Thomas F. Stinson

Segmenting consumers for food defense communication strategies

Purpose – In the light of lessons learned from recent disasters (The London subway bombings, and Hurricane Katrina), it has become increasingly clear that supply chain partners as well as government agencies need to be prepared to communicate effectively to consumers and customers before, during and after a disaster. Effective communication can minimize confusion and harm to company reputations, to consumers, the economy and the nation. Incorporating consistent communications into supply chain management (SCM) plans used by all parties in the supply chain will enhance competitiveness of the whole chain and speed recovery from potentially disastrous events. Findings from a national survey of consumers attitudes about terrorism provide information about the development of targeted and effective communications.Design/methodology/approach – Based on a survey of more than 4,000 US consumers, this study used “predictive segmentation” which consists of a canonical factor analysis relating general consumer attit...

Urban and Rural Differences in Use of Earned Income Credits: A Study of Minnesota's Working Family Credit

This article examines receipt rates of Minnesotas earned income credit program by households on welfare from 1992 through 1999. We examine urban and rural differences in the rate of receipt throughout time and in the factors contributing to receipt. Our tabulations show that the central counties of the Minneapolis—St. Paul standard metropolitan statistical area (SMSA) have the lowest receipt rates, although rates are increasing for all regions and the disparities are diminishing through time. We find that a number of policy variables, household characteristics, and local labor market variables differentially affect receipt probabilities. Information from this research might help policy makers and designers of low-income programs construct improved policies that help families more quickly exit poverty.

Sources of error in state revenue forecasts or how can the forecast possibly be so far off

State and federal revenues fell well short of projections in 2002. While revenues normally turn down in a recession, those revenue shortfalls were much greater than would have been expected given how mild the 2001 recession turned out to be. This paper examines some of the reasons for the large forecast variances observed in recent years using specific examples from forecasts made for the state of Minnesota. Key factors identified include inaccurate forecast for U.S. economic growth; inadequate, untimely and inaccurate data; imperfect models; and unrecognized changes in the structure of the economy. These factors came together and reinforced each other, ultimately producing a larger reduction in state revenues than could have been anticipated in advance.

Differences in household attitudes on food defence and food safety: an international comparison

This paper reports results from a large, six-nation, internet-based survey of consumer attitudes toward food safety and food defence administered during the fall of 2008. Responses were obtained from separate samples of approximately 1,000 each in Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, the UK, and the USA. Food defence was generally a greater concern, and respondents were less confident that their food supply was well protected against terrorist attack than they were that their food was safe from contamination from naturally occurring pathogens. Respondents also believed a greater percentage of national food protection budgets should be spent on food safety rather than food defence. Processors were considered most responsible for both food safety and food defence, with government also playing a major role in food defence.