Search

Begin New Search Topic Economics Publication Year within 25 Years

5101. United States/European Union — WTO Sanctions

Publication Date:
02-2002
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxford Analytica
Abstract:
US trade officials said last week that EU estimates of damages arising from US export subsidies were exaggerated. EU trade officials have asked the WTO to approve 4 billion dollars worth of trade sanctions against the United States, after the latter lost an appeal before the WTO on the tax treatment of foreign-source income — judged to be illegal export subsidies. Washington must amend its tax laws or face the prospect of retaliatory trade restrictions.
Topic:
Economics and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
United States, Europe, and Washington

5102. United States — Productivity Surprise

Publication Date:
02-2002
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxford Analytica
Abstract:
The government announced yesterday that productivity increased at a 3.5% annual rate in the fourth quarter of 2001. The figure, previously available in its component form, has been interpreted as evidence of underlying improvement in productivity in the post-1995 period. Sustainability of productivity growth determines the reliability of fiscal forecasts, growth, inflation and unemployment.
Topic:
Economics and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
United States

5103. European Union — ECB Policy

Publication Date:
01-2002
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxford Analytica
Abstract:
This week's piece examines the ECB's monetary and communication policy. The Governing Council of the ECB has appeared fairly unmoved either by widespread criticism of its communication policy or by growing pressure for lower interest rates. The ECB has no choice but to remain committed to its price stability mandate, despite the change in economic climate. However, in doing so, it remains vulnerable to the dilemmas posed by the combination of strong independence and a narrow mandate.
Topic:
Economics and Politics
Political Geography:
Europe

5104. International — Socially Responsible Investment

Publication Date:
01-2002
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxford Analytica
Abstract:
This week's piece examines the impact of strong growth and low volatility in socially responsible investment. Current trends suggest that fund managers and stock index compilers will introduce more socially responsible investment products in 2002. Of all the developments within the SRI (socially responsible investment) industry the high persistency rates of social investors stand out. If the growth of this asset class continues and if financial returns continue to be deprioritised among investors, gradual changes in the style and approach of corporate boards of directors, operations and accounting and disclosure will occur.
Topic:
Economics and International Trade and Finance

5105. The Role Of Transition Assistance: The Case Of Indonesia

Author:
Glenn Slocum and Jean DuRette
Publication Date:
03-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United States Agency for International Development
Abstract:
The Center for Development Information and Evaluation (CDIE) has responsibility for conducting Agency-wide evaluations on assistance topics of interest to USAID managers. In 2000, USAID began an evaluation of the role of transition assistance, with a specific emphasis on the role and activities of the Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI) in the Bureau of Humanitarian Response (BHR).
Topic:
Democratization, Development, Economics, Government, and Politics
Political Geography:
Indonesia and Southeast Asia

5106. The Role of Effort Advantage in Consumer Response to Loyalty Programs: The Idiosyncratic Fit Heuristic

Author:
Ran Kivetz and Itamar Simpson
Publication Date:
12-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy at Columbia University
Abstract:
Over the past few years, customer relationship management and loyalty programs (LPs) have been widely adopted by companies and have received a great deal of attention from marketers, consultants, and, to a lesser degree, academics. In this research, we examine the effect of the level of effort required to obtain a LP's reward on consumers' perception of the LP's attractiveness. We propose that, under certain conditions, increasing the program requirements can enhance consumers' likelihood of joining the program, thus leading consumers to prefer a dominated option. Specifically, we hypothesize that consumer s often evaluate LPs based on their individual effort to obtain the reward relative to the relevant reference effort (e.g., the effort of typical other consumers). When consumers believe they have an effort advantage relative to typical others (i.e., an idiosyncratic fit with the LP), higher program requirements manify this perception of advantage and can therefore increase the overall perceived value of the program. This proposition was supported in a series of studies in which the perceived idiosyncratic fit was manipulated either by reducing the individual effort or by raising the reference effort. The findings also indicate that (a) idiosyncratic fit considerations are elicited spontaneously, (b) idiosyncratic fit mediates the effect of effort on consumer response to LPs, and (c) an alternative account for the results based on signaling is not supported. We conclude that these findings are part of a broader phenomenon, which we term the idiosyncratic fit heuristic, whereby a key factor that affects consumers' response to marketing programs and promotional offers is the perceived relative advantage or fit with the individual's idiosyncratic conditions and preferences.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Emerging Markets, and Industrial Policy

5107. Permanently Beta: Responsive Organization in the Internet Era

Author:
Gina Neff and David Strark
Publication Date:
12-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy at Columbia University
Abstract:
How has the Internet influenced economic organization? Many approach this question strictly economically by examining the productivity gains from particular technological advances or the roles that dot-coms and other Internet-based organizations play with the economy. We approach this question differently—we move away from a macro-social analysis to consider the co-evolution of new technologies and organizational forms. In other words, how has the process of technological change in the Internet era influenced the way we organize economic activities? In this chapter we discuss how information technologies foster the emergent design and user-driven design of websites and other online media, as well as products and organizations off-line. We also consider how to mitigate the social costs of these changes.
Topic:
Economics, Industrial Policy, and Science and Technology

5108. Link, Search, Interact: The Co-Evolution of NGOs and Interactive Technology

Author:
Jonathan Bach and David Strark
Publication Date:
04-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy at Columbia University
Abstract:
Interactive technology is a key factor used to explain the recent growth and prominence of NGOs, who today are engaged in the transformation of national, international and transnational political space. Yet technology cannot explain NGOs' rise, for technology is but a context which afford opportunities. We ask what it is that allows NGOs to take advantage of new circumstances, and focus our discussion on the co-evolution of NGOs with interactive technology. Our approach is part of a growing body of social science research that seeks to overcome the artificial divide between “society” and “technology” by viewing the social as consisting of humans and non-humans (objects, things, artifacts). Viewing technology not as a tool but as part of a co-evolutionary process that shapes organizational forms and practices will help us understand why NGOs have, given the opportunities provided by the retrenchment of the welfare state and the end of the cold war, been able to assume a more powerful and controversial role as co-constituents of global transformation.
Topic:
Economics, Industrial Policy, Non-Governmental Organization, and Science and Technology

5109. Substitutability Cross-Stream Between Oriented Markets: Conventions in the Wine Sector of France

Author:
Harrison C. White
Publication Date:
03-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy at Columbia University
Abstract:
I explicitly model the social mechanism that constructs markets. Producers array along a market profile along which buyers trade off quality for volume. Outcome features can be predicted from two ratios of parameters, yielding a MAP. Five distinct families of market cultures correspond to its regions. As previous work showed, Supply equaling Demand is transmuted into matchings across local variabilities of valuation with volume and with quality. Such matching is vulnerable to unraveling, but it can be achieved with market oriented either upstream or downstream.
Topic:
Economics and Industrial Policy
Political Geography:
Europe and France

5110. A Private Hero for a Privatized Country

Author:
Leon Aron
Publication Date:
06-2002
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
The most interesting phenomenon on Russia's literary scene today is the popularity of the Erast Fandorin mysteries by Grigoriy Shalvovich Chkhartishvili, who writes as Boris Akunin.
Topic:
Democratization, Economics, and Emerging Markets
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, and Asia