The arduous task of defining and developing consumer education. A report about the activities of the IOCU Education Committee

The International Organization of Consumers Unions (IOCU) includes 127 consumer associations in 51 countries. The importance of consumer education within the goal structure of IOCU is reflected by the existence of a Consumer Education Committee, which is one of the three Standing Committees of IOCU (the two others being the Test and the Development Committees).The paper reports on the approaches to define formal consumer education and to formulate the aims of consumer education, as well as on activities like seminars and courses, publications, and projects or surveys of member activities. Of special interest is the Education Committee's effort to initiate a network for consumer educators which is operating since 1985.Structural problems of the Education Committee result mainly from the lack of a fixed membership and the lack of a fixed budget.

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Die mühsame Aufgabe, Verbrauchererziehung zu definieren und zu entwickeln. Ein Bericht über die Aktivitäten des IOCU—Erziehungskommitees

Zusammenfassung Die internationale Organisation der Verbraucherverbände (IOCU) besteht aus 127 Verbraucherverbänden aus 51 Ländern. Der Stellenwert der Verbrauchererziehung im gesamten Tätigkeitsbereich von IOCU zeigt sich in der Tatsache, daß das Komitee für Verbrauchererziehung eines von drei ständigen IOCU-Komitees ist.Der Beitrag berichtet über die Versuche, Verbrauchererziehung zu definieren, und unterscheidet dabei normative Ansätze von institutionellen und offenen Ansätzen; er berichtet ferner über die Versuche, die Ziele der Verbrauchererziehung zu formulieren. Sodann werden als Tätigkeitsschwerpunkte zum einen die Durchführung von Seminaren, Kursen und Workshops, die auf der ganzen Welt stattfinden, und zum anderen die Verbreitung von Publikationen und Durchführung von Projekten geschildert. Von besonderem Interesse sind die Bemühungen des Verbrauchererziehungskomitees, ein Netzwerk für Verbrauchererzieher zu initiieren; so wie IOCU auch bisher Initiator und aktiver Teilnehmer einer Reihe von Netzwerken war (z.B. Consumer Interpol, Pesticide Action Network, Health Action International, International Baby Food Action Network), existiert seit 1985 auch ein Netzwerk für Verbrauchererzieher.Abschließend behandelt der Beitrag strukturelle Probleme des Erziehungskomitees, die hauptsächlich darauf zurückzuführen sind, daß es keine feste Mitgliedschaft und kein festes Budget gibt.

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Heiko Steffens is Professor of Economics at the Technical University of Berlin, Franklinstraße 28/29, D-1000 Berlin 10, FRG; Günter Rosenberger is Head of the Stiftung Verbraucherinstitut, Reichpietschufer 72-76, D-1000 Berlin 30, FRG.     

INTERNATIONAL ANTITRUST ENFORCEMENT AND MULTIMARKET CONTACT*

This article analyzes cartel formation and international antitrust enforcement when multinational firms operate in several jurisdictions with local antitrust authorities. We are concerned with how the sustainability of collusion in one local market is affected by the existence of collusion in other markets when they are linked by a negative demand relationship. The interdependence of cartel stability across markets leads to potential externalities in antitrust enforcement across jurisdictions. Local antitrust enforcement equilibrium enforcement may exhibit a nonmonotonicity in the degree of market integration. We compare it with globally optimal antitrust enforcement policy and discuss the role of international antitrust coordination.     

Pacts for employment and competitiveness in Germany

Pacts for employment and competitiveness (PECs) in Germany reflect a process of organised decentralisation, delegating additional rights and responsibilities for industrial relations agreements to the plant level. PECs are now used by both struggling and prosperous firms. An analysis of the content of recent agreements shows that the economic situation of the firm has a significant impact on changes agreed at the firm level. Changes in working time are associated with the demand for the products and services of a firm while financial concessions by employees are more common in firms with weak profits.     

Advertising and attachment: exploiting loss aversion through prepurchase information

We analyze a monopolist's optimal advertising strategy when consumers are expectation‐based loss‐averse and uncertain about their individual match value with the product. Advertising provides verifiable match value information. It modifies the consumers' reference point and hence their willingness to pay for the product. We show that the optimal advertising strategy pools different consumer types so that some consumers engage in ex ante unfavorable trade. Incomplete informative advertising thus has a persuasive effect. This provides a rationale for policies that force the monopolist to disclose important product characteristics, not only at the point of sale, but also in all promotional materials.     

Why are interest spreads so high in Uganda?

Using international comparisons and a unique bank-level dataset on the Ugandan banking system over the period 1999 to 2005, we explore the factors behind consistently high interest rate spreads and margins. International comparisons show that the small size of Ugandan banks, persistently high T-Bill rates and institutional deficiencies explain large proportions of the high Ugandan interest rate margins. The Ugandan bank panel confirms the importance of macroeconomic factors, such as high inflation, high T-Bill rates and exchange rate appreciation. There is also evidence for the small market place and high costs of doing business explaining persistently high spreads and margins; smaller banks and banks targeting the low end of the market incur higher costs and therefore higher margins. Spreads and margins also vary significantly with the sectoral loan portfolio composition of banks, while there is little evidence for foreign bank entry, privatization or changes in market structure explaining variation in spreads or margins over time.