Sodium content in fast foods: assessment of menu items in selected countries

This study was designed considering the ubiquitous presence of sodium in restaurant menus, the rapid growth of U.S. fast food operations globally, the impact of fast food on human health, and recent legislative steps to label sodium content. A strong correlation was found between calories and protein content versus sodium contents. Similar brand named menu items had different nutrient and sodium content in selected countries. When portion sizes of meat and cheese are controlled sodium can be reduced without sacrificing the flavor of the foods and in addition reducing the calories provided by selected menu items.     

Does education reduce homicide? A panel data analysis of Asian region

Quality & Quantity - Education may play an active role in enhancing the abilities of people. It does not only help in training for the professional field but is one of the most influential ways...     

Output growth and investment dynamics in Finland: a panel data analysis

This study analyzes the relationship between output growth and investment in a panel of 20 regions of Finland over the period 1975–2007. This regional study uses Granger non-causality and error-correction models. The most important finding of this study is a unidirectional causality which runs from investment to output growth. The study also verifies the existence of a positive association between growth and investment for the panel of 20 regions of Finland. These findings reconcile with the capital fundamentalists.     

Toward sustainable development: Board characteristics,country governance quality,and environmental performance

The objective of this study is to examine the effects of board characteristics and country governance quality on both individual aspects and the overall level of environmental performance through the lens of agency, resource dependency, and institutional theories. The study is based on a sample of 3023 firm-year observations from European companies operating in 22 countries between 2009 and 2016. Data on the resources, emissions, and innovation dimensions of environmental performance and board governance data were collected from the Refinitiv database, whereas financial data were extracted from the Worldscope database. The study employs a multilevel modeling analysis and the generalized method of moments (GMM) estimation technique to analyze the data. The findings suggest that board gender diversity and the presence of a corporate social responsibility and sustainability committee have a positive impact on environmental performance. The results also show that country governance quality is positively related to environmental performance. The findings have important implications for practitioners, regulators, and policymakers with respect to the effectiveness of corporate governance mechanisms and country governance systems in determining corporate environmental practices.     

Cyclical and causal patterns of inflation and GDP growth

Empirical foundations for the view that high inflation impairs GDP growth are examined using annual data for 115 countries over the period 1960–1995. Taking into account country heterogeneity and time-specific symmetric shocks, as well as endogeneity of inflation and dynamics of GDP growth, dynamic panel-data models of the effects of inflation on growth are estimated. No evidence is found supporting the view that inflation is in general harmful to GDP growth. On the other hand, there is a negative correlation between contemporaneous intra-country inflation and growth for periods characterized by positive oil-price shocks.     

Comparing means of several treatments with a control when one observation exists per treatment

In an one-way analysis of variance with standard assumptions suppose that only one observation exists per treatment. In addition, assume that one of the treatments is a control group. Because of insufficient observations, the variance of the populations cannot be estimated and hence the usual methods for comparing treatments with the control group fail. In this paper, we present a method to compare treatments with a control when one observation exits per treatment. An algorithm is given to estimate the critical values of the test. The power of the test is investigated by a Monte Carlo simulation; numerical studies show that when there is a treatment whose mean is close to the control group, the power of the test is satisfactory.     

Are Iranian consumers poised to “buy American” in a hostile bilateral environment?

The current bilateral relationship between the United States and Iran is fraught with intense political and military tension revolving around the nuclear issue in Iran. Open hostility between the two governments has recently spilled over into national, regional, and global forums. Despite this turmoil, the Iranian consumer is actively engaged in the global marketplace, buying goods from around the world. Our research spotlights Iranian consumers’ attitudes toward importing and buying foreign-made products, with a special focus on American-made products. Our 2006 survey of 902 Iranian consumers suggests that Iranians are very open, but not exclusively so, to the purchase of foreign-made and American-made products. We also found the political-military bilateral tension or animosity between the Iranian and American governments has not transferred to the Iranian consumer. The Iranian consumers’ openness to foreign-made (including American-made) goods, coupled with low consumer animosity vis-à-vis the United States from Iranian consumers, provides an opportunity for American and Western multinational companies to actively compete for and engage with the Iranian consumer in the Iranian marketplace.     

Pakistan's agricultural exports,determinants and its potential: an application of stochastic frontier gravity model

The most important and imperative objective of the developing nations is rapid economic growth and exports are generally considered as an engine for economic growth. Being an agro-based economy, agriculture exports play pivotal role not only in economic growth but also in socioeconomic uplifting. This study aims at evaluating main determinants of agricultural exports of Pakistan by applying stochastic frontier gravity model over the period of 1995–2014 for a sample of 63 countries. In addition, the study also analyzes whether there is any untapped export potential between Pakistan and the trading partners in agriculture sector. The results confirm the consistency of gravity model for agriculture exports of Pakistan. Likewise, the estimates also point out that bilateral exchange as well as tariff rates also effect agriculture exports. The study has also incorporated the effect of common border, common culture, colonial history and preferential trading agreements by including their respective dummies. The study confirms the significance of each factor, except common language, with their respective magnitude. Moreover, technical efficiency estimates reveal that Pakistan has great export potential with neighboring, Middle Eastern and European countries.     

Celebrity Endorsements in Advertisements and Consumer Perceptions: A Cross-Cultural Study

ABSTRACT

We studied consumer perceptions of celebrity endorsements from a cross-cultural perspective. In empirically examining consumer perception of celebrity endorsement, we used Hofstede's cultural dimensions to develop research propositions and examined these propositions through focus group discussions involving consumers from India and the United States. Findings indicated that specific differences and similarities exist in how consumers across India and the United States perceive celebrity endorsements. There is a positive, although moderate, impact of celebrity endorsements on attention and exposure of consumers. Implications for marketers as well as suggestions for future research are discussed.     

Child Labour Use and Economic Growth: An Econometric Analysis

We present a simple dynamic theory of child labour, human capital formation, and economic growth that is consistent with some of the main features of child labour and economic development. The model supports a number of testable hypotheses, which we investigate econometrically in a systems approach. Using panel data from 64 countries in the period 1960–1980, the econometric results match the theory well. The incidence of child labour is negatively related to parental human capital and education quality, but is positively correlated with education cost. Further, countries with higher amounts of child labour tend to have lower stocks of human capital in the future. There is also a convergence phenomenon between the level and growth of human capital. The lower the current stock of human capital, the higher is current child‐labour use and the faster is the growth rate of human capital.