The transmission mechanism in a changing world

The paper aims to identify those factors that cause changes in the speed and strength of the international transmission of output shocks from the USA to specified European economies. These factors are identified through the use of generalized impulse response functions conditioned on histories defined by an abrupt transition VAR. The chosen transition variables comprise changes in exchange rates, financial prices, international capital flows, trade links and monetary policy instruments. Besides the identification of asymmetric responses, the proposed model is useful in analyzing the strong effect of the recent US recession on the European economies and changes in business cycle synchronization over time. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Economic Order Quantities, Volume Discounts, and Wealth Maximization

This study challenges the generally accepted managerial decision to accept a quantity discount if total, perperiod inventory and acquisition costs are reduced. In this paper, the economic order quantity model is reformulated within an explicit wealth maximization framework, and the reformulated model is then utilized to analyze inventory decisions when volume discounts are available. The results of the study indicate that the traditional method of analyszing volume discount opportunities may invoke wealth decreasing decisions.     

Can cooperatives brand? Exploring the interplay between cooperative structure and sustained brand marketing success

The marketing of much New Zealand farm produce has often been left in the hands of farmer/grower co-operatives. Increasingly concerns have been raised about the effectiveness of such structures. Marketers have identified the need for cooperatives to move from a farmer centric to a market centric approach. However, questions have been raised about the viability of traditional cooperative arrangements to support a market-oriented strategy. This article examines the ability of traditional and new generation co-operatives to develop and support market-based assets including brands and long-term relationships with channel buyers in order to develop a sustainable position for their members and increase returns. The findings suggest that traditional cooperatives may be able to develop innovative marketing programs but struggle to support them over the long-term due to problems in ownership structures. The new generation co-operatives studied had more sustained long-term success, as members were able to capture the equity of intangible assets such as brand value, thus ensuring they undertook actions (such as channel support) consistent with building a sustainable long-term positioning.     

Tax evasion and heuristics: A research note

The paper examines the heuristics which taxpayers use in making tax evasion decisions. The following propositions are tested in an experiment using students. First, the taxpaper's own level of evasion will be positively related to what he perceives as the levels of evasion by others. Second, taxpayers who have been audited are more likely to assess the probability of audit as higher and therefore decrease their levels of evasion. The experimental results fail to support the first proposition but do support the second suggesting the presence of an ‘availability’ effect.     

Integrating decomposition approaches for the analysis of temporal changes in economic structure: an application to Chicago's economy from 1980 to 2000

This paper presents an attempt to integrate two flow decomposition methods to analyse temporal changes in a region's economic structure. The two methods of structural analysis are push–pull decomposition analysis and structural Q-analysis. Push–pull analysis presents a quasi-optimization decomposition of a set of matrices with actual intersectoral economic flows into a weighted set of matrices, while structural Q-analysis provides a form in which the structure of these decomposed flows can be considered. The paper provides an expository application to Chicago's economic structure over the period of 1980 to 2000, to reveal a complementary perspective of hollowing-out the production process in the Chicago economy that was identified in previous studies.