The new Keynesian Phillips curve: an update on recent empirical advances

This paper presents a comprehensive review of the newly emerging literature on the New Keynesian Phillips Curve (NKPC). The theoretical predictions, econometric estimation techniques as well as the corresponding empirical evidence are discussed focusing on both the closed economy and the open economy versions of the NKPC. A number of important findings are reported about the ability of NKPC to explain the process of inflation dynamics. First, there is weak support for the open economy version of the NKPC to be able to track inflation dynamics if imported inputs are used in the production process. Second, the NKPC describes inflation dynamics across sectors if microeconomic and sectoral level data are used. Further, the survey data employed as a proxy for inflation measure in the newer studies provide enhanced support to the closed economy NKPC with the sign, size and statistical significance of coefficients in line with the theoretical predictions. We provide fresh empirical evidence to check the first finding from the review. The deep structural parameters for four different versions of the NKPC, the pure forward looking NKPC, the Gali and Monacelli's (2005) NKPC, the open economy NKPC and the open economy hybrid NKPC, are estimated for Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. These estimated coefficients show some support that the specifications of open economy NKPC, which incorporate prices of imported goods as opposed to the terms of trade and real exchange rate, seems to be a better, however, weak indicator of the inflation dynamics. These findings may have important policy implications.

Optimal tax mix with merit goods

This paper deals with optimal taxation in a two‐class economy with two private commodities and labour. We derive optimal non‐linear income and linear commodity taxes in the presence of merit goods. We formulate merit good arguments via a pathology of individual choice. We assume weak separability between consumption and leisure and show how the standard optimal tax results are modified due to merit good considerations.

Risk management or goods promotion : the relationship between approach and avoidance goals in treatment for sex offenders

In this paper, we propose that there is a direct relationship between risk management and goods (or goal) promotion in the treatment of sexual offenders. We argue that the causal conditions required to promote specific goods are likely, in turn, to eliminate or modify dynamic risk factors (i.e., criminogenic needs). First, the concepts of risk and goals are briefly discussed and their important dimensions clarified. Second, the relationship between criminogenic needs and goals are analyzed in depth. Third, we further clarify our arguments by focusing on four classes of criminogenic needs recently identified in the sexual offending literature: sexual self-regulation, offense supportive cognitions, level of interpersonal functioning, and general self-management problems. Finally, we conclude the paper with some suggestions for future research and treatment.

Brand salience for fast-moving consumer goods : an empirically based model

Brand salience, or the prominence of a brand in memory, has been linked to brand choice and purchase by consumers. The research reported in this paper proposed and tested a model of brand salience for fast-moving consumer goods, which incorporates knowledge, media consumption, and brand image as antecedents. A quasi-experimental method was utilised, where 270 respondents undertook a free recall exercise using category cues, and then completed multiitem measures of brand knowledge, brand associations, and purchase likelihood. Analysis of the data using SEM found support for an empirical model of brand salience where there was a relationship between brand salience and purchase likelihood. The empirical evidence supports building a brand in a primary category, in order to build the depth and breadth of the brand’s associations in consumer memory.

Promoting human goods and reducing risk

Rehabilitation should be concerned with equipping offenders with the capabilities and values to live prosocial and personally meaningful lives. is depends on the acquisition of accurate knowledge of the social and physical world, development of a robust understanding of their own values and standards, the ability to pursue their own personal good in specific environments, and being able to utilise the resources they require to overcome routine obstacles in the pursuit of that good. ese two sets of capacities are embedded in a narrative identity that reflects peoples’ commitments, personal projects or goals, and subsequent activities. Narratives are stories of past experience and sets of expectations about future experiences and lives. ey both guide the actions of individuals and shape their experiences and lives (Kekes, 1993; Ward & Stewart, 2003). A person’s sense of who he is emerges from his personal projects and activities in the world.

