Voluntary Contributions to a Mutual Insurance Pool

We study mutual‐aid games in which individuals choose to contribute to an informal mutual insurance pool. Individual coverage is determined by the aggregate level of contributions and a sharing rule. We analyze theoretically and experimentally the (ex ante) efficiency of equal and contribution‐based coverage. The equal coverage mechanism leads to a unique no‐insurance equilibrium while contribution‐based coverage develops multiple equilibria and improves efficiency. Experimentally, the latter treatment reduces the amount of transfers from high contributors to low contributors and generates a “dual interior equilibrium.” That dual equilibrium is consistent with the co‐existence of different prior norms which correspond to notable equilibria derived in the theory. This results in asymmetric outcomes with a majority of high contributors less than fully reimbursing the global losses and a significant minority of low contributors less than fully defecting. Such behavioral heterogeneity may be attributed to risk attitudes (risk tolerance vs risk aversion) which is natural in a risky context.     

The demand for paper and paperboard: econometric models for the European Union

Cost minimization theory suggests national demand equations for paper and paperboard in which demand is a negative function of the price of paper and paperboard, and a positive function of gross national product. A dynamic version of this model was estimated with data from European Union countries, for newsprint, printing and writing paper, and other paper and paperboard. Country-by-country equations proved unstable. Pooling the data across countries, with dummy variables to account for fixed country effects, led to well defined short-term and long-term elasticities with respect to price and gross national product. The hypothesis that income and price elasticities were the same across the European Union countries could not be rejected at the 1% significance level, for the three product groups. From 1969 to 1995, most of the growth in demand had been due to the growth in national product, while price increases had only a small negative effect.     

Trends in Disaggregated Import and Export Prices in Europe: Implications for the Trade and Wages Debate

We consider carefully the evidence from traded prices (as proxied by unit values) concerning the transmission of the effects of globalisation to domestic labour markets. Using standard index number techniques we decompose changes in sectoral import and export unit values into movements due to changes in pure prices of the initial bundle of goods imported or exported and changes due to upgrading of that bundle. Looking at the imports of selected European countries of textiles, clothing and footwear relative to engineering products we find evidence of strongly falling pure prices of the unskilled intensive products relative to the skilled products in the 1980s. This reinforces the view that import prices can capture the impact of globalisation in terms of falling relative prices for products produced with the intensive use of unskilled labour. However, the trends are not common across all the unskilled sectors; footwear is clearly an exception. In the absence of detailed domestic data, we look for reactions by domestic firms to increased import competition in movements in the price and composition of exports. We find evidence of stiff price competition from imports being associated with similar movements in export prices and no support for the view that import competition from low–wage countries has led to upgrading of the quality of exports.     

Discount rates and credit markets: Theory and evidence from rural india

Three models of credit markets - (1) the permanent income model, (2) upward sloping credit supply to individual borrowers, and (3) constrained credit due to imperfect enforcement - are tested using credit market data and an experimental study of individuals' discount rates in south India. The permanent income model is rejected by both the discount rate and the credit market data. The discount rate data are consistent with either of the other two models, while the credit market data are consistent with a combination of these two models. Other explanations are found to be insufficient to explain the results of this study.     

Value of agricultural non-point source pollution measurement technology: assessment from a policy perspective

The development of accurate non-point source pollution assessment technologies allows the implementation of more efficient policies than can be undertaken in their absence. This study estimates the value of accurate measurement technology by estimating the gains from implementing a more efficient policy, one that targets agricultural non-point source emission reductions at the field scale but requires accurate field scale measurement technology, relative to a practice-based policy that can be implemented in the absence of such technology. For the environmental benefit of carbon sequestration, large cost savings are found due to improved targeting of conservation tillage subsidies for the state of Iowa. The ability of the government to cost discriminate is found to have little impact on the value of accurate measurement technology.     

Perception of marital roles in purchase decision processes: A cross-cultural study

Following the approach of the classic 1974 marital-role influence study of Davis and Rigaux, the present study focuses on differences in decision making (i.e., joint, husband dominated, wife dominated) across 24 product categories as a function of two key factors. These factors are stage of the decision process (i.e., problem recognition, information search, and the final decision) and culture (People’s Republic of China and the United States). The Jacobson Marital-Role Egalitarianism Scale is included to further assess individual differences in husband and wife traditionality-modernism. The major findings are that emphasis on joint, husband-dominated, and wife-dominated decisions vary by stage and by stage-culture interaction. Practical implications are presented with suggestions for future research. He graduated from the University of Georgia in 1985 with a Ph.D. in marketing. His research interests include global strategic market planning and cross-cultural research issues and methodologies. He has published in such journals asJournal of Advertising Research, Industrial Marketing Management, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Columbia Journal of World Business, International Marketing Review, Journal of Business Strategy, andJournal of Consumer Marketing. He graduated with honors in 1986 from the University of Mississippi with a Ph.D. in marketing. His research interests include cross-cultural consumer behavior and emotional responses to advertising stimuli. He has published in such journals asJournal of Advertising, Journal of Advertising Research, Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, Psychology and Marketing, Journal of Health Care Marketing, andInternational Marketing Review. He graduated from the University of Mississippi in 1986 with a Ph.D. in marketing. His research interests focus on cross-cultural consumer behavior. He has published in such journals asJournal of Advertising, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Health Care Marketing, Psychology and Marketing, and theInternational Journal of Purchasing and Materials Management.