The distribution of returns from land efficiency improvement in multistage production systems

This paper assesses the distributional consequences of technical changes that improve the efficiency of land and of other inputs in a multifactor crop‐production system. We introduced an equilibrium displacement model (EDM) by using the specification of a factor‐augmenting approach. Given the uncertainty about the EDM parameters, a Monte Carlo simulation is used to produce a distribution of possible return measures. We found that land suppliers (likely farmers) receive a larger share (73%) of total benefits from the adoption of land‐technical change than they do from the adoption of other input technologies. Each input supplier receives a larger share of total benefits from technical change in her own input. However, this result is sensitive to the value of the parameters, especially the value of the elasticity of substitution. We applied the EDM to the case of no‐tillage (NT) to provide insight into how the aggregate return from the adoption of NT was distributed among different groups on the Canadian Prairies. The results of this study can be used by policymakers and funding agencies in order to influence landowners and farming communities to adopt environmentally sound land technologies to achieve both greater agricultural productivity and sustainability.     

Can Punishment Generate Specific Deterrence Without Updating? Analysis of a Stated Choice Scenario

This study explores the specific deterrence generated by punishment in the context of regulatory violations with a focus on the distinction between upward revisions to future punishment parameters—likelihood and severity—and the experience of being penalized. In order to avoid the pitfalls of empirically analyzing actual choices made by regulated entities, e.g., measuring entities’ beliefs regarding the likelihood and size of future penalties, our study examines behavior associated with a stated choice scenario presented within a survey distributed to the environmental managers of facilities regulated under the US Clean Water Act. This choice of respondents strengthens the external validity of our empirical results. Based on a variety of statistical methods, our empirical results strongly and robustly reject the standard hypothesis that specific deterrence stems solely from upward revisions to punishment parameters while supporting the alternative hypothesis of experiential deterrence, whereby facilities focus on recent experiences to shape their compliance behavior.     

Journal Rankings,Collaborative Research and Publication Strategies: Evidence from China

Abstract

The primary focus of our paper is on the potential for in-house journal ranking lists to create friction between international collaborating researchers due to differences in how particular journals are rated on different lists. Using a questionnaire distributed to Chinese accounting researchers, we identify a number of potential friction points between Chinese and UK researchers. We find that almost all of our Chinese respondents use their own school's in-house ranking list as the primary or exclusive reference point for assessing journal quality, and 73% of respondents acknowledge that this has caused problems when working with scholars from other universities because of differences in how their institutions rank journals.     

Certainty of Punishment versus Severity of Punishment: An Experimental Investigation

Compliance with laws and regulations depends on the expected penalty facing violators. The expected penalty depends on both the probability of punishment and the severity of the punishment if caught. A key question in the economics of crime literature is whether increasing the probability of punishment is a more effective deterrent than increasing the severity of punishment. This article uses laboratory experiments to investigate this issue and finds that increasing the severity of punishment is a more effective deterrent than an equivalent increase in the probability of punishment. This result contrasts with the findings of the empirical crime literature.     

A minimum effort coordination game experiment in continuous time

We conduct an experiment on a minimum effort coordination game in a (quasi-)continuous time-frame, where effort choices can be switched freely during a 60-s period. The cooperation levels of the continuous time treatments are not significantly different from the discrete time treatments. Providing subjects with the information on the effort choices of all group members increases the average effort level in continuous time only. The minimum effort level in continuous time with full information feedback is also substantially higher than that with limited information feedback, but the difference is statistically insignificant. With limited information feedback, subjects rarely coordinate to increase their efforts simultaneously to change the group minimum within a period. Our findings imply that continuous time games are not behaviorally equivalent to infinitely repeated discrete time games.     

An Experimental Analysis of Regulatory Interventions for Complex Pricing

Considerable evidence demonstrates that consumers make poor choices when facing complex multidimensional pricing schemes. The problem is clear but appropriate regulatory interventions less so. We study the efficacy of five different interventions to improve consumer decision making in an experimental context where subjects choose among a set of predefined phone plans involving nonlinear tariffs. We compare two types of intervention: information provision and consumer literacy training. We find that training about plan costs significantly improves decision quality, while providing information about plan value assists inexperienced decision makers, and visual feedback helps experienced decision makers. Implications for policy are discussed, mindful of heterogeneous consumer literacy and the infrequency with which consumers are actually “in the market” for a better phone service plan.     

Why Do Differences in Provincial Incomes Persist in Indonesia?

Despite 20 years of sustained economic growth that saw provincial GDPs rise and inequalities in per capita provincial GDPs fall, per capita income disparities among provinces persist. In this paper we present evidence that poor provinces have tended to catch up with middle- and high-income provinces, hut that regions at the top and bottom of the distribution in 1975 finished. In similar positions in 1993 lnvestments in human capital (education and health) seem to be the most effective way of increasing provincial incomes and reducing the disparities in provincial GDP per capita. The poorer provinces and rural areas can grow faster than the richer ones because they can gain the most from better health and education, they have the highest rates of illiteracy, fertility, and infant, child and maternal mortality.     

Profitability of mergers in food manufacturing

Two issues are examined. The statistical significance of a number of socio-economic factors that affect the level of charitable giving are evaluated. Family wealth and age of the head of household tend to be significant determinants of charitable giving, regardless of whether it is to all charities or to religious charities only. Such is not the case for the price of giving; for instance, the price of giving is an important determinant of all charitable contributions, but almost non-existent as a determinant for religious donations. Results such as this suggest that changes in marginal tax rates prompted by a switch to a tax credit as a substitute for a deduction, and hence a change in the price of giving, may have virtually no impact on contributions to religious organizations but may affect conntributions to other charitable organizations. The extent to which some socio-economic factors changed in relative importance as determinants of charitable giving from 1982 to 1986 is also reviewed.     

林业企业社会责任行为的内容、水平与影响因素分析

通过对在中国境内上市的42家林业企业信息披露的内容分析,探讨了中国林业企业社会责任行为的内容、水平及重点,在此基础上,运用Kruskal-Wallis H检验和Mann-Whitney U检验分别验证行业与资源禀赋对林业企业社会责任行为的影响。结论如下:第一,员工类企业社会责任是中国林业企业比例最高的企业社会责任类型,其次为环境类,供应链类水平最低;第二,各个行业社会责任的重点存在差异;第三,行业不同,林业企业的环境类企业社会责任和社区类企业社会责任水平会存在差异;第四,有林地的林业企业与没有林地的林业企业的社区类企业社会责任存在差异。     

Studying Abroad: Understanding the Relationships Among Beliefs,Perceived Value,and Behavioral Intentions

Increased globalization highlights the importance of encouraging university students to participate in an international experience. In this study, the authors investigate how behavioral belief, subjective belief, and control belief influence students’ perceived value and intention to study abroad. The authors further examine the moderation effects of generation on the proposed relationships. The results show that behavioral belief, not subjective belief and control belief, is significantly related to perceived value. Second, the relationship between perceived value and intention to study abroad is stronger for the first-generation sample. Third, the subjective belief measure could be divided into the financial support versus nonfinancial support scales. The article concludes with implications of its findings for educators as well as for academic researchers.