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Showing papers on "Purchasing power published in 1999"


Book
18 Jan 1999
TL;DR: Boyle as discussed by the authors introduces alternative cash and people who can conjure money - that is, spending power - out of nothing, and describes how to set up your own currency, such as "time dollars", "Womanshare" and "Ithaca hours".
Abstract: Only our limited idea of money is keeping us poor. David Boyle introduces us to alternative cash and people who can conjure money - that is, spending power - out of nothing. Until recently, the growth of alternative cash had been the province of big business: phone cards, stamps, air miles and Tesco's clubcard points all have purchasing power, yet are not cash as we know it. Now, locally created money systems like 'time dollars', 'Womanshare' and 'Ithaca hours' are being invented by communities for communities. With clarity and great humour, Boyle tells the story of this extraordinary revolution: he travels to the USA to visit the people behind local money systems; relates their vision of the future; and describes how to set up your own currency. This is no dry theoretical tome: Boyle writes about his subject in a way that is concrete, illuminating, often very funny and always highly readable. This paperback edition includes a new epilogue with an update on the latest alternative currency ideas: 'You just have to cast doubt on the real existence of the money markets and they could just shrivel away. Anything could happen.' A revolution is underway now: this book tells the story of its leaders and the ideas that inspired them.

76 citations


Journal Article
TL;DR: In this article, the relevance of the economic vulnerability concept for low-income countries, a topic of recent concern in several international bodies, was examined and a method to build internationally comparable indicators was proposed.
Abstract: Summary(**) This paper examines the relevance of the economic vulnerability concept for low income countries, a topic of recent concern in several international bodies. It first considers some conceptual clarifications and a method to build internationally comparable indicators. Three factors of vulnerability are distinguished: shocks, exposure and resilience or capacity to react (the first two ones being more structural, the third one more related to policy). To measure the two main kinds of shocks (natural and external), proposed proxies are respectively the instability of agricultural production and the instability of the purchasing power of exports, while the (smallness of) the population size can be used as a proxy for (structural) exposure. To aggregate the various possible indicators in a composite index of (structural) economic vulnerability, weights can be drawn from their estimated impact on growth. Then selected issues related to the impact of vulnerability on growth are considered: "primary" instabilities (climate, terms of trade, political troubles) are found to slow growth, more by their effect on the total factor productivity growth than on the rate of investment, to do so through « intermediate » instabilities (of the rate of investment and of the real rate of exchange), and in agricultural economies through the impact at the farmer level. Besides its negative effects on growth, vulnerability is assumed to increase aid effectiveness: the more the recipient country is vulnerable the more aid contributes to growth. Implications are drawn for aid allocation and aid design.

58 citations


Posted Content
31 May 1999
TL;DR: The authors reviewed the reduced access to international capital flows by most emerging countries, as a result of the financial crises, while dollar export prices for developing countries fell eleven percent in 1998, with both primary commodities, and manufactures suffering.
Abstract: The growth prospects of developing countries have worsened over the past six months, world trade growth has slowed, capital flows are unlikely to recover to pre-crisis levels in the near term, and, commodity prices are weak. This note reviews the reduced access to international capital flows by most emerging countries, as a result of the financial crises, while dollar export prices for developing countries fell eleven percent in 1998, with both primary commodities, and manufactures suffering. As a result, world trade fell one percent in current dollars in 1998, the first decline since 1993, while global trade volume in goods, grew only four to five percent in 1998, the slowest advance since 1992, barely half the performance in 1997. The note provides an outlook for developing regions, with expected differences in performance between regions, noting significant downside risks to even this somber outlook, and, predicts potential revival of protectionist sentiments in the United States, and Europe, should economic activity contract.

48 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a model of money and search where bargaining determines prices and the quality of goods is private information, and study how a lemons problem affects the purchasing power of money.
Abstract: This paper presents a model of money and search where bargaining determines prices and the quality of goods is private information. It studies how a lemons problem affects the purchasing power of money. There are multiple, Pareto-ranked equilibria. The superior equilibrium, where no lemons are produced, exists even if information about quality is relatively scarce. In other equilibria, there is price dispersion, and uninformed buyers pay higher prices than informed buyers for all goods. Taxing money balances (a proxy for inflation) makes buyers less selective, thus reducing the average quality of supply and the premium paid for known quality.

46 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Data from the 1997 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Employer Health Insurance Survey provide new information comparing public- and private-sector employee health benefits.
Abstract: Data from the 1997 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Employer Health Insurance Survey provide new information comparing public- and private-sector employee health benefits. The federal government is ahead of other employers in adopting managed competition principles using financial incentives and consumer information to promote choosing efficient plans. Federal employees experience a $200 annual compensation gap relative to those in the private sector, but it is partly explained by advantage in purchasing power. In contrast, state and local governments make higher payments toward health insurance than private-sector employers do. Their premiums are equivalent, but they pay a greater share of the total cost.

