their firm's next quarterly earnings announcement to Thomson Financial Services Inc. These disclosures are approximately 500% more accurate than the simple time–series expected report dates used in prior accounting research. These disclosures are also informative. On average, managers who miss their own expected date eventually report earnings that fall about one penny per share below consensus forecasts for each day of delay. Investors respond by sending the price of late–announcing stocks down at the missed expected report date and continue to send them down as the reporting delay lengthens, consistent with our "day late, penny short" result. Despite this, we find that the market response at the time earnings are announced still depends on whether the announcement is early, on time, or late relative to the firm's own expected report date.     

Occupational sex segregation in the UK 1979–89: the role of part-time employment

In this article, the pattern of occupational segregation by sex in the UK between 1979 and 1989 is explored through the decomposition of the new Karmel Maclachlan index. Over the upturn, 1983–89, integration of the sexes, as measured by the Composition Effect occurred faster for full-time employment than total (full-time and part-time) employment. On the other hand, integration, in general, proceeded more slowly over the downturn of 1979–83 but total employment showed a more rapid rate of desegregation than full-time employment. Further analysis of the index, based on notional redistributions of part-time and full-time employment, confirms that part-time employment appears to be disproportionately responsible for the overall level of occupational sex segregation and to inhibit its decline over the upswing. These results are attributed to the different labour supply behaviour of males and females and the propensity of employers to treat part-time employees as a flexible reserve. Policies are outlined to counteract both the unequal treatment of part-time workers, particularly women, and the allocative inefficiency caused by the growth of part-time employment, relative to full-time employment.     

Voluntary Assurance of Voluntary CSR Disclosure

We study a firm's decisions to engage in socially responsible activities, voluntarily report on them, and purchase external assurance of the report. In our signaling model, neither firm type nor the level of activity is observed. We show that if voluntary assurance is not too expensive, the firm that engages in more socially responsible activities purchases external assurance and thus “selects” a separating equilibrium. As a result, CSR reports can be used to infer the level of activity and this causes all firms to engage in more socially responsible activity. Further, when voluntary assurance is required to support a separating equilibrium, greater monitoring by social activists increases the chosen quality of voluntary assurance—voluntary assurance and monitoring by social activists are complements, not substitutes.     

Are Crop Yields Normally Distributed? A Reexamination

This article demonstrates that normality test procedures that include individual detrending of short-term panel data can severely reduce the power of normality tests and strongly bias normality tests in a Type II direction. An alternative error component implicit detrending procedure is suggested that demonstrates higher power for the distributions examined. Both procedures are applied to a large data set with normality of yield residuals being rejected. Assuming normality is shown to reduce potential premium rates for a large number of producers in an existing crop insurance product.     

School,department, and instructor determinants of teaching methods in undergraduate economics courses

The choice of teaching methods and materials is affected by key school, departmental, and faculty characteristics. We investigate the effects of such characteristics and estimate how much changes in some school and departmental policies affect the probability that economics instructors will use particular teaching methods and materials in four different types of courses. As schools and departments change policies, often in response to changes in resource bases, they may not take into account how that affects faculty teaching and student time investments in coursework. That raises concerns about the relationship between these constraints, policies, and possible decreases in the quality of college graduates.