The Effect of Similarity and Interest on Attitudes Toward Foreign Countries

The authors test the hypothesis that the American public's attitudestoward foreign nations will be determined by the similarityof those nations to their own country and by the interest whichthe United States derives from these nations. The analysis isbased on regression techniques and the results confirm the originalproposition.     

Probability Sampling with Quotas: An Experiment

A widely used modification of probability sampling techniquesinvolves the use of quotas at the last level of a multistagearea probability sample. Here we analyze an experiment comparingthis technique, called "probability sampling with quotas" bySudman, with a full probability design, in two large nationalsurveys. Biases were detected in household size and in men'semployment status. Otherwise, results were encouraging for usersof carefully conducted PSQ surveys.     

CONSUMPTION BENEFITS OF NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE GAME TRIPS ESTIMATED FROM REVEALED AND STATED PREFERENCE DEMAND DATA

This paper examines the demand for hockey game trips among metropolitan and nonmetropolitan residents of Alberta, Canada. Using data on both revealed and stated preference game‐trip behavior from a telephone survey conducted throughout Alberta, we estimate the effect of ticket prices, team quality, arena amenities, and capacity on the latent demand for National Hockey League hockey games. We find that lower ticket prices, higher team quality, and additional capacity encourage attendance. In the status quo scenario, consumer surplus per game is $50 for those who had attended hockey games and about 50% less for those who had not attended games. Exploiting the stated preference data, we develop a number of other consumer surplus estimates. We also include travel costs in the estimation of the demand function and estimate the full value of the game trip considering both ticket prices and travel costs. Sold‐out arenas in Calgary and Edmonton generate annual consumption benefits of $40 and $35 million when only ticket prices are used to calculate consumer surplus (i.e., excluding travel costs). Considering the full‐price consumer surplus for the Calgary Flames of $103 per game trip, the annual consumption benefits may be as high as $82 million. (JEL R22, L83, D61)