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Articles 1 - 30 of 32
Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
A Model Of The Implementation Of Quality Management Systems For Credence Attributes, Corinna Noelke, Julie Caswell
A Model Of The Implementation Of Quality Management Systems For Credence Attributes, Corinna Noelke, Julie Caswell
Julie Caswell
We develop a model of the impact of food quality management systems (QMS) on competitiveness and markets. QMS seek to control the quality of a product as determined by the array of individual attributes it possesses. To date only a few studies have attempted to better understand the effect of the introduction of quality management systems. No model has been introduced which captures the interactions within the supply chain and at the interface with consumers when these systems are introduced.
Consumer Choice Of Food Products And The Implications For Price Competition And For An Analysis Of Government Policy, Julie Caswell
Consumer Choice Of Food Products And The Implications For Price Competition And For An Analysis Of Government Policy, Julie Caswell
Julie Caswell
In this paper we develop a random coefficients discrete choice model to investigate what affected consumer demand for prepared frozen meals from 1993 to 1998, when government regulation of nutrition labeling changed from voluntary to mandatory. The model links individual consumer characteristics (e.g., income, knowledge about nutrition, nutrition label use) to underlying product characteristics (e.g., price, nutritional attributes) and allows us to obtain preference parameters for each consumer as well as demand elasticities with regard to product characteristics for each product considered. We find that prices, advertising, price reductions, and consumer preferences for taste have a significant effect on the …
Reclaiming Brownfields: From Corporate Liability To Community Asset, K. A. Dixon
Reclaiming Brownfields: From Corporate Liability To Community Asset, K. A. Dixon
PERI Working Papers
As the U.S. economy continues to march through its longest peacetime economic expansion in history, most urban areas are experiencing healthy levels of economic activity and growth, and many cities are engaging in ambitious redevelopment and revitalization projects. Yet a strong economy does not necessarily translate into income or asset growth for all people. The benefits of the current economic boom have often bypassed impoverished communities in the midst of American cities (Clarke and Gaile 1995, 163).
Let Them Eat Risk? Wealth, Rights, And Disaster Vulnerability, James K. Boyce
Let Them Eat Risk? Wealth, Rights, And Disaster Vulnerability, James K. Boyce
PERI Working Papers
Disaster-vulnerability reduction is an impure public good: when provided to one it is provided to others, but not equally provided to all. This means that in addition to the question of how much disaster-vulnerability reduction to provide, policy makers face the question of to whom it should be provided. This essay distinguishes between two broad classes of approaches to the latter question, one based on wealth, the other on rights.
Globalization, Inequality And Financial Instability: Confronting The Marx, Keynes And Polanyi Problems In Advanced Capitalist Economies, Robert Pollin
Globalization, Inequality And Financial Instability: Confronting The Marx, Keynes And Polanyi Problems In Advanced Capitalist Economies, Robert Pollin
PERI Working Papers
Over the past 20 years, a widespread perception has emerged that a new stage has been reached in the relationship between capitalism and the nation-state. Globalization is the umbrella term—indeed the ubiquitous buzzword—conveying a sense the sense that a fundamental transformation is occurring in the contemporary world economy. Governments and opposition political parties around the world rewrite their economic programs to take account of the perceived new realities engendered by globalization. Books, articles (including this one) and editorial pronouncements all pour forth.
