Paths of Institutional Development: A View from Economic History

This article surveys an influential new research program onhistorical paths of institutional development and their consequencesfor growth. The research program exploits the experience ofEuropean colonialism as a kind of "natural experiment" whoseresults bear on the way institutions affect development. Thecentral hypothesis of this research is that societies that beganwith more extreme inequality were more likely to develop institutionsallowing much of the population only limited access to economicopportunities. The research has uncovered a striking reversalof fortune among the areas colonized by Europe; those that wererelatively rich in the 1600s are today far poorer than the areas(such as the United States and Canada) that initially were viewedas relatively undesirable. The timing of the reversal—atthe onset of the Industrial Revolution, when there was probablya premium on broad participation in commercial activity—suggeststhat institutions associated with high inequality may be a causalfactor in low aggregate incomes. This research program is stillin its early stages. But studies of institutions in India usingdata rich enough to permit hypothesis-testing provide evidencesupporting the hypotheses developed in the analysis of the Europeancolonial experience.      

Fee pressure and the longitudinal dynamics of audit engagement budgeting and reporting

Using longitudinal data from an international accounting firm, this paper investigates how budgeted and reported audit hours change in response to prior budget variances, fee pressure, and budget pressure imposed by audit firm management. This investigation is motivated by concern regarding the association between these factors and quality-reducing audit behaviors. The results for audit firm management budgeting show that budgets increase following unfavorable variances, and that fee pressure does not affect the budgeting process. Regarding engagement team reporting behavior, we find that both prior unfavorable variances and fee pressure are associated with subsequent reduction in reported audit hours. Further, when audit firm management imposes budget pressure on engagement teams, they respond by reducing reported hours. Overall, the results provide evidence on the interplay between audit firm management and engagement teams in responding to prior variances, fee pressure, and budget pressure during the period 2001-2003.     

Assessing the Impact of Fair Trade Coffee: Towards an Integrative Framework

This article presents an impact assessment framework that allows for the evaluation of positive and negative local-level impacts that have resulted from “responsible trade” interventions such as fair trade and ethical trade. The framework investigates impact relating to (1) livelihood impacts on primary stakeholders; (2) socio-economic impacts on communities; (3) organizational impacts; (4) environmental impacts; (5) policies and institutional impacts; and (6) future prospects. It identifies relevant local-level stakeholders and facilitates the analysis of conflicting interests. The framework was developed in the context of, and is applied in this article to, the fair trade coffee industry in northern Nicaragua. It was designed, however, so that it can be applied across commodity sectors and responsible trade initiatives. It is able to do this by accommodating for differences in the social, environmental, political and institutional contexts of different areas, and by taking into account the distinct nature of an initiative’s overall objectives, different levels of intervention, and the full range of stakeholders involved.     

Gender‐based analysis of leisure constraints

This article develops and tests a conjoint choice model of portfolio choice behavior. It shows how experimental design principles and discrete choice model specifications can be used to model the choice of travel portfolios. Design strategies, model formulations, and estimation methods are discussed and illustrated through use of Dutch tourists’ choices of destination and transportation for short city breaks as an example. Findings support the suggested methodology and indicate that the nested logit model is most appropriate in the tested application.     

Prosumer's commitment model: The case of a biodiesel cooperative

Consumers are becoming more aware of their role in the propagation of environmental issues, the transition from passive consumer to prosumer is emerging, and it is of interest to know the commitment factors that leads the biodiesel prosumer to act in favor of an organization which they belong in order to achieve one goal in common and contribute to local sustainable development. In this research, the prosumer is the one who participates as a member and consumer of a biodiesel cooperative. The prosumer's commitment is made up of two components: (i) nonactive or affective, identification with the organization, and (ii) active or participatory, action towards certain goals. The objectives of the investigation are to evaluate the biodiesel prosumer's commitment and know its causes and effects. The hypotheses on the causes and results of the prosumer's commitment are postulated in a structural equation model (SEM), whose theoretical basis corresponds to the double role of the prosumer: member and client of the cooperative. The SEM is evaluated from the perspective of the prosumer based on mixed methodology and partial least square (PLS). The proposed SEM explains 78% (R² = 0.78) of the variability of the contribution of the biodiesel cooperative to local sustainable development, where this contribution is directly and significantly impacted by the two components of the commitment. This case study identifies dimensions that lead the biodiesel prosumer to commit in the cocreation and consumption of renewable fuel, which gives more opportunities for long-term survival of this initiative in a competitive market.     

Researching Leisure and Physical Activity with Women of Color: Issues and Emerging Questions

The roles of women in the United States are changing, along with the idea that being female is mitigated by a number of constructions such as race, class, age, income, (dis)ability, culture, and sexual orientation. Interest in understanding physical activity as leisure embodied in movement, exercise, fitness, recreation, and sports has increased because moderate to vigorous physical activity is associated with a lower risk for premature death, some chronic diseases, and being overweight. Research from the Centers for Disease Control, however, has shown that fewer than 30% of minority women in the United States obtain sufficient amounts of moderate activity to derive physical and mental health benefits. The Cross Cultural Activity Participation Study was designed to measure physical activity habits in African American and American Indian women and to develop and validate a set of surveys to measure moderate physical activity. A qualitative component was included as part of the larger study to obtain additional information about the psychosocial context and sociocultural meanings of physical activity and perceptions of leisure. The process of data collection, analyses, and reporting the qualitative findings, as well as developing and validating quantitative measurement instruments, resulted in raising methodological issues about studying race and culture and theoretical concerns for future research. The purpose of this article is to retrospectively describe our research process and what we learned in undertaking it. If behavior changes, health improvement, and an enhanced quality of life are to be achieved, then researchers must continue to determine the best ways to examine the meanings that individuals attach to activities.     

Invisible pioneers? The impact of women on the recreation movement

Abstract

This article explores and describes the impact of women on the American recreation movement from 1900 to 1960. The theses that emerged in this article are that women were actively involved in the early and middle years of the movement, that their activities were different from men's activities and thus largely invisible as recorded in the history of the recreation movement, and that the social “ethic of caring” embodied the professional and volunteer activities that women undertook. These theses provided a transitional history about the women who were involved with the recreation movement in various capacities. Although notable women were identified through the data collection, it was the “collective biography” of the women in the field that provided the archetypical model that described the impact of women on the recreation movement.