40 citations


Journal Article
TL;DR: In this paper, a composite index based on several indicators has been developed using principal component analysis and states are arranged according to the indices derived using four broadly accepted components: (a) economic production and economic condition or in other words level of economic development; (b) common minimum needs; (c) health and health-related services and (d) communication.
Abstract: Development is a multi-dimensional phenomenon. Some of its major dimensions include: the level of economic growth, level of education, level of health services, degree of modernization, status of women, level of nutrition, quality of housing, distribution of goods and services, and access to communication. In India, the progress of socio-economic development among major states is not uniform. This study examines the existing variability of inter-state development and thereby identifying the indicators responsible for the diversity in development. Instead of studying the variability of a particular variable across states, a composite index based on several indicators has been developed using principal component analysis and states are arranged according to the indices derived using four broadly accepted components: (a) economic production and economic condition or in other words level of economic development; (b) common minimum needs; (c) health and health-related services and (d) communication. The findings of the analysis support the general perception about the states. The states in India are marked with wide disparity in socio-economic development. The factors, which are found out to be more important for the overall development process, relate to basic needs like education, availability of food, minimum purchasing power and facilities like safe drinking water, health care infrastructure, etc. It is also found that enrollment ratio cannot be raised unless minimum needs of the common people are satisfied. Therefore, true development requires government action to improve elementary education, safe drinking water facilities and health care, and to remove barriers against social minorities, especially women. The role of social development such as literacy (and particularly of female literacy) in promoting basic capabilities emerges as the prerequisite to overall development. These results clearly emphasize the role of well-functioning public actions in improving the overall living conditions of the people. Although economic growth in the sense of expanding gross national product and other related variables is one of the most fundamental input to the overall development process, the basic objective of development should focus on the expansion of human capabilities which has been neglected for long in India.

37 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
13 Nov 1999-BMJ
TL;DR: There is no evidence that global transfer of health technologies would take place more rapidly and in greater quantity to benefit “haves” and “have nots” alike, and appropriate health technologies may become more unequally distributed than ever.
Abstract: Every year, new health products and know-how become available: statins, new antibiotics, telemedicine, insurance know-how, imaging techniques, and genomics, to name a few. At the same time, major barriers to transferring information and technology between countries are falling with expansion of the internet and online health training programmes, the growth of information about the relative effectiveness of different technologies,1 and the liberalisation of trade. It might be reasonable to expect that global transfer of health technologies would take place more rapidly and in greater quantity to benefit “haves” and “have nots” alike. There is no evidence, however, that this is taking place. On the contrary, appropriate health technologies may become more unequally distributed than ever. Why? #### Summary points Less than 1% of global research and development is currently spent on technological innovations for poor countries The World Trade Organisation agreement enforcing trademarks and patents will increase the price poor countries pay to gain access to new, patented technologies It is unclear how such legislation will improve the health or wealth of impoverished countries, in the short or long term Active policies rather than passive diffusion are needed to distribute new technologies to people and countries unable to generate profit for suppliers Economic demand for health technologies by individuals, governments, and insurers is determined by factors such as purchasing power, technological capability, purchaser priorities, and unequal information. ### Purchasing power One of the main reasons why people cannot get the health technologies they need is because they cannot afford them. For example, few African parents can afford the antibiotic ceftriaxone, the most effective treatment for one of the main causes of infant death each year, Streptococcus pneumoniae .2 Nor will most people be able to afford medicines for cardiovascular disease, the biggest projected killer in developing countries by 2020,3 as they exceed the …

32 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The methodology followed by OECD/Eurostat in their calculation of PPPs for construction is reviewed and it appears that the basic construction price data used by Eurostat are not very accurate and the comparison methodology applied is insufficient to express and explain building cost differences among countries.
Abstract: OECD purchasing power parities (PPPs) are used regularly in strategic governmental policy papers to compare the performance of construction industries among countries. These PPPs suggest that the relative competitiveness of the Dutch construction sector is fairly weak compared with surrounding countries. This contradicts the general view that the Dutch construction industry is very productive and efficient, especially in house-building. For the member countries of the European Union the OECD uses data from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. In this paper the methodology followed by OECD/Eurostat in their calculation of PPPs for construction is reviewed. The data for five European countries (Netherlands, Belgium, UK, France and Germany) are analysed. Next, the Eurostat results are placed alongside the results of other international building cost comparisons. The differences are observed and the conclusion is that the Eurostat PPPs do not reflect the real construction price or cost diff...

28 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
14 May 1999-Science
TL;DR: It is argued that existing legal, technical, and economic protections are already adequate and that H.R. 354 is at best unnecessary and that European-style database legislation is at worst unnecessary.
Abstract: In 1996, the European Union (EU) enacted broad, copyright-style protections for databases and demanded that the United States do the same. Congress is currently considering a bill (H.R. 354) that would bring U.S. law closer to that of the EU. Here, it is argued that existing legal, technical, and economic protections are already adequate and that H.R. 354 is at best unnecessary. On the cost side, European-style legislation would erode the traditional U.S. rule that "mere facts" should be available to all. Within the sciences, H.R. 354 is likely to reduce the viability of nonprofit databases and hamper free communication between scientists. Finally, database legislation could erode the purchasing power of government grants and encourage some database providers to seek monopoly profits.