Slow Growth, Destructive Competition, And Low Road Labor Relations: A Keynes-Marx-Schumpeter Analysis Of Neoliberal Globalization, James Crotty
PERI Working Papers
This essay begins with a brief overview of the standard arguments for and against global Neoliberalism and an overview of economic performance in the Neoliberal era. Section II argues that the micro theory appropriate to an analysis of the likely effects of global liberalization is not the neoclassical theory of perfectly competitive markets relied on by Neoliberal supporters, but Joseph Schumpeter’s theory of “natural oligopolies.” Section III presents a theory of the structural contradictions of global Neoliberalism that integrates a Keynesian-Marxian macro perspective with Schumpeterian and Marxian micro theory. The last section considers the political and policy 1implications of the …
Redressing Ecological Poverty Through Participatory Democracy: Case Studies From India, Anil Agarwal, Sunita Narain
Redressing Ecological Poverty Through Participatory Democracy: Case Studies From India, Anil Agarwal, Sunita Narain
PERI Working Papers
For the rural poor – who depend above all the land for their survival – a central development challenge is to sustain a base of natural capital that can support a robust local economy. In India, government mismanagement of forests, grazing lands, and water resources has often alienated rural people and exacerbated resource degradation. This paper shows the potential to reverse these trends when local people gain control over natural resources and manage them through systems of participatory democracy. Four case studies from semi-arid, hilly regions of India illustrate how democratic control of natural assets can lay the basis for …
Globalization And Redistribution: Feasible Egalitarianism In A Competitve World, Samuel Bowles
Globalization And Redistribution: Feasible Egalitarianism In A Competitve World, Samuel Bowles
PERI Working Papers
A reduction of impediments to international flows of goods, capital and professional labor is thought to raise the economic costs of programs by the nation state (and labor unions) to redistribute income to the poor and to provide economic security. But some of the more politically and economically successful examples of such policies -- for example Nordic social democracy and East Asian land reform-- have occurred in small open economies which would, on the above account, provide a prohibitive environment for egalitarian interventions. I present a model of globalization and redistribution to answer the following question: in a liberalized world …
Problems Of Poverty And Marginalization, Keith Griffin
Problems Of Poverty And Marginalization, Keith Griffin
PERI Working Papers
Strange as it may seem, mainstream neoclassical economics has no concept of poverty. The concept used in neoclassical economics is utility or economic welfare, which following Pigou often is limited to those things which can be subjected to “the measuring rod of money”. It is assumed individuals attempt to maximize utility or welfare subject to a constraint, such as income. From an analytical perspective the level of utility, or the level of such things as wellbeing, income or expenditure is irrelevant; there is no notion in economics of insufficiency and hence of poverty. This is rather odd. None the less, …
Problems Of Poverty And Marginalization, Keith Griffin
Problems Of Poverty And Marginalization, Keith Griffin
PERI Working Papers
Strange as it may seem, mainstream neoclassical economics has no concept of poverty. The concept used in neoclassical economics is utility or economic welfare, which following Pigou often is limited to those things which can be subjected to “the measuring rod of money”. It is assumed individuals attempt to maximize utility or welfare subject to a constraint, such as income. From an analytical perspective the level of utility, or the level of such things as wellbeing, income or expenditure is irrelevant; there is no notion in economics of insufficiency and hence of poverty. This is rather odd. None the less, …
Open Spaces And Recreation Plan: Berkley, Umass Amherst Center Economic Development
Open Spaces And Recreation Plan: Berkley, Umass Amherst Center Economic Development
Center for Economic Development Technical Reports
The goal of this report was to preserve the country character of Berkley, Massachusetts; to protect the precious resources of air, water, soil and habitats; and to provide the public access to the rivers, forests and fields.
A View To A Mountain, Umass Amherst Center Economic Development
A View To A Mountain, Umass Amherst Center Economic Development
Center for Economic Development Technical Reports
The purpose of this report was to examine the feasibility of submerging the overhead utilities that run along downtown streets, Main, Union, and Cottage, in the City of Easthampton, Massachusetts. To achieve this purpose, our team investigated the steps involved with submerging utilities and how the City of Easthampton might go through this process.
Erving Usher Plant Revitalization, Umass Amherst Center Economic Development
Erving Usher Plant Revitalization, Umass Amherst Center Economic Development
Center for Economic Development Technical Reports
The purpose of this report was to make a plan to revitalize the Usher Plant in Erving, Massachusetts. The potential uses for the space are secondary to the question of structural integrity and extent of environmental contamination. The report raises these issues and gives some recommendations on how to proceed towards a resolution.
Lynn Telecom Studio Report, Umass Amherst Center Economic Development
Lynn Telecom Studio Report, Umass Amherst Center Economic Development
Center for Economic Development Technical Reports
This report was put together to assess current economic and demographic conditions of Lynn, Massachusetts, and identify Lynn’s telecommunications infrastructure. The report also surveyed business’s stock in Lynn, while proposing recommendations for using telecommunications for economic development. Finally, the report wraps up by using the city of Lynn as a case study for other communities.
