Conservation practice complementarity and timing of on-farm adoption

The adoption of conservation practices is a dynamic process. Factors that vary over time can affect farmers’ decision to adopt and adoption timing. We used a duration model to evaluate the farmer's adoption time for continuous no-till (CNT), cover crops (CCs), and the variable-rate application of inputs (VRA). We found that producers who had previously adopted soil conservation practices were more likely to adopt additional complementary practices. Farmers using crop rotation adopted CNT and CCs approximately 48% and 62% faster than farmers without a crop rotation, respectively. The CC adoption time was also reduced by 70% for farmers who had adopted CNT. Complementarities between conservation practices may enhance the benefits from adoption and allow farmers to adopt bundles of conservation practices more quickly over time. This can be taken advantage of in conservation programs by promoting or requiring practices first that enhance adoption of other practices. We also found important heterogeneity in the adoption speed associated with farm management characteristics, producers’ attitudes, weather patterns, and crop prices.     

A contextual analysis of the impact of managerial expectations on asymmetric cost behavior

Review of Accounting Studies - We examine the effect of managerial expectations on asymmetric cost behavior in the context of resource adjustment costs and unused resource constraints. Our results...     

Cryptodemocracy and its institutional possibilities

The Review of Austrian Economics - Democracy is an economic problem of choice constrained by transaction costs and information costs. Society must choose between competing institutional frameworks...     

Linking IDC finance to structural transformation and inclusivity in post-apartheid South Africa

ABSTRACT

The need for structural transformation and inclusivity in South Africa is urgent, given poor economic growth, employment and equality outcomes. This article examines the role of South Africa’s main industrial finance institution – the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) – in providing finance for structural transformation and inclusive economic growth post-apartheid. We find that the IDC’s funding has been concentrated in capital-intensive upstream sectors of the economy, with limited concessional finance to facilitate meaningful entry of SMEs into high-value and labour-absorptive downstream sectors. The IDC’s funding model (in being a self-sustainable institution) is a significant constraining factor in this regard. Furthermore, the lack of a purposeful integrated industrial policy strategy which directs investments clearly means that IDC’s funding priorities are not clearly defined.     

Diversity and the starting salaries of undergraduate business school students

The authors treat racial diversity of the student body at both the college of business and the institutional level as an input into the undergraduate business school productive process, and find that diversity is positively related to improved student starting salary outcomes. The effects are meaningful—a 1-SD in increase in student racial diversity implies a six- to seven-place increase in salary rank among the 90 schools for which the authors have data.     

The interaction effect of mobile phone screen and product orientation on perceived product size

Perceived product size is a key concern in online retail, particularly in fashion and grocery. The screen on which consumers view a product (e.g., desktop or mobile) might constitute a frame that biases size perception, on the basis of assimilation and contrast effects (pool and store theory). The rise of mobile commerce exacerbates this issue, as framing effects might be stronger versus desktop settings as screens are smaller. Further, as mobile phone's screen orientation varies situationally (vertical vs. horizontal), the perceived product size might vary, depending on the interaction of screen and product orientation. By introducing the framing ratio as a means to predict extent, dimensionality and symmetry of size biases, we generalize specific findings from extant research. Empirically, four experimental studies demonstrate that contextual frames (i.e., vertical vs. horizontal screens) and product orientation (e.g., jeans vs. shoes) interact to bias the size perception, in that sizes are overestimated on the dimension that approaches the frame (high framing ratio), compared with conditions where the frame is distant (low framing ratio). If product size is misperceived, willingness to pay might be affected (e.g., for groceries). Thus, size perceptions have a direct impact on managerially relevant variables.     

An agglomeration payment for cost-effective biodiversity conservation in spatially structured landscapes

Connected habitats are ecologically more valuable than isolated habitats for many species. A key challenge when designing payments for biodiversity in fragmented landscapes is to increase the spatial connectivity of habitats. Based on the idea of an agglomeration bonus we consider a scheme in which land-owners only receive payments if habitats are arranged in an ecologically favourable configuration. We compare the cost-effectiveness of agglomeration payments to spatially homogeneous payments on a conceptual level. Our results suggest that positive efficiency gains exist for agglomeration payments. We use Large Blue butterfly habitat in Germany as a specific case study, and find the agglomeration payments may lead to cost-savings of nearly 70% relative to homogenous payments.     

Hong Kong: The Fragile Economy of Middlemen

The paper shows that standard trade models can be adapted to address crucial policy issues in our dynamic, imperfect-information world. It also shows that intermediated trade is essential to the modernization of the 1.2 billion-person Chinese economy; yet, notwithstanding sincere intentions in Beijing and Hong Kong, subtle changes may deny Hong Kong its irreplaceable catalyst role, leaving China ultimately to technical stagnation.     

Strategic R&D and the innovation of products: understanding the role of time preferences and product differentiation

We evaluate the effects of innovation on competition using an optimal control approach that incorporates firms' time preferences. Using a model where firm(s) innovates by investing in research and development to create a more appealing product for heterogeneous consumers, we examine conditions that maximize social welfare. When firm(s) choose discount rate regardless of market structure, a monopoly will develop more innovative products. However, we show that duopolies may increase innovation if competition alters firms' outlook. Finally, we identify firm incentives to behave myopically, which in the context of collusion may impede industry-wide innovation.