title: Consumers WTP for wine with certified origin: preliminary results from latent classes based on attitudinal responses

authors: Scarpa, Riccardo

subjects: latent class attitudinal model

abstract: This article investigates preference heterogeneity of wine consumers by using latent class models based on attitudinal questions. Such responses turn out to be an important source of additional information when the goal is to identify different groups of people with a similar wine preference structure. We assume that preferences are latent and the responses to attitudinal questions are the visible effect of this latent heterogeneity. In this study evidence is found of four different classes of respondents with similar response patterns. We focus on preferences for a well-known wine, the Prosecco, and use a sample of the population in the area of production. For each preference-class we estimate a class-specific WTP (willingness to pay) equation for this wine, so as to estimate the class responsiveness of WTP to various determinants. Estimates for a four-class model are discussed in detail to illustrate the potential of this approach in characterizing the preferences of local consumers for the two most common certifications of origin.

text: Consumers WTP for wine with certified origin: preliminary results from latent classes based on attitudinal responses This article investigates preference heterogeneity of wine consumers by using latent class models based on attitudinal questions. Such responses turn out to be an important source of additional information when the goal is to identify different groups of people with a similar wine preference structure. We assume that preferences are latent and the responses to attitudinal questions are the visible effect of this latent heterogeneity. In this study evidence is found of four different classes of respondents with similar response patterns. We focus on preferences for a well-known wine, the Prosecco, and use a sample of the population in the area of production. For each preference-class we estimate a class-specific WTP (willingness to pay) equation for this wine, so as to estimate the class responsiveness of WTP to various determinants. Estimates for a four-class model are discussed in detail to illustrate the potential of this approach in characterizing the preferences of local consumers for the two most common certifications of origin.

year: 2009

title: A century of the evolution of the urban system in Brazil

authors: Matlaba, Valente José

subjects: Economics Departments

abstract: In this paper, we study the hitherto unexplored evolution of the size distribution of 185 urban areas in Brazil between 1907 and 2008. We find that the power law parameter of the size distribution of the 100 largest urban areas increases from 0.63 in 1907 to 0.89 in 2008, which confirms an agglomeration process in which the size distribution has become more unequal. A panel fixed effects model pooling the same range of urban size distributions provides a power law parameter equal to 0.53, smaller than those from cross-sectional estimation. Clearly, Zipf’s Law is rejected. The lognormal distribution fits the city size distribution quite well until the 1940s, but since then applies to small and medium size cities only. These results are consistent with our understanding of historical-political and socio-economic processes that have shaped the development of Brazilian cities.

text: A century of the evolution of the urban system in Brazil In this paper, we study the hitherto unexplored evolution of the size distribution of 185 urban areas in Brazil between 1907 and 2008. We find that the power law parameter of the size distribution of the 100 largest urban areas increases from 0.63 in 1907 to 0.89 in 2008, which confirms an agglomeration process in which the size distribution has become more unequal. A panel fixed effects model pooling the same range of urban size distributions provides a power law parameter equal to 0.53, smaller than those from cross-sectional estimation. Clearly, Zipf’s Law is rejected. The lognormal distribution fits the city size distribution quite well until the 1940s, but since then applies to small and medium size cities only. These results are consistent with our understanding of historical-political and socio-economic processes that have shaped the development of Brazilian cities.

year: 2011-06

title: Hoea Te Waka ki Uta: Critical Kaupapa Māori Research and Mormon Studies Moving Forward

authors: Simon, Hemopereki

abstract: The following is a reflective commentary on the place of Critical Indigenous Studies, with a focus on Kaupapa Māori Research, within Mormon Studies. Specifically, the piece explores the following questions: What does Kaupapa Māori Research look like when engaging in Mormon Studies? What positionality needs to be taken by Kaupapa Māori researchers and Critical Indigenous scholars when engaging in Mormon Studies? What are the main areas Critical Indigenous scholars and Kaupapa Māori scholars should engage when tackling issues around Mormonism? These questions are important in light of the growing importance of the cultural renaissance in Te Ao Māori and the rise of Kaupapa Māori Research.

text: Hoea Te Waka ki Uta: Critical Kaupapa Māori Research and Mormon Studies Moving Forward The following is a reflective commentary on the place of Critical Indigenous Studies, with a focus on Kaupapa Māori Research, within Mormon Studies. Specifically, the piece explores the following questions: What does Kaupapa Māori Research look like when engaging in Mormon Studies? What positionality needs to be taken by Kaupapa Māori researchers and Critical Indigenous scholars when engaging in Mormon Studies? What are the main areas Critical Indigenous scholars and Kaupapa Māori scholars should engage when tackling issues around Mormonism? These questions are important in light of the growing importance of the cultural renaissance in Te Ao Māori and the rise of Kaupapa Māori Research.

year: 2021