Showing papers in "International Journal of Social Economics in 1999"
1,224 citations
TL;DR: An enriched theoretical model of regulatory compliance is developed in this paper, which integrates economic theory with theories from psychology and sociology to account for both tangible and intangible motivations influencing individuals' decisions whether to comply with a given set of regulations.
Abstract: An enriched theoretical model of regulatory compliance is developed in this paper. The body of empirical evidence demonstrates that the pure deterrence model of regulatory compliance, which focuses primarily on the certainty and severity of sanctions as key determinants of compliance, provides only a partial explanation of compliance behavior. To offer a more complete explanation, the model developed herein integrates economic theory with theories from psychology and sociology to account for both tangible and intangible motivations influencing individuals’ decisions whether to comply with a given set of regulations. Specifically, the model accounts for moral obligation and social influence in addition to the conventional costs and revenues associated with illegal behavior. While cast in a natural resource management context, the theory developed here is applicable to a variety of institutional conditions. The resulting framework enables the design and implementation of more efficient compliance and regulatory programs than was heretofore possible.
493 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a conceptual and analytical approach is presented to reconcile weak and strong sustainability, which involves a reconsideration of the conception of total capital from an ecological economic system perspective.
Abstract: A conceptual and analytical approach is presented to reconcile weak and strong sustainability. It involves a reconsideration of the conception of total capital from an ecological‐economic system perspective. In particular, natural capital is classified into non‐renewable resources, renewable resources that are harvested, and those that are not used in production. Strong sustainability is defined in terms of constant environmental quality. Weak sustainability is characterised by non‐decreasing value of aggregate income and environmental quality, and formalised in terms of a “preference‐based social value function”. Ecosystem resilience and basic human needs are introduced as minimum sustainability requirements, and a “sustainability‐based social value function” is proposed, which is sensitive to potentially irreversible changes at the boundaries of the restricted opportunity space. It implies higher values associated to the trade‐offs between income and the environment than the preference‐based function, and the fact that sustainable development is only feasible if both minimum criteria are fulfilled.
174 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the effect of age on the satisfaction of academic teaching and research staff was investigated and the results indicated that age has quite a different effect on academic teaching staff from on academic research staff.
Abstract: The core activities of university teachers are in the areas of teaching and research. This article addresses the effect of age on the satisfaction of academics on these activities. Towards this end, a questionnaire was designed including several demographic questions such as age, gender, and rank. The questionnaire was administered to 1,102 university teachers in the UK. A total of 554 responses were received, giving a response rate of 50.3 per cent. Our results indicate that age has quite a different effect on academic teaching staff from on academic research staff. For example, the effect of age on teaching satisfaction indicates that the job satisfaction decreases with age but at a decreasing rate. On the other hand, our results for research satisfaction indicate that age affects job satisfaction positively but at a decreasing rate. Other reported regression analyses indicate that both teaching and research job satisfaction increase with rank and that women tend to be slightly more satisfied in their career than male counterparts. The findings from the latter regression analyses reveal somewhat weak relationships.
120 citations
TL;DR: For more than a quarter of a century there has been substantial emigration from the smaller island states of the Pacific to metropolitan fringe states, mainly the USA, New Zealand and Australia as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: For more than a quarter of a century there has been substantial emigration from the smaller island states of the Pacific to metropolitan fringe states, mainly the USA, New Zealand and Australia. Migration reduced unemployment in island states and remittances have contributed to raised living standards. This paper provides a better understanding of the implications of remittances for economic and social development in the Pacific region. It discusses alternative explanations of remittances, estimates of the size of remittance flows, the impact of remittances on the home country, and policies that influence the flow of remittances. Much of the empirical work in this paper is based on Tonga and Samoa, although the findings apply more generally to other Pacific island nations.
114 citations
TL;DR: This article found that Japanese consumers tended to score lower on the measure of confidence in food safety, suggesting that they are less confident about the safety of the food they consume than Australian consumers.
