Effects of store image and store brand price-image on store brand purchase intention: Application to an emerging market

Several factors have been underlined to explain store brands' (SBs) purchase behavior. This research investigates jointly the effect of store image perceptions, SB price-image and perceived risk toward SBs on SB purchase intention in the context of an emerging market (Brazil). Data were collected from a consumer survey with 379 respondents randomly selected. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypothesized relationships. Our results show that store image perceptions and SB price-image influence significantly SB purchase intention directly or indirectly via the effect of perceived risk toward SBs. These findings are discussed and their theoretical and managerial implications are provided.     

Remittances and rural credit markets: Evidence from Senegal

This study investigates the relationship between remittances and credit markets in Senegal, focusing on rural areas where financial constraints are more challenging. Using a household fixed effects model, the findings show that remittances and credit markets are complements; namely, the receipt of remittances is positively associated with the likelihood of having a loan in a household. This means that migrants can increase the reliability of their family members and close relatives back home through their remittances, insuring them vis‐à‐vis lenders for their credit contracts. They are the collateral or the “element of trust” in the credit contract between the borrower and the lender, representing a potential alternative in case of non‐repayment. This result is robust to alternative models and various robustness tests mitigating the potential endogeneity of remittances. A detailed analysis also shows that the relationship between remittances and credit markets is mainly driven by loans taken for consumption and food, in particular, as well as loans provided by informal institutions.     

Cities,Creativities and Urban Creative Economies: Re-descriptions and Make+Shifts from Sub-Saharan Africa

The aim of this symposium is to examine the situation of the creative economy in cities—specifically cities of sub-Saharan Africa. In this introduction we set out the case for the need to ‘re-describe’ the (much derided) phenomenon of the creative city. This task requires clarification of what is understood in academe and policy communities by the term ‘creative economy’, the pronounced growth of this sector, particularly in the global South, and its particular urban character. Secondly, in the face of conceptual and policy confusion we argue for the actually existing, and growing, importance of the urban creative economy. Thirdly, with this ground clearing achieved, we seek to frame, and focus on, the emergence of new research on the urban creative economy. Finally, we use the evidence from the symposium contributions to argue for a reformulation of the creative economy within African sub-Saharan urbanization.     

Will African Agriculture Survive Climate Change?

Measurement of the likely magnitude of the economic impact ofclimate change on African agriculture has been a challenge.Using data from a survey of more than 9,000 farmers across 11African countries, a cross-sectional approach estimates howfarm net revenues are affected by climate change compared withcurrent mean temperature. Revenues fall with warming for drylandcrops (temperature elasticity of –1.9) and livestock (–5.4),whereas revenues rise for irrigated crops (elasticity of 0.5),which are located in relatively cool parts of Africa and arebuffered by irrigation from the effects of warming. At first,warming has little net aggregate effect as the gains for irrigatedcrops offset the losses for dryland crops and livestock. Warming,however, will likely reduce dryland farm income immedia-tely.The final effects will also depend on changes in precipitation,because revenues from all farm types increase with precipitation.Because irrigated farms are less sensitive to climate, wherewater is available, irrigation is a practical adaptation toclimate change in Africa.     

A closer look at the relationship between life expectancy and economic growth

We first provide a nonparametric inference of the relationship between life expectancy and economic growth using historical data for 18 countries over the period 1820–2005. The obtained shape indicates convexity for low enough values of life expectancy and concavity for large enough values. We then study this relationship using a benchmark model combining "perpetual youth" and learning-by-investing. The generated relationship between life expectancy and economic growth is shown to be strictly increasing and concave. We finally examine two models departing from "perpetual youth" by assuming successively age-dependent earnings and age-dependent survival probabilities. With age-dependent earnings, the obtained relationship is hump-shaped, whereas age-dependent survival laws reproduce the convex–concave shape detected in prior empirical study.     

How Do Price Perceptions of Different Brand Types Affect Shopping Value and Store Loyalty?

This research investigates the relationships among price perceptions for different brand types (national brands, standard store brands, regional store brands, organic store brands), shopping value dimensions (quality, price, social, and emotion value), and store loyalty (retention and word of mouth (WOM)). A comprehensive model depicts determinants of customer store loyalty. Using structural equation modeling, the model test includes 671 consumers intercepted during shopping trips. The data analysis yields several surprising results. In particular, low product price perceptions do not necessarily signal negative store quality evaluations. Shopping value dimensions influence store retention loyalty and WOM behavior differently. Furthermore, different brand types exert distinct effects on the value creation process. Favorable prices for national and standard store brands have comparable positive effects on store price value and emotional value creation; appealing prices of regional store brands instead reduce the emotional value of the store, and low prices for organic store brand products significantly increase social value creation.     

Polarization patterns in economic development and innovation

This paper examines the polarization of economic development in African economies. Based on nonparametric and bipolarization frameworks, we find that countries tend to cluster in two classes, and that bipolarization has been accelerating over the period 1966–2008. We relate the evolution of income bipolarization to specialization in a country. The main sectors that tend to reduce income bipolarization are mining and services. We also study the effects of innovation on income polarization. In particular, we analyze short-run and long-run effects of innovation and their inter-relationship with income polarization. We show that the impact of innovation differs depending on its origin and its type. If innovation is resident, then trademarks outweigh patents. On the contrary, if the origin of innovation is non resident, then patents have a greater effect. Moreover, there is an adjustment process between trademarks residents and patents residents. In the short-run, when trademarks residents are too high, they quickly fall back toward patents residents level. We do not observe such adjustments between trademarks non residents and patents non residents. Last, unexpected shocks that affect patents (res. trademarks) have a permanent (res. transitory) effects on income polarization.     

Unit Labour Costs, International Competitiveness, and Exports: The Case of Senegal

Despite some favourable conditions and a number of policy reforms,Senegal's participation in the global economy remains tenuous.This paper uses a Ricardian framework to study Senegal's internationalcompetitiveness in manufacturing. Wages, productivity and unitlabour costs in Senegal are compared to those of other developingcountries. Senegal's labour productivity has grown much moreslowly than in successful emerging economies. The 1994 devaluationof the CFA franc has dramatically improved Senegal's internationalcompetitiveness but further improvements in competitivenessdepend on productivity growth given the constraint of the fixedexchange rate. We find a significant effect of relative unitlabour costs on exports, particularly of manufactured goods.Sustained export-led growth, however, requires additional structuralreforms.