WHY AGNOSTIC SIGN RESTRICTIONS ARE NOT ENOUGH: UNDERSTANDING THE DYNAMICS OF OIL MARKET VAR MODELS

Sign restrictions on the responses generated by structural vector autoregressive models have been proposed as an alternative approach to the use of exclusion restrictions on the impact multiplier matrix. In recent years such models have been increasingly used to identify demand and supply shocks in the market for crude oil. We demonstrate that sign restrictions alone are insufficient to infer the responses of the real price of oil to such shocks. Moreover, the conventional assumption that all admissible models are equally likely is routinely violated in oil market models, calling into question the use of posterior median responses to characterize the responses to structural shocks. When combining sign restrictions with additional empirically plausible bounds on the magnitude of the short‐run oil supply elasticity and on the impact response of real activity, however, it is possible to reduce the set of admissible model solutions to a small number of qualitatively similar estimates. The resulting model estimates are broadly consistent with earlier results regarding the relative importance of demand and supply shocks for the real price of oil based on structural vector autoregressive (VAR) models identified by exclusion restrictions, but imply very different dynamics from the posterior median responses in VAR models based on sign restrictions only.     

Getting better or getting worse? Consumer responses to decreasing, constant, and ascending multi-dimensional price profiles

This research investigates consumer preferences for different multi-dimensional price profiles. Drawing on research on price affect, we investigate whether consumers prefer descending monthly installments (e.g., 40, 30, 20, 10) over constant (e.g., 25, 25, 25, 25), or ascending ones (e.g., 10, 20, 30, 40). Results of a field experiment with a sample of 1,628 German car buyers corroborate the hypothesized profile effect. In the experiment, participants were asked to evaluate different finance offers for a new car that all had the same present value but differed in terms of how the installments unfolded over time. Consistent with the hypotheses, decreasing monthly installments are evaluated more favorably than constant installments, which, in turn are evaluated more favorably than ascending installments. Furthermore, the results provide evidence for the underlying process by showing that the impact of different MDP profiles is mediated by positive affect. Finally, it was hypothesized that consumers’ individual differences (i.e., debt aversion, financial expectations, and product category knowledge) would exert a moderating influence on evaluations of different price profiles; these hypotheses, however, were only partially confirmed. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.     

Cognitive,social, and neural determinants of diminished decision-making and financial exploitation risk in aging and dementia: A review and new model

ABSTRACT

In this article we will briefly review how changes in brain and in cognitive and social functioning, across the spectrum from normal to pathological aging, can lead to decision-making impairments that increase abuse risk in many life domains (e.g., health care, social engagement, financial management). The review will specifically focus on emerging research identifying neural, cognitive, and social markers of declining financial decision-making capacity in older adults. We will highlight how these findings are opening avenues for early detection and new interventions to reduce exploitation risk.     

Who Gives,Who Gets,and How do We Know? The Promises and Limitations of Administrative Data for Cross-border Philanthropy Tracking

VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations - Cross-border philanthropy occurs across multiple dimensions simultaneously. Seemingly domestic actors become players in...     

Seeking and Processing Information for Health Decisions among Elderly Chinese Singaporean Women

Information behavior includes activities of active information seeking, passive acquisition of information, and information use. Guided by the Elaboration Likelihood Model, this study explored elderly Singaporean women’s health information behavior to understand how they sought, evaluated, and used health information in everyday lives. Twenty-two in-depth interviews were conducted with elderly Chinese women aged 61 to 79. Qualitative analysis of the interview data yielded three meta-themes: information-seeking patterns, trustworthiness of health information, and peripheral route of decision making. Results revealed that elderly women took both systematic and heuristic approaches to processing information but relied on interpersonal networks to negotiate health choices.     

Can indigenous transborder migrants affect environmental governance in their communities of origin? Evidence from Mexico

Despite high rates of out-migration, Mexican indigenous communities play a crucial role in biodiversity conservation. However, little is known about migrants’ role in environmental management. This research brief explores the case of the Purépecha of San Pedro Ocumicho, Michoacán, and its transborder community in the Coachella Valley of California. We find that migrants maintain strong cultural ties to their community of origin. However, many are undocumented, are unable to access steady and well-paid employment, and would be unable to return to California were they to visit Mexico. Furthermore, government structures in Ocumicho are weak, providing few opportunities for migrants to contribute. These factors currently preclude migrants from influencing environmental decision making in their home community. Our findings point to the need for more comprehensive and longitudinal studies to better document and explain the variations in migrant support for environmental governance in their communities of origin.     

Teaching outside of the box: a short-term international internship for pre-service and in-service physical education teachers

This article reports on results from a qualitative study of a two-week international internship for pre-service and in-service physical education (PE) teachers in a developing nation (Belize). Relying upon data from questionnaires that were administered before and after the short-term international internship, participants’ perspectives related to their professional and personal development were investigated. Understanding the overlap that necessarily exists between professional and personal growth, five themes are identified and discussed. These include: (1) Kids are Kids (Or are they?), (2) Relationships Matter, (3) Cooperation and Collaboration in Teaching: Learning Together, (4) Teaching without Bells and Whistles, and (5) Recognising One’s Own Privilege. In light of these findings, some suggestions for future practice and inquiry are offered.     

Cooperative Accounts: Avoiding Conflict and Repairing Social Relations

The analytical concept of accounts has long presented sociologists with an excellent tool for the study of talk. Nonetheless, studies of accounts often neglect the fact that cooperation is common when an account for untoward behavior is constructed. Many studies tend to flatten the process of how accounts are created by routinely describing them as being “offered” by offenders and then “evaluated” by reproachers. We assume that accounts are often negotiated between parties as a means of avoiding conflict and preserving a relationship. As such, this paper develops the concept of cooperative accounts that are offered to (or projected upon) offenders as a means of explaining their untoward behavior. While also examining hostile accounts, this paper concentrates on developing the cooperative account in order to investigate more fully Scott and Lyman's (1968) argument that accounts are crucial for managing conflict and maintaining social order. Because offering cooperative accounts to others is a routine social interaction their examination provides an opportunity to reanchor the study of accounts back into the symbolic interactionist tradition.