An Analysis of Complaints about Advertising

This paper investigates complaint behaviour with respect to advertising in the United Kingdom, and examines the responses of the main regulatory authority, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), towards those complaints. In view of the pressures upon advertising which are once more emanating from the EEC, the author's findings acquire a fresh relevance.     

Self‐regulation of unwanted consumption

The issue of consumption control is viewed from the perspective of self‐regulation in which successful attempts at controlling problem behaviors depend upon achieving motivational readiness. It is proposed that consumption control can be understood as a series of stage‐related processes that follow from theoretical accounts of self‐regulation contained in the transtheoretical model of change, and the model of action phases. In order to observe ongoing consumption‐control processes, a diary study, in which participants described their actions, thoughts, and feelings in attempting a personal consumption‐control project, was conducted. Diary entries were interpreted in light of theoretical stage‐related processes. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Generating Regional-Scale Improvements in SME Corporate Responsibility Performance: Lessons from Responsibility Northwest

This paper describes the research carried out into small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and corporate responsibility (CR) in the Northwest of England during Phase I of Responsibility Northwest, a partnership programme designed to significantly increase the CR of the region. By engaging with significant numbers of SMEs and SME support providers across the region, key insights were gained in three key areas:

Do travel visa requirements impede tourist travel?

Yes. Using a travel visa data set developed by Lawson and Lemke (2012) and travel flow data from the World Bank and the UN’s World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), we investigate the deterrent effect of travel visa requirements on travel flows. At the aggregate level, a one standard deviation more severe travel visa regime, as measured, is associated with a 30 % decrease in inbound travel. At the bilateral level, having a travel visa requirement on a particular country is associated with a 70 % reduction in inbound travel from that country. The gains associated with eliminating travel visas appear to be very large.     

中国的成本计算方法和成本管理实践研究

为消除目前国际社会特别是欧美对我国企业成本计算数据的疑虑、从技术层面上推动我国市场经济地位工作和应对贸易摩擦,2005年以来,商务部财务司与美国管理会计师协会(IMA)联合开展了中国企业成本计算课题研究。经过2年多的调查、研究、论证、分析,今年年初最终完成了课题研究报告,并于近日举行了课题研究报告发布会。本刊根据研究报告摘录整理了相关文字,简单介绍本课题的研究背景、接受实地调查企业的成本会计实务以及课题研究结论,供参考。     

Taxation in the Liberal Tradition

The Review of Austrian Economics - In this essay, we argue that liberal economists should take more seriously the problems of public goods and externalities as well as the capacity of taxation and...     

THE DETERMINANTS OF ECONOMIC FREEDOM: A SURVEY

A large literature has found positive associations between economic freedom and income, growth, and a variety of other desirable outcomes. This paper surveys the literature that seeks to explain the causes of economic freedom. Some of the most consistent findings in this literature are that current levels of economic freedom are strongly correlated with past levels; freer countries have more difficulty continuing to improve their economic freedom; democracy and political freedom are positively associated with economic freedom; and inequality is negatively related. (JEL E02, E14, O17, O43, P1)     

Alignment of performance measurement to sustainability objectives: A variance-based framework

Meaningful incorporation of environmental and social responsibility goals into organizational strategic plans requires a mechanism to measure and reward performance contributing to that objective. This paper formulates such a framework using management accounting concepts. We demonstrate that the benefits of pursuing sustainability objectives can be decomposed into three parts. The first consists of what might be considered a natural outcome of pursuing the traditional economic goal of efficiency through cost-minimization (a “waste” variance). The second part consists of sustainability gains that produce societal benefit but may be incongruent with short-term economic goals (a “sustainability” variance). The third part stems from a change in optimal output level when that is considered endogenous to the firm (a “volume” variance). While elimination of waste variances can be encouraged using a traditional performance evaluation and reward structure, elimination of sustainability and volume variances requires redesign of performance evaluation tools and reward structures. We demonstrate that failure to recognize and incorporate the difference between the three variances can lead to inefficient allocation of resources, over- or under-production, and only partial fulfillment of environmental goals. Further, availability of shadow price information is essential to implementing such a performance measurement system; thus it is a public policy imperative to develop markets that establish such prices.     

Evaluating the benefits from transport infrastructure in agriculture: a hedonic analysis of farmland prices

Access to transport infrastructure generates a range of benefits to the agriculture sector; many of which are difficult to measure directly. In this study, we use hedonic regression analysis of farm‐level data to examine the contribution of transport infrastructure to the value of farmland traded between 2009 and 2011 through its impact on farm productivity. We show that a one per cent reduction in the cost of transportation between farms and ports leads to a 0.33 per cent increase in land prices, and there is no significant difference between rail and road transportation at the aggregate level. Moreover, the benefits generated by particular types of infrastructure services vary between industries and with farm size, suggesting there are multiple channels through which public infrastructure influences agricultural production. Our findings help to inform future investment decisions in Australia and in other countries by providing new evidence regarding the benefits of existing transport infrastructure.