Economic Development Of Erving, Massachusetts, Umass Amherst Center Economic Development
Economic Development Of Erving, Massachusetts, Umass Amherst Center Economic Development
Center for Economic Development Technical Reports
This report presents information on Erving, Massachusetts’ economy and main economic development issues. It begins with an analysis of demographic, labor, and employment statistics, then discusses some key issues that pose challenges to and provide opportunities for future development. It concludes with recommendations for taking action to address challenges and to seize opportunities.
Guide To Green Planning And Regulation Practices In Suasco Watershed, Umass Amherst Center Economic Development
Guide To Green Planning And Regulation Practices In Suasco Watershed, Umass Amherst Center Economic Development
Center for Economic Development Technical Reports
This report discusses six planning tools or techniques selected by the client that have been used in six different SuAsCo (Sudbury, Assabet, and Concord Rivers) communities. The six case studies highlighting these tools as they applied in the watershed and Eastern Massachusetts were assessed as to their strengths and weaknesses in light of current national practices.
For Love Or Money - Or Both?, Julie A. Nelson, Nancy Folbre
For Love Or Money - Or Both?, Julie A. Nelson, Nancy Folbre
Economics Department Faculty Publications Series
This paper explores the implications for economic analysis, societal well-being, and public policy of the movement of care services (such as child and elder care) from home to market. A broad empirical overview sets the stage for the argument that this process cannot be properly evaluated using only a priori judgments about the suitability of marketization. The context in which markets operate is crucial, and while the growth of market provision poses some risks, it also offers some potential benefits.
Introduction - Children And Family Policy: A Feminist Issue, Nancy Folbre, Susan Himmelweit
Introduction - Children And Family Policy: A Feminist Issue, Nancy Folbre, Susan Himmelweit
Economics Department Faculty Publications Series
No abstract provided.
Structural Contradictions Of The Global Neoliberal Regime, James Crotty
Structural Contradictions Of The Global Neoliberal Regime, James Crotty
James Crotty
No abstract provided.
Trading State-Led Prosperity For Market-Led Stagnation: From The Golden Age To Global Neoliberalism, James Crotty
Trading State-Led Prosperity For Market-Led Stagnation: From The Golden Age To Global Neoliberalism, James Crotty
James Crotty
No abstract provided.
Can The Global Neoliberal Regime Survive Victory In Asia? The Political Economy Of The Asian Crisis, James Crotty
Can The Global Neoliberal Regime Survive Victory In Asia? The Political Economy Of The Asian Crisis, James Crotty
James Crotty
No abstract provided.
The Case For Capital Controls, James Crotty
Demand Policy In The Long Run, Peter Skott, Rajiv Sethi
Demand Policy In The Long Run, Peter Skott, Rajiv Sethi
Peter Skott
This paper analyses the use of aggregate demand policies to ensure full- employment growth in the long run. The results support Victoria Chick's warning in Macroeconomics after Keynes against the misapplication of short-run Keynesian policy prescriptions to long-run problems.
Risk Aversion, Insurance, And The Efficiency-Equality Tradeoff, Samuel Bowles, Herbert Gintis
Risk Aversion, Insurance, And The Efficiency-Equality Tradeoff, Samuel Bowles, Herbert Gintis
Economics Department Working Paper Series
Under conditions of informational asymmetry, redistributing the property rights may improve work incentives but lead to an inefficient choice of entrepreneurial risk. We present a model in which reassignment of property rights does not affect factor prices and we show that there exist egalitarian asset redistributions that enhance allocative efficiency. The scope for such redistributions can be broadened by offering fair insurance protecting the independent entrepreneur against risk unassociated with the production process and against production uncertainties that are unrelated to the quality of their individual decisions. The market will generally supply insurance of this type suboptimally.
