Economic Implications of Protecting Regional Reputations

Author(s):  
Jason A. Winfree ◽  
Jill J. McCluskey

AbstractThis article develops a theoretical model to analyze how policies such as regional labeling, geographic indications, and quality standards affect welfare when firms have a collective reputation corresponding to a region. The tradeoff is between consumer information and protection of the regional names against the effect of supply restriction, which is often considered to be collusive behavior. Regional labeling is found to increase quality for all firms and increases profits for firms in the high-quality producing region, although the effect on profits for firms in the low-quality producing region is ambiguous. Quality standards may also increase quality and profits in all regions, but can also be used as a way to restrict imports if standards are too high. Quotas can also alleviate the collective information problem and increase profits, but does so at the expense of consumers. We argue that clear labeling and achievable standards are preferable to import quotas due to consumer surplus.

2021 ◽  
Vol 90 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-124
Author(s):  
Andreas Oehler ◽  
Matthias Horn

Zusammenfassung: Der Beitrag analysiert sowohl Schwachstellen als auch darauf aufbauend Handlungsempfehlungen und Lösungsvorschläge im Bereich der finanziellen Bildung von privaten Haushalten. Die Analyse der Schwachstellen umfasst eine kritische Sicht auf die Methodik zur Einschätzung finanzieller Bildung, die Beurteilung der finanziellen Bildung insbesondere junger Erwachsener, den Maßnahmenkatalog zur Verbesserung finanzieller Bildung und die Verbraucherinformationen, die sowohl als Voraussetzung für die Anwendung finanzieller Bildung als auch als Grundlage für eine Verbesserung der finanziellen Bildung im Kontext eines lebenslangen Lernens eine zentrale Rolle einnehmen. Zentrale Lösungsvorschläge zielen auf eine praxisnahe Meta-Bildung, die auf ein ökonomisches Grundverständnis, wenige Faustregeln und die relevantesten finanziellen Entscheidungen im Lebenszyklus ausgelegt ist, und ein gesetzlich vorgeschriebener Zugang zu relevanten und hochwertigen Informationen, um die Vergleichbarkeit von Produkten und Dienstleistungen im Bereich der Verbraucherfinanzen für private Haushalte und Informationslotsen deutlich zu verbessern und ein lebenslanges, praxisnahes Lernen zu ermöglichen. Summary: This article analyses weaknesses in the field of private households’ financial literacy and – building upon this – provides recommendations and solutions. The analysis of the weaknesses covers a critical view on the methodology used to measure financial literacy, the assessment of the financial literacy of young adults, the package of measures for the enhancement of financial literacy and consumer information, which play a central role as precondition for the application of financial literacy and as basis for the enhancement of financial literacy through life-long learning. Main recommendations and solutions are to establish a meta-literacy that is built on understanding basic economic principles, few rules of thumb, and the most relevant decisions in the life cycle. Moreover, a statutory access for households to relevant and high-quality information to significantly enhance the comparability of financial products and services for consumers and to enable a life-long learning in step with actual practice.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dr. Ayisha Shabbir

I am delighted and proud to welcome you to the second issue of Volume 2. Each article receivedand accepted is an important contribution to the already existing knowledge in the field of BiomedicalSciences. All the editorial team is excited about the progress of PBMJ as an international journal. Aseditor, I would like to express my heartiest congratulation to the team and welcome to the authors andreaders. I am also grateful to the advisory board and managing editors. I hope that PBMJ can promote theacademic and applicable research and improve the research activities and collaborations.I am aware of the bumps along the way, but we are determined to keep pursuing the research goalsto meet the high quality standards and move forward with great courage. If you have any suggestions toimprove, you may write to us as a reader. In the age of technology, I can actively conversate with thereaders and get their feedback to improve the quality with their valuable input.PBMJ will continue to serve the Biomedical Sciences as an outlet for high-quality research. This isan exciting time for the journal and we look forward to working with authors, the Editorial board and theteam to make PBMJ as a leading source for work in the space.Dr. Ayisha ShabbirEditorPakistan BioMedical Journal


2012 ◽  
Vol 33 (4_suppl3) ◽  
pp. S381-S389 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philippe Guinot ◽  
Vincent Jallier ◽  
Alessandro Blasi ◽  
Christophe Guyondet ◽  
Marc Van Ameringen

Background Vitamin and mineral premix is one of the most significant recurring input costs for large-scale food fortification programs. A number of barriers exist to procuring adequate quality premix, including accessing suppliers, volatile prices for premix, lack of quality assurance and monitoring of delivered products, and lack of funds to purchase premix. Objective To develop and test a model to procure premix through a transparent and efficient process in which an adequate level of quality is guaranteed and a financial mechanism is in place to support countries or specific target groups when there are insufficient resources to cover the cost of premix. Methods Efforts focused on premixes used to fortify flour, such as wheat or maize (iron, zinc, B vitamins, and vitamin A), edible oils (vitamins A and D), and other food vehicles, such as fortified complementary foods, complementary food supplements, and condiments. A premix procurement model was set up with three distinct components: a certification process that establishes industry-wide standards and guidelines for premix, a procurement facility that makes premix more accessible to countries and private industry engaged in fortification, and a credit facility mechanism that helps projects finance premix purchases. Results After three years of operation, 15 premix suppliers and 29 micronutrient manufacturers have been certified, and more than US$23 million worth of premix that met quality standards has been supplied in 34 countries in Africa, Central and Southern Asia, and Eastern Europe, reaching an estimated 242 million consumers. Conclusions The Premix Facility demonstrated its effectiveness in ensuring access to high-quality premixes, therefore enabling the success of various fortification programs.


