Explore the vast range of titles available.

Myths have come of age in consumer research. In the 22 years since Levy’s inaugural article, the literature has grown at an impressive rate. Yet important questions remain unanswered: What makes some myths especially meaningful to consumers? Why are certain consumer myths more prevalent and less perishable than others? This article argues that ambiguity is an influential factor. Using the RMS Titanic as an empirical exemplar, it unpacks the principal forms of myth-informed ambiguity surrounding “the unsinkable brand.” Predicated on William Empson’s hitherto unsung principles of literary criticism, the article posits that ambiguity in its multifaceted forms is integral to outstanding branding and consumer meaning making, as well as myth appeal more generally.

We report on the results of a large-scale contingent valuation (CV) study conducted after the Exxon Valdez oil spill to assess the harm caused by it. Among the issues considered are the design features of the CV survey, its administration to a national sample of U.S. households, estimation of household willingness to pay to prevent another Exxon Valdez type oil spill, and issues related to reliability and validity of the estimates obtained. Events influenced by the study's release are also briefly discussed. Copyright Kluwer Academic Publishers 2003

We exploit the timing of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill to develop a unique dataset of oyster consumer actual and anticipated behavior immediately prior to and following the event. A revealed and stated preference model allows both short- and longer-term responses to the spill to be investigated. Findings indicate that the BP spill had a negative impact on oyster demand in terms of short-run actual behavior, although spill effects show signs of dissipating several months following the spill. By accounting for unobserved heterogeneity in the sample, findings further indicate that short- and longer-term spill responses differ across consumer groups.

Marine oil spill accidents have long been caused by ship collisions. However, the proliferation of offshore oil and gas installations portends a marked increase in oil spills from these sources. This presents a unique enforcement challenge for international and Chinese domestic systems for oil pollution liability and compensation that were developed in response to the threat of ship-based oil pollution. This article focuses on how the international liability and compensation regime for oil pollution has been implemented in China, and whether a combination of the international regime and domestic Chinese regulations could provide an adequate mechanism for holding offshore oil operators liable for accidents and for ensuring adequate compensation to injured parties. Analysis of Chinese law demonstrates that the current international liability and compensation regime for oil pollution, the 1992 Civil Liability Convention (CLC)–International Oil Pollution Compensation (IOPC Funds), has been only partially implemented in China and lacks domestic adaptation mechanisms. The CLC–IOPC Funds regime also does not extend to oil pollution accidents resulting from offshore operations. An international convention containing universal liability provisions for offshore oil spill accidents would require a long-term process of joint international efforts. Based on this international and domestic Chinese legal environment, this article concludes that China should first develop a domestic liability and compensation mechanism that implements the international regime for ship-source oil pollution in its entirety, but which also extends to pollution caused by offshore oil spills.

This paper considers the effects for offering a \"would-not-vote\" option in contingent valuation (CV) questions framed using the referendum format. This approach arises from a suggestion made by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) panel on contingent valuation. The NOAA panel was asked to evaluate the use of this method for estimating the economic value of nonmarketed environmental resources in the context of natural resource damage assessments. This test used the CV questionnaire developed for the study of the Exxon Valdez oil spill conducted by the State of Alaska with in-person interviews. The findings suggest that when those selecting the \"would-not-vote\" response are treated as having voted \"against\" the program (a conservative coding), offering this option does not alter (1) the distribution of \"for\" and \"against\" responses (2) the estimates of willingness to pay derived from these choices, or (3) the construct validity of the results.

In this paper, we investigate the relationship between accident-related shipping losses on the Great Lakes between 1900 and 1939 and the role the Lake Carriers Association (LCA) played in limiting or preventing such losses. Moreover, we address the relative benefits of private sector effort, through the LCA, and public sector efforts to reduce shipwrecks and capital losses through National Weather Bureau stations. Overall, our results confirm existing research that National Weather Bureau stations reduce accidentrelated shipping losses. However, we also find that increased membership in the LCA also reduced such losses, and to a significant degree.

The salvage of historic shipwrecks involves a debate between salvors, who wish to maximize profit, and archaeologists, who wish to preserve historical value. Traditionally, salvage of shipwrecks has been governed by admiralty law, but the Abandoned Shipwreck Act of 1987 transferred title of historically important wrecks in U.S. waters to the state in whose waters the wreck is found, thereby abrogating admiralty law. This paper examines incentives to locate and salvage historic wrecks under traditional admiralty law and proposes an efficient reward scheme. It then reconsiders current U.S. and international law in light of the results.

This paper considers the effects for offering a \"would-not-vote\" option in contingent valuation (CV) questions framed using the referendum format. This approach arises from a suggestion made by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) panel on contingent valuation. The NOAA panel was asked to evaluate the use of this method for estimating the economic value of nonmarketed environmental resources in the context of natural resource damage assessments. This test used the CV questionnaire developed for the study of the Exxon Valdez oil spill conducted by the State of Alaska with in-person interviews. The findings suggest that when those selecting the \"would-not-vote\" response are treated as having voted \"against\" the program (a conservative coding), offering this option does not alter (1) the distribution of \"for\" and \"against\" responses (2) the estimates of willingness to pay derived from these choices, or (3) the construct validity of the results.

Although oil spills from tanker accidents receive the most publicity, most vessel spills are not the result of accidents but of oil transfer activities. We investigate determinants of the size of vessel oil transfer spills as well as the effectiveness of Coast Guard enforcement activities in reducing their size. Vessel out-of-water and in-water oil transfer spillage functions are estimated utilizing tobit regression and detailed data on individual vessel oil transfer spills as well as Coast Guard safety/environmental enforcement activity data for the 1991–1995 period. Our estimation results suggest that Coast Guard hull but not machinery inspections are effective in reducing both out-of-water and in-water spills; patrols by air, but not by boat, are effective in reducing out-of-water spills; but neither is effective in reducing in-water spills. The results also show that the type of vessel (oil- and non-oil-cargo), vessel characteristics, vessel operations, weather/visibility conditions, and waterway type are determinants of post OPA-90 vessel oil transfer spills. Copyright Springer 2005