Neighborhood effects of concentrated mortgage foreclosures

As the national mortgage crisis has worsened, an increasing number of communities are facing declining housing prices and high rates of foreclosure. Central to the call for government intervention in this crisis is the claim that foreclosures not only hurt those who are losing their homes to foreclosure, but also harm neighbors by reducing the value of nearby properties and in turn, reducing local governments’ tax bases. The extent to which foreclosures do in fact drive down neighboring property values has become a crucial question for policy-makers. In this paper, we use a unique dataset on property sales and foreclosure filings in New York City from 2000 to 2005 to identify the effects of foreclosure starts on housing prices in the surrounding neighborhood. Regression results suggest that above some threshold, proximity to properties in foreclosure is associated with lower sales prices. The magnitude of the price discount increases with the number of properties in foreclosure, but not in a linear relationship.     

Regional voices talk theatre: audience development for the performing arts

• Audience development is somewhat of a ‘buzz word’ within the Australian performing arts sector at present. However, rather than actually engaging with audiences and with non‐attenders to discover how to best serve the community, most of the performing arts organisations approach audience development from a product‐centred viewpoint.
• In direct contrast to this, the Talking Theatre project (2004–2006) was implemented in regional Queensland and in the Northern Territory in Australia as an audience development initiative focused on the consumer. The project sought to assist performing arts centres (PACs) to better engage with their local communities and to build new audiences for the future. In particular, the research aimed to understand non‐attenders, their reasons for non‐attendance and their reactions to a range of live performances they experienced under study conditions.
• The Talking Theatre project provided the vehicle for introduction, communication and relationship building to occur to assist in attitudinal and behavioural change. The non‐attenders enjoyed their experiences at the PACs and have begun attending performances outside of study conditions. Limited awareness of the performing arts' relevance to their lives combined with a lack of positive peer influence to attend, were the chief deterrents to attendance for the participants in the study.

Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Organizational Surveillance of Computer-Mediated Workplace Communication: Employee Privacy Concerns and Responses

Email, social media, and other types of computer-mediated workplace communication tools can enhance flexibility in how employees perform their jobs, expand networking opportunities, increase profits, cut costs, and enable collaboration among diverse groups across the globe. Despite their advantages, these technology tools can also cause security breaches, financial loss, employee distraction, and lawsuits. To prevent such damaging consequences, many companies monitor their employees’ computer-mediated workplace communication. However, this surveillance is often met with resistance from employees as it taps into concerns over workers’ privacy rights, due process, and fairness. We examine these employee concerns through an empirical study of full-time working adults’ beliefs about their computer-mediated workplace communication privacy and their evaluations of organizational justice, trust in upper management, and commitment to the organization. Our results suggest that employees who perceive less computer-mediated workplace communication privacy tend to view their organization’s policies as less fair, trust upper management less, and demonstrate less commitment to their organizations. Furthermore, results indicate that procedural justice mediated the relationship between privacy and organizational commitment and moderated the relationship between privacy and organizational trust.     

An Empirical Assessment of Endogeneity Issues in Demand Analysis for Differentiated Products

This article explores the issue of price and expenditure endogeneity in empirical demand analysis. The analysis focuses on the U.S. carbonated soft drink market. We test the null hypothesis that price and expenditures are exogenous in the demand for carbonated soft drinks. Using an almost ideal demand system (AIDS) specification, we strongly reject exogeneity for both prices and expenditures. We find that accounting for price/expenditures endogeneity significantly impacts demand elasticity estimates. We also evaluate the implications of endogeneity issues for testing weak separability.     

Who bears the cost of a change in the exchange rate? Pass-through accounting for the case of beer

Nominal exchange rates are remarkably volatile. They ordinarily appear disconnected from the fundamentals of the economies whose currencies they price. These facts make up a classic puzzle about the international economy. If prices do not respond fully to changes in the nominal exchange rate, who bears the cost of such large and unpredictable changes: foreign firms, domestic firms, or domestic consumers? This study presents a new analysis of the sources of incomplete pass-through and then uses this analysis to re-examine its implications for social welfare. I develop and estimate a structural model that analyzes the sources of local-currency price stability for a particular industry. The model enables counterfactual simulations that quantify the relative importance of firms' local-cost components and markup adjustments in the incomplete transmission of exchange-rate shocks to prices and the effect of the exchange-rate shock on domestic and foreign firms' profits and on consumer surplus. The model is applied to a panel dataset of one industry with retail and wholesale prices for UPC-level products. I find that markup adjustments by manufacturers and the retailer explain roughly half of the incomplete transmission and local-cost components account for the other half. Foreign manufacturers generally bear a greater cost (or reap a greater benefit) following an exchange-rate-induced marginal-cost shock than do domestic consumers, domestic manufacturers, or the domestic retailer.     

Status Differentiation and the Protean Self: A Social-Cognitive Model of Unethical Behavior in Organizations

Based on social-cognitive theory, this article proposes a model that seeks to explain why high status organizational members engage in unethical behavior. We argue that status differentiation in organizations creates social isolation which initiates activation of high status group identity and a deactivation of moral identity. We further argue that high status group identity results in insensitivity to the needs of out-group members which, in turn, results in lessened motivation to self-regulate ethical decision making. As a result of this identity activation, we demonstrate how high status individuals will be more vulnerable to engaging in unethical activities. Individual-level moderators of the relationships are also discussed.     

The Physical Attractiveness Phenomena. Patzer,Gordon L. New York: Plenum Press, 1985. 308 Pp. $39.50

This paper presents integrated marketing communication (IMC) and brand identity as critical components of the firm's brand equity strategy. Specifically, the authors provide a brand equity strategy schematic that details (1) the role of IMC in creating and maintaining brand equity, and (2) the role of brand identity in informing, guiding, and helping to develop, nurture, and implement the firm's overall IMC strategy. The authors also present a conceptual framework with testable research propositions toward IMC theory development. Finally, a discussion of implications for academics and practitioners is provided, and opportunities for future qualitative and quantitative research are suggested.     

Business Media Segmentation for Services Marketers: Education and the Gender Gap

An exploratory study of mâle and female business media use was undertaken to ascertain whether education has levelled sex differences. Social changes in women's work status and access to higher education cause similar needs for financial information. Prior research on business media use presents conflicting evidence about male and female habits. Findings reveal four segments based on sex and education, for education has only partially levelled sex differences. Higher-educated men make greater use of business television than higher-educated women. Lower-educated men rely on print media, and lower-educated women use all business media least. Marketing implications for financial and related services are suggested to appeal to the segments.