Evaluating Fluid Milk Advertising in Ontario: The Importance of Functional Form

Generic advertising and promotion of milk and milk products have assumed increasing importance in Canada over the past two decades. The present research evaluates the Ontario generic fluid milk advertising campaign and determines the functional form that best describes the response of sales to advertising. The research also investigates whether appropriate amounts are being spent on fluid milk advertising. Empirical results indicate the generic fluid milk advertising program has significantly increased milk consumption. Using the empirically preferred inverse functional form, we estimate Ontario fluid milk sales to have increased by 40 million litres during the last quarter of 1984 as a result of increased advertising. The associated increase in farm income is estimated at $16 million, or $24 per additional media dollar invested. Results indicate that the computed optimal spending levels are sensitive to functional form selection, and the empirically preferred inverse form suggests fluid milk advertising expenditures can profitably be increased to 1.7 times the current rate. La publicité et la promotion génériques du lait et des produits laitiers a gagné de plus en plus d'importance au Canada au cours des deux dernières décennies. On a tenté d'évaluer la campagne de publicité générique sur le lait de consommation lancée en Ontario et de trouver la fonction qui décrit le mieux la réaction des ventes à la publicité. On a également vérifié si le budget consacréà la publicitéétait suffisant. Les résultats empiriques indiquent que le programme de publicité générique a augmenté sensiblement la consommation de lait. Selon la méthode empirique de la fonction inverse prérérée, les ventes de lait frais en Ontario ont augmenté de 40 millions de litres au cours du dernier trimestre de 1984 à la suite d'une publicité plus intense. Les recettes agricoles ont donc progressé d'environ 16 $millions, soit de 24 S par dollar investi. Ces résultats montrent que le budget optimal dépend du type de publicité retenu et la fonction inverse préférée suggère qu'il serait rentable d'accroêtre le budget publicitaire actuel du lait de consommation de 1,7 fois.     

Moral rules and moral ideals: A useful distinction in business and professional practice

The distinction between moral rules and moral ideals is presented and explained in various ways. The authors propose that people in business are required to obey the moral rules and have a choice with respect to ideals. Thus, they are not in a different position from that of anyone else in society.Four case studies are presented and discussed. The analytical approaches used by the authors' students are summarized and evaluated. The moral rules/ideals paradigm is described as helping discussants of the cases to establish congruence between business ethics and their personal set of values. Other values of the classroom discussion of ethics cases are considered.John W. Hennessey, Jr., is Jones Professor of Management at the Amos Tuck School of Business Administration, Dartmouth College. Previously he was Dean of this school and President of the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business. Bernard Gert is Stone Professor of Intellectual and Moral Philosophy at the Dartmouth College. From 1971 until 1974 and from 1979 until 1981 he was Chairman of the Philosophy Department and he was awarded the NEH-NSF Sustained Development Award 1980–1984. His most important publications are: The Moral Rules: A New Rational Foundation for Morality, Harper and Row, 1970, Harper Torchbook 1973, 2nd edition 1975, and Philosophy in Medicine: Conceptual and Ethical Issues in Medicine and Psychiatry, Oxford University Press, 1982 (co-authored with Charles M. Culver).Prof. Gert acknowledges support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Grant RII-8018088 A03.     

Shared meal preparation in residential kitchens: implications for kitchen planning

A comparison was made of the use of residential kitchen work centres by one worker and by two workers during a dinner meal preparation in which a microwave oven was utilized. When the meal was prepared by two workers they divided the work load by menu item and utilized separate work stations; typically, only one worker prepared the menu items requiring actual cooking. However, whether the meal preparation was individual or shared, the sink and preparation centres were the most frequently used.     

The enlargement of the euro area: differences in relative inflation

This paper investigates the structural determinants of relative inflation (i.e. the inflation of non‐tradables vs tradables) in the context of overall inflation differentials in the EU. The analysis is based on the Bergstrand theoretical model. This framework incorporates three alternative hypotheses of relative inflation (Harrod–Balassa–Samuelson, relative factors endowment, and demand effects). Due to the lack of reliable data on capital stocks only a curtailed version of the model is tested here empirically. The various specifications of the model are estimated for the majority of EU countries, using the Pedroni panel group mean FMOLS estimator. In general, relative labour productivity and demand factors turn out to be significant and correctly signed, though evidence in favour of the latter effect seems to be less robust. In addition, differences in the determination of relative prices between the new and old EU Member States are found. They seem to be consistent with theoretical considerations and the transition phenomenon. The estimation results are very sensitive to the definition of non‐tradables. The paper also discusses policy implications for overall inflation, stemming from relative price models. It questions the usefulness of relative inflation models for the analysis of overall inflation differentials and practical policy decisions.