Derivation of netput shadow prices under different levels of pest pressure

In this paper, we propose a framework to derive agricultural netput shadow prices that assign values to netputs in terms of their contribution to technical and environmental efficiency. Our modeling approach is based on the dual representation of an event-specific data envelopment model and is applied to a panel dataset of Dutch arable farms. Results show that netput shadow prices vary significantly across pest pressure events, suggesting the relevance to consider the event-specific nature of the production technology when computing them. By revealing the relative importance of pesticides in terms of their contribution to environmental efficiency, this study provides a potential framework for constructing penalties aiming to internalize some portion of the social cost of pesticide use.     

Consumer satisfaction and services: insights from dive tourism

This article focuses on consumer satisfaction in services within the context of tourism, and the dive tourism industry in particular. It identifies the key elements that certified, experienced recreational divers use to determine satisfaction, and discusses the relative importance of the elements. Thereafter, a framework explaining the formation of diver satisfaction is proposed – and the role of emotion is highlighted above other satisfaction antecedents. The findings have practical and academic implications for the wider realms of tourism and other service industries. This research was conducted in Zanzibar, Tanzania, using a combination of participant observation and face-to-face interviews and illustrates the power of such techniques to reach the core of consumer thoughts, actions, and feelings.     

Not-for-profit accounting in a changing world of standard setting: What professors and students need to know

Generally, accounting standard setting in the 21st Century promises to be an interesting and increasingly diverse endeavor. This paper discusses the formation of the FASB’s Not-for-Profit Advisory Committee in 2010 and its work to date. I identify the various changes that will likely impact accounting and auditing for not-for-profit entities. Specifically, prospects for changes to current not-for-profit standards are discussed with emphasis on how future changes might follow the patterns outlined for private companies or small and medium-sized entities. New possibilities and implications for educators and curriculum design are introduced.     

Verhalten optimistisch

Information about music rank highest among the most popular media issues. With their information, music journalists contribute considerably to the media’s cultural basic services. However, there is a lack of reliable data on these specialists, their everyday work, their professional satisfaction, their self-conception as well as their role in society. The present study aims at closing this gap in communicator research. Additionally, we ask how music journalists anticipate their future in a changing media world which provides manifold other ways to gain information on music. The results of the unrepresentative online survey (n?=?209) show that today’s music journalists are relaxed about their professional situation and do not question the necessity of their job. Above all, they consider themselves to be information brokers with a subjective and critical demand for autonomy who unwaveringly believe that the review is the most important form of knowledge transfer. Also, a surprising consent is revealed between journalists reporting on entertaining music and journalists reporting on classical music as well as between newspaper and online journalists.     

Risk-taking behaviour and ownership in the banking industry: The Spanish evidence

This paper analyses the determinants of risk-taking in Spanish financial intermediaries, with special emphasis on the ownership structure and size of the different entities. On the one hand, the specific legal configuration of Spanish Savings banks may lead them to differ from Commercial banks in their risk behaviour. In particular, they may invest in riskier projects. Nevertheless, other theories indicate that greater stockholder control in Commercial banks may induce them towards greater risk-taking in certain situations. In this paper we test these hypotheses with a dynamic panel data model (1993–2000) for Spanish Commercial banks and Savings banks. We analyse whether differences in risk behaviour are related to different ownership structures or to other factors such as the size of the entity.     

The economic consequences of corporate tax rates reductions in the EU: Evidence using a computable general equilibrium model

In a globalised world, governments are eager to attract foreign investors by lowering corporate tax rates. Recent trends point towards a revival of a race to the bottom in corporate income tax (CIT) rates in developed economies. EU countries have been active in this respect. A generalised fall in CIT rate could prove detrimental to tax revenues and trigger increase in other taxes to meet fiscal policy objectives. However, it could also spur investment and growth and prove to be a good fiscal policy strategy if, as a result, the corporate tax base increases. The final economic and fiscal impact of a reduction in CIT rates is therefore unclear. Using a CGE model, we find that uncoordinated tax reforms significantly impact national economies and third‐country effects can be significant when large countries implement CIT rate cuts. Small countries are better off unilaterally reducing their CIT rate at the expense of other EU countries. We find that negative spillovers are mitigated when the country reducing its CIT rate restores its budget balance by cutting either public expenditures or social transfers. A larger degree of non‐EU capital mobility also tends to reduce the negative spillover effects of unilateral CIT rate reductions.     

Job exit of men: new job destination versus unemployment destination

Job exit of men over the age of forty is described and analysed using monthly observations derived from the 1988-89 UK Retirement Survey. A competing risks model is described and estimated. The results show that tenure and age determine transitions from a job to a new one, whereas those transitions from a job to unemployment are also determined by business cycle variables.