Examining Sustainability of Federal Finances in India: An Application of Non-Stationary Panel Methods

This paper examines the fiscal sustainability of Indian States during the 1990s on the basis of their budgetary data. Sustainability has been discussed using the inter-temporal budget constraint framework and has been tested by applying the panel co-integration technique. The panel analysis reveals that revenue receipts and revenue expenditures are co-integrated across the States. Further, the insensitivity of the results to the choice of the period of analysis attests robustness to the result that the State finances in India may not be unsustainable.

     

Temporal product bundling with myopic and strategic consumers: Manifestations and relative effectiveness

Bundling in this era of eCommerce and high technology is a potent and widespread selling tool. The literature has focused on three static bundling strategies under which the products are sold separately (pure components or PC) or only in a bundled form (pure bundling or PB) or both (mixed bundling or MB). In a generalization, and motivated by real world examples, this paper examines the relative effectiveness of temporal bundling. We consider a firm that sells to a market of myopic and strategic consumers, and a selling season consisting of two stages. We compare four strategies – PC-PC (i.e., pure components in each of two stages), PB-PB, PB-PC and PC-PB – relative to MB. Our results show that PB-PB maximizes profits under low marginal costs; PC-PC prevails under high marginal costs given a large proportion of myopic consumers; and PB-PC is profit maximizing under moderate marginal costs when most consumers are strategic. These temporal strategies dominate MB except when the market is comprised entirely of strategic consumers. Finally, while temporal mixed bundling – MB-MB – is weakly superior to other temporal strategies, the latter are much easier to implement, as shown by real-world uses, and suffice to capture most of the profits. Related interesting pricing implications are discussed. Three extensions to the main model are also proposed.     

How do trade and financial integration affect the relationship between growth and volatility?

The influential work of Ramey and Ramey [Ramey, G., Ramey, V.A., 1995. Cross-country evidence on the link between volatility and growth. American Economic Review 85, 1138-1151 (December).] highlighted an empirical relationship that has now come to be regarded as conventional wisdom—that output volatility and growth are negatively correlated. We reexamine this relationship in the context of globalization—a term typically used to describe the phenomenon of growing international trade and financial integration that has intensified since the mid-1980s. Using a comprehensive new data set, we document that, while the basic negative association between growth and volatility has been preserved during the 1990s, both trade and financial integration significantly weaken this negative relationship. Specifically, we find that, in a regression of growth on volatility and other controls, the estimated coefficient on the interaction between volatility and trade integration is significantly positive. We find a similar, although less robust, result for the interaction of financial integration with volatility.     

Clicks and Mortar: The Effect of On-line Activities on Off-line Sales

Retailers did not immediately extend their business to the Internet environment, fearing that on-line activities could adversely impact their off-line sales. To facilitate assessment of the impact of on-line activities on off-line sales, we develop a method that allows retailers to use readily available market data for making informed decisions. The proposed method determines (1) the extent to which on-line sales cannibalize off-line sales, and (2) whether on-line activities build on-line equity for the firm. We illustrate the method using data from Tower Records' Internet sales division. We find that on-line sales do not significantly cannibalize retail sales and that the firm's web activities build long-term on-line equity. While the proposed method can be used by any clicks-and-mortar firm, our firm-specific results indicate that Towers' fears regarding cannibalization due to its own Internet activities were unfounded.     

India's trade balance in the 1980s an econometric analysis

The paper is an examination of India's trade balance in the 1980s. The approach attempted is of examining the bilateral trade balances of India with nine trading partners from the non-communist bloc. The long-run equilibrium relations are studied via two VAR models in Johansen's multivariate cointegration framework. Five hypotheses of interest are singled out for attention. The nominal and real exchange rates consistently emerge as important influences on the trade balance. However, as the exchange rates fail weak exogeneity tests, policy implications are not clear cut.     