28 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The financing of higher education through public spending imposes a transfer of resources from taxpayers to university students and their parents, and an explanation for this phenomenon is provided.
Abstract: The financing of higher education through public spending imposes a transfer of resources from taxpayers (whether or not they are users of the educational services) to the university students ans their parents. Furthermore, most of these students come from middle and upper income groups, who are, therefore, the chief recipients of such transfers of purchasing power. We provide a simple explanation for this phenomenon. We already know that the individuals who attend higher education will earn a higher level of income in the future and, as such, will pay more taxes. People whose children do not attend higher education, howevershould agree to help pay the cost of such education, providing that the taxes are sufficiently high to ensure that there will be an adequate redistribution in favor of their own children at some time in the future.

27 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
01 Oct 1999-Africa
TL;DR: Forrest et al. as mentioned in this paper studied the conditions of artisanal fisheries along the Nigerian coastline and made a contribution to the debate on the character and quality of Nigeria's political economy.
Abstract: the realisation that the unfaltering rate of urban expansion coupled with the dramatically enhanced purchasing power of the naira at the height of the oil boom had profound implications for the organisation of rural producers as they switched from cultivating export cash crops, such as cocoa, to provisioning urban markets with food produce. These studies were predicated on the realisation that the models of analysis used in the first phase of post-independence development efforts, which distinguished between moder and traditional sectors (Boeke, 1953; Rostow, 1960), were rapidly becoming inadequate for describing socio-economic processes in both urban and rural areas. Intervention in the market for the benefit of politically volatile urban consumers (Bates, 1981), the intrusion of transnational companies, imported technology and the consequences of changing consumer patterns (Beckman and Andrae, 1986), and the agility of some farmers in meeting new marketing opportunities (Guyer, 1987; Clough, 1981) demonstrated the complexity of Nigeria's food economy. Successive World Bank studies went to great lengths to substantiate the widely held assumption that Nigeria's agricultural sector was suffering a sharp decline throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Yet, following a comprehensive reinterpretation of the data, it emerged that Nigeria's farmers had in fact expanded their production during that period (Forrest, 1993). This article deals with another area of food production which registered dramatic, yet entirely under-reported, increases throughout the 1970s and on into the Structural Adjustment-stricken 1980s: fisheries. It is a first attempt at sketching the conditions of artisanal fisheries along the Nigerian coastline and, on the basis of these insights from the fishing sector, a contribution to the debate on the character and quality of Nigeria's political economy. While the use of the term 'traditional sector' has been largely expunged from academic discourse, the persuasive power of contrastive dichotomies has resurfaced in different models, one of which was gaining wide circulation in the 1970s. It originated in two simultaneous studies, one by an anthropological researcher in Ghana, the other by the International Labour Office in Kenya, on employment patterns in African cities (Hart, 1973; ILO, 1972). Both concluded that, in spite of massive structural unemployment, the bulk of the working population in Accra and Nairobi were not idle, and indeed could hardly afford to be. Instead, people eked out

Posted Content
Ren Ruoen, Chen Kai1
TL;DR: Ruoen and Kai as mentioned in this paper provided a detailed comparison of the GDP of China and the United States using the purchasing power parity approach formulated by the U.N. International Comparison Program (ICP), with 1986 as a base.
Abstract: China's gross domestic product in U.S. dollars is higher than earlier estimates would indicate, if calculated on the basis of purchasing power parity with the United States. China's gross domestic product per capita was only US$300 to $370 in 1980 - 91 in an estimate based on the World Bank Atlas approach used in the World Development Report. These estimates fail to capture the fact that in the 10 years since embarking on a program of economic reform aimed at rapid economic development, China has been one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Knowing what its true standard of living and productive potential is important not only for measuring the size of China's economy but for assessing its growth performance. Ruoen and Kai provide a detailed comparison of the GDP of China and the United States using the purchasing power parity approach formulated by the U.N. International Comparison Program (ICP), with 1986 as a base. Using this approach, which establishes a conversion factor based on prices for comparable items rather than on exchange rates, they find that: ° China's per capita GDP in 1986 international dollars is between $770 and $1,044, depending on assumptions made about comparison-resistant service sectors and quality adjustments made in a number of selected ones in calculating purchasing power parities. ° China's per capita GDP in 1991 international dollars is between $1,227 and $1,663, allowing for the impact of inflation in the United States on the purchasing power parity and growth rates in China computed from national currency GDP data in constant prices. This paper - a product of the Socio-Economic Data Division, International Economics Department - is part of a larger effort in the department to expand coverage for purchasing power parity-based estimates to most countries of the world.

