Asset Specificity and Vertical Integration

Asset specificity is usually considered to be an argument for vertical integration. The main idea is that specificity induces opportunistic behavior, and that vertical integration reduces the cost of preventing opportunism. In this paper I show that asset specificity can be an argument for non‐integration. In a repeated‐game model of self‐enforcing relational contracts, it is shown that when parties are non‐integrated, increasing degrees of asset specificity make it possible to design relational contracts with higher‐powered incentives.     

Community Health Purchasing Alliances (CHPAs): how Florida CHPAs are affecting employers. A case study

Florida's health insurance reforms for small employers can be viewed as two distinct initiatives: insurance reform and the community health purchasing alliances (CHPAs). While small employer insurance reform legislation appears to have expanded access to coverage, the administrative structure of the CHPA still has a long way to go to capture the confidence of the marketplace.     

The Many Dimensions of Child Poverty: Evidence from the UK Millennium Cohort Study*

In this paper, we use a multidimensional framework to characterise child poverty in the UK. We examine the interdependencies amongst the different dimensions of multidimensional poverty and the relationship between multidimensional poverty and income poverty. We also explore the links between multidimensional poverty, income poverty and children's cognitive and non‐cognitive development. Our findings suggest that multidimensional poverty identifies many but not all of the same children classified using standard income poverty measures. Approximately 20 per cent of children are classified as poor on one measure but not the other. Children in workless households and ethnic minority children face the highest odds of growing up in both multidimensional poverty and income poverty. We find similar levels of persistence in multidimensional poverty and income poverty, with 17 per cent (18 per cent) of children experiencing persistent multidimensional (income) poverty and 10 per cent of children experiencing both persistent multidimensional poverty and persistent income poverty. Multidimensional poverty (both episodic and persistent) also has a detrimental impact on children's development over and above the negative impact of income poverty.     

Consumers' awareness,acceptance and attitudes towards functional foods in Turkey

The aim of the present study was to investigate consumers' awareness, acceptance and attitudes towards functional foods in Turkey. Eight hundred and eight people participated in this study: aged between 20 and 80 years, 38.5% were male and 61.5% were female. Participants were given a questionnaire and were asked to fill it in by themselves to minimize the influence of the interviewer. Results indicated that socio‐demographic characteristics such as age, education level and income level are important indicators of consumers' awareness and consumption of functional food. The results show that the female respondents were 2.987 times more aware of functional food than the male respondents. Similarly, the likelihood of respondents having awareness of functional food was 1.431 times greater among those who had a higher educational level than among those with a lower educational level. Consumers who used vitamin supplements were 1.228 times more aware of functional food than other consumers. The results show that older respondents were 3.395 times more aware of functional food than younger respondents. Respondents with a history of familial diseases were more likely than others to have consumed margarine with plant sterol, fruit juices fortified with vitamin C, and breakfast cereals fortified with vitamins and minerals. Those with a diet‐related problem were more likely to have consumed cholesterol‐lowering products than those without a problem. As a conclusion, this study has shown that socio‐demographic characteristics such as age, education and income levels, and prices are important indicators that influence consumers' awareness and consumption of functional food. These results suggest that this type of knowledge could affect consumers' interest in functional foods, and therefore educational strategies might be necessary to encourage the consumption of functional foods.     

The realistic preview may not yield career satisfaction

Based on 155 completed surveys from hospitality management alumni from three mid-Atlantic 4-year programs, this study suggests that a realistic preview of the industry gained in an experiential learning component may not, alone, be the key to early career satisfaction. While graduates reportedly believe they understand the expectations of the industry, they are expressing dissatisfaction in their first career positions. For human resource professionals, this study would indicate that special attention should be directed to the first-position college graduate, as 23% of respondents in this study reported leaving the industry altogether after the first management position.     

我国老年保健品营销现状与策略选择

随着我国步入老龄化社会，老年保健品市场蕴藏着无限的商机和潜力。本文从相关背景的分析出发，分析了我国老年保健品市场的营销现状，并给出了相应的营销策略选择一人性化营销。     

愿消费经济学的园地永远繁花似锦--祝贺《消费经济》创刊20周年

尹世杰教授是我尊敬的老朋友，老学者。他毕生忠诚于马克思主义经济理论特别是消费经济学的教学与研究工作，成绩卓著，为我国社会主义消费经济的建立和发展作出了巨大贡献。兹逢《消费经济》创刊20周年，特函表示诚挚的祝贺，望继续努力，再创辉煌。     

高速维特比译码器的设计

本文实现了高速(2，1，7)卷积码的维特比译码器。该译码器针对加比选(ACS)模块采用并行化结构设计，并且在解码器的各个部分，在不影响译码性能的前提下，采用了一系列的简化设计，从而使译码器输出数据的速率达到160Mbps。