Declining Industries and Persistent Tariff Protection

The paper uses a political economy framework to explain the empirical observation that trade protection is persistent. The assumptions that are shown to generate endogenous tariff persistence in the model are quite plausible: agents are uncertain about future prices, tariffs are affected by political pressure, and producers of the import–competing good own sector–specific human capital that may be lost if they exit the industry. The model also reveals that, under the conditions listed above, industries decline gradually in response to a price shock even when producers do not face increasing costs of adjustment.     

A Switching Regime Approach to Measuring the Effects of Technological Change in Ocean Shipping

this study examines the dramatic change in production technology of the U.S. ocean liner shipping industry over the period 1971 through 1982 using panel data on 15 subsidized U.S.-flag liner firms. To estimate the changes in the production function due to the new technology, the switching regime method of Goldfeld and Quandt is applied to a translog variable profit function. Three regimes based on the proportion of the new technology reflected in a firm's fleet are identified. The constant returns to scale fleet size more than doubles across the three regimes.     

The relationship between Arab values and work beliefs: An exploratory examination

In this study, 365 employees from three Middle Eastern countries (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Oman) are queried about their cultural values and work‐related beliefs. This analysis is unique both in its sample and its focus on the relationship between individual cultural values and beliefs about work. Results suggest that the cultural value dimensions individualism (p < .001) and masculinity (p < .001) are related to both an individual's beliefs about organizational commitment and work ethic. Additional findings reveal patterns between cultural values and humanistic and political beliefs. Future research directions and managerial implications are also discussed. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

OPPORTUNITY COST, DISCOUNTING, AND DEFERRED TAX LIABILITIES: A FINAL NOTE

A decade of discussion regarding deferred tax liabilities has been narrowed to the question of whether pre- or post-tax discount rates should be employed. A recent article has once again presented the case for pre-tax rates. This note raises problems with that argument and presents an alternative case for the use of post-tax rates of discount.     

On the vulnerability of the oil and gas industry to oil price changes

Previous studies of oil-price economic activity relationships are dominated by macro-level examination of price effects. This study examines the effect of shocks in oil price and its volatility on the oil and gas extraction industry using a Vector Auto-Regressive (VAR) approach. The results show that, in the short-run, positive price and volatility shocks lead to significant increases in oil and gas activities. However, in the long-run, the industry behaves much like the rest of the U.S. economy—price and volatility shocks produce small or insignificant effects. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 22 ^nd Annual North American Conference of the U.S.A. Energy Economics/International Association of Energy Economics Conference, Vancouver, British Columbia. The authors acknowledge the editorial assistance of Versa Stickle.     

Middle-class black consumers and intensity of ethnic identification

This article reports on an empirical study analyzing the differences between black (buppies) and Anglo (yuppies) middle-class consumers responding to advertising featuring celebrity endorsers. Particular attention is given to variability within the black consumer segment by examining intensity of identification and socioeconomic status. Using a laboratory experiment, 160 subjects were drawn from a large metropolitan area. The implications are that while black consumers who have moved up the socioeconomic ladder have similar responses to their Anglo counterparts, they should not necessarily be viewed as having lost strong ethnic identity.     

THE SEASONALITY IN CONVERTIBLE BOND MARKETS: A STOCK EFFECT OR BOND EFFECT?

There is a strong January effect in convertible bond returns that has been partially attributed to seasonality in the underlying stock. January returns for convertible bonds are positively influenced by the degree to which the bond reflects the underlying equity, which suggests that the anomaly in one asset market may carry over to its derivative asset market. Significant evidence presented here indicates that the January effect also is attributable to unique tax-loss selling in the convertible bond market. A peripheral contribution of this study is that, similar to findings in the stock market, the risk-return trade-off appears to hold only in January for convertible bonds.