Book
01 Jan 1999
TL;DR: The authors examined general patterns of Chinese household demand for a variety of consumer goods such as food, durables, housing and health care and investigated the impact of economic and social factors on household consumption.
Abstract: China’s rapid economic growth has attracted much international attention in recent years, partly due to the potential purchasing power of the largest population in the world. This timely book examines general patterns of Chinese household demand for a variety of consumer goods such as food, durables, housing and health care and investigates the impact of economic and social factors on household consumption.

Book ChapterDOI
TL;DR: There is a rich theoretical and empirical literature on the discrepancies between purchasing power parities (PPPs) and exchange rates (see Dornbusch, 1991) for a comprehensive survey as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: There is a rich theoretical and empirical literature on the discrepancies between purchasing power parities (PPPs) and exchange rates (see Dornbusch, 1991) for a comprehensive survey. The hypothesis linking persistent discrepancies between PPPs and exchange rates to the presence of relatively cheap non-tradable goods (for example, services) in relatively poorer countries is the oldest (dating back to David Ricardo) and simplest one. Why are services relatively cheaper in poor countries? Contemporary theory tends to attribute this fact to production-side differences. Balassa (1964) and Samuelson (1964) started the tradition of analysis focusing on international labour productivity differentials (tradables vs non-tradables.) Kravis and Lipsey (1983) and Bhagwati (1984) initiated a version of the productivity differential model assuming differential factor endowments and factor rewards. The gist of the argument is that in a poor, labour-abundant country, the relative costs of producing labour-intensive services (nontradables) are lower than elsewhere.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that the elderly in developing countries are entitled to a national pension scheme as their entitlement to a reasonable standard of living and as compensation for inequities during their working years.
Abstract: This article argues that the elderly in developing countries are entitled to a national pension scheme as their entitlement to a reasonable standard of living and as compensation for inequities during their working years. Productivity of the elderly should include accumulated assets and savings as workers. Dependency burdens include the elderly the unemployed and underemployed. The productive ability of the elderly is a function of actual age and disabilities. Retirement age is an institutional measure. Economists argue that economic growth is reduced by a large proportion of elderly who adversely impact aggregate demand and investment or that the elderly consume more than they produce. The author argues that the consumption needs of the elderly should be framed within a context that assures entitlement to a "reasonable" standard of living. Price stability can assure the purchasing power of the aged. Maintaining the productive ability of the elderly means that land assets can guarantee access to food. Womens entitlement to goods and services is related to their work history pension property and inheritance rights. Poverty is a threat to older women. The performance of the economy over time affects present and future generations. Intergenerational cooperation is necessary. When the proportion of elderly increases working age and other populations must increase productivity to meet the needs of the aged.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the value relevance of unexpected IAEs and historical-cost earnings in the Israeli hyperinflationary environment was examined by using a sample of 106 publicly traded manufacturing firms.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In the increasingly competitive environment in India, the development and launch of new products have become an important competitive tool In a crowded marketplace, there is a greater need for differentiation; in markets that tend to be stagnant there is pressure to create excitement The development of new product helps in both situations as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: In the increasingly competitive environment in India, the development and launch of new products have become an important competitive tool In a crowded marketplace, there is greater need for differentiation; in markets that tend to be stagnant there is pressure to create excitement The development and launch of new products helps in both situationsIn certain industries like the two wheeler industry, new product development has become critical to survival Stringent new emission standards and multi-point competition are pushing two wheeler companies to broaden their product lines and introduce new technologies such as four stroke scooters and mopeds Today, the Indian two wheeler industry has more than fifty models/variants with one or two new launch announcements every month Such developments are happening in other industries as well, though perhaps not as visibly as in the two wheeler industryThis paper is prompted by our belief that there are unique problems faced by Indian companies in rapidly developing a new product development capability While the new product development challenges faced by large, established firms in developed markets have received considerable attention in recent years since the publication of the epochal The machine that changed the world (Womack, Jones and Roos, 1990), the problems faced by 'emerging market companies' are different and have not received enough attentionEmerging markets like India are different from developed markets Emerging markets are often characterised by specific local needs, limited purchasing power and high price sensitivity (Prahalad and Lieberthal, 1998) Khanna and Palepu (1997) have suggested that in emerging economies, to make up for the absence of well-developed markets for labor and capital, firms may have to create their own infrastructure There are thus contextual factors which can potentially influence an important strategic activity like new product development in the emerging market context and make the challenges before companies in these markets different from those in established economiesSpecifically, unlike established companies in developed markets, Indian companies are facing the challenge of structuring, ab initio, the new product development process in an environment of limited design skills and experience, few qualified vendors and inappropriate engineering resources At the same time, they are constrained by limited financial and human resources, a lack of a market orientation, strong centralized control by business family heads, functional chimneys without deep functional expertise, and pressures to change on numerous fronts all at once to cope with the competitive environment Further, over the last eight years, the complexity of strategy formulation and implementation has increased manifold - from merely obtaining an industrial license and preventing others from doing so, to managing growth, cost-competitiveness, knowledge, innovation, and business portfolios simultaneously in a globally competitive environmentIn this paper, our focus will be on the challenges in new product development faced by companies in India, an important emerging economy Our ideas are based on discussions we have had with managers involved in new product development in about twenty Indian companies, reports in the business press and some projects undertaken by our students At the end, we identify questions that remain either partly or fully unanswered in the hope that these can be the subject of research for Indian companies, consultants advising them, and researchersMost of the issues discussed in this paper have their origins in the problems faced by Indian companies manufacturing discrete, engineered goods for either consumer or industrial markets However, we will also discuss some of the challenges faced by Indian companies manufacturing fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), and by Indian firms involved in information technology/software product development

