2 research outputs found
Keeping it together: A comparative analysis of four long-established intentional communities in New Zealand
No full textThrough a comparative analysis of four long-lived intentional communities in New Zealand, this thesis examines the extent to which each one has sustained, adapted or abandoned its original ideals and aspirations over time. An analysis of in-depth interviews with current and former participants from each community reveals ways that ideological beliefs, organisational processes, and foundation structures have shaped the distinctive cultures that have developed. The relevance of the assertion that long-lived intentional communities share a common purpose and a desire to live beyond mainstream society, and the assumption that longevity and survival can be considered to be the same thing, are challenged. It is concluded that ownership structures for holding land are significant to the longevity of intentional communities, and that the distinctions that once existed between alternative-orientated communities and the larger society that they are situated within have become less clear over time
The Rate of Interest or the Rate of Return: Estimating Intertemporal Elasticity of Substitution
No full textThis paper investigates whether the rate of interest such as the Treasury bill rate or the rate of return such as the return on a household portfolio is more relevant to the household’s intertemporal decision making. In a current era, households are diversifiers (to use Tobin’s 1958 term) and hold portfolios of assets rather than a simple loan. A portfolio of assets earns a composite return accounting for capital gains, taxes, and inflation, and rational agents make spending decisions based on expected total returns on a portfolio rather than on the return on a single asset. The total composite measure we use includes financial assets such as stocks and bonds and a real asset, residential housing. In particular, we estimate the intertemporal elasticity of substitution, namely, how a change in the asset or portfolio return affects household’s consumption growth. The estimates obtained using real after-tax composite return are about 0.15-0.3 and are more robust to linear and nonlinear estimations, different consumption measures, and various time periods than those obtained by using individual asset returns such as the Treasury bill rate.intertemporal elasticity of substitution, intertemporal choice, consumption, housing, portfolio return
