Strategic approaches to sustainability in fashion supply chain management

Today, the sustainability challenge has become a relevant issue in the fashion industry. However, given that the request for sustainability is relatively new in this industry, empirical research that could guide companies towards supply chain sustainability is lacking. This study aims to deepen the understanding of the main strategic approaches to sustainability used in fashion supply chain management (SCM). Ten case studies were examined in terms of the practices that characterise these approaches. Moreover, contextual factors, drivers and barriers that support or hinder different approaches were identified. To accomplish this goal, both environmental sustainability and social sustainability were investigated, and all the areas of fashion SCM (i.e. new product development, source, make, deliver, retail, return, governance) were considered simultaneously to offer a wide overview of this industry’s sustainability issue.     

Morality policy processes in advanced industrial democracies

In recent years, several countries have experienced widespread, intense debates about morality issues such as the death penalty, abortion, ART/stem cell research, same-sex marriage, and euthanasia. Assuming the distinctiveness of morality policies from other policy fields, this article analyses three alternative institutional models for explaining variations in the amount of conflict over these morality issues across 24 Western democracies. Is either the US-developed “policy type” model or the European-developed “two worlds” of morality politics, based on religious and secular party systems, applicable more broadly? Are there regional patterns (Europe and non-Europe) to any institutional findings? How does each model contribute to our understanding of morality policy comparatively across Western democracies? We find broader cross-national support for the policy type model, with the two worlds model largely restricted to Europe. The US has more morality policy conflict because of its unusual combination of a political party targeting religiously oriented voters within an institutional framework of multiple venues. The US and other non-European countries have similar patterns of institutional deliberation through decentralization, and the US also has similarities in multiple venues with religious party systems in Europe. Secular European party systems with centralized institutions have the fewest venues for morality policy debate.     

Least-squares and minimum chi-square estimation in a discrete Weibull model

In this work, we investigate the properties of least-squares and minimum chi-square methods for the point estimation of the two parameters characterizing a discrete Weibull distribution. The first method, inflected into three variants, is based on the empirical cumulative distribution function and provides a closed analytical expression for each estimate. The second method is based on the minimization of the well-known chi-square statistic, which provides a numerical solution. A Monte Carlo simulation study empirically assesses the performance of the methods; two applications on real data show how the inferential techniques practically work.     

Correction to: Assessment of agricultural sustainability in European Union countries: a group-based multivariate trajectory approach

AStA Advances in Statistical Analysis -     

Search and Taxation in a Model of Underground Economic Activities

We develop a simple model of an economy with underground production and trade. Because of the furtive nature of underground activities, information about trading opportunities in the irregular sector is less than perfect—hence, agents devote some time to locate trading partners in the black economy and then bargain over the terms of trade. The model stresses how individual involvement in underground economic activities is related to earnings capacity. It also highlights how taxes and tax enforcement are natural policy complements. Both results are argued to be useful when interpreting micro- and aggregate-level data on underground economic activities. (JEL H26 , H21 , D72 , D83 )     

Real Balance Effects and Monetary Policy

This article presents a dynamic stochastic new Keynesian model with real balance effects. I find a number of results that would not appear in the traditional framework. It is shown that the real balance effect makes the so-called Taylor principle not necessary for determinacy of rational expectations equilibrium and that "passive" monetary rules may be feasible. In addition, within a class of policy rules constrained to be a linear function of state variables, "active" interest rate rules are more likely to be optimal under commitment rather than under discretion. (JEL E52 , E58 )     

Tax avoidance and the endogenous formation of social norms

We analyse a model of income tax avoidance with heterogenous agents who face monetary as well as psychic costs in order to successfully hide their income from the fisc. We argue that, in general, the stigmatisation of tax dodging is motivated by the desire to make redistribution more effective. In this context, we demonstrate two results. First, we study the policy preferences of the agents, identify a median-agent political equilibrium, and show that the psychic cost of tax dodging leads to a highly progressive income tax. Second, we model the endogenous formation of stigma as a “conformism game”, and argue that, since high levels of stigma are favoured by the low-income agents, a society-wide condemnation of tax dodging will be established only in robust democracies where these agents possess enough social influence.