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the currency allocation problem is formulated as a multi-objective optimisation problem, and the proposed method borrows the concept of the degree of satisfaction from fuzzy decision theory and maximises such a function defined on the least favorable return outcome.
Abstract: This paper provides a quantitative framework for choosing the composition of reserve currencies. Assuming that the central bank's performance objectives are defined in terms of ex post returns in different currency numeraires, the currency allocation problem is formulated as a multi-objective optimisation problem. The advantage of the proposed methodology is that it does not require any explicit assumptions about the risk preferences of the central bank or knowledge of the currency numeraire. Using some proxy values for the possible range of ex post returns measured in different currency numeraires, the study shows how the currency allocation problem can be solved. In particular, the proposed method borrows the concept of the degree of satisfaction from fuzzy decision theory and maximises such a function defined on the least favourable return outcome. In this sense, the proposed method differs from standard utility-based approaches which look for solutions that are best on average. The results of the study indicate that central banks on average are dollar-based investors on the basis of current allocations. Further, the study also indicates that if central banks consider an ex post return profile that safeguards the purchasing power of the reserves, then the currency distribution of reserves should more closely resemble the SDR basket.

Posted Content
TL;DR: In this article, the relevance of the economic vulnerability concept for low-income countries, a topic of recent concern in several international bodies, was examined and a method to build an internationally comparable indicator was proposed.
Abstract: This paper examines the relevance of the economic vulnerability concept for low income countries, a topic of recent concern in several international bodies. It first considers some conceptual clarifications and a method to build an internationally comparable indicator. Three factors of vulnerability are distinguished: shocks, exposure and resilience or capacity to react (the first two ones being more structural, the third one more related to policy). To measure the two main kinds of shocks (natural and external), proposed proxies are respectively the instability of agricultural production and the instability of the purchasing power of exports, while the (smallness of) the population size can be used as a proxy for (structural) exposure. To aggregate the various possible indicators in a composite index of (structural) economic vulnerability, weights can be drawn from their estimated impact on growth. Then selected issues related to the impact of vulnerability on growth are considered: "primary" instabilities (climate, terms of trade, political troubles) are found to slow growth, more by their effect on the total factor productivity growth than on the rate of investment, to do so through "intermediate" instabilities (of the rate of investment and of the real exchange rate), and in agricultural economies through the impact at the farmer level. Besides its negative effects on growth, vulnerability is assumed to increase aid effectiveness: the more the recipient country is vulnerable the more aid contributes to growth. Implications are drawn for aid allocation and aid design.

Journal Article
TL;DR: The Pacific Business Group on Health is an employer coalition that has been prominent in establishing models for collaborative quality measurement and improvement in the California marketplace, and its efforts to measure, report, and improve quality have been demonstrated by several undertakings in the perinatal care arena.
Abstract: Large employers have become increasingly involved in helping to set the agenda for quality measurement and improvement. Moreover, they are beginning to hold health care organizations accountable for their performance through marketplace incentives, including the public reporting of comparative quality data and the linkage of reimbursement to performance on quality measures. The Pacific Business Group on Health (PBGH) is an employer coalition that has been prominent in establishing models for collaborative quality measurement and improvement in the California marketplace. PBGH9s involvement in quality stems from an environment in which purchasers were faced with high health care costs, yet virtually no information with which to assess the value their employees received from that care. Research indicating widespread variation in performance across health care organizations and seemingly limited oversight for quality of care within the industry has further motivated purchasers9 efforts to better understand the quality of care being delivered to their em-ployees. Using the purchasing power of employers representing 2.5-million covered lives, PBGH endeavors to encourage the transition of the health care marketplace from one that competes solely on price to one that competes on price and quality. This entails collaborating with the health care industry to develop and publicly report valid performance data for use by both large employers and consumers of health care services. It also includes communicating to the marketplace purchasers9 commitment to making purchasing decisions based on quality as well as cost. PBGH efforts to measure, report, and improve quality have been demonstrated by several undertakings in the perinatal care arena, including research to assess cesarean section rates and newborn readmission rates across California hospitals. employer coalition, purchaser, quality measurement, quality improvement, report cards, perinatal quality of care.

