Liquidity-constrained migrants

Liquidity constraints represent a major obstacle for potential migrants trying to meet the high cost of undocumented international migration. Some cover it by borrowing from a smuggling organization with a commitment to repay the loan by working in the destination country as bonded laborers. This paper compares alternative ways of financing migration and shows that debt bondage is optimal only if the international wage differential is sufficiently large in relation to migration costs. Tougher border controls as well as internal enforcement measures can be expected to reduce the incidence of debt-bonded relative to self-financed migration, although they may not necessarily lower the overall inflow of illegal aliens.     

Domestically produced food: Consumer perceptions of origin, safety and the issue of trust

It is becoming increasingly difficult for the public to attempt to assess risks using traditional methods such as smell, taste or other physical attributes of food. The existence of extrinsic cues such as the country of origin (COO) of food can help to make food purchase decisions easier for consumers. However, the use of extrinsic cues depends heavily on the extent to which consumers trust such signals to be indicative of quality or safety, which in turn depends on the credibility behind that cue. This paper aims to examine consumers association of domestically produced food with increased food safety standards and the association of COO and food safety information with socio-demographics and other aspects of consumer psychology such as attitudes, risk perception and trust. Using an ordered probit model, domestic production is examined as an extrinsic cue for food safety by looking at the relationship with trust in food safety information provided by national food standards agencies (NFSAs) and other socio-demographic characteristics, based on nationally representative data from 2725 face-to-face interviews across five European countries. Results suggest that domestic production of food is an extrinsic cue for food safety and as consumers place increasing importance on food safety they are more interested in food produced in their own country. This, coupled with consumer trust in a strong, and independent national food standards agency, suggests the potential exists for the increased consumption of domestically produced foods.     

Delegation: Was ist erlaubt?

Zwischen Anordnungs- und Durchführungsverantwortung - überall im Gesundheitswesen werden ?rztliche Ma?nahmen auch an Pflegekr?fte delegiert. Unter welchen Voraussetzungen das geschehen muss, ist gesetzlich jedoch nicht geregelt. In Pflegeeinrichtungen kommt erschwerend hinzu, dass zwischen anordnendem Arzt und ausführender Pflegekraft keine vertraglichen Beziehungen bestehen. Auf was ist also zu achten?     

Environmental and Societal Attitudes to Working Hours in Gendered Perspective: Patterns,Preferences and Policy

ABSTRACT

This article begins from the premise that environmental degradation is a profound and present threat and that work time reduction–with an associated reduction in consumption–is one of a number of strategies that can be adopted to combat it. As a precursor to looking at how such policies can be supported, our research questions whether environmental attitudes are congruent with work time patterns and preferences. Our initial hypothesis was that those who care most for the environment would work fewer hours than those who exhibit lower levels of environmental concern, and prefer to do so. However, contra our expectations, our empirical analysis of the European Social Survey shows that those who state they care most about the environment are more likely to work longer hours, and prefer to do so. Overall, men tend to be less concerned about the environment, and work longer. Caring responsibilities, in contrast, fall disproportionately on women. We argue that this reflects traditional gender roles that are a residual from the social norm of the male breadwinner model. Given work time reduction as an environmental policy, the task is to influence preferences and ‘green’ human behaviour, especially among men.     

Interact with me on my terms: a four segment Facebook engagement framework for marketers

Abstract

Facebook is used by over 1 billion highly heterogeneous users each month. However, there exists little guidance for marketers when it comes to actionable consumer engagement strategies for this social media platform. The purpose of this article is to profile key segments of Facebook users and build an implementable marketing strategy framework that can help marketers better target their Facebook consumers, and better craft their marketing mix and Facebook campaigns. Based on focus group interviews and a qualitative survey, four distinct types of Facebook users are identified and profiled: attention seekers, devotees, connection seekers and entertainment chasers. Correspondingly, a four-segment marketing strategy framework is proposed to guide content creation and engage consumers in thriving Facebook brand communities.     

Does Taste Beat Food Safety? Evidence From the “Pêra Rocha” Case in Portugal

Nowadays, fresh fruits such as pears are differentiated by cultivars, origins, and appearances, as well as by companies' production and processing methods. We may now observe many denominations of origin, retailers,' and private labels in order to signal the differentiation to the consumers, who are often willing to pay large price premiums for products with specific attributes. In this article, we used an experimental auction to assess how information on quality attributes affects consumers' willingness to pay for different types of pears. The main results show that information on the products' characteristics related to food safety instantly influences consumers' willingness to pay. However, it appears that in the end, sensory intrinsic attributes related to taste beat the guarantee of food safety in driving the buying behaviour.     

The influence of age and gender on food choice: a focus group exploration

With 25% of the UK population predicted to be obese by 2010, the costs to individuals and society are set to rise. Due to the extra economic and social pressures obesity causes, there is an increasing need to understand what motivates and prevents consumers from eating a healthy diet so as to be able to tailor policy interventions to specific groups in society. In so doing, it is important to explore potential variations in attitudes, motivation and behaviour as a function of age and gender. Both demographic factors are easily distinguished within society and a future intervention study which targets either, or both, of these would likely be both feasible and cost‐effective for policy makers. As part of a preliminary study, six focus groups (total n = 43) were conducted at the University of Reading in November 2006, with groups segmented on the basis of age and gender. In order to gather more sensitive information, participants were also asked to fill out a short anonymous questionnaire before each focus group began, relating to healthy eating, alcohol consumption and body dissatisfaction. Making use of thematic content analysis, results suggested that most participants were aware of the type of foods that contribute to a healthy diet and the importance of achieving a healthy balance within a diet. However, they believed that healthy eating messages were often conflicting, and were uncertain about where to find information on the topic. Participants believed that the family has an important role in educating children about eating habits. Despite these similarities, there were a number of key differences among the groups in terms of their reasons for making food choices. Older participants (60+ years old) were more likely to make food choices based on health considerations. Participants between the ages of 18–30 were less concerned with this link, and instead focused on issues of food preparation and knowledge, prices and time. Younger female participants said they had more energy when they ate healthier diets; however, very often their food choices related to concern with their appearance. Older female participants also expressed this concern within the questionnaire, rather than in the group discussions. Overall, these results suggest that consumer motivations for healthy eating are diverse and that this must be considered by government, retailers and food producers.     

Survivor Swaps

A survivor swap (SS) is an agreement to exchange cash flows in the future based on the outcome of at least one survivor index. This article discusses the possible uses of SSs as instruments for managing, hedging, and trading mortality‐dependent risks. SSs are especially useful for insurance companies, but also offer other interested parties low beta avenues into the acquisition of mortality risk exposure. The article also investigates vanilla SSs in some detail, and suggests how their premiums and values might be determined in an incomplete market setting.     

Managerial Ownership and Company Performance in German Small and Medium-Sized Private Enterprises

Abstract. We analyse the relationship between managerial ownership and company performance, testing the incentive and entrenchment hypothesis. Differently from previous literature, we focus on small and medium-sized private enterprises which constitute an important part of the German economy. We use a panel of 356 companies in the German business-related service sector for the years 1997–2000. Our findings are that performance, measured by survey-based profit information, is increasing in managerial ownership by up to around 40 per cent. We do not find a significant entrenchment effect, possibly because, at levels at which managers could become entrenched, they already bear a large proportion of the costs and have therefore an incentive to maximize company value.