Long-run impacts of trade shocks and export competitiveness: Evidence from the U.S. BSE event

This paper examines how comparative advantages of major beef exporters changed following the 2003 bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) outbreak, which significantly disrupted the U.S. beef trade until approximately 2007. Using longitudinal data on beef export values and constructed revealed comparative advantage measures, we show that while some measures of the long-run impacts of BSE on U.S. beef export competitiveness have returned to pre-2003 levels, the U.S.’s comparative advantage has not. We also examine a hypothetical scenario of no BSE event in 2003 and predict that in the absence of the BSE outbreak, the U.S. beef sector would have been increasingly more competitive by 2017 than it actually was. Long-term trade competitiveness may not simply return to normal even after a short-term disruption.     

A dynamic hazard-based system of equations of vehicle ownership with endogenous long-term decision factors incorporating group decision making

The transportation system affects all aspects of our daily lives including relatively long-term decisions on work and home location choice and automobile ownership decisions. The interdependency existing among these three decisions jointly influences household mobility and overall travel patterns. Therefore, a dynamic modeling framework that can account for the effects of interdependencies between vehicle transaction behavior and residential and job location choices is highly desirable. These decisions are made in the household level while individuals’ decisions influence the overall outcome; therefore, it is also important to incorporate a group decision making process within such modeling frameworks.This study introduces a dynamic model for vehicle ownership, residential mobility, and employment relocation timing decisions. These decisions are modeled at the individual level and then sequentially aggregated to the household level if it is required. A hazard-based system of equations is formulated and applied in which work location and residential location changes are included as endogenous variables in the vehicle transaction model while other important factors such as land-use and built environment variables, household dynamics, and individuals’ socio-demographics are also considered.     

The status quo of omani female entrepreneurs: a story of multidimensional success factors

Quality & Quantity - While the Omani government’s endeavours over two decades to support entrepreneurship, particularly among women, have been significant, research has not substantiated...     

Industrial railway heritage trains: the evolution of a heritage tourism genre and its attributes

Heritage tourism forms a specific genre within the wider field of tourism; however, this genre itself encompasses a wide range of different types of heritage attractions, of which industrial attractions, military attractions, stately homes and attractions associated with historic people are all examples. This paper discusses the evolution of industrial railway heritage attractions from their original railway operations to visitor attractions; second, it examines the key attributes defining successful industrial railway heritage attractions; and third, it compares and contrasts these attributes for three industrial railway heritage attractions, spanning three separate locations and two countries (Australia and Malaysia). The findings from the study identify and support ranges of success factors and suggest a framework for examining the genre of industrial railway heritage attractions and their attributes. This framework can direct future studies that investigate the nature of industrial railway heritage trains, and contribute to enriching understanding and knowledge of this genre of attractions.     

Assessing the impact of price changes and extreme climatic events on sediment loads in a large river catchment near the Great Barrier Reef

Ocean turbidity (associated with sediment from rivers) can significantly impact reef health. In Australia, there are many plans to reduce sediment loads by encouraging best management practices; there is also interest in the use of market‐based instruments. But it is exceedingly difficult to assess the potential efficacy of market policies, since that requires one to determine how changes in the socio‐economic system (e.g. price changes) impact the biophysical (e.g. sediment loads). We use historical data (from 1938 to 2011) in a vector autoregression model to simultaneously model interactions between the economic and biophysical systems in the Burdekin River catchment adjacent to the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) lagoon. This allows us to statistically test for the impact of changes in prices on sediment load, while controlling for biophysical influences. We find that extreme events have the most impact on sediment loads, but that prices also impact sediment loads. Evidently market‐based policies may have the potential to reduce sediment loads. Our empirical results provide useful information for those interested in the Burdekin River catchment and the GBR; the modelling approach may have wide applicability in a variety of contexts.     

Authorship trends and collaboration patterns in business ethics literature

The primary aim of this study is to clarify the authorship trends, collaboration patterns, and impact factors in business ethics literature by looking at articles published between 1960 and 2015 in four leading business ethics journals: Business and Society, Business Ethics: A European Review, Business Ethics Quarterly, and the Journal of Business Ethics. This study showed the growth type of business ethics literature, authorship trends, collaboration patterns, authors' productivity evolved by subperiods and journals, and authors' dominance factor by subperiods and journals. After providing an evaluation of the results of the study, the authors discuss the study's limitations and suggestions for future research.     

Financial development shocks and contemporaneous feedback effect on key macroeconomic indicators: A post Keynesian time series analysis

In this paper we take into account the role of the banking system, credit and stock market in stimulating aggregate demand in post Keynesian tradition. According to the results of impulse response analysis; it appears all three financial development indicators contributed as expected in improving macroeconomic performance of South Korean economy. Stock market capitalisation and domestic credit availability are strongly responsible for stimulation of investment, saving and productivity Growth in Hong Kong. The UK financial system seems vulnerable to future shocks, whether by shocks in the credit markets or stock markets.     

Trauma epidemiology and outcome in a developing country: perspectives from a university teaching hospital in Beirut

This study aims at evaluating trauma care at the American University of Beirut Medical Centre (AUB-MC) and comparing it to the norms established by the Major Trauma Outcome Study (MTOS). From January 2001 until January 2003, data necessary to calculate probability of survival using the Trauma Injury Severity Score methodology were collected. M, W, Z, Ws and Zs statistics were calculated to compare outcome at AUB-MC to the MTOS dataset. A total of 873 patients were included in the study. W statistics was calculated at 0.35 with Z score for the overall sample of 0.081 indicating that there was no statistically significant difference in survival between this group and the MTOS group. In a developing country a hospital achieves trauma outcomes similar to the MTOS dataset. Further studies looking at trauma care in Lebanon as a whole are needed.