An economic analysis of nanofood labeling

The paper examines the economic effects of labeling food nanotechnology products using an analytical framework of heterogeneous consumers and imperfectly competitive suppliers. Labeling results in increased costs for nanofood producers (the cost effect of the labeling policy), reduced consumer uncertainty regarding the nature of the food product (certainty effect), and can affect consumer attitudes towards nanofoods by being perceived as a warning signal (stigma effect). In this context, nanofood labeling can change the perceived quality differences between nanofoods and their conventional and organic counterparts, with such changes being more salient when the stigma effect is large, when consumers have low awareness of food nanotechnology in the absence of labeling, and/or when competition among nanofood suppliers is more intense. Despite its empirical relevance, the impact of a labeling policy on consumer preferences (and the economic ramifications of such impact) has largely been ignored by the theoretical literature on the economics of labels. Our analysis shows that it matters. Specifically, our study shows that the market and welfare effects of labeling are case-specific and dependent on consumer awareness of, and attitudes towards food nanotechnology before and after the introduction of the policy as well as the relative magnitude of the cost, certainty and stigma effects of nanofood labeling. Our analytical findings also suggest that the effects of nanofood labels on consumer welfare are asymmetric with certain groups of consumers benefiting even when labeling has a stigma effect on nanofoods.     

ADA policies and the editorial positions of four publications

This article explores the utility of using editorials as measures of ideology and as a mechanism for linking ideology with public policy formulation. It relates editorial positions taken by the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and National Review to Americans for Democratic Action (ADA) scores on domestic policy, highlighting the advantages inherent in the use of editorials. It also answers critiques that the Times and Post are not liberal in orientation.     

Frame evolution: A new approach to understanding changes in diversity reforms at public universities in the United States

University diversity policy in the past two decades has shifted from rationales that focused on social justice to ones that emphasize educational excellence [Lipson, D. (2007, Fall). Embracing diversity: The institutionalization of affirmative action as diversity management at UC-Berkeley, UT-Austin, and UW-Madison. Law & Social Inquiry, 32(4), 985–1026; Moreno, J. F., Smith, D. G., Parker, S., Clayton-Pedersen, A. R., & Teraguchi, D. H. (2006). Using multiple lenses: An examination of the economic and racial/ethnic diversity of college students. Report from the James Irvine Foundation Campus Diversity Initiative; Moses, M. S., & Chang, M. J. (2006). Toward a deeper understanding of the diversity rationale. Educational Researcher, 35(1), 6–11; Skrenty, J. D. (2002). The minority rights revolution. Princeton University Press]. The consensus among diversity scholars is that this shift has taken place as a result of Federal court decisions restricting the use of affirmative action in admissions. This paper sheds new light on these shifts in rationale by proposing a new theory of frame evolution. I developed this, an extension to Snow et al.’s [Snow, D. A., et al. (1986). Frame alignment processes, micromobilization, and movement participation. American Sociological Review, 51(4), 464–481] theory of frame alignment, as a way to show how policy discourses evolve to accommodate changing demands. I argue that policy frames tend to evolve in a sequential pattern of accommodation, consolidation, and bridging. In-depth interview data with 41 diversity advocates at four public universities in the United States reveal three stages in the frame evolution process: the first motivated by a need to accommodate existing institutional norms, the second motivated by a need to build a core constituency of supporters, and the third with the aim of converting those “on the fence” into policy supporters. In the case of higher education diversity policy, the three stages equate to a maintenance frame, a social justice frame, and an excellence frame.     

Do political instability,financial instability and environmental degradation undermine growth? Evidence from belt and road initiative countries

This study investigates the extent to which political instability (PI), financial instability (FI), and environmental degradation undermine economic complexity (EC). EC is more predictive of future growth and development patterns and correlates with the increased ability to create and export a wide variety of sophisticated (high productivity) items. Using data from up to 56 BRI nations, I routinely obtain precise estimates of the negative effect of PI and FI on EC. Further, we examined the indirect effect of PI and FI through the channel of human capital (HC). These findings confirm the core premise that institutional stability largely influences economic complexity by encouraging creative entrepreneurship, HC accumulation, and allocating human resources to productive activities. Moreover, we examined the indirect effect of PI and FI through the channel of CO₂ emissions. These findings support the idea that countries with stable institutions can reduce pollution and protect the environment. It could increase economic complexity while reducing environmental degradation. The main findings support the creation of a pro-development institutional framework that enhance environmental sustainability and reduces poverty by increasing economic complexity.     

