Campaign Contributions and the Desirability of Full Disclosure Laws

In a signaling game model of costly political campaigning in which a candidate is dependent on a donor for campaign funds it is verified whether the electorate may benefit from campaign contributions being directly observed. By purely focusing on the informational role of campaign contributions the model seems somewhat biased against the potential benefits of direct observation. Still, the conclusion can be drawn that directly observable contributions allow for more information being revealed in equilibrium. Using this result, from an informational perspective a case can be built for the desirability of full disclosure laws.     

Liquidity constraints,productivity, employment and output: evidence from non-agricultural activities in Bangladesh

This paper examines the role played by liquidity constraints in determining non-agricultural employment, labour productivity and output among poor, landless households. The hypothesis that the provision of credit to poor non-agricultural households on reasonable terms can greatly enhance labour use, and output, thereby reducing poverty is empirically investigated using survey data from rural landless households in Bangladesh. The study's findings indicate that even small amounts of credit on reasonable terms can substantially enhance labour use and income for poor households and that the impact is greatest for the poorest households.     

When worlds collide: The implications of panel data-based choice models for consumer behavior

Panel data, both diary and scanner, have been analyzed by marketing scientists for over thirty years. One of the important uses of panel data is to better understand consumer behavior by developing and testing hypotheses using the revealed preference data rather than experimental data that uses only self-reported behavior or behavior in a simulated choice environment. The purpose of this paper is to suggest areas of research where panel data can be used to better understand the underlying behavior of the panel members.     

Identifying multiple preference segments from own- and cross-price elasticities

The authors develop an approach to decompose a market-level matrix of own- and cross-price elasticities to reveal potentially overlapping preference segments. The approach is grounded on the premise that markets may be represented by a parsimonious number of relatively homogeneous segments. Market-level elasticities are expressed as functions of segment weights and within-segment market shares. These relationships permit segment weights and within-segment market shares to be estimated from the market-level elasticity matrix and patterns of brand substitutability to be analyzed. The approach is illustrated with data on the grocery coffee category.The authors wish to thank M/A/R/C Inc., Las Colinas, Texas and Information Resources, Inc., Chicago, Illinois for their assistance in collecting the data used in this study. This research was supported in part by the Dean's Fund for Faculty Research of the Owen School.     

Organization technology and the media and purpose dimensions of organization communications

Data collected from field research using structured observations indicate for task communications significant relationships between organization technology certainty (using Perrow's typology) and use of verbal and sign media and no significant relationship with use of object and written media. These data also indicate relationships between technology certainty and stimulus and problem solving communications purposes. Directionality of communications moderates these technology-purpose relationships, even exposing some additional relationships. The last section of this article proposes a reconceptualized model of organization communications, considering technology certainty, member mobility, and leadership style as independent variables and directionality as a moderating variable.     

Capital investment and employment in the information sector

Estimation of the employment effects of changes in capital investment is a standard tool in public policy debates. Typically, such predictions are based on employment multipliers derived from Input–Output analysis. In this paper, we measure the employment effects of changes in capital investment in the U.S. information sector by econometrically estimating an “employment multiplier” from historical data. The estimated multiplier is 10 information sector jobs for each million dollars in expenditure, and perhaps 24 new jobs per million dollars invested across the entire economy. Employment multipliers derived from the Input–Output methodology average about 16 jobs per million, but the multiplier includes jobs outside the information sector. Including employment spillovers, our estimates suggest the multipliers from Input–Output models are plausible. We also note that information sector jobs have substantially higher median earnings than the private sector average, so the economic significance of changes in information sector employment are greater than might first appear. Our findings may be useful in debates over changes in industry regulation that could affect investment.     

From Decision Support to Decision Automation: A 2020 Vision

The authors discuss the long-run future of decision support systems in marketing. They argue that a growing proportion of marketing decisions can not only be supported but may also be automated. From a standpoint of both efficiency (e.g., management productivity) and effectiveness (e.g., resource allocation decisions), such automation is highly desirable. The authors describe how model-based automated decision-making is likely to penetrate various marketing decision-making environments and how such models can incorporate competitive dynamics. For example, the authors foresee that close to full automation can ultimately take place for many decisions about existing products in stable markets. Partial automation could characterize decision making for new products in stable markets and existing products in unstable markets.     

The medical community's opposition to organ markets: Ethics or economics?

A severe shortage of cadaveric human organs for transplantation exists in the U.S. The obvious cause of this shortage is our current public policy which proscribes payment for such organs. Support for this policy and opposition to the formation of organ markets has been quite strong among transplant suppliers (both hospital and physician groups). This paper critically evaluates the ethical arguments advanced to buttress this policy position and presents an alternative economic explanation based upon profit-maximizing behavior. The model we develop is based upon monopsony in organ procurement with a kinked (and possibly discontinuous) organ supply function.