Abstract: Food safety, always an important issue, has recently gained a higher profile following a number of highly publicised incidents in Australia and overseas. Consumers in Australia and Japan were surveyed to obtain information on a range of issues including food safety. This paper presents the findings of this survey and shows that Japanese consumers tended to score lower on the measure of confidence in food safety, suggesting that they are less confident about the safety of the food they consume than Australian consumers. Other demographic factors that have a significant impact on consumer confidence in both countries are identified.
82 citations
TL;DR: A possible alternative to dualism is the notion of duality, derived from Giddens's structuration theory, whereby the two elements are interdependent and no longer separate or opposed, although they remain conceptually distinct.
Abstract: Dualism ‐ the division of an object of study into separate, paired elements ‐ is widespread in economic and social theorising: key examples are the divisions between agency and structure, the individual and society, mind and body, values and facts, and knowledge and practice. In recent years, dualism has been criticised as exaggerating conceptual divisions and promoting an oversimplified, reductive outlook. A possible alternative to dualism is the notion of duality, derived from Giddens’s structuration theory, whereby the two elements are interdependent and no longer separate or opposed, although they remain conceptually distinct. This paper argues that duality, if handled carefully, can provide a superior framework to dualism for dealing with the complexity of economic and social institutions. Its main attraction is not its twofold character, which might profitably be relaxed where appropriate, but its ability to envisage a thoroughgoing interdependence of conceptually distinct elements.
68 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, it is argued that there are three broad conditions that are necessary for an individual farmer to adopt a farming system innovation: awareness of the innovation, perception that it is feasible and worthwhile to trial the innovation and perception that the innovation promotes the farmer's objectives.
Abstract: It is argued that there are three broad conditions that are necessary for an individual farmer to adopt a farming‐system innovation: awareness of the innovation, perception that it is feasible and worthwhile to trial the innovation, and perception that the innovation promotes the farmer’s objectives. Challenges involved in meeting each of these conditions are discussed, with particular attention to land conservation practices. In Australia, agricultural extension is the main method of intervention that has been used to promote land conservation. Insights from the framework presented here are used to suggest the particular types of approaches to agricultural extension that are most likely to contribute to positive outcomes.
64 citations
TL;DR: This paper examined the socio-economic determinants of gambling expenditure on lotteries, Lotto and Instant Lotto, TAB/on-course betting, poker machines and casino type games.
Abstract: This paper examines the socio‐economic determinants of gambling expenditure on lotteries, Lotto and Instant Lotto, TAB/on‐course betting, poker machines and casino‐type games. Using a sample of 8,389 Australian households in 1993‐1994, the impact of income source and level, sex, age, ethnicity, occupational status and family composition on the decision to gamble is assessed. The results indicate that these variables exert a significant influence on the probability of households gambling. Furthermore, the effect of these same variables is likely to vary across the large range of gambling products currently available.
60 citations
TL;DR: In business and the culture hospitable to it, not much is more important than the moral status of entrepreneurship as mentioned in this paper, and if the entrepreneur is a rascal, a rogue, the system that gives such a person a home is surely tainted.
Abstract: In business and the culture hospitable to it, not much is more important than the moral status of entrepreneurship. If the entrepreneur is a rascal, a rogue, the system that gives such a person a home is surely tainted. Critics of capitalism such as Robert Kuttner and Earl Shorris have made this point repeatedly in their various prominently published books. They follow the likes of Karl Marx, only unlike Marx they see nothing redeeming about the free market. (Marx thought it was a vital stage of humanity’s development!)
60 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors found that disposable income, the tax price of giving, donor's age and educational attainment are important determinants of charitable giving by individuals, and that tax incentives can be very effective in encouraging private donations to charity.
Abstract: Previous studies conducted for developed countries like the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom have often found charitable giving by individuals to depend on income, the tax price of giving, and other variables. This article makes use of confidential tax file data to conduct a similar study for Singapore, a rapid‐growing newly‐industrializing country. The results indicate that disposable income, the tax price of giving, donor’s age and educational attainment are important determinants of charitable giving by individuals. Donations are found to be income‐inelastic but highly price‐elastic. Thus, lowering the price of giving through tax incentives can be very effective in encouraging private donations to charity.