Two envelopes

“You have been given either envelopeA orB. B contains either one-half or twice the money inA. Do you want to switch? Now you open your envelope? Are you still happy to stand pat?” Answers depend on whether you think there is an upper bound to the money inA. You should no longer be indifferent if you think there is not an upper bound, but, if you think there is a certain upper boundU, you should want to switch or not depending on whether your envelope holds less thanU. Expected monetary values are extended to acts with infinitely many equally possible monetary values. It is maintained that though strong dominance under infinite partitions does not in the absence of an upper bound for values imply greater expected value, ‘univocal strong dominance’ is even then properly decisive for choice.     

Publishing pays: Economists’ salaries reflect productivity

We study salaries of economics faculty at the University of California to determine how publications affect salary. We find that each publication in a top 10 journal has a positive and significant effect on annual base salary of 1.5%, or $2,053. Unlike previous research, our analysis specifies the impact of publications in specific journals. Publications in American Economic Review, Econometrica, and Review of Economics and Statistics have an independent positive effect on salary. Compensation is also affected by faculty rank, seniority, university of employment, and teaching awards. Base salary does not significantly differ by gender, however, gross salary is about 9% lower for women. After controlling for migration and faculty rank, seniority has a negative impact on salary.     

A new challenge to economic science: Global model simulation

The FUGI (Futures of Global Interdependence) global modeling system has been developed as a scientific policy modeling and future simulation tool of providing global information to the human society and finding out possibilities of policy co-ordination among countries in order to achieve sustainable development of the global economy co-existing on the planet Earth in the ever changing universe. The FUGI global model M200 classifies the world into 200 countries/regions where each national/regional model is globally interdependent. Each national/regional model has nine subsystems as population, foods, energy, environment, economic development, peace and security, human right, healthcare and quality of life (IT revolution). This is a super complex dynamic system model using integrated multidisciplinary systems analysis where number of structural equations is over 170,000. Economic model as a core includes major economic variables such as production of GDP, employment, expenditures of GDP, income distribution, prices, money, interest rates and financial assets, government finance, international balance of payments, international finance, foreign exchange rates and development indicators.The purpose of this article is twofold, namely to provide information on a new frontier science of economics: global model simulation as well as appropriate policy exercise for sustainable development of the interdependent global economy. The world economy is facing “green” energy revolution to change from fossil to create alternative energy and energy saving technology against sky rocketing higher oil prices. Japan takes a lead in this field of technology innovation. Under such circumstances, Japan should take an initiative to create a new peaceful world through not only harmonized adjustments of Japanese economic policy but also wise cosmic mind to promote human solidarity with the ever changing nature will be desirable to adjust orbit of the fluctuated global economy. Japan should challenge for a new strategy to accelerate economic growth rates by “CO₂ reducing environment investment” based on technology innovations.     

Betting the farm on high food prices: A consumer based approach to agriculture protection

Our question is quite simple: If agriculture protectionism is a product of economic development, why is agriculture protected at such varying degrees by otherwise similarly developed countries? Previous attempts to fit agriculture into general models of trade policy formation have relied exclusively on producer demand for protection and merely assume the associated demand for lower prices that might come from consumers. Not surprisingly, these previous studies add only minimally to this strange phenomenon. Our method turns this approach on its head by modeling the political strategy of agriculture protection on the costs incurred by the consumer. Taking both producers and consumers into account more accurately reflects the intent of extant theoretical models of protectionism. Our results show that using the consumer as the dependent variable provides more robust results on common independent variables. Recent global events show that consumer disapproval of agriculture policies should not be underestimated by political scientists or politicians.     

Morality or equality? Ideological framing in news coverage of gay marriage legitimization

This content analytic study investigated the approaches of two mainstream newspapers—The New York Times and the Chicago Tribune—to cover the gay marriage issue. The study used the Massachusetts legitimization of gay marriage as a dividing point to look at what kinds of specific political or social topics related to gay marriage were highlighted in the news media. The study examined how news sources were framed in the coverage of gay marriage, based upon the newspapers’ perspectives and ideologies. The results indicated that The New York Times was inclined to emphasize the topic of human equality related to the legitimization of gay marriage. After the legitimization, The New York Times became an activist for gay marriage. Alternatively, the Chicago Tribune highlighted the importance of human morality associated with the gay marriage debate. The perspective of the Chicago Tribune was not dramatically influenced by the legitimization. It reported on gay marriage in terms of defending American traditions and family values both before and after the gay marriage legitimization.     

