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.     

THE THEORY OF STATE-OWNED ENTERPRISES IN MARKET ECONOMIES

Abstract. Four topics are covered: the circumstances under which state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are more effective than private firms; the different approaches to modelling public and private firms; the performance of SOEs; and strategies including privatization to limit their more damaging effects. It is argued that ideological or development motives are important in their genesis, but that if efficiency and innovation are key considerations the normative case for their existence is more doubtful. Various types of SOE model are identified, deriving from the variety of circumstances in which they operate, and the theoretical perspective of the modeller. These include the property rights school, the public choice tradition, neoclassical, behavioural and budget maximizing approaches. All models assume the existence of monitoring problems, created by informational asymmetry. The consequences can include high non-pecuniary benefits for managers, a concentration on monitored activities, and lower innovation levels and efficiency than private firms. Curiously this is not necessarily reflected in higher prices or costs. Possible remedial strategies include a change of ownership, a change of objectives, the introduction of incentive-compatible payment schemes, improved performance indicators and privatization.     

Economic freedom and growth specification debate: a retrospective

This article revisits a 2006 theoretical debate on the appropriate specifications for testing the relationship between economic outcomes and economic freedom. It provides out-of-sample empirical tests corresponding to each of the theoretical positions of the two sides of the debate. The two methods of testing the relationship essentially tie in their ability to predict out-of-sample, although neither model predicts very well for the decade following the debate.     

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.     

Is Classroom Cheating Related to Business Students' Propensity to Cheat in the "Real World"?

Previous studies have reportedstudents' widely held belief that they are moreethical than businessmen. On the other hand,widespread cheating among college students hasbeen reported. This paper examines thisinconsistency between the beliefs of collegestudent regarding the need for ethical behaviorin a business setting and their actions in anacademic setting.The results of this study indicate that whilestudents are generally upset with cheating intheir class, a large proportion of themnonetheless engage in such behavior. It wasfurther found that students have a goodunderstanding of what constitutes ethicalbehavior in the business world and the need forsuch behavior. However, they also believe thatbusiness people fail to act in an ethicalmanner, and that they may need to actunethically to advance their careers.     

How the burdens of ownership promote consumer usage of access-based services

Services that let customers access goods, such as car-sharing, are gaining increasing relevance as an alternative to ownership. These access-based services allow consumers to avoid the “burdens of ownership”, i.e., risks and responsibilities that come with owning a good. However, the interplay between consumers’ risk perception of ownership, access-based service usage, and the subsequent decision to reduce or forgo ownership has not been sufficiently investigated. Based on risk perception theory, we hypothesize the effects of different risk dimensions (financial, performance, social) on the intensity of access-based service usage, as well as the latter’s influence on ownership reduction. Using a unique dataset that links survey and actual usage data of car-sharing users, we test four corresponding hypotheses. The results reveal that access-based service usage is positively influenced by all three ownership risk perceptions. Moreover, a higher usage of an access-based service increases the likelihood that consumers subsequently reduce ownership.     

Towards a competence theory of the region

This paper argues the case for extending the competence theoryof the firm, or more generally the competence perspective, toanalysis of the region. The relevance of the perspective followsfrom the characterisation of productive systems such as firmsand regions as ensembles of competences that emerge from, butare not reducible to social interaction. Attention is drawnto an identifiable (although unacknowledged) convergence ofideas in the recent regional literature, arguing that theseideas are best re-conceptualised in terms of regional competences.The cluster of high-technology firms in the Cambridge regionof the UK is briefly referred to in order to illustrate themain ideas of the paper.     

Revealed reader preference for marketing journals

In this paper we assess the reading preference for marketing journals by deriving a journal utility scale based on click responses to table of contents postings to the ELMAR virtual community. Use of ELMAR data provides a unique window into journal importance, allowing us to look at table of contents reading behavior rather than citing behavior or attitudinal constructs as has been the case in previous studies. At the time of the study, there were more than 5,100 ELMAR subscribers, easily making this the largest journal ranking study ever undertaken. The external validity of our sample is high since ELMAR subscribers include a high percentage of the population of those interested in scholarly research in marketing. Our results are based on actual choice behavior of subscribers as they simply decide what tables of contents to read. The list of journals included in the study contains 165 different titles posted during the study period, which spanned a year. During that period there were multiple issues posted of these 165 journals, resulting in a replicated field study with high reliability. In fact, our journal reading utility measurement yielded a model with an R² value of .95. We use this model to suggest ways that researchers might come to a richer understanding of the journal consumption process.