ON PASLNETTI'S ‘G’ MATRIX

Pasinetti's vertically integrated H matrix has been much used in economic theory but his other vertically integrated matrix, G — which is of a quite different nature — has been little noticed. This paper considers the nature of the G matrix, its relationship to H, and varous issues — concerning consumption and growth, value added, sales revenue and differential growth or profit rates — for the analysis of which G is a very useful analytical tool.     

Product Market Reform and Innovation in the EU*

European Union countries have implemented widespread reforms to product markets to stimulate competition, innovation, and economic growth. We provide empirical evidence that the reforms carried out under the EU Single Market Programme (SMP) were associated with increased product market competition, as measured by a reduction in average profitability, and with a subsequent increase in innovation intensity and productivity growth for manufacturing sectors. Our analysis exploits exogenous variation in the expected impact of the SMP across countries and industries to identify the effects of reforms on average profitability, and the effects of profitability on innovation and productivity growth.     

WHO REALLY WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE? ESTIMATES OF RISK AVERSION FROM GAMESHOW DATA

This paper estimates the degree of risk aversion from one of the most popular TV gameshows ever. The format of the show is straightforward; it involves no strategic decision making; we have a large number of observations; and the prizes are cash, which is paid immediately and covers a large range: from £100 up to £1 million. We provide non‐parametric estimates of the utility function and then we test some parametric restrictions. We find that, although the restriction to CRRA utility is statistically rejected, a log function approximates the utility function quite well over a large range of potential winnings. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A framework for monitoring during the planning stage for a sports mega-event

This paper proposes a monitoring framework to be used during the planning stage for a sports mega-event. The research identifies a lack of monitoring and evaluation studies during the development stage for sports mega-events. Importantly, it notes the absence of research which evaluates an event systematically from the outset of the process and from the perspectives of host residents and event planners. The framework was developed on the basis of the philosophical approach of pragmatism; it focused on a sustainable development perspective, and it was applied to a case study of the Kaohsiung 2009 World Games. A survey of the views of 606 host residents about the potential impacts of the event revealed that the respondents tended to show higher levels of agreement on the host benefits. The results of 38 interviews with various stakeholders indicated big gaps in both the city's long-term development aspirations and the Games themselves and also in the event strategies adopted. Using this information, key sustainability issues can be identified and monitored during the event planning stage so that the desirable outcomes of events can be enhanced and then sustained in the longer term.     

A model of serious leisure identification: the case of football fandom

Stebbins (1992) has suggested that the ‘profit hypothesis’, whereby the perceived benefits of taking part in an activity exceed the perceived costs, can be used to explain continued engagement in serious leisure activities. This argument, however, fails to explain the continued participation in such activities where the costs to the individual seem to exceed the rewards. This paper adopts a social identity perspective to identify and demonstrate the role of four compensatory behaviours – in-group favouritism, out-group derogation, unrealistic optimism, and voice – in ensuring continued participation in serious leisure. Such behaviours are described in the context of one particular serious leisure activity – that of football fandom – to explain why engagement in such an apparently unrewarding activity is maintained. A model of serious leisure participation is presented based upon these behaviours     

Notes on contributors

This article establishes a basic framework for a comparative analysis of public management reform around the world in recent times. It focuses on politicians and administrators as ‘drivers’ and/or ‘supporters’ of reform, as influenced by their policy roles and contributions, along with electoral politics and government-legislature alignments. Three models are outlined on the basis of the reform experience of selected countries. The models are then related to various reform initiatives by way of eight propositions. The underlying aim is to provide some guidance for research and understanding of reform in different contexts.     

The Scholarship of Teaching Economics

The authors report on the results of a telephone survey of 1,001 employees of seven large corporations conducted for the Business Roundtable as part of its public policy program. A set of 20 questions keyed to the Voluntary National Content Standards in Economics was embedded in the survey. A measure of economic literacy was constructed from the survey results. Greater economic literacy was associated with more overall education, more college economics coursework, high incomes, and being male. An examination of individual test questions revealed that previous college economics had substantial effects on employees' current economic literacy.     

On Explaining Individual and Corporate Culpability in the Global Climate Change Era

Humans are causing global climate change (GCC), and such climate change causes harms. Robin Attfield explained how individuals should be understood to be culpable for these harms. In this paper, I use a critical analysis of Attfield’s explanatory framework to explore further difficulties in accounting for corporate responsibility for these harms. I begin by arguing that there are some problems with his framework as it is applied to individuals that emit greenhouse gases (GHGs). I then show that it will be very difficult to extend this framework to corporations. This is not a criticism of Attfield’s work (as he does not discuss corporate responsibility for those harms associated with GCC), but it will serve to show the difficulty in philosophically explaining corporations’ moral culpability when it comes to these harms. In fact, one positive conclusion of this paper is that it highlights a new area of concern that has been ignored in discussions of corporate responsibilities—that of mediated responsibilities—which is how Attfield understands our responsibilities regarding GCC. The discussion of this concern will draw attention to another positive conclusion of this paper: the harms associated with CO₂ are very unlike the harms associated with other airborne-emitted substances, which will indicate that we will need new ways of understanding how individuals and corporations are philosophically responsible for these harms. The final positive conclusion of this paper will be a discussion of what the constraints should be on new approaches to explaining our culpability.