Till Death Do Us Part or I Get My Pension? Wives' Pension Holding and Marital Dissolution in the United States

Wives' financial independence gained from their pension may increase the risk of marital dissolution, especially when wives are approaching retirement age (the older wives' independence hypothesis). Applying single and simultaneous equations probit models to data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, we investigate the effect of wives' pension holding in 1984 on the risk of subsequent marital dissolution. Results from the single equation model appear to support the older wives' independence hypothesis. However, results from the simultaneous equations model suggest that interpreting the single equation results as a sign of older wives' economic independence may be misleading.
JEL classification : C 33; D 31; J 12; J 32     

Bovine spongiform encephalopathy in Japan: consumers' food safety perceptions and willingness to pay for tested beef*

The discovery of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as ‘mad cow disease’, in Japan caused anxiety about consuming beef and beef products. As a result, there was a sudden fall in sales of beef that hurt the Japanese beef industry as well as major beef exporters to Japan. We analyse factors that affect Japanese consumers' willingness to pay (WTP) price premiums for BSE‐tested beef and estimate the mean WTP for BSE‐tested beef using data obtained from a consumer survey in Japan. A single‐bounded dichotomous choice contingent valuation model is used to recover the premium amount. We find that attitudes to food safety, reduction in beef consumption following the BSE outbreak, and being female all have a statistically significant positive effect on the WTP for BSE‐tested beef. Interestingly, demographic variables such as age and income do not affect the WTP, possibly indicating that the BSE scare similarly affected multiple segments of the population. In our sample, consumers are willing to pay a premium on average of greater than 50 per cent for BSE‐tested beef.     

Major categories of changes in food consumption patterns in Japan 1963–91

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to categorize the major trends in Japanese food consumption patterns, and evaluate quantitatively the relative significance of each category in the period 1963–1991. Detailed examination of changes in per capita consumption of more than 100 individual food items for five sub‐periods led to the identification of four major categories or trends: quality, convenience, diversification, and health.

About 80% of cases fall under one of those four categories. In the first sub‐period, the trend towards foods of higher quality was the most important category, accounting for about 40% of all cases. Later, however, it gradually lost its relative significance. The lost share was taken over by diversification and the trend towards healthy foods. The trend towards more convenient types of food invariably accounted for about one‐third of all examined cases.

The analysis of the factors which induced these categories of changes led to the conclusion that incomes and prices decreased their influence over the food consumption patterns while sociological factors increased their significance.     

Solving/understanding/evaluating the e-waste challenge through transdisciplinarity?

Transdisciplinarity has been accepted as a promising research approach to respond to complex real-world problems such as electronic waste (e-waste). Already one of the fastest growing waste streams, e-waste is a sustainability challenge that shadows the pervasive uses of electronic devices in contemporary society. Previous studies have not only shown the toxicity and risks inherent in the hazardous waste but also economic value generated from its reuse and recycling and the environment justice implications of the existing transboundary movement of e-waste to developing countries. Responding to this multifaceted issue requires a transdisciplinary attempt at synthesis understandings, if not solutions. This paper reflects on an educational experiment to encourage disciplinary boundary crossing in the e-waste community through a summer school. The NVMP-StEP E-waste Summer School housed young researchers from diverse disciplines with a common research interest in e-waste. The event is evaluated against three sets of criteria that underpin successful transdisciplinary ventures: (i) clear, problem-oriented goals, (ii) careful preparation, institutional support and competent management, and (iii) communication and collaboration. Based on understandings and insights gained from the participation in the Summer School, participant surveys, and communications with organizers, six recommendations are outlined to help making similar events a better ground for transdisciplinarity in the future.     

Public anxiety after the 2011 Tohoku earthquake: fluctuations in hazard perception after catastrophe

In 2011, Japan received a massive blow from the Tohoku Earthquake and the ensuing disaster at the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Generation Plant (hereafter, the Fukushima Nuclear Plant), with 18,000 people dead or missing, and more than 330,000 evacuated long-term. Anxiety among the people of Japan concerning earthquakes and nuclear accidents is higher than ever, but other hazards confront them as well. This research investigated whether the Japanese people’s anxiety about a variety of other hazards has increased or decreased since the Tohoku Earthquake. Based on the availability heuristic, the contrast effect, and the finite-pool-of-worry hypothesis, it was predicted that public anxiety about earthquakes and nuclear accidents would increase, but anxiety about other hazards would decrease. Data from two nationwide surveys conducted in January 2008 and January 2012 were compared to see the change in societal levels of anxiety toward 51 types of hazards. The results showed that anxiety had increased after the Tohoku Earthquake for only one hazard other than earthquakes and nuclear accidents. For 29 other hazards, the anxiety levels had significantly decreased; and for the remaining 19 hazards, there was no significant change. These results support the prediction, indicating that post-disaster, the overall anxiety levels of the Japanese people tended to decline. Practical implications were discussed with a focus on problems that might be caused by the changes in anxiety level.