Why Markets in Proto-Deceptive Goods Should Be Restricted

In recent years there has been much philosophical discussion over the question of whether the prohibitions on markets in such items as human body parts and gene sequences, and services such as human reproductive labor and sex, should be lifted. Yet despite the attention paid to this issue there are been surprisingly little discussion of the question of whether markets in certain items that are currently freely traded should be restricted or eliminated. In particular, there has been little discussion of the question of whether markets in items that could be readily used to deceive people should be restricted. I argue in this paper that one of the central moral values of the contemporary West – respect for personal autonomy – requires that such markets be restricted.     

Unraveling the Academic Productivity of Economists: The Opportunity Costs of Teaching and Service

This study investigates the relationships among research productivity, teaching, and service on the basis of individual-specific information involving approximately 715 academic economists. Responding to an online survey, these economists provided information regarding their teaching and service commitments as well as personal and institutional information. The publication record of each respondent was then obtained from EconLit. Together, these data constitute a rich field for the systematic study of research productivity. Results of a Tobit analysis reveal much about the nature of research productivity, underscoring, for instance, the importance of gender, coauthorship, presentations at conferences, and peers who publish. Among the more important findings from this analysis is that both teaching and service commitments have a significantly negative impact on the research productivity of academic economists. These relations hold across types of academic employer, though to varying degrees. Taken together, the results provide interesting insights into the roles of academic scholars, teachers, and colleagues.     

Accounting for Executive Stock Options: A Case Study in Avoiding Tough Decisions

We review the development of accounting requirements for executive stock options (ESOs) and find that the standard-setting process has been susceptible to pressure groups including the corporate sector, politicians and even the accounting profession itself. The failure of Australian and overseas accounting regulators to take tough decisions may have created a systematic bias towards the use of ESOs which can result in grossly inefficient compensation structures motivated by a desire to maximise reported profits rather than to create optimal managerial incentives. We conclude that most of the arguments against recognition of stock option expense can be dismissed as blatant self-interest at worst, or remarkably muddled thinking at best.     

Retirement and transition phenomena in the family purchase process

Research is needed on the family purchase process of retirement‐age couples, because 78 million baby boomers are rapidly approaching retirement age. Both boomers and the retirement‐age couples in this study present special opportunities to marketers through new roles adopted in retirement. This study reports on perceptions of family purchase process participation among retirement‐age couples. Results indicate that transition retirees' family purchase process participation differs from that of post‐transition retirees. This finding has managerial implications for marketers wishing to serve desirable segments of current and future retirement‐age consumers. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

On the efficiency of the Cochrane-Orcutt estimator

Using analytic approximations, we reconcile some radically contradictory evidence and resolve an interesting paradox that occurs in a simple linear model with autocorrelated disturbances. In general, the behavior of conventional coefficient estimators is quite sensitive to the specification of the exogenous variables, or, equivalently, to whether the marginal efficiency or the conditional efficiency of the coefficient estimators is being compared.     

Some new historical evidence on the impact of affirmative action: Detroit, 1972

A sample of Detroit area firms in 1972 is used to determine the effects of affirmative action requirements and other firm characteristics on the recruitment and hiring of women and black men. The results suggest that affirmative action changed firm hiring practices with respect to black males. The unique data set also allows for a test of Becker’s well-known hypothesis that customer prejudice may influence the hiring of blacks or females.     

Ringing the changes? Union recognition and organisation in call centres in the UK finance sector

The massive rise in UK call centre employment in recent years has been closely related to developments in the finance sector. This paper analyses these developments in order to contextualise the organisational experiences of unions in the sector. Recruitment activity in both hostile and compliant employer environments, and findings from the first national survey of call centre employees’ attitudes towards trade unionism, are discussed, and the prospects for union recruitment and organisation are assessed.