Are Eco-Labels Valuable? Evidence from the Apparel Industry

Using U.S. apparel catalog data, we estimate hedonic price functions to identify market valuation of environmental attributes of apparel goods. We identify a significant and robust premium for the organic fibers embodied in the apparel goods. We also find a discount for the "no-dye" label. We do not, however, find any evidence of a premium for environment-friendly dyes. We further investigate the pricing behavior of apparel suppliers for potential heterogenous pricing of the organic-fiber attribute and find no evidence of different premia across firms. A reprint of an article in the AJAE in 1999.eco-labels; organic-cotton apparel; dyes; hedonic price; labeling; textiles; green label

Revenue Insurance and Chemical Input Use Rates

Using farm level data and a simultaneous probit model we evaluate the input use and environmental effects of revenue insurance. A priori, the moral hazard effect on input use is indeterminate and this study empirically assesses the input use impact of the increasingly popular, and federally subsidized, risk management instrument of revenue insurance. We conclude that the moral hazard effect of federally subsidized revenue insurance products induces U.S. wheat farmers to increase expenditures on pesticides and reduce expenditures on fertilizers.Crop Production/Industries, Risk and Uncertainty,

The generous spirit of the peer review process:perspectives and insights from the HRDQ Editorial Team on providing high quality reviews

Are you inclined to “agree,” are you “unavailable,” or do you “decline” when you receive a personal review invitation from Human Resource Development Quarterly (HRDQ)? We sincerely hope that you will accept our invitations to perform reviews when we reach out to personally solicit your expertise. However, we do acknowledge that many reviewers immediately decline, note their lack of availability, or send us e-mails acknowledging the personal and professional commitments that preclude them from contributing to the journal in the capacity of a reviewer. We fully appreciate that many potential reviewers are being overly burdened with a high volume of review requests from many different journals, and that, at times, declining reviews may be necessary, particularly if declining is better than not delivering (Trevino, 2008). We realize that challenging work and unanticipated life event issues may present themselves, or that conflicts of interest might arise regarding author identity, or that performing a review by a specified due date may simply not be possibl

An inquisitive investigation into the effects of self-regulated learning

The purposes of this inquisitive investigation were to (a) gain an insight into the self-regulation strategies that third grade students naturally engage in, (b) to teach specific self-regulation strategies to these students, and to (c) explore the effects of utilizing such strategies on different aspects of academic performance. Throughout the study students demonstrated a wide range of strategy use, before and after teaching about self-regulation. The majority of the data collected illustrates several positive impacts on both test grades and homework completion for the 14 participants in the study, who are in the third grade, when multiple self-regulation strategies are used to study or complete assignments at home. Data in the form of pre and post surveys, group discussions, interviews, test grades, and homework assignments are analyzed. The results of the study illustrate several patterns related to self-regulation strategy use and academic performance. Essentially the data shows that when students use different self-regulation strategies in and out of the classroom, there are positive effects. Such positive effects, discussed in more detail in chapter 4, include higher grades on tests, more accurate and thorough homework completion, and a greater level of independence and personal accountability during independent work time. Results of the study and implications for future teachers or researchers interested in the topic, which includes holding a workshop for other faculty members about self-regulation and perhaps teaching these skills to your students, are subsequently discussed in more detail

Understanding the Results of Multiple Linear Regression: Beyond Standardized Regression Coefficients

Multiple linear regression (MLR) remains a mainstay analysis in organizational research, yet intercorrelations between predictors (multicollinearity) undermine the interpretation of MLR weights in terms of predictor contributions to the criterion. Alternative indices include validity coefficients, structure coefficients, product measures, relative weights, all-possible-subsets regression, dominance weights, and commonality coefficients. This article reviews these indices, and uniquely, it offers freely available software that (a) computes and compares all of these indices with one another, (b) computes associated bootstrapped confidence intervals, and (c) does so for any number of predictors so long as the correlation matrix is positive definite. Other available software is limited in all of these respects. We invite researchers to use this software to increase their insights when applying MLR to a data set. Avenues for future research and application are discussed

Ecolabels & International Trade in the Textile & Apparel Market

The authors provide a formal analysis of the welfare and trade implications of eco-labeling schemes. They present a simple model of vertical (quality) differentiation that captures stylized features of the textiles market in which trading takes place between an industrialized North (domestic) and a developing South (foreign). The paper investigates several labeling scenarios--labeling by North, labeling by 130th North and South, and harmonization of 170th labels--and draws conclusions about their impact on consumers

Retrospective Pretest: A Practical Technique For Professional Development Evaluation

The purpose of this study was to field test an instrument incorporating a retrospective pretest to determine whether it could reliably be used as an evaluation tool for a professional development conference. Based on a prominent evaluation taxonomy, the instrument provides a practical, low-cost approach to evaluating the quality of professional development interventions across a wide variety of disciplines. The instrument includes not only the questions typically associated with measuring participants’ reactions but also includes a set of questions to gauge whether and how much learning occurred. Results indicate that the data produced from the instrument were reliable

AGRICULTURAL POLICY REFORM IN THE WTO: THE ROAD AHEAD

Agricultural trade barriers and producer subsidies inflict real costs, both on the countries that use these policies and on their trade partners. Trade barriers lower demand for trade partners' products, domestic subsidies can induce an oversupply of agricultural products which depresses world prices, and export subsidies create increased competition for producers in other countries. Eliminating global agricultural policy distortions would result in an annual world welfare gain of $56 billion. High protection for agricultural commodities in the form of tariffs continues to be the major factor restricting world trade. In 2000, World Trade Organization (WTO) members continued global negotiations on agricultural policy reform. To help policymakers and others realize what is at stake in the global agricultural negotiations, this report quantifies the costs of global agricultural distortions and the potential benefits of their full elimination. It also analyzes the effects on U.S. and world agriculture if only partial reform is achieved in liberalizing tariffs, tariff-rate quotas (limits on imported goods), domestic support, and export subsidies.Agricultural and Food Policy, International Relations/Trade,