US Labor Institutionalism’s Rise and Decline and the Death of US Industrial Relations

Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal - This article presents a short history on the rise and fall of US labor institutionalism as advanced by the Wisconsin school labor history and...     

Introduction to “Breaking New Ground: Social Movement Theory and the Cincinnati Union Co-ops”

Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal -     

Education and financial mistakes: The case of avoidable trading fees in stock markets

Portuguese Economic Journal - We study a quasi-natural experiment that altered the structure of commission fee schedules applied to retail investors in the Portuguese stock market in 2003. Using a...     

The reaction of disagreements in inflation expectations to fiscal sentiment obtained from information in official communiqués

Using official communiqués about fiscal policy, we develop a fiscal sentiment indicator, and we verify the reaction of disagreements in inflation expectations to fiscal sentiment. This analysis is relevant to inflation targeting (IT) countries because transparency and communication can influence expectations. The results suggest that a more optimistic fiscal sentiment reduces disagreements in inflation expectations. Estimates show that, for higher disagreements in inflation expectations at 12-month maturity, an optimistic fiscal sentiment can reduce the disagreement more sharply. In turn, the fiscal sentiment effect on the disagreement for the 48-month maturity is stronger the smaller the disagreement is. The results allow us to outline the following policy recommendations. First, an optimistic fiscal environment is important in the task of guiding inflation expectations and reducing inflation uncertainty. Second, fiscal communication is an important tool for the expectations formation process, and therefore it must be carefully managed to help in the task of forward guidance of inflation expectations, being important for the IT regime. Third, both fiscal credibility and monetary policy credibility are important for the expectations formation process, particularly for the reduction of inflation uncertainty, representing aspects that must be preserved in countries that adopt the IT regime.     

Do financial development,foreign direct investment,and economic growth enhance industrial development? Fresh evidence from Sub-Sahara African countries

Portuguese Economic Journal - This study investigates the impact of financial development, economic growth, and foreign direct investment on enhancing industrial growth for a panel of selected...     

Swap variance hedging and efficiency: The role of high moments

In this article, we propose a new theoretical approach for developing hedging strategies based on swap variance (SwV). SwV is a generalized risk measure equivalent to a polynomial combination of all moments of a return distribution. Using the S&P 500 index and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil spot and futures price data, as well as simulations by varying the distribution of asset returns, we investigate the dynamic differences between hedge ratios and portfolio performances based on SwV (with high moments) and variance (without high moments). We find that, on average, the minimizing-SwV hedging suggests more short futures contracts than minimizing-variance hedging; however, when market conditions deteriorate, the minimizing-SwV hedging suggests fewer short positions in futures. The superior posthedge performances of the mean-SwV hedged portfolios over the mean-variance hedged portfolios in highly volatile or extremely calm markets confirm the efficiency of the mean-SwV hedging strategy.     

Ease of doing business and investment among West African countries

This study assessed the link between ease of doing business (EBD) and investment among 11 selected countries in West Africa covering 2006–2020. The study used the fixed-effects estimator, the random-effects estimator, the augmented mean-group method, and the Half-Panel Jackknife Wald-type test. The study found a bidirectional relationship between the EBD and foreign direct investment (FDI) and a unidirectional relationship running from EBD to domestic investment. The findings further revealed that the EBD and national income have a strong influence in determining the level of domestic investment and FDI inflows, and that some indicators of EBD, such as the procedure for starting a business, access to credit facilities, tax, and security threats, discourage domestic investment and FDI inflows, in contrast to the influence of obtaining electricity and national income on investment. The study suggests that West African governments reduce taxes, ease the procedures and costs of starting a business and dealing with construction permits, and increase the availability of credit facilities at lower interest rates to promote investment in the region.     

Rural Bangladeshi consumers’ (un)willingness to pay for low-milled rice: Implications for zinc biofortification

Zinc deficiency is a severe public health problem in Bangladesh. We examine the effects of nutritional information on rural consumers’ willingness-to-pay (WTP) for two ways to increase zinc intake through rice, the main staple crop–low-milling that gives rice grains a distinctive light brown color (a visible trait) and sets it apart from the culturally preferred high-milled white rice grain and biofortification of rice with increased zinc content (an invisible trait), which is also low-milled to retain maximum zinc content. Results of our economic experiments suggest that with nutritional information, consumers are willing to pay a premium of 4.6% for zinc biofortified rice compared to non-biofortified rice, when milled at the same level. However, results confirm the strong preference for high-milled rice by Bangladeshi consumers who discounted low-milled rice by 8%–10% even after receiving information on the nutritional benefits of biofortified or low-milled rice. We find that consumers’ WTP for the two high-zinc-low-milled rice types (biofortified and non-biofortified) is positively correlated with being a female, more educated, belonging to households engaged in non-farm activities and with children under 5 years of age. Results point to the importance of nutritional awareness campaigns for increasing zinc biofortified and low-milled rice consumption and guiding the targeting strategy for such campaigns. Given the consumer preference for high-milled rice, this study also points to the need for exploring the rice fortification strategy to address the challenge of malnutrition.