Optimal Parochialism: The Dynamics Of Trust And Exclusion In Networks, Samuel Bowles, Herbert Gintis
Optimal Parochialism: The Dynamics Of Trust And Exclusion In Networks, Samuel Bowles, Herbert Gintis
Economics Department Working Paper Series
Networks such as ethnic credit associations, close-knit residential neighborhoods, ‘old boy’networks, and ethnically linked businesses play an important role in economic life but have been little studied by economists. These networks are often supported by cultural distinctions between insiders and outsiders and engage in exclusionary practices which we call parochialism. We provide an economic analysis of parochial networks in which the losses incurred by not trading with outsiders are offset by an enhanced ability to enforce informal contracts by fostering trust among insiders. We first model one-shot social interactions among self-regarding agents, demonstrating that trust (i.e., cooperating without using information …
Is Africa A Net Creditor? New Estimates Of Capital Flight From Severely Indebted Sub-Saharan African Countries, 1970-1996, James K. Boyce, Léonce Ndikumana
Is Africa A Net Creditor? New Estimates Of Capital Flight From Severely Indebted Sub-Saharan African Countries, 1970-1996, James K. Boyce, Léonce Ndikumana
Economics Department Working Paper Series
This paper presents estimates of capital flight from 25 low-income sub-Saharan African countries in the period 1970 to 1996. Capital flight totaled more than $193 billion (in 1996 dollars); with imputed interest earnings, the accumulated stock of flight capital amounts to $285 billion. The combined external debt of these countries stood at $178 billion in 1996. Taking capital flight as a measure of private external assets, and calculating net external assets as private external assets minus public external debts, sub-Saharan Africa thus appears to be a net creditor vis-à-vis the rest of the world.
Walrasian Economics In Retrospect, Samuel Bowles, Herbert Gintis
Walrasian Economics In Retrospect, Samuel Bowles, Herbert Gintis
Economics Department Working Paper Series
Two basic tenets of theWalrasian model, behavior based on self-interested exogenous preferences and complete and costless contracting have recently come under critical scrutiny. First, social norms and psychological dispositions extending beyond the selfish motives of Homo economicus may have an important bearing on outcomes, even in competitive markets. Second, market outcomes depend on strategic interactions in which power in the political sense is exercised. It follows that economics must become more behavioral and more institutional. We can return to these themes of the classical tradition, now equipped with more the powerful mathematical tools developed over the past century.
Strong Reciprocity And Human Sociality, Herbert Gintis
Strong Reciprocity And Human Sociality, Herbert Gintis
Economics Department Working Paper Series
Human groups maintain a high level of sociality despite a low level of relatedness among group members. The behavioral basis of this sociality remains in doubt. This paper reviews the evidence for an empirically identifiable form of prosocial behavior in humans, which we call ‘strong reciprocity,’ that may in part explain human sociality. A strong reciprocator is predisposed to cooperate with others and punish non-cooperators, even when this behavior cannot be justified in terms of extended kinship or reciprocal altruism. We present a simple model, stylized but plausible, of the evolutionary emergence of strong reciprocity.
The Determinants Of Earnings: Skills, Preferences, And Schooling, Samuel Bowles, Herbert Gintis, Melissa Osborne
The Determinants Of Earnings: Skills, Preferences, And Schooling, Samuel Bowles, Herbert Gintis, Melissa Osborne
Economics Department Working Paper Series
No abstract provided.
Incentives And Equity Under Standards-Based Reform, Julian R. Betts, Robert M. Costrell
Incentives And Equity Under Standards-Based Reform, Julian R. Betts, Robert M. Costrell
Economics Department Working Paper Series
The paper considers theoretical and empirical evidence on the impact of standards-based school reform. Our theoretical synthesis distinguishes between sorting and incentive effects of high standards, and spells out the potential tradeoffs and complementarities between enhancing efficiency and equity in student achievement. Differentiated credentials can be helpful in ameliorating tradeoffs, provided that distinct signals are clearly understood, especially between cognitive and non-cognitive skills. The paper reviews trends in state-level school accountability systems, and examines empirical evidence on the impact of increased standards and expectations on student achievement. Finally, the paper reviews some of the practical challenges facing the standards movement.