Energy consumption and hidden economy in Macedonia: Causes and responses

We propose a compact analytical model for estimation of the size of hidden economy (H), using two input variables: total electricity consumption in the country and the gross domestic product.An analytical expression has been obtained for H, as explicit function of n (year), and two parameters: H(0) (the size of hidden economy in the base year (n = 0)), and the parameters μ (the elasticity for electricity consumption with respect to the gross domestic product) and r (relative efficiency of the hidden economy compared to the regular economy).We show that the size of hidden economy can be effectively estimated based on the variations of energy consumption. Using the results for the case of Macedonia we identify several oscillations attributed to dramatic events and suggest policy approach responding to external shocks generating hidden economy rather that to generally adopted factors (e.g. taxation).     

Prudence and extensionality in theories of preference and value

Luce's axiom governing probabilities of choice is formulated as a principle governing metalinguistic probabilities. IfX, Y, W are sets of options, and δ(X), δ(Y), δ(W) are sentences asserting that choice is made from these sets, then the axiom is $$\begin{gathered} If \pi [\delta (X)] \ne 0 and \pi [\delta (X \cap Y)] \ne 0, then \hfill \\ \pi _{\delta (X)} [\delta (Y \cap W)] = \pi _{\delta (X \cap Y)} [\delta (W)]\pi _{\delta (X)} [\delta (Y)] \hfill \\ \end{gathered} $$ where π is a probability on sentences. The axiom is then entailed by extensionality of the probability π in company with a simple condition on probabilities of truth-functions. Conditions are also given under which the probability π is uniquely represented by a probability on the sets of options. What look to be logical constraints on the metalanguage entail a normative or prudential constraint. Debreu's well-known counterinstance to the axiom as a principle governing probability of choice is examined and a novel and consistent interpretation of the axiom is proposed.     

Implementing affirmative action in higher education: University responses to Gratz and Grutter

In 2003, the Supreme Court handed down two landmark decisions regarding the use of affirmative action in higher education. In one case, Grutter v. Bollinger, the Court said it was constitutional to consider race in admissions decisions in order to achieve the educational benefits of a diverse student body. In stark contrast, the Court struck down in Gratz v. Bollinger the University of Michigan's undergraduate admissions policy on the grounds that too much of the decision was based on race. In this research note, we surveyed midwestern and southern institutions of higher education to see how college and university presidents in the Fifth and Sixth federal circuits have sought to implement Gratz and Grutter. We find schools in the Fifth Circuit (southern) do not consider race in admissions decisions and those in the Sixth Circuit (midwestern) utilize race to assemble a student body. We suggest that lower federal court precedent may explain why the midwestern schools consider race but the southern schools do not.     

Who is early voting? An individual level examination

Objective. Early voting has been suggested as one method of increasing voter turnout. Allowing voters to cast their ballots during a longer time period may ameliorate some barriers to participation that exist. However, the question of whether early voting mobilizes previous nonvoting registrants or simply makes voting easier for those who would have participated anyway remains largely unanswered. Methods. We test these questions through the use of an individual level survey of voters in one Tennessee county. Using logistic regression, we consider the impact of demographic and attitudinal factors on the propensity to vote on election day or to use early voting. Results. We find marked differences between nonvoters and voters of either type, but we find few significant differences between early voters and traditional voters. We find little support for a mobilization effect and some evidence suggests that early voting merely conveniences those who would have voted anyway.     

On risk aversion,classical demand theory,and KM preferences

Building on Kihlstrom and Mirman (Journal of Economic Theory, 8(3), 361–388, 1974)’s formulation of risk aversion in the case of multidimensional utility functions, we study the effect of risk aversion on optimal behavior in a general consumer’s maximization problem under uncertainty. We completely characterize the relationship between changes in risk aversion and classical demand theory. We show that the effect of risk aversion on optimal behavior depends on the income and substitution effects. Moreover, the effect of risk aversion is determined not by the riskiness of the risky good, but rather the riskiness of the utility gamble associated with each decision.     

Informal social networks in Korea: Covering the cost of major life events

This article investigates an informal voluntary social arrangement for financial assistance with discrete major life events known in Korea as Sang-Ho-Bu-Jo. This informal voluntary arrangement is neither public nor private, but is based on social networks that produce a unique form of civic society. Sang-Ho-Bu-Jo covers people's transitional one-time needs. This study explores the practice of Sang-Ho-Bu-Jo and its origins and provides the first systematic empirical study of this social phenomenon. Three large databases are used to analyze the scope and level of participation, as well as what variables correlate with such involvement. The study finds a high rate of participation, over 80% of households, and an average investment of 2–4% of household expenditure. Sang-Ho-Bu-Jo can help scholars and policy makers worldwide in understanding the role of socialization, social networks, and social capital in explaining innovative informal methods of social care.     

