Marketing in Online Businesses:The Case of Migrant Entrepreneurial Businesses in the UK

The study presents an empirical investigation of the marketing activities undertaken by online businesses owned by migrant entrepreneurs and is framed by the theoretical lens of entrepreneurial marketing. Key informant interviews are undertaken with 22 entrepreneurs operating online businesses in the UK and augmented by other sources of data. The study finds that the resources available to the entrepreneurs are shaped by their migrant heritage and that they draw on these resources to market their online businesses. The study also finds that, consistent with notions from entrepreneurial marketing, the online nature of their businesses allow the entrepreneurs to meet their own needs and preferences, which are also shaped by their migrant heritage. The study is important since it provides empirical evidence and a theoretically grounded understanding of how online businesses offer migrant entrepreneurs the opportunity to break out of the low growth, low margin, vacancy chain openings and enter high growth, high margin, post-industrial sectors

Labor Market Dynamics and the Business Cycle: Structural Evidence for the United States

We use a 12-dimensional VAR to examine the dynamic e®ects on the labor market of four structural technology and policy shocks. For each shock, we examine the dynamic effects on the labor market, the importance of the shock for labor market volatility, and the comovement between labor market variables and other key aggregate variables in response to the shock. We document that labor market indicators display ”hump-shaped” responses to the identified shocks. Technology shocks and monetary policy shocks are important for labor market volatility but the ranking of their importance is sensitive to the VAR specification. The conditional correlations at business cycle frequencies are similar in response to the four shocks apart from the correlations between hours worked, labor productivity and real wages. To account for the unconditional correlations between these variables, a mixture of shocks are required.Structural VAR, labor market dynamics, the Beveridge curve

Empirical evidence on the aggregate effects of anticipated and unanticipated US tax policy shocks

The authors provide empirical evidence on the dynamic effects of tax liability changes in the United States. We distinguish between surprise and anticipated tax changes using a timing convention. We document that pre-announced but not yet implemented tax cuts give rise to contractions in output, investment and hours worked, while real wages increase. In contrast, there are no significant anticipation effects on aggregate consumption. Implemented tax cuts, regardless of their timing, have expansionary and persistent effects on output, consumption, investment, hours worked and real wages. The findings are shown to be very robust. We argue that tax shocks are empirically important impulses to the US business cycle and that anticipation effects have been significant over several business cycle episodesfiscal policy shocks, tax liabilities, anticipation effects, business cycles

Asymmetric effects of monetary policy in the United States

This paper tests for the presence of asymmetric effects of monetary policy on output. The asymmetries that the authors examine are related to the size and sign of monetary policy shocks and are based on economic theory. Using M1 as the basis for measuring monetary policy shocks, they find evidence in line with previous evidence of larger real effects resulting from positive shocks than from negative shocks—although the authors cannot reject symmetry either. However, using the federal funds rate instead, a measure that is more closely related to the actual conduct of monetary policy, they find that only small negative shocks affect real aggregate activity. The results are interpreted in terms of menu-cost models.Monetary policy ; Macroeconomics

Crossing the Rio Grande: Migrations, business cycles and the welfare state

In this paper we study the macroeconomic effects of an inflow of low-skilled workers into an economy where there is capital accumulation and two types of agents. We find that there are substantial dynamic effects following unexpected migrations with adjustments that resemble those triggered by a sudden disruption of the capital stock. We look at the interrelations between these dynamic effects and three different fiscal systems for the redistribution of income and find that these schemes can change the dynamics and lead to prolonged periods of adjustments. The aggregate welfare implications are sensitive to the welfare system: while there are welfare gains without redistribution, these gains may be turned into costs when the state engages in redistribution.Migration, business cycles, heterogeneous agents, the welfare state

Labor Market Dynamics and the Business Cycle: Structural Evidence for the United States

