A theory of quality-related differences in retail margins: why there is a 'premium' on premium gasoline

This paper develops a theory of vertical and horizontal product differentiation to explain observed price-cost margin differentials for goods that differ in quality. The difference in price-cost margins between the high- and low-quality goods is shown to depend positively on consumers' average valuation for incremental increases in quality and positively on the distance to each competitor's closest rival. These predictions are largely supported using an extensive station-level data set of premium and regular unleaded gasoline prices from the Los Angeles Basin area from 1992–1995.     

Sexual vs. Nonsexual Currently Most Upsetting Trauma: A Fresh Look at Attenuation of Sexual Response,Alcohol Intoxication,and Post-Traumatic Stress

This study examined the dependence of sexual response (vaginal pulse amplitude [VPA] and subjective sexual arousal) on alcohol intoxication (.10% breath alcohol concentration [BrAC] versus no alcohol) and the nature of a woman’s currently most upsetting traumatic event (C-MUTE), whether it was sexual (e.g., rape) or nonsexual (e.g., combat). Self-reported sexual outcomes were also compared by C-MUTE type. A total of 117 women completed background measures and either drank alcoholic or nonalcoholic beverages. They were shown erotic films and their VPA was assessed. A two (sexual versus nonsexual C-MUTE) by two (.10% BrAC versus no alcohol) analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that, controlling for post-traumatic stress (PTS) symptoms, women with a sexual C-MUTE showed lower percent VPA change than women with a nonsexual C-MUTE. No significant effects were found for subjective sexual arousal. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) showed that women with a sexual C-MUTE reported more frequent anxiety and inhibition during partnered sex and more frequent lack of vaginal lubrication versus women with a nonsexual C-MUTE. There was no significant interaction between C-MUTE and alcohol intoxication. Whether a woman is currently upset by past sexual victimization may influence current sexual difficulties. Attenuated VPA may be attributable to the sexual nature of a C-MUTE as opposed to general trauma exposure.     

NFL Draftnikology: Euclidean Metrics and Other Approaches to Scoring Ranking Predictions

With viewership of NFL (National Football League) football in the US rising above 20 million, interest in the NFL Draft has also been at all-time highs in recent years. Much of this interest is directed toward the “NFL draftniks” who provide draft predictions—so-called “mock drafts”—leading up to the NFL Draft. Despite increasing interest in “NFL draftnikology,” the scoring methodology used to evaluate mock NFL drafts lags far behind. This study offers a few alternative approaches, including a Euclidean metrics approach to evaluating mock NFL drafts. The usefulness of our methodologies extends to evaluation of economic and financial analysts.     

THE IMPACT OF PSYCHOLOGICAL AND HUMAN CAPITAL ON WAGES

Historically, economists have taken the position that psychological capital is either unobservable or immeasurable; thus, heretofore, little evidence has been available on the contribution of psychological capital to wages. Using data drawn from two different waves of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, we offer evidence that psychological capital has both a direct effect—via self-esteem—and an indirect effect—through locus of control—on an individual's real wage. We find a person s wage is more sensitive to changes in self-esteem than to comparable alterations in human capital. Both relative wages and human capital contribute to self-esteem.     

HOW IMPORTANT ARE CAPITAL AND TOTAL FACTOR PRODUCTIVITY FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH?

We examine the relative importance of the growth of physical and human capital and the growth of total factor productivity (TFP) using newly organized data on 145 countries that spans more than 100 years for 23 of these countries. For all countries, only 14% of average output growth per worker is associated with TFP growth. We use priors from theories to construct estimates of the relative importance of the variances of aggregate input growth and TFP growth across countries. Much of the importance of the variance of TFP growth across countries is associated with negative TFP growth. (JEL O47 , O50 , O57 , O30 , N10 )     

Turning sexual science into news: sex research and the media.

In this article we report on the findings of a two-part project investigating contemporary issues in sexuality researchers' interaction with journalists. The goal of the project was to explore best practices and suggest curricular and training initiatives for sexuality researchers and journalists that would enhance the accurate dissemination of sexuality research results in the media. We present the results of a survey of a convenience sample of 94 sexuality researchers about their experiences and concerns regarding media coverage and a summary of the main themes that emerged from an invitational conference of sexuality researchers and journalists. In addition, we present some preliminary recommendations for training and best practices. Topics assessed include reporting accuracy; sex researchers' comfort with various topics, media, and journalists; researchers' perceptions of the purpose and content of articles; concern about the impact of media coverage; and training for sexuality researchers.     

"Trust me, I''m a scientist (not a developer)": perceived expertise and motives as predictors of trust in assessment of risk from contaminated land

Previous authors have argued that trust may be based on the extent to which risk communicators are seen as good at discriminating safety from danger, are unbiased in their assessments, and share their audience's values. Residents of two English urban regions rated their trust in six potential sources of information about the risk of contaminated land in their neighborhood (independent scientists; local council property developers; residents' groups; friends and family; local media), and how expert, open, accurate, or biased these sources were and how much they had residents' interests at heart. Overall, scientists were trusted most and developers least, but this was only partly due to their greater perceived expertise. Resident groups and friends/family were also trusted, despite being seen as relatively inexpert, since they scored highly on openness and shared interests, these latter two attributes being more important predictors of trust in individual sources than perceived expertise. We conclude that, where a source is seen as motivated to withhold, distort, or misinterpret information, this will undermine public trust even in apparently knowledgeable sources, hence supporting the view that trust depends on a combination of perceived expertise and perceived motives as complementary processes.     

Interactions Among Sexual Activity,Menstrual Cycle Phase,and Immune Function in Healthy Women

Past research has found menstrual-cycle-related changes in functional immune response; we examined if sexual activity also changed markers of immune defense. We followed 32 naturally cycling women (15 sexually active with a partner ≥ 1 time/week, 17 sexually abstinent for the last four months) over one menstrual cycle. Participants provided serum and saliva samples at menses and ovulation, and additional saliva samples at midfollicular and midluteal phases. At each phase, participants also self-reported symptoms associated with colds, flu, pain, menstrual discomfort, and premenstrual syndrome. We tested saliva and serum for ability to kill Escherichia coli or Candida albicans, and serum for complement protein activity. For serum-mediated pathogen killing, among sexually active women only, there was a significant midcycle decrease in killing of E. coli. For saliva-mediated pathogen killing, among abstinent women only, there was a significant midcycle decrease in killing of E. coli, and midcycle increase in killing of C. albicans. Sexually active women had significantly lower complement activity than abstinent women overall. Finally, both groups reported lower physical symptoms at midcycle and higher symptoms at menses. There may be important differences in immune function between healthy women who are sexually active versus abstinent. Further replication is warranted.     

PURCHASING POWER PARITY AND BLACK-MARKET EXCHANGE RATES

This paper develops a theory of black-market exchange rate determination as a function of the market-clearing rate, the official rate and changes in official reserve levels. The model is tested for three countries over the period 1952–1971 by using purchasing-power-parity calculations as approximations of the equilibrium rate. The results indicate that relative rates of inflation are the dominant forces influencing equilibrium exchange rates.