Microfinance in Times of Crisis: The Effects of Competition, Rising Indebtedness, and Economic Crisis on Repayment Behavior

This paper analyzes repayment determinants for loans from Caja Los Andes, a Bolivian microlender. The analysis focuses on the influence of recent changes in Bolivia. In particular, we examine the effects of the rapidly growing supply of microloans, the increasing competition, a rising level of indebtedness among microentrepreneurs, and the recent economic crisis. Our results show a twofold influence structure of competition and indebtedness. First, clients with loans from multiple sources at the same time are found to be more likely to default than others. Second, clients with given characteristics have an overall better repayment behavior in areas with higher competition and a higher supply of microloans.     

Eco-Labeling and Stages of Development

The paper examines the effectiveness of eco-labeling in providing a market-based solution to the under-consumption of eco-friendly products in developing and developed countries. The authors show that whether labeling is an effective device in solving the problem of asymmetric information between sellers and buyers, or whether false labeling severs the link between willingness to pay and environmental conscious production choices, depends crucially on how monitoring intensities respond endogenously to economic growth, openness to trade, and technology transfers. In particular, by accounting for endogenous policy responses to economic growth, it is shown that an inverted-U relationship exists between consumer spending on eco-unfriendly products and national income. In addition, while international trade unambiguously benefits the environment in the presence of eco-labeling with perfect enforcement, trade openness may nevertheless delay the turning point of the growth and environment relationship, when the cost of enforcement falls disproportionately on developing countries, and when environmental policies are employed to reap terms-of-trade gains.     

„Produkt- und Communitymanagement bei der Weltmarke MINI“

Marketing LimitsInterview

„Produkt- und Communitymanagement bei der Weltmarke MINI“ Dr. Wolfgang Armbrecht leitet seit Anfang 2008 das weltweite Brandmanagement MINI. Im Interview erl?utert er zentrale Erfolgsfaktoren des MINI-Marketingkonzepts und zeigt zukünftige Entwicklungspotenziale auf     

Revealing the Nature of Contemporary Tourism Research: Extracting Common Subject Areas through Bibliographic Coupling

This study aims at identifying recent subject areas and citation patterns of tourism research by applying a bibliometric tool to analyze over 2000 publications since 2008 from 10 tourism journals. Twelve subject areas were identified, and interesting citation patterns were revealed. From this analysis, the tourism research was found to be quite dynamic but at the same time very much focused on marketing and management aspects. This article contributes to ongoing efforts to reveal the nature of tourism research and its knowledge bases by applying the methodology of bibliographic coupling. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Rahmenbedingungen für den Emissionsrechtehandel in Deutschland

Deutschland hat sich mit dem Kyoto-Protokoll verpflichtet, seine klimasch?dlichen Emissionen zu reduzieren. Dies soll neben anderen Instrumenten auch durch einen Emissionsrechtehandel gew?hrleistet werden. Wie sieht die genaue Ausgestaltung in Europa und Deutschland aus? Beeintr?chtigt das Vergabeverfahren der Zertifikate die Kosteneffizienz dieses umweltpolitischen Instrumentes? Dr. Ulrike Berger-K?gler, 42, ist Leiterin der Abteilung Regulierung bei der debitel AG in Stuttgart.     

Guaranteed Manufactured without Child Labor: The Economics of Consumer Boycotts, Social Labeling and Trade Sanctions

Does labeling products “Child‐Labor Free” provide a market‐based solution to the pervasive employment of child labor? This paper explores the promise of social labeling in the context of its four oft‐noted objectives: child labor employment, consumer information, welfare, and trade linkages, when competition between the North and South is based both on comparative cost advantage, and the use of child labor as a hidden product attribute. We show that (i) social labeling benefits consumers and Southern producers, whereas children and Northern producers are worse off; (ii) trade sanctions on unlabeled products deteriorates Southern terms of trade, but leaves the incidence of child labor strictly unaffected; and (iii) a threat to sanction imports of unlabeled Southern products discourages the South from maintaining a credible social labeling program. We also explore the question of whether social labeling should be viewed as a transitory or a permanent institution in developing economies.     

Criteria for screening new industrial products

Screening new industrial product ideas—the initial GO/NO GO decision in the new product process—is a critical decision. This article reports the results of an extensive investigation into what criteria managers use in their screening decisions, and how these criteria are weighted and combined.     

The maturation of the science of media selection

The historical development of models in the field of media scheduling is traced. The models are identified as to which have dominated certain stages of development over the last twenty five years. A general discussion is also provided of the less sophisticated models of the preceding period. Overall, the evolution is described in terms of the development of a science to maturity. This paper was invited and has not been subject to our blind review process.     

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