Journal Article
TL;DR: For example, this article found that entrepreneurs with high start-up capital tend to be older, with both prior managerial/ownership and marketing experience, and are more likely to be high monitors of their marketing environments, to prepare a business plan prior to starting their business, and to seek marketing assistance in the startup phase.
Abstract: Data collected from 369 Midwestern small business owners suggests a marked difference between small business owners whose initial start-up capital was low ($10,000 or less) versus those with higher start-up capital. Those with high start-up capital tend to be older, with both prior managerial/ownership and marketing experience. They also tend to be high monitors of their marketing environments, to prepare a business plan prior to starting their business, to seek marketing assistance in the start-up phase of their business, and to commence with one or more partners. They also tend to initially pursue a broader geographic scope. High start-up capital entrepreneurs are more likely to develop a business plan than low start-up capital entrepreneurs. Those preparing business plans were also more likely to start with an initial product line that was innovative rather than traditional, to dedicate a higher proportion of their current workforce to marketing/sales duties, and to expand their geographic scope over time. Finally, as entrepreneurs take on more start-up capital, they are more likely to possess more managerial experience, to be monitors of their marketing environments, to prepare a business plan prior to beginning their business, and to pursue a broader geographic scope. LITERATURE REVIEW Schein (1994) is correct to argue that developing variables for more detailed empirical studies in entrepreneurship is long overdue. He differentiates between selfemployment and commencing a business in order to survive mid-life lay-offs as well as downsizings. Schein adamantly distances himself from researchers who link selfemployment and entrepreneurship. He stresses that autonomous professionals (teachers, consultants, people who run companies) are not entrepreneurs because they have not created anything. We classify the entrepreneur as an owner of a small business. Our definition is consistent with Webster's definition of an entrepreneur: the person who organizes, manages, and assumes the risks of a business- a successful business person. Our definition of success is simply that the entrepreneur creates a going concern. Schumpeter (1961), in his Theory of Economic Development, claims that the primary function of an entrepreneur is not in principle tied to the possession of wealth, even though he admits that the accidental fact of wealth possession creates a practical advantage. Although the entrepreneur usually uses borrowed purchasing power, the granting of credit more often than not precedes fully covered credit. He argues that there are only two reasons that will cause the prompt disappearance of newly credited purchasing power after the entrepreneur begins the productive process. The first is that most companies are not terminated in one period, but in most cases only after a period of years. The second is that there is no disappearance of credit either in the individual or in the social economy. Schumpeter states that the newer commodities constitute what he calls a counter balance and create a cover for new purchasing power. Ultimately, he claims that credit instruments eventually do not influence prices, but credit eventually loses its impact. In essence, the entrepreneur takes consumptive credit and turns it into purchasing power. Kirzner (1973), in Competition and Entrepreneurship, differentiates himself from Schumpeter when he states that the important aspect of entrepreneurship is not so much the ability to break away from the routine as it is to perceive when new opportunities have gone unnoticed. He believes that the true function of the entrepreneur is not the shifting of cost and revenue curves but the noticing that they have shifted. We believe entrepreneurs often anticipate that the curve will shift and that their actions begin to create the shift. Bom Kirzner and Schumpeter would believe, in the contexts of potential change (i.e., future revenue and cost shifts), the assumption of rationality becomes irrelevant. …

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Apr 1999
TL;DR: The main policy dilemma has been to provide farmers incentives to -grow more through remunerative prices and at the same time keep the food prices low enough for the consumers.
Abstract: Indian agriculture has made significant progress since independence. The produc tion of foodgrains, oilseeds, sugarcane, cotton, and milk has increased four-fold since 1950-51. Yet, millions of Indians remain undernourished while, at the same time, more than 25 million tonne of foodgrains remain in the buffer-stock. The persistence of hunger amidst abundance is the result of inadequate purchasing power with the hungry. Agricultural policies alone cannot provide for food security. The main policy dilemma has been to provide farmers incentives to -grow more through remunerative prices and at the same time keep the food prices low enough for the consumers. This has been sought to be achieved through a policy of low output prices and low prices for agricul tural inputs of water, power, and fertilizers through subsidies. This policy is no longer tenable and we need to change our agricultural policies. This paper suggests a set of policies which would make Indian agriculture productive, vigorous, and competi tive, able to not only face the challenges of global markets but thrive from it.