2015 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandro Parenti ◽  
Paolo Spugnoli ◽  
Piernicola Masella ◽  
Lorenzo Guerrini ◽  
Stefano Benedettelli ◽  
...  

This study compared two harvesting techniques (manual and mechanical) and three grape sorting methods (no sorting, manual, and densimetric) in attempts to obtain high-quality must. The trials were carried out in 2009 and 2010 in Tuscany, Italy. The effectiveness of the harvest-sorting chain was assessed on two parameters. Substandard berries (SSB) is the percentage of berries, which do not meet quality standards that enter the winemaking process, and material other than grape (MOG) is a measure of the cleanliness of the berries entering the process. In the two years the trial was run the grape maturation level was widely different; in 2009 the vintage was more far mature than in 2010. With respect to SSB content and harvesting methods, in 2009 (more mature grapes) hand-picking reduced SSB content, while in 2010 there were no differences between the two harvesting methods. In both years, densimetric sorting reduced SSB content, while there were no significant differences between no sorting and manual sorting. In terms of MOG content, both harvesting and sorting results were inconsistent. In 2009, MOG was lower in mechanically harvested grapes; while in 2010 it was lower in hand-picked grapes. As for sorting methods, in 2009 there were no differences in MOG, while in 2010 mechanical sorting produced better results. Our results question whether the post-harvest sorting techniques used by many estates are effective; particularly as the question has received little attention and no previous research has compared methods. Secondly, our study contributes to the debate on the effects of harvesting technique on wine quality.


Author(s):  
Kawa W. Muhamad ◽  
Subhi M. Saleh ◽  
Kees van Paridon

This study considers the question whether the changes in Accounting Standards has led to companies making less use of earnings management. The paper is an attempt to investigate whether the application of high quality standards like International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) is related to high financial reporting quality. This study addresses this issue empirically. Furthermore, this research examines whether German companies that have applied IFRS have less earnings management compared to German companies that report according to the German Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GGAAP). The sample, consisting of two equally large listed companies in Germany (Südzucker Group and Henkel Group) from 2003-2014. The study suggests that IFRS-adopters show different earnings management performance compared to companies reporting under German GAAP. This finding contributes to the discussion on whether high quality standards are appropriate and operational in countries with weak investor protection rights. The result shows that adopters of IFRS in Germany can be related with less use of earnings management as a result of changes in accounting standards. This result is contradictory with previous research that was done by Van Tendeloo and Vanstraelen, (2005), and consistent with the previous research conducted by Ball et al. (2003).


BioResources ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 2181-2183
Author(s):  
Martin Gericke ◽  
Thomas Heinze

Nanoparticles have a great prospect for therapeutic applications. They can protect drugs under physiological conditions and act as a matrix for directed delivery of drugs, e.g., to a specific tissue or cell type. Polymer-based nanomaterials are considered as highly effective in this regard. Their properties can be tailored to meet specific demands for given therapeutic purposes. Considering the high-quality standards placed on medical products, the question arises: Which type of polymer material should be employed? One might select synthetic polymer compounds, which are highly diverse in terms of the molecular structures and supramolecular architectures that can be created, or biopolymers such as polysaccharides that are renowned for their native biocompatibility.


2018 ◽  
pp. 1924-1947
Author(s):  
Androutsou Lorena ◽  
Androutsou Foulvia

Health systems are facing greater demands and challenges. Access to all with high-quality standards has been a key challenge for the European health systems, however, they are engaged to take care of the rights of those in need. This article aims to identify public health areas and values. It offers many opportunities to help policy and decision makers to write “policy briefs” and to clearly outline the rationale for action. It will pursuit to enhance local capacities and skills to plan, implement, evaluate and sustain system improvements. There is a need both at Member State and European levels to support the public health services to shape the future of health and healthcare.


Author(s):  
Marco Liberato ◽  
João Varajão ◽  
Paulo Martins

Companies focus on software development in order to survive in a highly competitive world. They not only need to keep up to date with the changes that are occurring in their environment, but they also need to assure the effectiveness of their processes. One way to do that is pursuing high quality standards by continuously improving the development processes. In this chapter, the authors describe the project of CMMI (Capability Maturity Model Integration) implementation in a software company specialized in information technology services for banking. The project was initiated with the aim of optimizing the software development process. Throughout the chapter, various aspects of the project are covered, such as the actions taken to implement the CMMI maturity level 2, the tools used to support the implementation, and the obtained results. These are useful and could serve as a reference basis for companies that consider the implementation of a maturity model.


2012 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 71-84
Author(s):  
Jianqiang Zhang ◽  
Weijun Zhong ◽  
Shue Mei

This paper develops a two-period sales model to investigate the competitive effects of purchase-based targeted advertising. In the model, two competing firms gain consumer information during the first period sales, which allows them to target advertising based on consumer purchase history. Advertising is assumed to be persuasive in terms of consumer valuation enhancing and product differentiation increasing. The authors find that the firm’s ability to target can damage industry profits, consumer surplus, and even social welfare. The conditions under which targeted advertising is positive or negative are derived, showing that price competition is softened in the second period but intensified in the first. It is suggested that firms under competitive environments cautiously sponsor targeted advertising with appropriate contents.


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