International Competition and the Degree of Monopoly in Australian Manufacturing

Pricing behaviour in open economies is examined by adapting Kalecki's analysis of pricing in closed economies. The parameters of the resulting pricing equation are estimated using data for a sample of Australian manufacturing industries. These estimates are then used to calculate measures reflecting the degree of monopoly for an open economy, which are compared with the ratio of aggregate proceeds to aggregate direct costs as a measure reflecting the degree of monopoly for a closed economy.     

MEASURING THE LIFETIME REDISTRIBUTION ACHIEVED BY DUTCH TAXATION, CASH TRANSFER AND NON-CASH BENEFITS PROGRAMS

This paper assesses how the Dutch system of taxation, cash transfers and non-cash benefits redistributes between the rich and the poor. The approach in this paper deviates from the usual approach by incorporating the full life cycle in the measurements, rather than only the annual effects. Moreover, the coverage is larger than is usually the case: the paper takes account of both direct and indirect taxes and direct and indirect benefits. In order to obtain the measurements on redistribution, we use the level of educational attainment to classify the population. We therefore measure, in terms of present values, the average net benefit from government policies for an average representative person of each level of education. The results indicate a sizable redistribution from the rich to the poor and a significant reduction of welfare inequality. The net effect on welfare inequality is, however, substantially smaller than when measured on an annual basis.     

Exploring the use of travel information – identifying contextual market segmentation in Seoul, Korea

As the amount of information is rapidly growing, and ubiquitous urban environments are emerging, the question which kind of information to provide is a major challenge for commercial and public travel-information service providers alike. This paper reports the analyses of recent data, collected in Metropolitan Seoul, about the acquisition of travel information. The study applies CHAID analysis to find homogeneous segments in travel information acquisition. Findings indicate that contextual variables are crucial to explain information acquisition behaviour, depending on decision context. The implication is that both socioeconomic and contextual variables are important to better understand the acquisition (and provision) of travel information. The results have important implications for managers and policy-makers, in particular in the way they respond to dynamic, contextual market segmentation.     

MACROECONOMIC AND LABOUR MARKET POLICIES FOR EMPLOYMENT GENERATION IN SOUTH AFRICA

The recent advent of political democracy in South Africa has brought into sharp focus those macroeconomic and labour policies designed to combat unacceptably high unemployment levels, that have escalated steadily to present estimates of approximately 40 per cent of the Economically Active Population. The continuing implementation of neo-liberal orthodox policies, the authors maintain, will aggravate the problem. An alternative theoretical framework containing elements of a neo-Ricardian, post-Keynesian approach and based on research work of the Macroeconomic Research Group (MERG) is advocated. This approach focuses on State-led, demand-inducing policies, while not neglecting the supply side of the labour market in South Africa.     

Households transport-home energy conservation strategies in response to energy price policies: A stated adaptation experiment based on portfolio choices and cross effects designs

This article explores consumer investment choice in long-term energy conservation technology and assesses trade-offs in energy saving behaviour between the housing and transportation domains. The long-term energy conservation choice problem is conceptualized as a portfolio choice problem. Consequently, to measure trade-offs between investments in housing and transport options, a cross effects choice design is developed in which respondents were shown one or more alternate ways to reduce their current energy consumption: (1) investing in new technology in the house, such as solar panels; (2) exchanging the current car for a more energy efficient car; (3) buying a new energy-efficient car, such as EV or solar car; (4) moving house to reduce current travel distances. To help respondents linking these options to their current energy consumption, a new Web-based survey system (SINA) to implement and administer stated adaptation experiments was developed. The system was used to collect two sets of data. First, data about out-of-home and in-home energy consumption, together with detailed time use data, was collected. Second, using a cross effects design, respondents were asked to select a portfolio of energy-saving strategies in response to different energy pricing policy scenarios. Results reported in this paper are based on 572 respondents who completed the survey and responded to seven adaptation questions based on their current energy expenditures. A random parameters logit model is estimated to predict the probability of choosing a particular portfolio of energy-saving options. Estimation results indicate that individuals from different socio-demographic groups exhibit varied preferences. The saving option characteristics, especially cost related characteristics have significant effects on individuals' preferences. Moreover, the results also showed significant effects of choice set composition on energy saving options. Further, the energy pricing policies had showed mixed effects on individual's preferences.     

Identifying significant characteristics of organic milk consumers: a CART analysis of an artefactual field experiment

The organic dairy category is one of the fastest growing categories of organic foods in the US. Organic milk consumers generally cite perceived health benefits and lower risk of food contamination, as well as perceived superior quality and environmental sustainability of organic farming methods, as the major motivations for preference of organic over conventional milk. While the attributes of organic milk that are valued by consumers are fairly well-known, more ambiguity exists regarding the demographic characteristics of the typical organic milk consumer. This research makes use of experimental data from 148 adult participants and use a Classification and Regression Tree (CART) analysis, a nonparametric modelling approach, to identify how Willingness-to-Pay (WTP) for organic milk varies with the demographic profile of experiment participants. The study finds that perceived taste of organic milk, concern for the risk of consuming conventional milk, being a primary shopper, and the quantity of milk consumed are the major factors that separate experiment participants into groups with high and low WTP for organic milk.