Growth via Intellectual Property Rights Versus Gendered Inequity in Emerging Economies: An Ethical Dilemma for International Business

In this paper, we critique the emergent international normative framework of growth – the knowledge economy. We point out that the standardized character of knowledge economy’s flagship – intellectual property rights (IPRs) – has an adverse impact on women in emerging economies, such as India. Conversely, this impact on women, a significant consumer segment, has a feedback effect in terms of market growth. Conceptually, we analyze the consequences of knowledge economy and standardized IPR through a feminist lens. We extend the analyses by pointing to various contradictions surrounding growth norms; for example, there are inherent contradictions between established “formal” legalistic interpretation of IPR, “soft law” norms of corporate social responsibility, a fluid situation of moral claims of human rights, and different institutional capabilities at the international and domestic level. Consequently, we are able to demonstrate how standard IPR laws fail to deliver equity for all. We argue our case through exploring the growth aspects of the agricultural sector in India and the adverse impact of standard biopatenting on women farmers’ rights (as producers and consumers) and preservation of environment. We suggest that desired gendered equity is better achieved when there is a constellation of actors – private-sector business, the state, and civil-society leaders – working together to ensure a balanced development through tailoring of IPR to local needs.     

Religion's influence on the financial well-being of consumers: A conceptual framework and research agenda

Religion is an indelible force in society, yet research examining its influence on consumption, particularly in the context of financial well-being is lacking. Thus, this paper presents a conceptual framework of factors influencing, and outcomes associated with, the effects of religion on financial well-being. Specifically, this paper introduces a conceptual framework aimed at understanding how religion influences financial decisions and well-being, both from a consumer and a business perspective. Focus groups were conducted with consumers and financial practitioners to support the development of the conceptual framework. Most novel to this framework is the identification of potential process mechanisms explaining this relationship, including trust, affect, risk propensity, and perceived personal control. The framework concludes with potential interventions targeted at consumers and businesses to improve financial well-being. This propositions-based conceptual framework serves as a research agenda to guide and aid scholars, consumer advocacy groups, policymakers, and marketers in promoting greater financial well-being.     

Do State Minimum Wages Affect the Incarceration Rate?

Because of historically unprecedented increases in the prison population since the late 1970s, the United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world. Using Becker's (1968) framework on crime, this study investigates the causal relationship between incarceration rates and state minimum wages. Our identification strategy consists of a state-level fixed effects model and Autor and Dorn's (2013) two-stage least-squares (2SLS) approach. Using the historical local industry structure, we predict the change in employment shares of manual task-intensive occupations and use those as an instrument for state minimum wages. The fixed effects and 2SLS estimates suggest that a one-dollar increase in state minimum wage leads to approximately 12–25 fewer incarcerations per 100,000 state residents. Estimates of the heterogeneous impacts by race and gender indicate that the aggregate impact of state minimum wages is entirely driven by men.     

User acceptance of complex electronic market mechanisms: Role of information feedback

This paper broadens the scope of evaluating the design of economic mechanisms that is traditionally done solely from an economic perspective. We introduce and demonstrate the application of acceptability to evaluate complex economic mechanisms. In particular, we apply our approach to the evaluation of continuous combinatorial auctions, which represent a complex, sophisticated market mechanism that has not been generally available in the online marketplace but has the potential to enhance the economic efficiency of trade for assets with interdependent values. Such auctions are being increasingly used in industry, e.g., to procure logistical services. Intuitively, acceptance and usage of a complex mechanism can be fostered by a design that provides information and tools that meet the users’ task demands. Based on prior research and an analysis of the auction tasks, we discuss practical and innovative information feedback schemes for reducing the cognitive burden of formulating bids in combinatorial auctions. Then, we use constructs from the technology acceptance model (TAM) – which have been consistently shown to be key determinants of technology acceptance in the extant literature – to compare the acceptability of the mechanism under three different information regimes. In addition, we borrow constructs from marketing theory to assess the potential growth in adoption of the mechanism. We compare user perceptions of the three alternative designs in a laboratory experiment with over 130 subjects. Our study constitutes a complementary and novel approach in evaluating the design of complex economic mechanisms. Results indicate a higher adoption and usage potential of the mechanism with advanced information feedback, supporting the potential of combinatorial auctions as a user-acceptable market mechanism with appropriate feedback.     

