Reserve-requirement changes,open-market operations,and banks' asset mix

Conclusion This paper has demonstrated, in terms of a characteristics-space model of banks' demand for earning assets, that banks' desired ratio of securities to loans willfall when deposits are restricted by means of a raised reserve requirement, butremain constant orrise when the restriction is due to open-market sales (assuming that the differential between loan and security rates of interest does not widen). It is then argued that open-market sales can be judged superior to raised reserve requirements as an instrument of monetary restriction according to at least six criteria. A necessary and sufficient condition for this judgement by each criterion is that banks' asset mix respond to deposit contraction in the manner predicted by our model.     

Introduction to Special Issue on the Economics of Information in Real Estate Markets

The articles featured in this issue are introduced, their relationships noted, and their key points highlighted.     

Ethical dilemmas in performance appraisal revisited

In managers' dynamic, real-world environments, they often feel it is necessary to exercise some creative discretion over employee ratings. Most managers do not describe their ratings of subordinates in performance appraisals as completely honest or accurate. The inaccuracy is often in the form of inflated ratings. They justify the inaccuracy by sighting, among other things, the need to avoid confrontation with subordinates, damaging working relationships, and creating permanent written documents which may later harm a subordinate's career. Many of these motives are not only well intentioned, but are designed to enhance individual, unit, and organizational performance (some of the ultimate objectives of performance appraisal systems.) This paper examines the ethics of this sort of deliberate manipulation of performance appraisal systems. It suggests that at the organizational level, performance appraisal is usually seen as an end in itself, and a formalist ethical critique is applied. At the managerial level, performance appraisal is usually seen as a means to an end, and a utilitarian critique is applied. Since both perspectives are essential, we conclude that a Janus-Headed analysis is needed. We suggest some duties and obligations for both the organization and the manager engaged in performance appraisal.Clinton O. Longenecker is an Associate Professor of Management at the University of Toledo and has published a variety of articles in both academic and professional journals on the topic of performance appraisal. Dean C. Ludwig is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at the University of Toledo whose teaching and research focuses on ethical issues in marketing and management. Both have extensive industrial and educational experience and are active management consultants.     

To thine own self be true: Images of self,images of opportunity,and entrepreneurial action

While research in entrepreneurship continues to increase general understanding of the opportunity-recognition process, questions about its nature nonetheless persist. In this study, we seek to complement recent research that relates “the self” to the opportunity-recognition process by deepening understanding of the self vis-à-vis this process. We do this by drawing on the self-representation literature and the decision-making literature to introduce two distinct types of images of self: images of vulnerability and images of capability. In a study of 1936 decisions about hypothetical entrepreneurial opportunities made by 121 executives of technology firms, we then investigate how both types of images of self affect the images of opportunities that underlie opportunity recognition. Our results indicate that both images of self – vulnerability and capability – impact one's images of opportunity.     

Food Stamp Benefits and Child Poverty

In 2000, 8.8 million children lived in households participating in the Food Stamp Program, making this assistance program a crucial component of the social safety net. Despite its importance, little research has examined food stamps' effect on children's overall well-being. Using the Current Population Survey from 1989 to 2001, we consider the impact of food stamps on three measures of poverty—the headcount, the poverty gap, and the squared poverty gap. We find that in comparison to the headcount measure, food stamp benefits lead to large reductions in the poverty gap and squared poverty gap measures.     

Regional Economic Impacts of Fusarium Head Blight in Wheat and Barley

Fusarium Head Blight is a fungus affecting wheat and barley in the upper Midwest region of the United States. The purpose of this study is to estimate the direct and secondary regional economic impacts of Fusarium Head Blight infestations from 1998 to 2000. Cumulative direct production and price impacts from Fusarium Head Blight in hard red spring, soft red winter, durum wheat, and barley are estimated at $871 million over the period, with secondary economic losses of $1.8 billion. The total impacts of $2.7 billion were concentrated in North Dakota and Minnesota, which accounted for 55% of total losses over the period.