We use a 12-dimensional VAR to examine the dynamic effects on the labor market of four structural technology and policy shocks. For each shock, we examine the dynamic e®ects on the labor market, the importance of the shock for labor market volatility, and the comovement between labor market variables and other key aggregate variables in response to the shock. We document that labor market indicators display "hump-shaped" responses to the identified shocks. Technology shocks and monetary policy shocks are important for labor market volatility but the ranking of their importance is sensitive to the VAR specfication. The conditional correlations at business cycle frequencies are similar in response to the four shocks apart from the correlations between hours worked, labor productivity and real wages. To account for the unconditional correlations between these variables, a mixture of shocks are required.Structural VAR, labor market dynamics, the Beveridge curve

The HP-filter in cross-country comparisons

Many empirical studies of business cycles have followed the practise of applying the Hodrick-Prescott filter for cross-country comparisons. The standard procedure is to set the weight \lambda, which determines the 'smoothness' of the trend equal to 1600. We show that if this value is used for against common wisdom about business cycles. As an example, we show that the long recession occurred inSpain between 1975 and 1985 goes unnotoced by the HP filter. We propose a method for adjusting \lambda by reinterpreting the HP-filter as the solution to a constrained minimization problem. We argue that the common practice of fixing \lambda across countries amounts to chankging the constraints on trend variability across countries. Our proposed method is easy to apply, retains all the virtues of the standard HP-filter and when applied to Spanish data the results are in the line with economic historian's view. Applying the method to a number of OECD countries we find that, with the exception of Spain, Italy and Japan, the standard choice of \lambda=1600 is sensible.Business cycles, cross-country comparisons, macroeconomic volatility

The Aggregate Effects of Anticipated and Unanticipated U.S. Tax Policy Shocks: Theory and Empirical Evidence

We provide empirical evidence on the effects of tax liability changes in the United States. We make a distinction between “surprise” and “anticipated” tax shocks. Surprise tax cuts give rise to a large boom in the economy. Anticipated tax liability tax cuts are instead associated with a contraction in output, investment and hours worked prior to their implementation. After their implementation, anticipated tax liability cuts lead to an economic expansion. We build a DSGE model with changes in tax rates that may be anticipated or not, estimate key parameters using a simulation estimator and show that it can account for the main features of the data. We argue that tax shocks are empirically important for U.S. business cycles and that the Reagan tax cut, which was largely anticipated, was a main factor behind the early 1980’s recession.Fiscal policy, tax liabilities, anticipation effects, structural estimation

On Adjusting the HP-Filter for the Frequency of Observations

This paper studies how the HP-Filter should be adjusted, when changing the frequency of observations. It complements the results of Baxter and King (1999) with an analytical analysis, demonstrating that the filter parameter should be adjusted by multiplying it with the fourth power of the observations frequency ratios. This yields an HP parameter value of 6.25 for annual data given a value of 1600 for quarterly data. The relevance of the suggestion is illustrated empirically.

Fundamentalism and male-female relationships in Margaret Atwood's "The handmaid's tale"

Käesoleva töö eesmärgiks on analüüsida fundamentalismi ning meeste ja naiste suhteid puudutavate teemade kompleksset käsitlust Margaret Atwood’i romaanis Teenijanna lugu vastandades seda lihtsustatud või kallutatud teemakäsitlustele, mis on ilmunud erinevates tänapäeva meedia väljaannetes avaldatud artiklites. Sissejuhatuses on antud lühike ülevaade Margaret Atwood’i romaanist Teenijanna lugu. Samuti on välja toodud taust, mis selgitab uuritavate teemade aktuaalsust tänapäeval ja selle seost vastavaid teemasid ühekülgselt käsitlevate artiklitega. Toodud on ka töö eesmärk. Esimeses peatükis on esitatud ülevaade romaani ilmumisaegsest vastukajast, seejärel on vaadeldud, kuidas tänapäeva meedia artiklites on käsitletud fundamentalismi ning meeste ja naiste vahelisi suhteid puudutavaid teemasid võrreldes varasemate hinnangutega. Teises peatükis on analüüsitud romaanis kujutatud maailma fundamentalistlikke aspekte, samuti on läbi teose peategelase vaadeldud mehi ja naisi ning nende omavahelisi keerulisi suhteid, hõlmates nii võimuküsimust kui ka tundeid.http://www.ester.ee/record=b5142878*es