Posted Content
01 Jan 1999
TL;DR: The long-term export forecast for Austria is +28 percent pa in real terms compared to the European trend, this will enable Austria to maintain its market share The benefits to be reaped from economic and monetary union and the initiatives taken towards structural improvements are the main factors driving the development.
Abstract: Projections for the global tourism industry up to 2010 envisage annual growth rates of about 3 percent (at constant prices and exchange rates) both for expenditures made in the course of foreign travel ("tourism imports") and for revenues from international tourist travel ("tourism exports") International tourist travel by Europeans will grow at a slightly higher rate (+35 percent pa) than global tourism European export revenues, on the other hand, will rise at a slower pace than the average of 20 countries (+28 percent pa) Within Europe, EMU members will have relatively lower import growth rates (+33 percent) while, at +29 percent, their annual export growth rate is higher than the European average The forecasts point to some flattening of the long-term growth curve even though international tourism, in spite of some weakening, can still expect to achieve a long-term growth rate that is markedly higher on average than the overall economic growth rate The trend is based on the assumption that tourist travel will gradually lose its status as a luxury commodity and that some degree of saturation will set in, which will dampen long-term growth of tourism expenditures In addition, the growing pressure felt by people to provide for private health and pension insurance coverage, together with purchasing power problems resulting from insecurities in terms of jobs and financing will boost demand for cheaper or more cost-effective offers, which in turn will reduce average expenditure per overnight stay The long-term export forecast for Austria is +28 percent pa in real terms Compared to the European trend, this will enable Austria to maintain its market share The benefits to be reaped from economic and monetary union and the initiatives taken towards structural improvements are the main factors driving the development With regard to foreign travel by Austrians, the growth rate will settle at about 25 percent pa in real terms

Journal Article
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined a teen profile of employment and spending using data from the public school system and found that employed teens appeared to spend more on food, drinks and snacks and on clothing and personal care items and less on entertainment and transportation in comparison with those who are unemployed.
Abstract: Using data from the public school system, this study examines a teen profile of employment and spending. It identifies the employed and unemployed youths, the extent of their labor force participation, and how much money they earn in the labor market. The study also estimates the teens' overall purchasing power and examines how they spend their money. Teens' consumption patterns are differentiated based on their employment status and employment intensity. Major findings reveals that employed teens appeared to spend more on food, drinks and snacks and on clothing and personal care items and less on entertainment and transportation in comparison with those teens who are unemployed. INTRODUCTION The debate over the role and effects of the labor force participation of teens has intensified as the number of school-age adolescents joining the work force has dramatically increased in the last few decades resulting in a big boost in their purchasing power. Marketers, along with parents, schools, professionals as well as policy makers are continuously engaging in this debate to evaluate the returns of the early entry of youngsters to the adults' world of paid employment and mature and independent decision making. Never before had the teenagers so massively flocked the workplace and so impressively earned as they have been in the last few decades. Two of the authorities on adolescence warned more than a decade ago that a society may fail to note the employment of teens and its unique character or to ponder its larger economic and social significance (Greenberger and Steinberg, 1986). It is therefore warranted to further study the multifaceted impact of adolescent employment for it has evolved to be such a common feature of our economic and social landscape. There is a substantial body of research and literature on the effects of the extent, timing, and nature of adolescent employment on a variety of academic, behavioral, and socioeconomic outcomes related to those adolescents and their families (e.g., Bachman et al., 1981, 1986, 1993; Bachman, 1983; D'Amico, 1984;Hotchkiss, 1982, 1986; Greenberger and Steinberg, 1983, 1986; Greenberger et al., 1980, 1981; Mortimer and Finch, 1986; Mortimer and Yamoor, 1987; Mortimer et al., 1990, 1992; Safyer et al., 1995; Steinberg et al., 1981, 1982; Steinberg and Dornbusch, 1992; Stern et al., 1990). However, much less research has been done on the impact of the part-time jobs of teens on their decision making in the market, where they spend their money, and what they buy in comparison to their peers who do not have part-time jobs. The enormous current and future purchasing power of children in general and teens in particular, and the timing and complexity of the market responses make it necessary to study the consumer behavior of this segment of population, especially those who hold part-time jobs and steady income. Two other facts make it important to study the employed teens and their spending habits: First, people's major patterns of spending are most likely to develop during their adolescence and continue throughout their adult life. Secondly, problems related to adolescents' money, spending, and employment are considered among the major sources of family conflict and, ultimately, among the major factors in both family well-being as well as in marketing strategies. OBJECTIVES In addition to identifying the employed teens and the extent of their labor force participation, this study examines how much money teens earn in the labor market, estimates their overall purchasing power and examines how they spend their money. The study further examines the effects of teen employment on the ways these teens decide on the goods and services they buy in the market, thereby, mapping their consumption patterns by differentiating their buying decisions based on their employment status and employment intensity. TEEN EMPLOYMENT AND SPENDING Earlier in our history, teen could not go to school when their families needed their labor for they made significant contributions to the economic welfare of their families. …


