Consumer knowledge and behaviour regarding safety of reusing food packaging materials

Consumers (n = 750) were surveyed regarding knowledge and behaviour concerning reuse of food packaging materials. Cross-tabulation of completed questionnaires (n = 597) indicated that middle-aged, urban and suburban women engaged in the highest number of correct packaging reuse practices. Nearly 50% of consumers thought egg cartons, plastic syrup bottles, produce bags and microwave meal plates were designed to be reused. Less than 50% thought it was safe to store food in containers formerly used to store non-food items, and that washed bread wrappers (turned inside-out were a safe material in which to store fresh food. Over 50% knew that plastic packaging contains additives that can end up in food, that packaging materials may be sterilized with chemicals or irradiation and that plastic wraps begin to melt at 71° (160°). Point Biserial Correlations indicated that behaviour was not necessarily consistent with knowledge.     

Household Response to Government Debt: Evidence from Life Insurance Holdings

We use state‐level panel data on life insurance in force in the United States and find that a $1 increase in government debt, at either the state or federal level is associated with a $0.96 increase in the face value of the average life insurance holdings per capita for a household in the average state. This increase represents an intention to save that would almost completely offset the government debt in specific states of the world (i.e., if the insured dies). Because this state of the world is rare, the immediate increase in actual savings is only about $0.03, the cost of the additional insurance. We find, in addition, that this response occurs mainly on the intensive margin, meaning that the size of the average life insurance policy increases when government debt increases. Along the extensive margin, we find the number of policies in force falls slightly with federal debt, and rises slightly with state debt increases. The results show altruistic planning in response to changes in government debt that are consistent with Ricardian Equivalence and the long‐run neutrality of government debt.     

An Investigation of TBL Report Assurance Statements: Australian Evidence

This study investigates current practice relating to the provision of triple bottom line (TBL) report assurance statements. In undertaking the analysis, a database was constructed of companies that have released TBL reports accompanied by third-party assurance statements. The results of the research show that in Australia there is great variability in the contents of TBL assurance statements. Arguably, the great variation in practice raises questions about the usefulness, or "value-add", of TBL report assurance statements.     

THE DOLLAR'S INTERNATIONAL ROLE

The dollar was the dominant international currency following World War II. However, as the international economy has changed in dramatic ways, the dollar's international role also has changed. Although the dollar's role has declined, it remains an important international currency. Furthermore, the world does not appear to be moving toward a tripolar monetary system. The dollar and the deutsche mark, not the yen, are the most important international currencies. The dollar's role has declined due to the collapse of the Bretton Woods system in 1973, the decline in the relative importance of the United States, and deregulation of the world financial market.     

A Survey of Manufacturing Industry Policy: From the Tariff Board to the Productivity Commission

Since World War II Australian industry policy has shifted from providing extensive assistance such as tariff protection to the manufacturing sector to creating an environment for the efficient operation of markets. This paper surveys the evolution of the goals and instruments of industry policy in Australia and elsewhere.     

Why Do Foreign Firms Leave U.S. Equity Markets?

Foreign firms terminate their Securities and Exchange Commission registration in the aftermath of the Sarbanes–Oxley Act (SOX) because they no longer require outside funds to finance growth opportunities. Deregistering firms’ insiders benefit from greater discretion to consume private benefits without having to raise higher cost funds. Foreign firms with more agency problems have worse stock‐price reactions to the adoption of Rule 12h‐6 in 2007, which made deregistration easier, than those firms more adversely affected by the compliance costs of SOX. Stock‐price reactions to deregistration announcements are negative, but less so under Rule 12h‐6, and more so for firms that raise fewer funds externally.