TL;DR: This paper argued that the South Pacific Island countries cannot divorce themselves from the overall thrust of these issues and that their geography, unique socioeconomic features and global political situation must determine their reform agenda.
Abstract: Good governance and administrative reform issues now form an integral part of the development debate. Multilateral agencies (e.g. World Bank, UN) and bilateral donors insist that issues such as market accessibility, competition, human rights, financial accountability are integral parts of this debate. The South Pacific Island countries cannot divorce themselves from the overall thrust of these issues. The paper argues that their geography, unique socioeconomic features and global political situation must determine their reform agenda. Issues which are appropriate for other countries may not necessarily be the best option for them. These unique features (e.g. tribal nature of their societies, existence of non‐monetised economy, little on‐shore natural resources in many countries, small size of their domestic economies, locational disadvantages) should determine their reform strategy. Failure to do so would not provide them with an administrative structure suitable for their sustainable development needs. They must not blindly follow reform agenda of other countries.
TL;DR: It is argued that far from being a passive consumer of pre‐packed healthcare, patients ought to be considered as partners in a continuing process of inquiry, in accordance with John Dewey’s philosophy of instrumentalism.
Abstract: The British National Health Service (NHS) has experienced various phases of reform and reorganisation during the last 15 years. During this time it has been suggested that the role of the patient is analogous to that of the consumer. Meanwhile there has been increasing application of the techniques of health economics. This paper examines the rationale for these developments, placing them in wide historial context, and arguing that far from being a passive consumer of pre‐packed healthcare, patients ought to be considered as partners in a continuing process of inquiry, in accordance with John Dewey’s philosophy of instrumentalism. As a result it is argued that the present commodification of healthcare in the UK should be halted, in order to preserve and build on the achievements of the NHS.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors analyzed the economic determinants of suicide and tested the hypothesis that suicide is related to shocks or news concerning income growth, and the empirical results strongly support the “natural rate” hypothesis.
Abstract: This paper analyses the economic determinants of suicide. More specifically, we test the hypothesis that suicide is related to shocks or news concerning income growth. Testing is based on an error correction model of suicide in which the long‐run part takes into account various demographic and structural variables. Empirical analysis is based on Finnish time series data covering the period 1878‐1994. Some cross‐country data are also used. The empirical results strongly support the “natural rate” hypothesis.
TL;DR: In this article, the entry modes of MNCs into China from socioeconomic perspectives were investigated. But the entry mode selection was not discussed. And the impact of sociocultural differences, the technology intensity of investment projects and regional factors on MNC's entry mode choice was examined.
Abstract: The economic boom and liberalization make China a new focus of international investments by multinational corporations (MNCs). How to enter this huge market and what entry mode should be taken, remain inconclusive. This paper is a study of the entry modes of MNCs into China from socioeconomic perspectives. It provides a theoretical discussion and also an empirical investigation of MNCs’ entry modes in the Chinese particular institutional and business environments. It examines the impact of sociocultural differences, the technology intensity of investment projects and regional factors on MNCs’ entry mode choice.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present micro-level evidence of a case where deforestation can be associated with farmers' capital accumulation behavior, and poverty is a deterrent to, not a cause of, tropical deforestation.
Abstract: Tropical deforestation continues at a very alarming rate. Certain forms of deforestation are economically desirable, but economic criteria alone are not sufficient for deciding whether a deforestation project is desirable. Previous studies on deforestation mechanisms are grouped into four general categories, i.e. Neo‐Malthusian, government‐failure, microeconomic and macroeconomic approaches. The Neo‐Malthusian approach sees population pressure as the underlying cause of tropical deforestation. The government‐failure approach looks at misdirected policies that result in unintended deforestation and government’s inability to preclude preventable deforestation. The microeconomic approach examines how, under various forms of market failure, an agent’s economic behaviours can lead to deforestation. The macroeconomic approach explores the possible links between debt and deforestation. We also present micro‐level evidence of a case where deforestation can be associated with farmers’ capital accumulation behaviour, and poverty is a deterrent to, not a cause of, deforestation.
TL;DR: The authors reviewed the reform measures required for economic transition, and alternative sequencing approaches to these reforms and conducted an overview of the performance of the transition economies, with focus placed upon the experience of the Chinese economy.