Which school attributes matter? The influence of school district performance and demographic composition on property values

Increasing levels of segregation in American schools raises the question: do home buyers pay for test scores or demographic composition? This paper uses Connecticut panel data spanning eleven years from 1994 to 2004 to ascertain the relationship between property values and school district attributes, such as student test scores and the racial and ethnic composition of the student body. Town and census tract fixed effects are included to control for neighborhood unobservables. The effect of changes in school district attributes is also examined over a decade long time frame in order to focus on the effect of long-run changes, which are more likely to be capitalized into prices. The study finds strong evidence that increases in percent Hispanic have a negative effect on housing prices in Connecticut, but mixed evidence concerning the impact of test scores on property values. Student test scores also appear to have increased in importance for explaining housing prices in recent years, while the importance of percent Hispanic has declined. Finally, the study finds that estimates of property tax capitalization increase substantially when the analysis focuses on long run changes.     

Critical Management Studies and Business Ethics: A Synthesis and Three Research Trajectories for the Coming Decade

We present the findings of a worldwide survey that was administered to business ethic scholars to better understand journal quality within the business ethics academic community. Based upon the data from the survey, we provide a ranking of the top 10 business ethics journals. We then provide a comparison of business ethics journals to other mainstream management journals in terms of journal quality. The results of the study suggest that, within the business ethics academic community, many scholars prefer to publish in the top business ethics academic journals over other mainstream management journals. Furthermore, the results of the study suggest that within the business ethics academic field there are two dominant academic communities: one in Europe and one in North America. Each of these academic communities has its own preferred publication outlets, suggesting a potentially problematic bifurcation of business ethics scholarship.     

Influence of home‐country culture and regulatory environment on corporate social responsibility perceptions: The case of Sri Lankan immigrant entrepreneurs

Drawing on the findings of semistructured interviews, this article aims to understand the meaning of the term corporate social responsibility (CSR) as perceived by Sri Lankan immigrant entrepreneurs in Australia. It also explores the influence of home‐country culture and institutional environment on their perceptions of CSR. The term CSR was found to be interpreted differently among the immigrant entrepreneurs. Findings reiterate the influence of culture and regulatory environment on the perceptions of CSR and are consistent with the findings of Hamilton, Dana, and Benfell (2008) that the immigrant entrepreneurs adjust their beliefs, values, traditions, and norms to acclimatize to the host country but at the same time also maintain links with the traditional culture. Due to the increasing number of immigrant businesses and their potential socioeconomic impact, the article has important policy implications as it leads to a better understanding of the immigrant entrepreneurs' interpretation of social responsibility and how that is being influenced by home‐country factors. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Mobile Marketing in the Retailing Environment: Current Insights and Future Research Avenues

Mobile marketing, which involves two- or multi-way communication and promotion of an offer between a firm and its customers using the mobile, a term that refers to the mobile medium, device, channel, or technology, is growing in importance in the retailing environment. It has the potential to change the paradigm of retailing from one based on consumers entering the retailing environment to retailers entering the consumer's environment through anytime, anywhere mobile devices. We propose a conceptual framework that comprises three key entities: the consumer, the mobile, and the retailer. The framework addresses key related issues such as mobile consumer activities, mobile consumer segments, mobile adoption enablers and inhibitors, key mobile properties, key retailer mobile marketing activities and competition. We also address successful retailer mobile marketing strategies, identify the customer-related and organizational challenges on this topic, and outline future research scenarios and avenues related to these issues.     

Determinants of transaction activity in commercial real estate markets: evidence from European and Asia-Pacific countries

Variations in transaction activity between commercial real estate markets could have important implications for investment strategies and pricing. We consider why turnover rates, a common liquidity proxy, vary between countries and over time. We examine 38 countries in Europe and Asia-Pacific over the period 2000–2014. A conceptual framework is discussed prior to estimation of panel models that use turnover rates as the dependent variable. Our results indicate that the size and wealth of a country, the risk associated with that country and the performance of its commercial real estate market are significant factors that explain transaction activity. The quality of property rights is also an important factor.