COMPUTER APPLICATIONS IN TEACHING ECONOMETRICS

In most econometrics courses the students are given limited exposure to the empirical applications of econometric theory. The use of canned programs would make it possible to cover more applied econometric work, and help prepare the students for more empirical work. The computer can be a valuable teaching aid for both instructor and student. The students will also gain valuable experience in the area of computer assisted data analysis. This paper discusses many of the programs appropriate for use in econometrics courses. Examples of problems using programs, and several alternative outlines of possible courses in applied econometrics are presented.     

EFFECTS OF USE OF COMPUTER IN FIRST-YEAR STATISTICS SEQUENCE ON STUDENT ATTITUDES*

The use of computers in teaching statistics can make an impact upon students in two ways. First, it can affect the amount and rate of learning of statistics. Second, it can affect student attitudes toward computers, statistics and quantitative methods. This note reports a study on the effects of the computer in teaching statistics on student attitudes. The data are based on pre- and post-course questionnaires administered in a first-year statistics sequence. The results partly confirm expectations, and partly raise questions for further investigation.     

Japanese marketing strategies in the United Kingdom

This article is based on a study which examined hypotheses about Japanese marketing using a matched sample of British companies and their major Japanese competitors. Japanese subsidiaries in Britain were shown to be much more marketing-oriented, more responsive to strategic opportunities, and more single-minded in their pursuit of market share. Organizationally, there were few differences between the two groups. The Japanese subsidiaries, however, were more inclined to use product or market-based divisions and continuous, informal planning and control procedures. The result is that managerial focus and responsibility are centred upon overall product-market rather than financial or production performance, with continuous feedback facilitating rapid adaptation and implementation of marketing plans and strategy.     

Pricing in Electricity Markets

The technical characteristics of electricity generation and transmission have implications for the way in which economic principles are adapted to evaluate pricing and regulation issues in electricity markets. In particular, there is an externality associated with the way in which electricity flows in networks because of Kirchoff's laws. In this paper, a mathematical programming model is presented that simulates a competitive electricity market, based on the spatial-intertemporal equilibrium models pioneered by Takayama and Judge (1971). The model is used to simulate the operation of a hypothetical electricity market, illustrating some of the issues arising from the network externality.     

Cohabitation in Great Britain: not for long, but here to stay

This paper uses a new source of data to study the dramatic increase in cohabiting unions in Great Britain. It analyses, in turn, entry into first partnership, the stability of cohabiting unions and repartnering after dissolution of cohabitation. In excess of 70% of first partnerships are now cohabitations, and these last a relatively short time before being either turned into marriage or dissolved. The shift to cohabitation as the dominant mode of first partnership plays an important role in the delay of first marriage and motherhood. The paper also investigates the factors that are associated with the outcome of cohabitations.     

Unmet Need for Family Planning in Developing Countries and Implications for Population Policy

Unmet need for family planning has been a core concept in international population discourse for several decades. This article reviews the history of unmet need and the development of increasingly refined methods of its empirical measurement and delineates the main questions that have been raised about unmet need during the past decade, some of which concern the validity of the concept and others its role in policy debates. The discussion draws heavily on empirical research conducted during the 1990s, much of it localized, in‐depth studies combining quantitative and qualitative methodologies. Of the causes of unmet need other than those related to access to services, three emerge as especially salient: lack of necessary knowledge about contraceptive methods, social opposition to their use, and health concerns about possible side effects. The article argues that the concept of unmet need for family planning, by joining together contraceptive behavior and fertility preferences, encourages an integration of family planning programs and broader development approaches to population policy. By focusing on the fulfillment of individual aspirations, unmet need remains a defensible rationale for the formulation of population policy and a sensible guide to the design of family planning programs.     

Family size and children’s education in Vietnam

Data from the nationally representative 1994 Inter-Censal Demographic Survey are used to examine the association between family size and children s schooling in Vietnam. The data provide information on several education measures for all children over age 10, including children no longer residing in the household. Although a clear inverse bivariate association between family size and children s school attendance and educational attainment is evident, multivariate analysis controlling for urban/rural residence, region, parents’ education, household wealth, and child’s age, reveals that much of this association, especially that predicting educational attainment, is attributable to these other influences. Moreover, much of the effect that remains after statistical adjustment for the other influences is seen mainly at the largest family sizes. We consider the implications of these findings for current population policy in Vietnam and the possible features of the Vietnamese context that might account for the modest association.