Can unemployment forecasts based on Google Trends help government design better policies? An investigation based on Spain and Portugal

The Covid-19 pandemic has increased the unemployment issue and accelerated the digital transformation. Real-time data specific to ongoing revolution in applied economic analysis are increasingly demanded to anticipate changes in unemployment to improve decision-making. The aim of this paper is to test whether unemployment rate forecasts based on Google Trends data improve the predictions based only on macroeconomic indicators published with a longer time lag. The research has been carried out at the national level for Spain and Portugal, and the main novelty is the analysis of unemployment rate forecasts at the regional level for Spain using dynamic panel data models to implement the best policies to reduce unemployment. The keywords unemployment and job offers have been used in each language. The results obtained demonstrate the capacity of Google Trends data associated with unemployment to improve the predictions of unemployment rates in Spanish regions. Moreover, predictions based on Google Trends data at national level in Spain and Portugal are significantly more accurate than those based on autoregressive models for both countries.     

Macroeconomic imbalances in Europe: How to overcome the fallacy of unit labour costs

Policy recommendations based on unit labour costs (ULC) indices can lead to undesirable and counterproductive policies, because they do not reveal possible distortions in the base year. In this paper, we discuss the problems with the ULC-current account relation and provide an alternative measure for relative wage costs called Wage Competitive index (WCI) based on the assumption of convergence of the returns on capital. We show how to calculate it and that it is more efficient than traditional ULC and REER indicators. The implication is that policymakers should not focus on nominal wage setting only, but also more broadly on all factors which affect the return on capital. This implies that the well-known Rehn–Meidner rule, which underlies the Macroeconomic Dialogue should be modified.     

Is choice the correct primitive? On using certainty equivalents and reference levels to predict choices among gambles

Choice is viewed as a derived, not a primitive, concept. Individual gambles are assigned subjective certainty equivalents (CE₁); the choice setX has an associated reference level [RL(X)] based on the CE₁S of its members; the outcomes of each gamble are recoded as deviations from the RL(X); and new CE₂S are constructed. The gamble having the largest CE₂ is chosen. The CEs are described by the rank-and sign-dependent theory of Luce (1992b). The concept of RL is studied axiomatically. The model predicts many behavioral anomalies and is tested with data sets of Mellers, Chang, Birnbaum, and Ordóñez (1992).     

Relationships between attitudes toward women's roles in society,and work and life values

This exploratory study examined the relationships between attitudes toward women's roles in society, as measured by the six sub-scales on ward Women Scale (AWS: Spence, J. T., & Helmreich, R. L. (1972). The Attitudes Towards Women Scale: An objective instrument to measure attitudes towards the rights and roles of women in contemporary society. JSAS Catalog of Selected Documents in Psychology, 2(66)) and 20 work and life values, as measured by the Life Roles Inventory-Values Scale (LRI-VS: Macnab, D., Fitzsimmons, G., & Casserly, C. (1985). Administrator's manual for the Life Roles Inventory Values and Salience. Edmonton, AB: PsiCan Consulting). It was hypothesized that more liberal attitudes toward women's roles in society would be associated with higher scores on the social, personal and individual values. Results from a sample of 89 management and health sciences undergraduates generally supported the hypothesis.     

Market uncertainty and the process of belief formation

Subjective or personal belief formation has been up to now grounded on axioms (e.g., the axioms of Savage) that can be described asintrospection axioms, for they bear only on judgments formed by the individual within himself (e.g., judgments on the ordering of the “acts” in Savage's contribution), excluding every reference to other, possibly external, sources of opinion formation. This current view, linked to the traditional concept ofinstrumental economic rationality, implicitly assumes cognitive capacities that are most of the time out of the reach of any individual. Therefore this view is little or improperly used in the practical world of economics and/or management. An alternative view of belief formation on a market is offered in this article, grounded on a much more modest demand of cognitive capacities from the individual and on a different concept of economic rationality known ascognitive rationality. The model introduces to this end the global concept of market psychology as well as the concept of regular revision of the sets of opinions. Belief formation then appears as a process of deliberation between the individual and the market, rationality emerging within this process as deeply intertwined with the way the individual revises his opinions during the process. The rational treatment of beliefs in view of reaching a decision can consequently be carefully distinguished from their rational formation process.