Crucial Issues for Statistics in the Next Two Decades

This collection of articles stems from an Invited Paper meeting at the 52nd Session of the ISI in Helsinki, August 1999. The purpose of the session was to explore issues likely to be critical to the long-term survival of the discipline, if not the profession, of Statistics. The contributors in the session have all made outstanding contributions to both the theory and practice of Statistics, and have also had an ongoing interest in the long-term development of the subject. Subsequently, they were given the opportunity to elaborate on their contributions, for wider dissemination.     

Minimal sufficient conditions for a primal optimizer in nonsmooth utility maximization

We continue the study of utility maximization in the nonsmooth setting and give a counterexample to a conjecture made in Deelstra et al. (Ann. Appl. Probab. 11:1353–1383, 2001) on the optimality of random variables valued in an appropriate subdifferential. We derive minimal sufficient conditions on a random variable for it to be a primal optimizer in the case where the utility function is not strictly concave.     

Retailer internationalization: overcoming barriers to expansion

This paper develops an understanding of the barriers to retailer foreign market expansion focusing on SME retail firms. A qualitative methodology was adopted to obtain a holistic understanding of the key barriers to international expansion experienced by retailers from both the firm and industry-level perspectives. In light of the findings from the case companies and industry organizations in this study, the paper concludes that the main barriers to foreign market expansion experienced by SME UK retailers, both at the entry and growth stages, comprise internal and external factors. This paper not only provides an understanding of the barriers encountered by SME retailers but also considers how such problems may be overcome.     

Who Eats Seaweed? An Australian Perspective

Abstract

Current seaweed consumption and attitudes and preferences toward seaweed food products in a Western society are investigated to inform the seaweed industry regarding product development and marketing strategies. A national survey of 521 Australian consumers was conducted. About 75% of respondents had eaten seaweed; however, only 37% had consumed seaweed regularly over the past 12?months. Key drivers include health and nutritional benefits, taste, being natural, safe, and fresh. Critical barriers are lack of knowledge and familiarity, and the perception that seaweed is expensive. Females and younger, health-conscious consumers with higher household incomes and levels of education, who are more adventurous with food (neophilic), and who tend to snack and assign symbolic value to food are more likely to consume seaweed. Recommendations for the emerging seaweed industry in terms of target markets and relevant marketing strategies are presented and areas of further research proposed.     

Health Expenses: Evidence from the Club Clustering Approach

This paper explores convergence of real health expenses across the Indian states. The new panel convergence methodology developed by Phillips and Sul (Econometrica 75:1771–1855, 2007) is employed. The empirical findings suggest that these states form distinct convergent clubs, exhibiting considerable heterogeneity in the underlying health expenses patterns.     

The effects of the external environment on marketing decision-maker uncertainty

Abstract

An important contribution to the literature on perceived environmental uncertainty (PEU) is Milliken’s distinction between state uncertainty, effect uncertainty and response uncertainty. Although much is known about their conceptual underpinnings and measurement, there has been no empirical investigation of their antecedents. This is the focus of this study, which examines relationships between two environmental characteristics and perceptions of state, effect and response uncertainty, and the moderating role of marketing decision-maker locus of control. Both instability of change and environmental complexity are associated with marketing decision-maker uncertainty, with the former having the larger effect. Locus of control moderates the relationships between environmental characteristics and effect and response uncertainty. The findings have implications for theory, managerial practice and research methodology.     

The Welfare Impact of Self-supplied Water Pricing in Canada: A Computable General Equilibrium Assessment

This paper uses a computable general equilibrium model to assess the welfare cost of changing the method of water allocation in Canada towards one that uses prices to ration demand. We model the introduction of a price on both water that is abstracted as well as water that is consumed (that is abstracted, and not returned to the source). We estimate that reducing water consumption by 25 % would require imposition of a price on water consumption of around $$\$0.21/\text{ m }^{3}$$ . Similarly, introduction of a water abstraction charge of about $$\$0.013/\text{ m }^{3}$$ would be sufficient to reduce water abstraction by 25 %. We find that if revenues from water pricing are returned in lump sum to households, the introduction of water pricing would result in a modest welfare loss. When revenues from water pricing are used to offset existing taxes, we find a gain in welfare corresponding to a ‘strong double dividend.’