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Abstract: This paper examines the contribution of behavioral economics to tax reform by examining two major reforms in the United Kingdom which may be seen as natural experiments – the reform of local taxation and the introduction of value added tax. The case for both was based strongly on mainstream economic analysis but one was a failure and the other a success. The introduction of the local community charge, or ‘poll tax’ as it became known, was such a failure that not only did it have to be repealed but it was also a factor in the downfall of Mrs. Margaret Thatcher as Prime Minister. The introduction of value added tax took more account of behavioral factors and was successful. The paper concludes that a wider approach based on behavioral as well as mainstream economics may have considerable advantages in developing tax policy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper offers an analysis of the changing role of co-operative credit unions in tackling poverty and promoting financial inclusion in Britain. It examines the reality of poverty in low income communities and endeavours to critique the actions, methodologies and initiatives currently being adopted by credit unions to achieve financial inclusion. It examines the role of the UK government in its support for credit unions and offers an early analysis of HM Treasury''s Financial Inclusion Fund. The paper argues that credit unions are best placed within the financial services industry to make an impact within financially excluded communities. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: There is a growing tendency to see cohabitation as an equivalent alternative to marriage, and this article investigates how different these two unions are for a woman''s financial satisfaction and income sharing in Denmark, France and Great Britain. The analysis suggests that a woman''s financial satisfaction decreases with cohabitation as opposed to marriage due perhaps to the lack of income pooling of cohabiters. The paper however finds substantial heterogeneity among married couples; the difference between marriage and cohabitation is not only a result of the legal protection obtained by the marriage contract but is better explained by the level of relationship investment in marriage in terms of its duration. The systematic comparison of the three institutional frameworks points out that Denmark, as the country where marriage and cohabitation are most equated by law, is surprisingly the country where the relative difference between marriage and cohabitation for a woman''s financial satisfaction is the greatest. No relative variation in results is observed between Great Britain and France. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper studies the relations between bilateral FDIs and immigrant networks of France, Germany, UK, Italy and Spain, and the emigrant diasporas of Italy and Spain. It focuses on skilled and unskilled immigrants and on ties with developing and developed countries. Results evidence two different network models: FDIs of UK, Germany and France are prompted by the ties of skilled immigrants, while those of Italy and Spain are only influenced by their respective diasporas. The disparity may stem from history. Differently from the findings of previous literature, the effects of networks with developing countries are similar to those with rich economies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper examines the impact of income disparity on social norms regarding intra-household financial organisation. Results are reported from an experiment using hypothetical choice scenarios. Brief vignettes were used depicting hypothetical couples at the transition to marriage and to parenthood. Each participant (N =400) responded to two brief vignettes depicting one hypothetical couple about to get married and another approaching the birth of a first child. The relative income of the hypothetical partners was varied across vignettes. Respondents selected the form of financial organisation they considered ‘best’ for each couple from a list of six different money management systems (adapted from ), provided a reason for their choice and indicated which partner (if either) should have greater access to personal spending money. Whilst the ‘joint pool’ was most frequently chosen as the best system of financial organisation, a series of correspondence analyses revealed significant associations between the income disparities depicted in the vignettes and the money management systems chosen. Analysis suggested that the normative dimensions underlying these choices related to notions of equality/disparity and (inter)dependence/autonomy. Income disparities were also associated with views on personal spending money in the transition to marriage. The findings and their broader implications are discussed with reference to gender and the potential explanatory role of income disparity in accounting for gender differences in access to household monetary resources. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Little is known about the role and mechanisms through which the press media reporting influences attitudes and risk perceptions. Whilst some approaches stress the prevalent idea that risks are partly the creation or amplification of the media, other scholars find that the media plays a rather neutral role as a conveyor only, which calls for further empirical exploration, especially in areas where consumers have limited knowledge. This paper examines both quantitative and qualitative empirical evidence to scrutinize whether the press media coverage and reporting had some effect on the change in attitudes towards and risk perceptions of new genetically modified (GM) foods between 1999 and 2004 in Spain and the United Kingdom (UK). Results suggest that differences in media reporting along with attitudes towards journalism correlate with attitudes and risk perception to GM food whilst trust does not appear to exert any significant effect. This result reinforces the hypothesis of a media bias in newly created technology risks. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The present paper investigates the cyclical nature of Consumer Sentiments Indices (CSIs) for the US and UK. Using Threshold Autoregressive (TAR) models the empirical analysis indicates that the US CSI is mean reverting but adjusts asymmetrically and downwardly rigid. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Using cross-section data from the British Social Attitudes Survey, this paper contributes to the understanding of individuals’ fairness perceptions by estimating what seems to be the first fairness perceptions-of-pay equations for Britain. The results suggest that, consistent with the existence of discrimination in the labour market, non-white workers perceive their pay as disadvantageously unfair. In contrast, and rather surprising, it is found that female employees have more favourable fairness-of-pay perceptions than male employees. There is some evidence that with age, workers feel less fairly paid. Thus, the findings reveal that demographic characteristics matter and consequently, tackling pay alone may not eliminate feelings of underpayment. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper considers the allocation of labour on the French and British markets, using objective wage and subjective satisfaction data. We show that, in some sectors, workers enjoy both higher wages and higher job satisfaction. We argue that this reflects labour market wage rents. Perhaps surprisingly, wage rents are typical of the British public sector and permanent contracts, but not of their French counterparts. In France, such rents are found in full-time, rather than part-time jobs. Hence, the data provide little support for the usual a priori that the French labour market is structured along insider–outsider model lines, whereby wage rents are captured by the insiders of the public sector to the detriment of the private sector. However, they do suggest that part-time employment is involuntary to a far greater extent in France than in Great Britain. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The present paper uses a large national survey, from the UK to estimate a logit equation for the probability of ever having been divorced within a population of those who have ever been married. The survey utilized permits the construction of several variables, not hitherto deployed in econometric work, which measure aspects of partner search and relationship capital formation. The results indicate that these things are important with there also being notably different results for men and women. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]