Is an Exhaustible Resource Economy Sustainable?

The paper focuses on two alternative concepts of sustainability dominating the literature: (i) maximum permanently maintainable consumption level (Fisherian income) and (ii) the amount of consumption that leaves total value of wealth intact (Hicksian income). In the context of a pure exhaustible resource economy, the author derives an explicit relationship between the two sustainability criteria and shows that while such an economy is not sustainable in the former sense, it is in the latter sense provided social preferences are represented by a logarithmic utility function. The implications of the two concepts for greening of national income are derived. Finally, the paper shows the range of values of the parameters of the model for which the utilitarian optimal path can be close to paths satisfying the alternative sustainability criteria, suggesting that such outcomes are less likely for very poor resource‐dependent countries than for the rich ones.     

A call for weather condition revaluation in mega-events management

This article provides a new insight into knowledge-based management of mega-events by highlighting the significance of weather at destination selection and scheduling events as an adaptive strategy toward climate change. Concerning the environmental and socio-economic costs of weather ignorance in event management, which may result in cancelation and change of the event time, it is recommended that planners perform a preliminary study prior to publicizing an event plan. Doing so, the organizer and visitors can benefit from optimal weather at the destination, as this study advises the decision-makers of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games to reschedule the dates of this international event.     

A financial comparison of Japanese and US manufacturers

This paper compares and contrasts the financial policies of Japanese and comparable U.S. manufacturing firms on the basis of 15 financial ratios. The findings indicate that there are significant differences between these two groups in 10 out of the 15 ratios investigated.Ali M. Fatemi is with the College of Business Administration at the Kansas State University. Hossein Safizadeh and Marna Jo Young are with the Wichita State University.     

Statistical Approaches to Forecasting Domestic Energy Consumption and Assessing Determinants: The Case of Nordic Countries

The residential sector accounts for large share of total annual energy use in the Nordic countries due to the extremely cold climates and high household heating demand. Most domestic energy consumption in the Nordic countries is for space heating and providing hot water. The purpose of our study was to forecast the annual energy consumption of the Nordic residential sectors by 2020 as a function of socio-economic and environmental factors, and to offer a framework for the predictors in each country.

Our research models the domestic energy use in Nordic countries based on social, economic and environmental factors. Applying the multiple linear regression (MLR), multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS), and the artificial neural network (ANN) analysis methodologies, three models have been generated for each country in the Nordic region. Using these models, we forecasted the Nordic countries domestic energy use by 2020 and assessed the causal links between energy consumption and the investigated predictors. The results showed that the ANN models have a superior capability of forecasting the domestic energy use and specifying the importance of predictors compared to the regression models. The models revealed that changes in population, unemployment rate, work force, urban population, and the amount of CO₂ emissions from the residential sectors can cause significant variations in Nordic domestic sector energy use.     

Cross-sectional analysis of Swedish stock returns with time-varying beta: the Swedish stock market 1983–96

This paper analyses the ability of beta and other factors, like firm size and book-to-market, to explain cross‐sectional variation in average stock returns on the Swedish stock market for the period 1983–96. We use a bivariate GARCH(1,1) process to estimate time-varying betas for asset returns. The estimated variances of these betas, derived from a Taylor series approximation, are used for correcting errors in variables. An extreme bound analysis is utilized for testing the sensitivity of the estimated coefficients to changes in the set of included explanatory variables.
Our results show that the estimated conditional beta is a more accurate measure of the true market beta than the beta estimated by OLS. The coefficient for beta is not significantly different from zero, while the variables book-to-market and leverage have significant coefficients, and the latter coefficients are also robust to model specification. Excluding the down turn 1990–92 from the sample shows that the significance of the risk premium for leverage might be considered as an industry effect during this extreme period. Finally, we find a close dependence between the risk premium for beta and that for size and book-to-market. The omission of each of these variables may cause statistical bias in the estimated coefficient for beta.     

Time-varying risk and return in the bond market: a test of a new equilibrium pricing model

This article uses bond market data to empirically test the assetpricing model of Kazemi (1992). According to this model therate of return on a long-term, pure-discount, default-free bondwill be perfectly correlated with changes in the marginal utilityof the representative investor. The covariability between financialasset returns and returns on such a bond can therefore serveas a measure of the riskiness of assets. The aim of this studyis to determine whether the model can explain cross-sectionaldifferences in the monthly returns of bonds with different maturitydates. We estimate and test the restrictions imposed by themodel on returns of default-free bonds, while allowing the conditionaldistribution of bond returns to be time varying. The model isrejected during the full sample period (1973-1995) and the subperiod(1973-1980) when the Federal Reserve's focus is on interestrates, while the model is not rejected during the subperiod(1981-1995) when the Federal Reserve's focus is on money supply.     

Understanding museum vacationers' eco-friendly decision-making process: strengthening the VBN framework

In the present research, the process of vacationers’ pro-environmental decision formation for environmentally responsible museums was examined. This research employed and broadened the value-belief-norm theory, using satisfaction with green product use, green trust, and frequency of past behavior for green product use as predictors. A structural equation modeling was utilized for modeling comparisons and hypothesis testing. A measurement model tested using the data gathered at museums was found to satisfactorily fit to the data. Newly integrated constructs significantly improved the prediction power of the theory. In addition, results of the structural equation modeling generally supported the proposed relationships. Moreover, a salient role of moral norm was identified. As expected, new environmental paradigm, awareness of consequences, ascribed responsibility, and moral norm played an important mediating role. A parsimonious model with greater prediction power than the original value-belief-norm theory was produced through modeling comparisons and the process of testing relationships among research variables. Our results offer a sufficient understanding of vacationers’ pro-environmental intention for eco-friendly museums.     

Social risk screening using a socio-political ambiguity approach: the case of organic agriculture in Iran

While ecological sustainability of organic agriculture (OA) has been frequently investigated, there are limited studies on its social sustainability, especially in developing countries. Given significant benefits of OA, screening the potential social risks associated with OA seems necessary. This paper introduces a socio-political ambiguity approach based on a hybrid model of ‘risk and social impact assessment’ for screening the risks of OA. As a case study, the paper focuses on the OA development in Iran using qualitative research to elicit opinions and judgments of farmers, consumers, and policy-makers. The results of the study revealed that there are serious ambiguities and risks associated with OA. This paper demonstrates that risks (especially social risks) of OA have received too little attention and were considered as can be neglected.     

Different voices from community groups to support sustainable tourism development at Iranian World Heritage Sites: evidence from Bisotun

Abstract

This empirical study investigates the causal factors affecting support for sustainable tourism development (SSTD) at a world heritage site in Bisotun, a city in Kermanshah Province, Iran. It uses social exchange theory to assess the effects of community attachment, community involvement, perceived benefits, and perceived costs on SSTD. Using social identity theory, it identifies whether these associations significantly vary across four different community groups: farmers, businesses, handicraft sellers, and local government employees. A questionnaire was administered to 489 respondents from these four community groups in the Bisotun area. The hypotheses were tested using structural equation modelling and invariance metric tests. The results revealed that community attachment, community involvement, and perceived benefits had a significant and positive impact on SSTD. The results of the metric invariance tests show that the effects of community attachment and community involvement on SSTD varied across the community groups at this world heritage site located in a developing country. The study discusses the theoretical and managerial implications of these findings.