Transmission of information within transnational social networks: a field experiment

Several studies have shown a relationship between the stocks of migrants and country-level investment in the home country; however the mechanism through which this relationship operates is still unexplored. We use a field experiment in which participants who are recent immigrants send information about risky decisions to others in their social network in their home country. The results demonstrate how this information influences decisions in the home country. We find that the advice given by family members and decisions made by friends significantly affects an individual’s risky decision-making.     

Advertising to the masses: the effects of crowding on the attention to place-based advertising

Advertising situated in environments where people congregate or pass through on their way to somewhere else benefit from being placed in such high traffic areas. However, these strategically placed ads also suffer from conditions of human crowding that prevents them from being noticed and processed. We undertake a study of place-based advertising in a shopping mall using facial recognition software to determine the effect of human density on the attention directed to advertising. We find that as human density increases, attention to advertising decreases, but only to a point where it begins to increase again. Our research also finds that human density plays a moderating role on the motivation to process advertising.     

The demand for small cars in the United States: Implications for energy conservation strategies

The purpose of this paper was to investigate the impact of household characteristics and preferences for Japanese cars on the demand for small cars in the United States. Two stage probit analysis was used to examine the impact of various explanatory variables on the purchase decision. The results indicated that preferences for Japanese cars, income, price and several household characteristics had a significant impact on the probability of purchasing a small car. The results of this study provide support for freer trade in automobiles and higher gasoline taxes as energy conservation strategies.

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Zusammenfassung Die Nachfrage nach Kleinwagen in USA: Implikationen für Strategien zur Energieeinsparung. Diese Untersuchung wollte herausfinden, wie sich Haushaltseigenschaften und Präferenzen für japanische Autos auf die Nachfrage nach Kleinwagen in den Vereinigten Staaten auswirken. Die Stichprobe umfa\te 367 Haushalte, die im Jahr 1986 ein neues Auto kauften. Davon kauften 141 Haushalte amerikanische Kleinwagen, 84 japanische Kleinwagen und 142 Haushalte kauften gro\e amerikanische Wagen. Eine zweistufige Probit-Analyse prüfte den Einflu\ der verschiedenen Erklärungsvariablen auf die Kaufentscheidung. Die Ergebnisse besagen im wesentlichen, da\ es die Präferenzen für japanische Autos, das Einkommen, der Preis und einige Haushaltseigenschaften sind, die einen signifikanten Einflu\ auf die Wahrscheinlichkeit eines Kleinwagenkaufs haben. Die Autoren sehen in den Ergebnissen eine Unterstützung für die Forderung nach Freihandel im Automobilsektor und nach höherer Besteuerung von Kraftstoffen als Strategien zur Energieeinsparung.

     

中国"以电子政务拉动信息产业发展"政策的再评估

电子政务是中国信息化战略的重中之重，但其实际发展与预期间存在着明显差距。本文以中国“以电子政务拉动信息产业发展”政策为研究重点，把这一政策放在中国信息化历史中加以考察，分析中国信息化新阶段ICT市场的新变化和新挑战，针对电子政务实践与预期间的差距，对该政策提出我们的看法。     

Measuring Employment Security in Europe Using Surveys of Employers

Using results from surveys in which employers were questioned about their freedom to shed staff, we develop a measure of employment security in Europe. We seek to identify which institutional factors are correlated with the responses of employers and find that they appear to reflect the strength of legal restrictions and trade unions and the prevalence of atypical employment. Our results are used to compile an index of employment security that has both a temporal and a cross‐country dimension.     

Evaluating FOMC forecasts

Monetary policy outcomes have improved since the early 1980s. One factor contributing to the improvement is that Federal Reserve policymakers began reporting economic forecasts to Congress in 1979. These forecasts indicate what the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) members think will be the likely consequence of their policies. We evaluate the accuracy of the FOMC forecasts relative to private sector forecasts, the forecasts of the Research Staff at the Board of Governors, and a naïve alternative. We find that the FOMC output forecasts were better than the naïve model and at least as good as those of the private sector and the Fed staff. The FOMC inflation forecasts were more accurate than the private sector forecasts and the naïve model; for the period ending in 1996, however, they were not as accurate as Fed staff inflation forecasts.     

The proletarianisation of academic labour

This article looks at industrial relations changes, conflict and control in higher education, particularly among university academics. It suggests a tendency towards proletarianisation, and a focus on the academic labour process is useful in explaining growing conflict. An apparent HRM agenda and (reluctantly) increasing managerialism are forms, not causes, of change which is driven by funding pressures similar to those affecting other HE systems.     

passive drinking

The threat to health from passive smoking is now well understood. Andrew Wilson, a freelance healthcare journalist, reveals the alarming results of recent research into ‘passive drinking’. Without wishing to cause alarm Economic Affairs wonders how seriously we should treat these new findings?     

Management and the Professions: How Cracked is That Glass Ceiling?

All prestigious or highly-paid occupations in Britain are dominated by men: this is as true of the public sector as it is of industry. This article examines the evidence for discrimination in the public sector. It deals with both the situation at work and the one at home. It looks at various explanations as to why this is the case, as well as the evidence on how men and women deal with the inequality. The author concludes that there are good reasons why men and women do not see or confront the issues discussed in her article. Unless men and women wake up to the fact that we live in an unequal society and wish to see the glass ceiling well and truly broken, little is likely to change.