Replication of unconditional Quantile Regressions by Firpo,Fortin and Lemieux (2009)

This paper is a narrow replication of Firpo, Fortin and Lemieux (Unconditional quantile regressions. Econometrica 2009; 77(3): 953–973), who propose a new estimation method, called ‘unconditional quantile regressions’. Using their empirical example, we confirm their results for the effects of unionization on US wage inequality during the period 1983–1985 for both conditional and unconditional quantile regressions. In addition, this paper applies the proposed estimation method to another paper by Autor, Katz and Kearney (Trends in US wage inequality: revising the revisionists. Review of Economics and Statistics 2008; 90(2): 300–323). The latter paper looks at measures of wage inequality in the US labor market data over the period 1963–2005. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Social context,financial stakes and hypothetical bias: an induced value referendum experiment

This article investigates the effect of social context in an induced value, public good referendum experiment. In a split-sample treatment, social context is simulated by requiring participants to potentially have to disclose their vote to the group (voting disclosure) across both hypothetical and real settings. The experimental design also varies the cost (a coercive tax), and includes an uncertain level of benefit from the public good. The design allows investigation of the role of social context in both hypothetical and real referenda and its interaction with changes in the financial stakes involved (costs and potential benefits). Results show evidence of hypothetical bias, but also a social context effect that occurs in both real and hypothetical settings. This social context effect is larger than the effect of hypothetical bias, but is muted by the magnitude of costs and potential benefits. Hypothetical cases are also shown to be more prone to the social context effect.     

Option pricing under non-normality: a comparative analysis

This paper carries out a comparative analysis of the calibration and performance of a variety of options pricing models. These include Black and Scholes (J Polit Econ 81:637–659, 1973), the Gram–Charlier (GC) approach of Backus et al. (1997), the stochastic volatility (HS) model of Heston (Rev Financ Stud 6:327–343, 1993), the closed-form GARCH process of Heston and Nandi (Rev Financ Stud 13:585–625, 2000) and a variety of Lévy processes including the Variance Gamma (VG), Normal Inverse Gaussian (NIG), and, CGMY and Kou (Manag Sci 48:1086–1101, 2002) jump-diffusion models. Unlike most studies of option pricing, we compare these models using a common point-in-time data which reflects the perspective of a new investor who wishes to choose between models using only the most minimal recent data set. For each of these models, we also examine the accuracy of delta and delta-gamma approximations to the valuation of both individual options and an illustrative option portfolio.     

Individual, Collective and Social Responsibility of the Firm

The main concern of this paper is the moral responsibility of the firm, as well as of the individuals in a firm, to uphold environmental protection. Much of the business ethics literature defines corporate social responsibility in terms of stakeholder relationships, and the emphasis is frequently on collective as opposed to individual responsibility. This paper has three objectives. The first is to clarify the nature of moral responsibility, and the distinction between legal and moral responsibility. The second objective is to steer academicians and others towards a new vision of the firm. We argue that a firm is not just a singular legal entity but also a collectivity of morally responsible individuals who are liable for immoral acts of the firm. By expanding the boundary of responsibility of action from an intangible collectivity – the firm, to all the individuals within it, this vision moves beyond the typical emphasis on the firm as being the only moral agent responsible for corporate actions. The paper emphasizes not simply the responsibility of top echelon managers, but of every employee across ranks. The third goal of this paper is to examine the circumstances where application of moral responsibility becomes crucial, for instance, in the context of protection of the natural environment by a firm and its employees.     

Understanding Hurricane Evacuation Decisions Under Contingent Scenarios: A Stated Preference Approach

We conduct a stated preference analysis to understand the factors that individual households take into consideration to evacuate during hurricanes. In designing the contingent scenarios for evacuation, we randomly assign varying levels of hurricane characteristics (wind speed, lead time for landfall and the height of storm surge) combined with different types of emergency management options (voluntary versus mandatory evacuation order and a voucher with varying amounts to cover evacuation expenses). Findings indicate that individual households respond, in a non-linear fashion, to the intensity of hurricanes when making evacuation decisions. Respondents are also more likely to evacuate when the storm surge reaches a certain threshold. In terms of policy interventions, mandatory evacuation orders are more effective to increase the likelihood of evacuation. The potential intervention in the form of providing evacuation vouchers to assist households to cover their expenses (e.g. for food, water, transportation and lodging) also seems effective. We discuss policy implications of our findings.     

Female directors on the board and cost of debt: evidence from Australia

We examine whether the presence of female board members has any impact on the cost of debt among Australian listed companies. We find that female presence on the board is negatively associated with the cost of debt. Most importantly, our findings support the argument of critical mass theory that a certain threshold of gender balance is required for enhancing board effectiveness. Our results are valid irrespective of alternate model specifications and endogeneity issues. Overall, the results provide support to the ASX Corporate Governance Principles and Recommendation for the appointment of female directors on corporate boards.