Cost-based Pricing of Payment Instruments: the State of the Debate

Earlier I have argued in favour of explicit cost-based pricing of payment instruments. This article analyses new cost estimates for the Netherlands, and provides an overview of positions recently taken by important actors such as central banks and the European Commission. The new cost estimates strengthen the case for e-money. The central bank reports indicate that many are now convinced that a transparent pricing structure can increase efficiency. The Commission, on the other hand, seems unlikely to allow commercial banks to make a coordinated move towards cost-based pricing in order to break the deadlock in which they find themselves today.     

Female role orientation of Chinese women: Conceptualization and scale development

This article addresses the conceptual and measurement issues related to the study of the female role orientation (FRO) of Chinese women. It first reviews the concept of FRO and its important dimensions. It then reports on the construction and psychometric assessment of a measure of FRO. Four multiitem scales are developed that show strong evidence of reliability and validity across samples of Chinese women from mainland China and Hong Kong. Further analysis provides evidence of scale invariance across the two samples. The final section includes a discussion of the implications of the findings and directions for future research. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

On the interaction between forecasting and stock control: The case of non-stationary demand

The effect of using estimated (forecast) demand parameters on the performance of an inventory control system is an intriguing and important subject. Recent research has been undertaken on this phenomenon assuming stationary demand data. In this paper we extend the research to non-stationary demands, by means of simulation. The case of a periodic order-up-to-level inventory system is considered and the experimental structure allows us to evaluate in a progressive manner the accumulated effect of using the optimal forecasting method, optimal forecast parameters and correct variance expression procedures. The results allow insights to be gained into operational issues and demonstrate the scope for improving stock control systems.     

Medical interventions among pregnant women in fee-for-service and managed care insurance: a propensity score analysis

This paper extends earlier research on the effect of managed care on the receipt of four medical interventions for pregnant women: ultrasound, induction/stimulation of birth, electronic fetal monitor, and Caesarean delivery. Propensity score methods are used to account for sample selection issues regarding insurance choice. Managed care enrollees are more likely to receive an ultrasound, which may be indicative of receiving better prenatal care. Managed care plans reduce the rate of Caesarean deliveries, but such limitations may be beneficial given the substantial medical evidence that Caesarean deliveries are over-utilized. The results indicate that insurance coverage does influence treatment intensity, but that utilization controls and provider financial incentives do not adversely affect care for pregnant women.     

Stalling innovation of Cognitive Radio: The case for a dedicated frequency band

After more than a decade of frantic R&D efforts, Cognitive Radio (CR) technology continues to fail to pass the first developmental milestone of a working prototype, suggesting that the CR innovation process may be stalling. This paper analyzes possible reasons for this situation from the perspective of innovation management and economics. The CR innovation process has developed in a complex environment shaped by a combination of technology-push and market-pull forces. This paper shows that this process is being stifled by two barriers emerging from the current reliance of CR technology on opportunistic dynamic spectrum access as the sole means for entry into the wireless market. The technology-push is affected by the barrier of technological complexities linked to the requirement to protect highly sensitive incumbent systems. The market-pull forces are being negated by market lock-in and a strong status quo of well-established wireless players. This paper argues that overcoming these barriers and revitalizing the practical development of CR could be possible with the aid of light-touch governmental intervention. This could take the form of designating a dedicated CR band, which would benefit CR through less strict spectrum access requirements. A vibrant cognitive environment could flourish in this type of band, supporting CR innovation.     

The development of a conceptual model of greening in the business events tourism sector

This paper examines the process of corporate greening, and proposes a general conceptual model of the process, which may be relevant in a number of different corporate sectors. The model includes drivers of greening and barriers to greening and also the organisational context in which greening decisions are taken. In addition, this paper considers the role of media coverage in influencing pro-environmental behaviour amongst organisations. The paper then tests the model in one particular tourism context – that of business events – in order to ascertain the specific nature of the corporate greening process in that context. The paper concludes that the general model may be applied to a number of industry sectors, and the model specific to business events tourism may be used to underpin future research in this area.     

Are non-risk based capital requirements for insurance companies binding?

We investigate whether insurers base their solvency margins on risk factors even when operating under a supervisory regime where minimum solvency requirements do not fully take such risk factors into account. To do this, we use a dataset of about 350 Dutch insurers from all major lines of business during the pre-Solvency II period 1995–2005. We find that the levels of insurers’ actual solvency margins are related to their risk characteristics and not to regulatory solvency requirements. Consequently, the vast majority of insurers hold much more capital than required, i.e. non-risk based capital requirements generally are not binding. Requirements are found to affect solvency adjustment behaviour, though. More specifically, below-target capital ratios are raised most rapidly by those insurers whose targets are relatively close to the regulatory minimum. One implication from our results is that, because insurers already follow a risk-based approach, the transition to the new European regulatory framework, Solvency II, is likely to be smooth.     

Restructuring Managerial Labour in the USA,the UK and Japan: Challenging the Salience of ‘Varieties of Capitalism’

This article provides a cross‐national, qualitative investigation into the experiences of middle managers in large organizations in the USA, the UK and Japan, following organizational restructuring. Despite well‐documented national differences in administrative heritage, institutional regimes or ‘varieties of capitalism’, our data point towards considerable similitude across the three countries in terms of a general expression of the need for change, and the concrete impacts of organizational reforms on managerial work. Specifically we analyse the changing nature of work roles, career paths, working hours and spans of control of mid‐level managers in five large firms in each of the three countries. The data demonstrate that middle managers in all three countries face fundamental changes to key areas of their work experience. In Japan, although changes do not amount to a genuine shift towards ‘Anglo‐Saxon’ institutions or business practices, the robust use of organizational reforms with very similar aims and underpinning assumptions to those used in the USA and the UK entails similar impacts in terms of work processes of middle managers across the three nations. This shared experience involved the augmentation of middle management skill levels, responsibilities and span of control, but alongside the downgrading of career expectations, and increased workload and work intensity. We argue that these changes are in keeping with some, but not all, of the features explained and predicted in Bravermanian labour process theory.     

The Macroeconomic Loss due to Violence Against Women: The Case of Vietnam

Violence against women (VAW) is now acknowledged as a global problem with substantial economic costs. However, the current estimates of costs in the literature provide the aggregate loss of income, but not the macroeconomic loss in terms of output and demand insofar as they fail to consider the structural interlinkages of the economy. Focusing on Vietnam, this study proposes an approach based on the social accounting matrix (SAM) to estimate the macroeconomic loss due to violence. Using Vietnam’s 2011 SAM, the study estimates the income and multiplier loss due to VAW. From a policy point of view, the study argues that the macroeconomic loss due to VAW renders a permanent invisible leakage to the circular flow that can potentially destabilize, weaken, or neutralize the positive gains from government expenditure on welfare programs.