Some insights on religion from public goods economics

This paper provides a theoretical discussion on what analytical insight is gained by viewing religion as both a pure and impure public good. It suggests that organized religion converts a public good into an excludable club good and can be viewed as providing both an access regime for this club good as well as acting as an intermediary. Interestingly, this drives a wedge between the ardent and moderate adherents of a religion. It also presents an analysis of trust in social relationships when organized religion works to provide a credible signal of trustworthiness.

Optimal second best taxation of addictive goods in dynamic general equilibrium: a revenue raising perspective

In this paper we derive conditions under which optimal tax rates for addictive goods exceed tax rates for non-addictive consumption goods within a rational addiction framework where exogenous government spending cannot be financed with lump sum taxes. We reexamine classic results on optimal commodity taxation and find a rich set of new findings. Two dynamic effects exist. First, households anticipating higher future addictive tax rates reduce current addictive consumption, so they will be less addicted when the tax rate increases. Therefore, addictive tax revenue falls prior to the tax increase. Surprisingly, the optimal tax rate on addictive goods is generally decreasing in the strength of tolerance, since strong tolerance strengthens this tax anticipation effect. Second, high current tax rates on addictive goods make households less addicted in the future, affecting all future tax revenues in a way which depends on how elasticities are changing over time. Classic results on uniform commodity taxation emerge as special cases when elasticities are constant and the addiction function is homogeneous of degree one. Finally, we also study features of addictive goods such as complementarity to leisure that, while not directly related to the definition of addiction, are nonetheless properties many addictive goods display.

How does the cookie crumble? legal costs under a uniform interpretation of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods

A family owned Mexican company, Zapata Hermanos Sucesores, S.A. ("Zapata"), sold approximately US$950,000 worth of cookie tins over a period of four years to the Maurice Lenell Cooky Company ("Lenell"), an American company that produced baked goods. Lenell failed to pay Zapata for the cookie tins so Zapata sought legal advice and instituted legal proceedings against Lenell for breach of contract in the Federal District Court of Illinios. The cookie tin sale contracts were governed by the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods ("CISG"). Zapata succeeded in its Federal District Court claim and, as part of the Court's order, was awarded US$550,000 as foreseeable loss under Article 74 of the CISG, being the amount of legal fees incurred by Zapata in bringing proceedings against Lenell. On appeal to the Federal Appellate Court, however, the award of legal fees was overturned. The parties now find themselves contesting a leave application to appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States of America in a much anticipated debate over who should pay the lawyers.

Harmonisation and the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods

After many years of negotiation, the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (“CISG”) came into force in 1988. Today, 62 states have adopted the CISG. Together these countries account for over two-thirds of all world trade.2 On this basis alone, the CISG is an outstanding success in the legal harmonisation of the law governing the international sale of goods. However, the CISG has its critics and much comment has been made on the failure of the CISG to achieve its goal of promoting international trade through a body of uniform rules.The primary motivation driving the push for a harmonised law on the international sale of goods is economic: a harmonised law makes it easier and more efficient for the business person to sell and buy goods across state borders. However, the engine driving the push for harmonisation is political and cultural; and the task of creating the harmonised law belongs to the diplomat.3 A study of the CISG demonstrates that the political and cultural demands on the diplomat also act as shackles that restrain the achievement of a harmonised law.This paper will consider the CISG and discuss the constraints on treaty making as a mechanism for legal harmonisation. Part one discusses the constraints faced when creating a uniform text.Part two discusses the problems with the text of the CISG that result from the negotiation process. Finally, part three discusses the constraints faced in maintaining the uniformity of the CISG.

Financial integration: the role of tradable and non-tradable goods

This paper examines the potential benefits of financial integration focusing on the role of tradable and non-tradable goods. We construct a new country-level index for tradability of output using disaggregate sector level data on output, imports and exports. Cross-country regressions show that for the overall sample, there is a weak positive interaction of tradibility of output and financial integration. When we focus on those countries within a middle range of institutional development, and thus within the middle range of income per capita, for these countries, the experience of integration is tempered significantly by increasing tradability of output. Sector-level regressions confirm the negative and significant interaction of trade and financial integration for this sample of countries.