Neuromarketing and Consumer Free Will

This article examines the impact of discoveries and methods of neuroscience on marketing practices as they relate to the exercise of individual free will. Thus, our focus centers on ethical questions involving consumers’ awareness, consent, and understanding to what may be viewed as invasion of their privacy rights. After a brief introduction, the article turns to scientific literature on the brain, followed by discussion of marketing persuasion models. Ethical dilemmas within the free will paradigm and Rawlsian justice developed in moral philosophy are delineated next. The article closes with policy implications and a revised consideration of consumer privacy.     

The Determinants of Foreign Direct Investment in Australia

Australia is a recipient of large foreign direct investment (FDI) flows by world standards. Despite this, there is little empirical work on the determinants of FDI in Australia. We carry out an econometric analysis of the determinants of aggregate FDI inflows into Australia since the mid-1980s. We find that interest rates, wage changes, a measure of the openness of the economy and a variable representing industrial disputes are important determinants of FDI inflow into Australia over the period. The estimated model successfully explains within-sample variability but this success is greater in the beginning of the sample than at the end.