Abstract: The last decade of this century has witnessed the transition of the formerly centrally planned economies of Europe and Asia to market economies, a process affecting some 17 billion people in 28 countries While much agreement exists on the sorts of reform measures required, disagreement exists over their sequencing The economic and social performance of these transition economies has varied considerably and for a variety of reasons, however China’s performance, in particular, has been outstanding The paper reviews the reform measures required for economic transition, and alternative sequencing approaches to these reforms It conducts an overview of the performance of the transition economies, with focus placed upon the experience of the Chinese economy An analysis of China’s approach to economic reform, its key components, major outcomes and outstanding issues are discussed Key lessons to be derived for other transition economies from China’s experience are also presented
TL;DR: In this article, the relationship between youth wages and employment is examined and compared with empirical tests of the relationship using labour market data for Australia as a whole as well as the State of Queensland.
Abstract: High rates of youth unemployment, worldwide, have led governments to advocate a range of policies designed to increase job offers to young workers. For example, the Australian Government is currently introducing a system of “training wages” which will see effective youth wages set well below adult award wages for a designated training period. This policy is designed to simultaneously increase the human capital of young workers as well as help to overcome the initial barriers to entry into the labour market. However, youth‐specific wages have been criticized on the basis of age discrimination and on equity grounds. Also, some US data question the employment‐boosting potential of reduced minimum youth wages. In this paper recent international findings on the relationship between youth wages and employment are presented and compared with empirical tests of the relationship using labour market data for Australia as a whole as well as the State of Queensland. The results are used to examine the likely impact of the introduction of the training wage on the youth labour market in Australia and to provide further generalizations on the wider issue of employment and youth‐specific wages.
TL;DR: In this paper, the potential for ecologically modernist policy to offer a way beyond "jobs versus environment" obstacles to greener employment is explored, and the employment impact of such claims is examined in the Australian context.
Abstract: This paper reviews the emergent literature on ecological modernisation and considers its theoretical utility in terms of assessing environmental employment opportunities in Australia. It explores the potential for ecologically modernist policy to offer a way beyond “jobs versus environment” obstacles to greener employment. The future development of post industrial economies is said by ecological modernists to depend upon an ability to produce high value, high quality products with stringent enforcement standards. In these terms, environmental amenity becomes a superior good, and environmental protection not an economic burden, but an opportunity for enhanced growth and job creation. The employment impact of such claims is examined in the Australian context.
TL;DR: The Swedish agricultural landscape has changed dramatically since 1945 and the general trend has been towards less scenic and biological variety as discussed by the authors, and people express a relatively high willingness to pay for preservation of agricultural landscape in contingent valuation surveys and they tend to prefer high degrees of variability.
Abstract: The Swedish agricultural landscape has changed dramatically since 1945. Agricultural land has been abandoned and the general trend has been towards less scenic and biological variety. People express a relatively high willingness to pay for preservation of agricultural landscape in contingent valuation surveys and they tend to prefer high degrees of variability. Landscape is shown to be a multidimensional entity with a complex structure of economic characteristics. The complexity makes it unlikely that simple policy solutions are optimal. It is difficult to analyse policy options in this case but much speaks in favour of some differentiated area subsidy for a large fraction of the agricultural land and individual contracts for the most biologically valuable sites.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present the great lines of managerial thoughts concerning ownership, business, social responsibility and leadership, and the perspective of consideration is historical, and especially conceptual, and they noticed that in the twentieth century a modern business ideology began to take form.
Abstract: The aim of this article is to present the great lines of managerial thoughts concerning ownership, business, social responsibility and leadership. The perspective of consideration is historical, and especially conceptual. We noticed that in the twentieth century a modern business ideology began to take form. Old suppositions according to the classical economic theory about the nature of economic activities started to give way when the modern professional manager type came into the management of the firm. At that time also there developed the idea of the firm as an institution with many targets. The position of the firm in society changed, people started to make demands for a wider social responsibility. It was desired that this responsibility would be allocated to the firm and the top management on the basis that they had the obligation to do so. In this way management as a public steward is obliged to maintain and develop social targets. Further, it was essential that firms themselves began to understand the necessity of taking responsibility. Instead of maximizing profit in the short run, this was replaced by the relevant functioning which emphasized the firm’s long‐term benefit.