Book
01 Jan 1999
TL;DR: Orlowski as mentioned in this paper discusses the effects of accession to the EU on prices, wages, and aggregate demand in CEE countries, and discusses the problems of transfer and capital inflow Absorption.
Abstract: Acknowledgements Introduction Notes on Contributors to the Volume PART I: PRICE CONVERGENCE, DEMAND AND GROWTH Effects of Accession to the EU on Prices, Wages and Aggregate Demand in CEE Countries H.Gabrisch Macroeconomic Problems of Trade Liberalisation and EU Eastern Enlargement K.Laski Non-Tradable Goods and Deviations Between Purchasing Power Parities and Exchange Rates: Evidence from the 1990 European Comparison Project L.Podkaminer PART II: EXCHANGE RATE SYSTEMS, CAPITAL AND TRANSFER INFLOWS Real Exchange Rates and Growth After the EU Accession: the Problems of Transfer and Capital Inflow Absorption W.M.Orlowski Capital Inflows and Convertibility in the Transforming Economies of Central Europe L.T.Orlowski Exchange Rate Policy, Fiscal Austerity and Integration Prospects: The Hungarian Case J.Holscher and J.Stephan

Posted Content
TL;DR: In this article, the currency allocation problem is formulated as a multi-objective optimisation problem, and the proposed method borrows the concept of the degree of satisfaction from fuzzy decision theory and maximises such a function defined on the least favorable return outcome.
Abstract: This paper provides a quantitative framework for choosing the composition of reserve currencies. Assuming that the central bank's performance objectives are defined in terms of ex post returns in different currency numeraires, the currency allocation problem is formulated as a multi-objective optimisation problem. The advantage of the proposed methodology is that it does not require any explicit assumptions about the risk preferences of the central bank or knowledge of the currency numeraire. Using some proxy values for the possible range of ex post returns measured in different currency numeraires, the study shows how the currency allocation problem can be solved. In particular, the proposed method borrows the concept of the degree of satisfaction from fuzzy decision theory and maximises such a function defined on the least favourable return outcome. In this sense, the proposed method differs from standard utility-based approaches which look for solutions that are best on average. The results of the study indicate that central banks on average are dollar-based investors on the basis of current allocations. Further, the study also indicates that if central banks consider an ex post return profile that safeguards the purchasing power of the reserves, then the currency distribution of reserves should more closely resemble the SDR basket.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors derived closed-form solutions for the portfolio choice problem of constant relative risk averse investors, under the assumption that inflation rates are mean-reverting, and considered alternative specifications for the inflation compensation offered by the available assets, in order to study the effect on portfolio choice and welfare.
Abstract: People are concerned about maintaining purchasing power in times of rising inflation. We formulate investment objectives in terms of real wealth, assuming investors derive utility from the number of goods they can buy with their monetary wealth. We derive closed-form solutions for the portfolio choice problem of constant relative risk averse investors, under the assumption that inflation rates are mean-reverting. We consider alternative specifications for the inflation compensation offered by the available assets, in order to study the effect on portfolio choice and welfare. Moreover, we study the added value of inflation-indexed bonds for the investor in our real framework.

BookDOI
TL;DR: This article provided a detailed comparison of the GDP of China and the United States using the purchasing power parity approach formulated by the U.N. International Comparison Program (ICP), with 1986 as a base.
Abstract: China's gross domestic product per capita was only US$300 to $370 in 1980-91 in an estimate based on the World Bank Atlas approach used in the World Development Report. These estimates fail to capture the fact that in the 10 years since embarking on a program of economic reform aimed at rapid economic development, China has been one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Knowing what its true standard of living and productive potential is important not only for measuring the size of China's economy but for assessing its growth performance. The authors provide a detailed comparison of the GDP of China and the United States using the purchasing power parity approach formulated by the U.N. International Comparison Program (ICP), with 1986 as a base. Using this approach, which establishes a conversion factor based on prices for comparable items rather than on exchange rates, they find that: 1) China's per capita GDP in 1986 international dollars in between $770 and $1,044, depending on assumptions made about comparison-resistant service sectors and quality adjustments made in a number of selected ones in calculating purchasing power parities; and 2) China's per capita GDP in 1991 international dollars is between $1,227 and $1,663, allowing for the impact of inflation in the United States on the purchasing power parity and growth rates in China computed from national currency GDP data in constant prices.

Book ChapterDOI
01 Jan 1999
TL;DR: For eleven of the member states of the EU (hereafter the EU-11), exchange rates have been locked since 1 January 1999 as the precursor to the replacement of national notes and coin in 2002 as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The countries of the European Union have embarked on a major new monetary arrangement. For eleven of the member states of the EU (hereafter the EU-11), exchange rates have been locked since 1 January 1999 as the precursor to the replacement of national notes and coin in 2002. The euro is now a tradable currency on international exchanges and the question that many people are asking is: how influential will the euro be internationally? Undoubtedly, the euro will be a major currency. It will be the largest home currency since the population group is well in excess of the United States and has a combined purchasing power measured by the GDP of the participating states of some 8 trillion US dollars (measured at the end of 1997). The market for securities and loans denominated in euro will be the deepest and the most liquid of all international markets. It is also likely that many countries will hold significant stocks of euros as official reserves.