A comparison of citizen and “expert” preferences using an attribute-based approach to choice

This paper explores whether expert judgements can be taken as a proxy for citizen preferences for determining investment strategies for public goods. As an illustration, we focus on the provision of Public Rights Of Way (PROW) by Local Government Authorities in England. These provide rights of passage over property to those other than the owners, and little information is available on the welfare effects of changes in the provision and use of PROW. Given limited funds, reliance on expert judgement could be a cost effective alternative for decision-making compared with stated preference surveys of citizens. Two methods are compared. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is used to elicit expert judgement to proxy citizen preferences for different attributes of PROW. The Choice Experiment (CE) technique is then used to derive preferences directly through personal interviews with citizens. Overall it was found that judicious use of AHP by experts can, in this instance, be used to represent citizen views. However, this result may not be easily generalisable to other settings.     

Should all Choices Count? Using the Cut-Offs Approach to Edit Responses in a Choice Experiment

Should we give equal weight to all responses in a choice experiment? Previous Choice Modelling papers have considered the issue of the internal consistency of choices—such as the extent to which strictly-dominated options are chosen. In this paper, a different focus is employed, namely the extent to which people choose options which violate their stated upper or lower limits for the acceptable levels for individual attributes. Since hypothetical over-statement of WTP has been a focus in stated preference studies, we concentrate on violations of stated upper limits of WTP, and explore the effects of “editing” such choices using a variable censoring rule and alternative approaches to re-classifying choices. The empirical case study is a choice experiment on eco-tourists in Rwanda. Our main conclusion is that the suggested approach offers a useful way of imposing consistency on choices, and that editing choices in this manner has an appreciable impact on estimated willingness to pay. However, issues remain with regard to explaining why people apparently violate their stated maximum willingness to pay.     

The Influence of Credit Union and Savings and Loan Competition on Bank Deposit Rates in Idaho and Montana

This study examines the effect of S & L and credit union competition on bank behaviorin Idaho and Montana. A structure-performance OLSmodel is used to estimate bank interest rates oncertain deposits. Two key independent variables arelocal market share of credit unions and S & Ldeposits. Overall, previous studies found littleevidence that thrift competition affects bankperformance. We found some evidence that thriftcompetition, especially from credit unions, resultsin higher interest rates for bank CDs. Theseresults have policy implications as banking groupscurrently seek to restrict credit union competition.     

Regional Comparisons,Spatial Aggregation,and Asymmetry of Price Pass-Through in U.S. Gasoline Markets

Spot to retail price pass-through behavior of the U.S. gasoline market was investigated at the national and regional levels, using weekly wholesale and retail motor gasoline prices from January 2000 to the present. Asymmetric pass-through was found across all regions, with faster pass-through when prices are rising. Pass-through patterns, in terms of speed and time for completion, were found to vary from region to region. Spatial aggregation was investigated at the national level and the East Coast with the aggregated cumulative pass-through being greater than the volume-weighted regional pass-through when spot prices increase. These results are useful to the petroleum industry, consumers, and policy makers by providing a basis to estimate the retail price effects that result from a change in spot price.     

Luck versus skill over time: time-varying performance in the cross-section of mutual fund returns

ABSTRACT

Using returns histories spanning January 1984 to October 2014 of 5785 actively managed US closed-end equity mutual funds, we address the ‘thorny problems’ highlighted by Fama and French (The Journal of Finance, 2010, vol. 65, p. 1925) that arise due to their resampling procedure. This prevents them from capturing time variation in the parameters of equilibrium asset pricing models. These problems are addressed by combining innovative procedures which allow for testing of multiple break dates on fund-specific parameters along with cross-section bootstraps that remain valid in the presence of time-varying parameters. We find that substantial proportion – 8% – of the estimated versions of the asset pricing model have significant changes in their parameters. The effects of this time variation on the cross-section distribution of the risk-adjusted performance measure are significant and substantially increase centiles of the right tail of this distribution when compared to those produced without time-varying parameters. Our evidence regarding the lack of actively managed US equity mutual funds that generate excess returns is significantly weaker than those of Fama and French but our results do not overturn their pessimistic conclusion regarding the lack of skilled managers. We do find, unlike Fama and French, that managers generating negative returns are just unlucky but have no skill.     

The work values and job involvement of Post-80s employees in the hospitality and tourism industry: empirical evidence from Macau

The purpose of this research was to examine the work values (WV) and the job involvement (JI) of the younger workforce in a Chinese society. Specifically, the study explores the case of Macau, which has transformed from a sleepy enclave to a gambling mecca. The findings from 384 full-time Chinese employees revealed four WV factors considered important to them. The Post-80s value the social environment and freedom. WV are significantly positively correlated with JI and vary significantly across demographic variables. Intrinsic WV have prediction power towards JI. The lack of research on the younger generation particularly in this popular tourism destination contribute to a better understanding and management of the workforce. It also highlights that traditional Chinese managerial practice might not be able to cope with the new expectations and work habits of the younger workers.     

State corporatism and environmental harm: Tax farming and desertification in northwestern China

Research on environmental governance in China has shown that centre–local relations often influence the implementation and efficacy of environmental regulations. By examining changes in resource allocation and rural development between 1982 and 2005 in the region worst affected by desertification in China—the Minqin oasis in Gansu—we argue that changes in macro‐level fiscal and commodity grain policies contributed to severe regional disparity and a reduction in local state capacity in hinterland China. Intergovernmental competition over fiscal revenue encouraged cash cropping and land reclamation, and the continuous decline of the oasis ecology further reduced legitimacy in rural governance. These institutional and ecological constraints shaped the behaviour of grassroots cadres and formed the conflicting interests of the state in resource distribution and environmental conservation that continued to exist until the implementation of a centralized conservation program in 2006. The data came from 157 interviews and 628 policy documents from local archives in Gansu.     

Tapping Deep Pockets: The Role of Resources and Social Capital on Financial Capital Acquisition by Biotechnology Firms in Biotech–Pharma Alliances

Strategic alliances with pharmaceutical firms allow small biotechnology firms to acquire needed financial capital in exchange for sharing new, cutting‐edge technologies. This study draws from aspects of resource‐based view and social capital theory to examine the factors that influence the extent of financial capital biotech firms acquire when forming an alliance with pharmaceutical firms. Using a sample of 184 alliances from the period 1995–2000, we found that alliances where the pharmaceutical firm has greater management control are associated with greater acquisition of financial capital by the biotech firm. We also found that the credibility of the pharmaceutical firm is positively associated with the extent of financial capital acquired by the biotechnology firm and that the number of patents that the biotech firm has is negatively associated to the financial capital the biotech firm receives. We discuss the implications of our findings for theory, research, and management practice.