Does Private Label Quality Influence Consumers’ Decision on Where to Shop?

When consumers decide where to shop, they take several criteria into account. It is not yet clear whether private label (PL) quality is one of these criteria. It is the intention of this study to shed light on this issue because many retailers have invested heavily into the quality of their PLs. They assume that PLs differentiate a store's assortment and image, which should attract customers to the store. This study examines this assumption by use of a simultaneous equation model that links PL‐specific quality evaluations to perceptions of the image of the associated store as well as to the category‐specific share of store visits. Empirical results for 10 product categories show that PL quality positively affects store image perception, and influences consumers in the decision of where to shop.     

Rationality and institutions: reflections on Douglass North

Douglass North questions the assumptions of ergodicity and economic rationality which came to dominate economics; this paper places the emergence of these notions in historical context. North stresses the role of institutions in dealing with a shift from uncertainties in the physical environment to uncertainties in the complex human environment of impersonal exchange. The paper explores the difficulties and weaknesses of his account of this change, focussing in particular on the case of Britain, and the themes of property rights, state structures and warfare.     

Ist die Rente mit 67 ein Rentenkürzungsprogramm? Auf die Sichtweise kommt es an!

Die schrittweise Anhebung der Regelaltersgrenze auf 67 Jahre wird von vielen kritisiert. Argumentiert wird, dass die Rentner zukünftig niedrigere Renten erhalten, entweder weil sie (h?here) Abschl?ge in Kauf nehmen müssen oder weil sie ihre Rente nun weniger lange bekommen. So oder so sei die Rente mit 67 ein Rentenkürzungsprogramm. Doch ist das wirklich so? Die Antwort lautet: Es kommt darauf an — vor allem auf die Sichtweise.     

Finance,growth and (macro)prudential policy: European evidence

Empirica - This paper examines the interactions between financial development, economic growth and (macro)prudential policy on a sample of 12 euro area countries. Our main takeaway is that active...