Plans,disequilibria and macroeconomic policy simulations

In the paper some specific problems of applying a disequilibrium model of a centrally planned economy for policy simulation experiments are analysed. It is shown that a model in which demand, supply and plan output variables are simultaneously introduced can be used for policy simulation in a more effective way than a model which describes either demand or supply side of an economy. In the empirical part of the paper a disequilibrium-type model of the Polish economy is used for simulating alternative internal and external economic policies for 1971–80. It has been found that internal deflationary policies would have been relatively efficient in minimizing consumption excess demand at a given level of consumption output in the period investigated.     

Rich language and refinements of cheap-talk equilibria

I formalize the notion of equilibrium language, define the relation of having a richer language, and show the existence of equilibria with maximally rich language. I also study the stability of equilibria with respect to inflows of messages that can enrich their language, and provide examples of implausible cheap-talk equilibria, not refined away by the existing refinements, which can be refined away on the grounds of stability properties.     

Severe acute respiratory syndrome,tourism and the media

There has been an assumption, based on trends from the last two decades of the twentieth century, that global tourism will continue to grow. A number of events in the early twenty first century, however, have called this into question. Some of these have been natural occurrences, others anthropogenic, such as the terrorist attacks in New York in 2001, which indirectly affected global tourism, and that in Bali in 2002, where tourists were the major target. The outbreak of the disease severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in early 2003 had direct and significant impacts on global tourism. This article provides an overview of the SARS outbreak and its impact on global tourism, and focuses on the role of the media in relation to the disease outbreak. Eighteen months on from the height of the outbreak, SARS appeared to have been checked, but there have a number of subsequent cases and of particular concern, it has been predicted that the disease will return on a large scale, and therefore a future research agenda is also presented. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The development of environmental initiatives in tourism: responses from the London hotel sector

In tourism, natural resources and the physical environment are regarded as important assets to enhance the product. Practitioners in this multisectoral industry (including hotels) perceive the environment and its resources to be a crucial feature in attracting more tourists. Today, most sectors of industry face pressure to improve their environmental performance. Hotels as a component of tourism are no exception. Hotels can act to reduce their environmental impacts and, collectively, make a substantial contribution to improving the quality of the environment. A wide range of publications offer guidance and advice on the actions hoteliers may take to alter their practices and thus address environmental issues. Yet, to date, it is not clear how many hotels are applying these recommendations, nor which actions share this common goal. Equally, the lack of operationalisation in environmental principles, implicit within many codes of practice, is seeing the emergence of a gap between theory and practice in these matters. It is the nature of this gap that is explored. Additionally, an assessment is undertaken of what the tourism industry is doing to improve environmental performance, and a case study is presented based on a detailed survey of environmental management practices in 42 London hotels. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Agricultural productivity,the real effective exchange rate,and structural change: Some evidence from Africa

Agriculture is thought to play a number of roles in the early development process. All of these roles involve fostering non‐agricultural development, in particular manufacturing. It is argued in this paper that agriculture plays a role that has hitherto been ignored. Specifically, if agricultural labor productivity increases faster than manufacturing labor productivity, the real effective exchange rate will depreciate. This depreciation of real effective exchange rate occurs because in very poor countries agriculture makes up the dominant share of both GDP and employment. The depreciation also makes it easier for a country to expand the production of tradables relative to nontradables, with manufacturing being the main tradable. This proposition, which as agricultural labor productivity increases relative to manufacturing labor productivity the real effective exchange rate depreciates, is tested using data drawn from 10 sub‐Saharan African countries.     

An Economic Analysis of Global Policy Proposals to Prohibit Compensation of Blood Plasma Donors

Human blood plasma and its derivative therapies have been used therapeutically for more than 50 years, after first being widely used to treat injuries during World War II. In certain countries, manufacturers of these therapies – known as plasma-derived medicinal products (PDMPs) – compensate plasma donors, raising healthcare and ethical concerns among some parties. In particular, the World Health Organization has taken a strong advocacy position that compensation for blood donations should be eliminated worldwide. This review evaluates the key economic factors underlying the supply and demand for PDMPs and the evidence pointing to the policy options that are most likely to maintain a reliable supply of life-sustaining therapies. It concludes that compensated plasma donation is important for maintaining adequate and consistent supplies of plasma and limits the risk of under-treatment for the foreseeable future.     

Resource constraints and partial adoption of conservation agriculture by hand-hoe farmers in Mozambique

Conservation agriculture is a set of practices widely promoted to increase agricultural productivity while conserving soil through reduced tillage, mulching and crop rotation. Adoption levels are low across southern Africa and farmers often use only some components on small portions of their land. This study uses in-depth interviews and partial budget analysis to explore adoption of conservation agriculture in Mozambique's Angonia highlands. Farmers described many benefits but there was little sign of adoption beyond plots where non-governmental organizations promoting conservation agriculture had provided inputs. Most farmers were adamant that conservation agriculture could perform better than conventional agriculture only if they applied fertilizer or compost. With current costs and prices, conservation agriculture is unprofitable except on small plots for farmers with low opportunity cost of household labour. These findings suggest that conservation agriculture can improve maize yields but capital and labour constraints limit adoption to small plots in the absence of free or subsidized inputs. Given the current ranges of prices for grain and inputs these manual forms of conservation agriculture will not be adopted on a large scale in Angonia. Nevertheless, small conservation agriculture plots can provide farmers with high yields where constraints are lowest.     

Mother's autonomy: impact on the quality of children's healthcare in India

Given the poor condition of children's health in developing countries, this article seeks to examine two hypotheses concerning healthcare for children. First, does mother's autonomy influence the quality of child healthcare and, second, which is related to the first, whether mother's autonomy reduces the apparent gender bias in child healthcare. Using household survey data from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh in India the article finds that for the most part as the mother's autonomy (measured several different ways) increases, the quality of care for children improves. The results also indicate that gender bias exists in the provision of quality healthcare for children. Male children generally receive better quality care. However, for several measures of female autonomy, an increase in such autonomy reduces the bias. The results of this analysis have important policy implications and provide additional insight into the state of affairs of children's health in rural India.     

Some preliminary evidence of the impact of the 2008–2009 financial crisis on women

Beginning in late 2007 and into 2008, a financial crisis originating in the United States spread throughout the world. This article seeks to present preliminary evidence of the impact of this crisis on female labour force participation and the proportion of females working in nonagricultural sectors. A panel data set involving 171 countries is utilized, and the results indicate that the financial crisis led to increases in female labour force participation as well as the proportion of females working in the nonagricultural sector. There are differences in impact for countries of various income levels (low, middle and high). In addition, female political power has also led to increases in the economic participation of females.