Retailing from the margins - the re-emergence of a food co-operative movement?

The disadvantage faced by low-income food consumers has long been recognized, with such groups likely to pay more for their food products, which are commonly limited in terms of range and quality. Such disadvantage stems not only from economic constraints, but also from geographical, sociodemographic and infrastructural factors, such as low car ownership levels (which limit mobility), age, family structure and infirmity. Issues of access and mobility are especially pertinent given that the majority of U.K. food retailers have sought to achieve increased market share through the pursuit of economies of scale, the inherent benefit of high margin maintenance, large format development and the relocation to edge-of-town/out-of-town and affluent suburban sites. To date, little attention in the form of research has been directed to examining strategies adopted by those on low incomes to address such circumstances. This paper outlines the initial findings of a wider longitudinal study that examines the activities of food co-operatives and food groups within the Glasgow area, which are run by, and are for the benefit of, those on low incomes. Through semi-structured interviews with relevant local government departments and funding bodies, management committees and volunteers involved in the daily operation of food groups, the initial aim was to identify the operational and organizational characteristics of food cooperative initiatives. The next stage was to determine what those involved perceived as the contribution made to the members and wider community, and finally, future opportunities for food cooperatives were identified. The results therefore, provide an invaluable insight, not only into the workings of food co-operatives, but also into the experience of those on low incomes in respect of food shopping. The research findings, perhaps ironically, provide a possible strategic direction for food retailers who, in the face of traditional market saturation, must identify new market growth opportunities within areas that they have previously neglected.     

Investment Horizon and Composition of Optimal Portofolio: International Evidence

Little attention has been paid in the literature to the impact of different investment horizons on the portfolio compositiondespite its importance to portfolio managers. One exception isthe study by Gunthorpe and Levy (1994) on the U.S. stock market.Our paper extends the same study to the stock markets of Japan,Hong Kong and Korea. Using 40 individual stocks in each market,our results support those of Gunthorpe and Levy (1994) in thatthe composition of an optimal portfolio depends heavily on theinvestment horizon. When the investment horizon lengthens, theproportion of defensive stocks becomes larger while that ofaggressive stocks becomes smaller.     

ARE DISAGREEMENTS AMONG MALE AND FEMALE ECONOMISTS MARGINAL AT BEST?: A SURVEY OF AEA MEMBERS AND THEIR VIEWS ON ECONOMICS AND ECONOMIC POLICY

The authors survey economists in the United States holding membership in the American Economic Association (AEA) to determine if there are significant differences in views between male and female economists on important policy issues. Controlling for place of current employment (academic institution with graduate program, academic institution—undergraduate only, government, for‐profit institution) and decade of PhD, the authors find many areas in which economists agree. However, important differences exist in the views of male and female economists on issues including the minimum wage, views on labor standards, health insurance, and especially on explanations for the gender wage gap and issues of equal opportunity in the labor market and the economics profession itself. These results lend support to the notion that gender diversity in policy‐making circles may be an important aspect in broadening the menu of public policy choices. (JEL A11, J78, A14)     

Impact of Consumer Installment Debt on Food Expenditures

Trends in consumer installment credit over the period 1980 to 1989 are discussed; as well, a two-equation recursive model is developed to identify and assess the impact of installment credit on food expenditures. The first equation concerns factors affecting the ratio of consumer installment credit to personal disposable income, namely habit persistence, expected income, the prime interest rate, the unemployment rate, and the percentage of the population aged 25 to 44. The second equation focuses on factors affecting real per capita food expenditures, namely the real price of food, real per capita personal disposable income, seasonality, and a polynomial distributed lag of the measure of the ratio of consumer installment credit to personal disposable income from the first equation. The ratio of installment credit to personal disposable income has a positive effect on food expenditures; over the long run a one percent change in this ratio leads to a 0.15 percent change in real per capita food expenditures. On average, it takes just over six months for a change in this ratio to be transferred to food expenditures.     

The Impact of the Employment of the Wife on the Achievement of Home Ownership

A logistic regression analysis is used to assess the impact of the wife's income, wage rate, and hours worked on changing from rental tenure to home ownership among a subsample of husband-wife house-holds from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. Age of the wife, education of the wife, family size, and residence in the Northeast are significant predictors of change in tenure status between 1979 and 1983; of the wife's employment variables tested, only the number of hours worked (a proxy for labor force commitment) is a significant predictor of the probability of changing from rental tenure to home ownership.     

EVIDENCE ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ECONOMICS AND CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS

This research provides empirical support for the hypothesis that learning economics increases a student's critical thinking skills. Using the short form of the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal (WGCTA-S) as our measure of critical thinking skills, we find that students who gain a high level of economic understanding in their introductory economics class, as measured by the Test of Understanding College Economics (TUCE), have statistically significant gains in their WGCTA-S scores. Students who spend more time taking classes and are more fully engaged in the university experience also have greater gains in critical thinking. These results lend support to the idea that introductory economics courses can work in concert with other university level courses, especially within the context of a full-time curriculum, to enhance critical thinking skills. ( JEL A22)     

The Effects of Cross-Sectional Scale Differences on Regression Results in Empirical Accounting Research*

Abstract. This study investigates coefficient bias and heteroscedasticity resulting from scale differences in accounting levels-based research designs analytically and using simulations based on accounting data. Findings indicate that including a scale proxy as an independent variable is more effective than deflation at mitigating coefficient bias, even if the proxy is 95 percent correlated with the true scale factor. In fact, deflation can worsen coefficient bias. Also, deflation often does not noticeably reduce heteroscedasticity and can decrease estimation efficiency. White (1980) standard errors are close to the true ones in regressions using undeflated variables. Replications of specifications in three recent accounting studies confirm the simulation findings. The findings suggest that when scale differences are of concern, accounting researchers should include a scale proxy as an independent variable and report inferences based on White standard errors. Résumé. Les auteurs examinent, tant sur le plan analytique qu'au moyen de simulations basées sur les données comptables, la distorsion des coefficients et l'hétéroscédasticité résultant des différences d'échelle dans les plans de recherche comptable basés sur les niveaux. Leurs constatations révèlent que l'inclusion d'un substitut d'échelle à titre de variable indépendante est plus efficace que la déflation pour atténuer la distorsion relative au coefficient, même si le substitut présente une corrélation de 95 pour cent avec le véritable facteur d'échelle. En fait, la déflation peut accentuer la distorsion relative au coefficient. Aussi, il arrive souvent que la déflation, sans réduire de façon appréciable l'hétéroscédasticité, puisse diminuer l'efficience de l'estimation. Les erreurs-types de White (1980) se rapprochent des erreurs véritables dans les régressions faisant appel à des variables non déflatées. La répétition des mêmes caractéristiques dans trois études comptables récentes confirme les résultats de la simulation. Les conclusions de l'étude donnent à penser que lorsque les différences d'échelle sont sujet de préoccupation, les chercheurs en comptabilité devraient faire intervenir un substitut d'échelle à titre de variable indépendante et formuler les inférences à partir des erreurs-types de White.