Work, Free Will and Law

American law conceptualizes work as an exercise of free will, as a choice rather than as a right. Work law is dominated by a freedom of contract analysis in which occupations, jobs, union representation, working conditions, and exit are seen as freely chosen. New Deal-era regulatory regimes are undermined by the pervasive influence of the work-as-free-will framework. Vast spheres of worker activity that benefit employers yet occur within the coercive context of an employment regime in which jobs are a choice and a privilege rather than a right are left unregulated. Worker agency is reduced as workers conform their aspirations, expectations and demands for workplace justice to the confines of the job as defined by the employer. Few question the prevailing meaning of work as freedom because it is consonant with our cultural commitment to the American Dream—but we should.     

Regulation of a Spatial Externality: Refuges versus Tax for Managing Pest Resistance

We examine regulations for managing pest resistance to pesticide varieties in a temporally and spatially explicit framework. We compare the performance of the EPA’s mandatory refuges and a tax (or subsidy) on the pesticide variety under several biological assumptions on pest mobility and the heterogeneity of farmers’ pest vulnerability. We find that only the tax (or subsidy) restores efficiency if pest mobility is perfect within the area. If pest mobility is imperfect and when farmers face identical pest vulnerability, only the refuge might restore efficiency. With simulations we illustrate that complex outcomes may arise for intermediate levels of pest mobility and farmers’ heterogeneity. Our results shed light on the choice of regulatory instruments for common-pool resource regulations where spatial localization matters.     

Consumers' perceptions of individual and combined sustainable food labels: a UK pilot investigation

Consumers are faced with an increasing number of sustainable food labels. These different labels may be complementary or add to the increasing competition of product information in consumers' minds. We investigate: (1) the perceptions that consumers in the UK have about sustainable labels vs. other labels, such as origin or nutrition labels; and (2) consumers' reactions to combinations of different sustainable labels. Overall, the findings from two focus groups conducted in the UK indicate that consumers have positive perceptions of organic and fair trade labels but tend to be sceptical about unfamiliar labels and general claims such as ‘climate friendly’. The results also indicate the importance of familiarity, trust and fit between combinations of labels as well as between associating a label with a brand. While the combination of certain labels can enhance the value of a food product, this study also indicates that other label combinations (e.g. private and sustainable label) can detract from a label's value. Implications and recommendations are suggested for managers to counter the image of greenwashing, and for policy makers to facilitate sustainable food choices.     

Case study—Embodied virtual agents: An analysis on reasons for failure

Despite very optimistic academic and professional literatures, embodied virtual agents (EVA) on commercial websites do not seem to keep all their promises. An update in December 2009 of a benchmark led by OrangeLab in 2007 on embodied agents displayed on French websites reveals that more than 60% of them have actually disappeared. This case study deals with understanding the disappearance of embodied virtual agents thanks to a literature review, a benchmark of 80 agents on French commercial websites and an analysis of experts' in-depth-interviews. This work identifies a series of common errors in the agents design – namely, appearance inadequacy and lack of intelligence and autonomy – that creates a gap between consumers' expectations and agents' performance explaining agents' lack of success. As a conclusion, this case study gives practitioners actionable advices to design future agents by highlighting the characteristics of the ideal virtual sales agent (VSA).     

The business environment and Moroccan firm productivity

The paper focuses on the role of the business environment in understanding differences in the total factor productivity of Moroccan firms. The business environment is captured by measures which include the investment climate in which firms operate, i.e. access to credit, regulatory and institutional environment and infrastructure. The evidence on the relationship between credit and productivity is strongly indicative of credit resources misallocation in Morocco. We also find that, heavier bureaucracy and differences in regulations appear to have a negative effect on firm productivity. This last result is particularly relevant for small firms, and/or those that do not export and/or those with no access to foreign capital.     

The natural rate of interest and the output gap in the euro area: a joint estimation

The notion of a natural real rate of interest, due to Wicksell (Interest and prices. Macmillan, London Translation of 1898 edition, 1936), is widely used in current central bank research. The idea is that there exists a level at which the real interest rate would be compatible with output at its potential level and stationary inflation. Such a concept is of primary concern for monetary policy because it provides a benchmark for the monetary policy stance. This paper applies the method suggested by Laubach and Williams (Rev Econ Stat 85(4):1063–1070, 2003) to jointly estimate the natural real interest rate and the output gap in the euro area using data from 1960 onwards. Our results suggest that the natural real rate of interest has declined gradually over the past 40 years. They also indicate that monetary policy in the euro area was on average stimulative during the 1960s and the 1970s, while it contributed to dampen the output gap and inflation in the 1980s and 1990s. The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the institutions to which they are affiliated. We are grateful to Siem Jan Koopman for very helpful suggestions and comments. We also thank P. Cour-Thimann, V. Curdia, F. Drudi, S. McCaw, D. Rodriguez-Palenzuela, R. Pilegaard, H. Pill, L. Stracca, T. Laubach, J. C. Williams and the participants of an ECB workshop on natural interest rates.     

Short Holds,the Distributions of First and Second Sales,and Bias in the Repeat-Sales Price Index

The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics -