Modelling gender perception of quality in interurban bus services

This paper models how women and men perceive the quality of interurban bus services and proposes a new methodology for detecting the highest priority service variables to act on. Service quality perception was modelled using both ordered logit and ordered probit models using data from revealed preference surveys. The methodology for detecting different priority levels uses the graphic representation of the relationships between influence in the model and average evaluation by users. The modification of certain variables increases the knowledge of how woman evaluate quality in bus services to help promote the use of interurban public transport. Statistical analysis of the data provides some conclusions such as: the proportion of users increases as age decreases for both men and women; and women seem to make shorter and more frequent trips than men. The best model for this data set was ordered logit. As expected, the most relevant variable is the relationship between quality and price. Other important variables are the condition of the bus and the frequency of service

Do Business Administration Studies Offer Better Preparation for Supervisory Positions than Traditional Economics Studies?

Abstract The central theme of the paper is the question of whether graduates of business administration (BA) are better prepared for supervisory positions than non‐BA economics graduates and consequently have a greater chance of acquiring supervisory positions and, when they have such positions, earn more. In order to answer this question, we use a data‐set that relates to the labour market position of graduates from Dutch universities at the early stages of their careers. We find that BA graduates, despite their multidisciplinary education and the fact that they perceive fewer deficiencies in their education with respect to the ability for teamwork than non‐BA graduates, do not have a greater chance of acquiring supervisory positions than graduates from non‐BA economics courses. We also find that earnings in supervisory positions do not differ significantly between BA graduates and non‐BA graduates. The finding that most of the skills required for supervisory positions are acquired through work and not in education suggests that a combination of working and learning may be more effective for developing supervisory skills than a purely educational setting.Business administration, graduates, supervisory positions, required competences, job chances, earnings,