Kids Cause Specialization: Evidence for Becker’s Household Division of Labor Hypothesis

We examine the division of labor within households and marital matching patterns in the USA using both the Current Population Survey (CPS) and the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY). We use Becker’s theory of marriage markets by estimating household production functions and using the estimates to test for positive or negative assortive matching. We also construct match matrices, which are used to judge how well our model fits Becker’s theory. We find positive assortative matching on all traits in young marriages and couples without children, and negative assortment along some traits in marriages with children. This suggests that children induce specialization whereas couples without children exploit household public goods.

Working capital management,corporate performance,and financial constraints

This paper examines the linkage between working capital management and corporate performance for a sample of non-financial UK companies. In contrast to previous studies, the findings provide strong support for an inverted U-shaped relation between investment in working capital and firm performance, which implies the existence of an optimal level of investment in working capital that balances costs and benefits and maximizes a firm's value. The results suggest that managers should avoid negative effects on firm performance because of lost sales and lost discounts for early payments or additional financing expenses. The paper also analyzes whether the optimal working capital level is sensitive to alternative measures of financial constraints. The findings show that this optimum is lower for firms more likely to be financially constrained.     

Measuring consumer-based brand authenticity

Postmodern consumers use brands to create an authentic self and to reconnect to place, time, culture and others. Although previous research has identified that consumers draw on a range of cues in order to attribute authenticity to branded objects, no scales exist to measure the construct of brand authenticity. Building on the existing literature, this paper uses quantitative methods to develop a psychometrically robust measure of brand authenticity from a consumer's perspective. Findings demonstrate convergent, discriminant and predictive validity, whereby 14 items represent three interrelated first order factors labeled quality commitment, sincerity and heritage that correspond with a higher order brand authenticity construct. This study extends our understanding of the consumption of authenticity. Moreover, it provides a tool by which firms can evaluate the effectiveness of strategic decisions designed to deliver an authentic brand offering to consumers. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.     

The price-to-rent ratio: A macroprudential application

We examine the potential for the price-to-rent ratio to be used as a macroprudential tool. In addition to using standardized appraisal methods, appraisers could estimate the current market rent for a property. The resulting price-to-rent ratio would provide a useful signal for speculative pressures. We show this by estimating price-to-rent ratios using the American Housing Survey. The distribution of price-to-rent ratios shifted up dramatically during the housing boom with the 75th and 95th percentile reaching a historic peak in 2006 at 22 and 44, respectively. We propose a lending policy that incorporates the price-to-rent ratio to generate countercyclical loan-to-value ratios.     

Building smallholder farmers' capacity to adopt climate-smart agricultural practices in flood prone areas: Lessons from Bangladesh

Currently, there is an increased interest in promoting climate-smart agricultural practices (CSAPs) around the globe, however, application of these practices may vary for different climate risk hotspots. Although, climate field schools (CFS) are conducted with the aim of empowering farmers with knowledge on the various agricultural practices, little attention has been devoted to building the capacity of smallholder farmers to facilitate adoption of appropriate CSAPs. Given the effects of climate change on agriculture, it is fundamental for agricultural sustainability to answer the question that has hardly benefited from empirical analysis in previous land use studies, which is: Do CFS build farmers' capacity to adopt CSA in flood prone areas? Cross-sectional data from 600 rural farm households in south Bangladesh is used and the recursive bivariate probit (RBP) is applied to address this knowledge gap. The results reveal that participation in CFS increases the probability of a farmer's soil salinity consciousness by 25% and eventually improves the probability to adopt climate-smart agricultural practices by 20%. We also analyzed the spillover effects of CFS participation on CSA adoption and found that there is a strong spillover effect which has important implications on the cost effectiveness and sustainability of the program. Overall, the study provides empirical evidence demonstrating that participatory approaches stimulate adoption of appropriate CSAPs by building farmers' capacity in recognizing the existing climate risk hotspots.