TL;DR: The authors argues that a new economic system is emerging in the world economy, that of the new traditional economy, which simultaneously seeks to have economic decision making embedded within a traditional socio-cultural framework, most frequently one associated with a traditional religion, while at the same time seeking to use modern technology and to be integrated into the modern world economy to some degree.
Abstract: This paper argues that a new economic system is emerging in the world economy, that of the new traditional economy. Such an economic system simultaneously seeks to have economic decision making embedded within a traditional socio‐cultural framework, most frequently one associated with a traditional religion, while at the same time seeking to use modern technology and to be integrated into the modern world economy to some degree. The efforts to achieve such a system are reviewed in various parts of the world, with greater analysis of the Islamic and neo‐Confucian economic systems.
TL;DR: Aboriginal people have property rights and interests in land and waters arising from traditional law and custom as mentioned in this paper, and their traditional relationship to land is dual in character, having spiritual and material dimensions; they belong to the land and they own it too.
Abstract: Aboriginal people have property rights and interests in land and waters arising from traditional law and custom. Their traditional relationship to land is dual in character, having spiritual and material dimensions; i.e. they belong to the land and they own it too. The root of their traditional aboriginal title is found in the creative acts of the ancestral Stories in the Story‐Time and from the unbroken links of spirit which connect them and their deceased ancestors with specific land and sea country.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors used input-output analysis to compare the initial and flow-on economic effects of tourism spending by two different types of tourists from Australia to Sri Lanka, including Sri Lankan migrants resident in Australia and Australians born either in Australia or in a country other than Sri Lanka.
Abstract: This paper used input‐output analysis to compare the initial and flow‐on economic effects of tourism spending by two different types of tourists from Australia to Sri Lanka. The two groups of tourists were Sri Lankan migrants resident in Australia and Australians born either in Australia or in a country other than Sri Lanka. The paper also covered the needs and perceptions of the target audiences. The two sample surveys undertaken revealed that different expenditure priorities are evident between the two groups. Non‐expatriate tourists were found to constitute only a small proportion of total tourist numbers. This group spent more on food and beverages with relatively higher flow‐on effects. Expatriate expenditures focused on the retail and wholesale sector and on local transport with relatively lower flow‐on effects. The mean expenditure incurred by migrants was more than twice that of the non‐migrants. The results indicate that small markets like Australia merit close scrutiny by the Ceylon Tourist Board and that travel by expatriates generally merits closer examination.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss the privatization of public goods and services in urban areas and argue that such privatization may result in more spatially limited social capital, where individuals are less willing to cooperate for the common good.
Abstract: Discusses the privatization of public goods and services in urban areas. Examines the common assumption that shifting responsibility for providing goods and services to private individuals will increase the sense of community or “social capital” that binds residents of an urban area together. Argues that privatization of goods such as public safety, education or community recreation may result in more spatially limited social capital, where individuals are less willing to cooperate for the common good. Shrinking the spatial dimensions of “community” to include only members of the same housing development or neighborhood may impose other costs to local governments that offset the expected savings from privatization.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyze and explain the dynamics of corporate evolution in the context of anthropologist conception of culture and its dynamics in the current economic landscape, and the question then arises concerning the agency which controls the application and use of this cumulated corporate power.
Abstract: This paper analyzes and explains the dynamics of corporate evolution in the context of anthropologist conception of culture The multinational corporate characterizing the Galbraithian world, as The New Industrial State, dominates the current economic landscape The conception of corporate culture and its dynamics lays bare the locus of corporate power which resides in the control of corporate technology Granting this dynamic, the question then arises concerning the agency which controls the application and use of this cumulated corporate power Corporate power and policy in the USA are currently directed by a social institution in the form of profits without social responsibility This policy is manifest in a “low road” of cost reduction Such a policy direction exacerbates rather than ameliorates the current economic malaise now characterizing the US economy