When Do Nutrient Content and Nutrient Content Claims Matter? Assessing Consumer Tradeoffs Between Carbohydrates and Fat

Substantial concern about the wide variety of carbohydrate‐related claims appearing on consumer packaged food products have been expressed by members of both the marketing and public policy communities. As a result, a number of petitions requesting the establishment of carbohydrate levels required for a low‐carbohydrate nutrient content claim have been submitted to the Food and Drug Administration, and the agency is considering the establishment of criteria for such a claim. This research examines the potential effects of a “low‐carbohydrate” claim, relative to the effects of a “low‐fat” claim, across selected product fat and carbohydrate levels. The study also considers whether consumers’ motivation to process nutrition information serves as a potential moderator of the effects of the nutrient content claims and nutrient levels on the dependent measures. As predicted, the results show key differences across consumer motivation levels. The policy implications of our findings are discussed.     

The Death Care Industry: A Review of Regulatory and Consumer Issues

Although virtually every person in the United States will purchase or consume a funeral‐related product or service, relatively little is understood about the processes a consumer undertakes in making these expensive decisions in stressful circumstances. Regulation of the industry has been contentious from the outset, and there have been numerous questions as to regulatory effectiveness. This article outlines and discusses issues related to the death care industry with particular attention to consumer interests.     

Book Reviews

Books reviewed:
E. Wayne Nafziger and Juha Auvinen, Economic Development, Inequality, and War: Humanitarian Emergencies in Developing Countries.
Steve Striffler and Mark Moberg (eds), Banana Wars. Power, Production and History in the Americas.
Stefano Ponte, Farmers and Markets in Tanzania: How Policy Reforms Affect Rural Livelihoods in Africa.
Catherine Boone, Political Topographies of the African State: Territorial Authority and Institutional Choice.     

Illuminations and distortions: Gregory King's Scheme calculated for the year 1688 and the social structure of later Stuart England1

This critique of King's well‐known Scheme of the social order in 1688 examines his purposes, the Scheme's evolutionary process, and the taxation data (hearth, poll, window, and marriage duty) that King used to construct it, before contrasting his conclusions with recent research. His social hierarchy emerges as a rather crude and backward‐looking stereotype based on too many intelligent guesses, with his treatment of the poorer families being least satisfactory. Overall, King's population totals appear sound, his national income estimate low, and various mean household sizes and family and children's totals unreliable.     

book reviews

THE CHANGING CONTOURS OF BRITISH INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS Nuffield College, Oxford WORK AND PEOPLE: AN ECONOMIC EVALUATION OF JOB ENRICHMENT Lodon School of Economics THE HIDDEN MEANING OF PAY CONFLICT University of Edinburgh COMPETITION AND CONTROL AT WORK Centre for Research in Industrial Democracy and Participation Glasgow University