Coalitional stability in the location problem with single-dipped preferences: An application of the minimax theorem

This study considers a situation in which agents choose the location of a public facility from a street according to a given mechanism. Agents have single-dipped preferences over a set of feasible locations. We analyze coalitional behavior for any given mechanism for this situation. We identify a necessary and sufficient condition for a mechanism to possess a strong Nash equilibrium by applying the minimax theorem of von Neumann and Morgenstern (1944). We introduce a class of core solutions and show that these solutions are characterized by strong Nash implementability. As a byproduct of these results, we propose a simple mechanism that implements any core solution in strong Nash equilibria.     

A model of influence with a continuum of actions

We generalize a two-action (yes–no) model of influence to a framework in which every player has a continuum of actions, among which he has to choose one. We assume the set of actions to be an interval. Each player has an inclination to choose one of the actions. Due to the influence among players, the final decision of a player, i.e., his choice of one action, may be different from his original inclination. In particular, a coalition of players with the same inclination may influence another player with different inclination, and as a result of this influence, the decision of the player is closer to the inclination of the influencing coalition than his inclination was. We introduce a measure of such a positive influence of a coalition on a player. Several unanimous influence functions in this generalized framework are considered. Also the set of fixed points under a given influence function is analyzed. Furthermore, we study linear influence functions and discuss their convergence. For a linear unanimous function, we find necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of the positive influence of a coalition on a player, and we calculate the value of the influence index. We also introduce a measure of a negative influence of a coalition on a player.     

转型期的企业战略

本文通过对某大学设计院的发展历程,对企业成长中遇到的困难和问题进行深入剖析,阐述企业 转型期的战略对企业的飞跃的重要性以及对转型期企业战略的制定规则,并通过对企业的SWOT分析,利 用迈克尔·波特五力模型分析,制定出企业转型期的战略及战略目标,并提出具体的实施措施,以期对处于 转型期的科研院所有一定的借鉴意义。     

Preference symmetries,partial differential equations,and functional forms for utility

A discrete symmetry of a preference relation is a mapping from the domain of choice to itself under which preference comparisons are invariant; a continuous symmetry is a one-parameter family of such transformations that includes the identity; and a symmetry field is a vector field whose trajectories generate a continuous symmetry. Any continuous symmetry of a preference relation implies that its representations satisfy a system of PDEs. Conversely the system implies the continuous symmetry if the latter is generated by a field. Moreover, solving the PDEs yields the functional form for utility equivalent to the symmetry. This framework is shown to encompass a variety of representation theorems related to univariate separability, multivariate separability, and homogeneity, including the cases of Cobb–Douglas and CES utility.     

Consistent graphs with signed points

A signed graph is obtained from a graph when each line is given either a positive or a negative sign. We now define a marked graph analogously by signing the points of a graph. In both of these the sign of a cycle is the product of the signs of the lines or points, respectively. In a balanced signed graph or in a consistent marked graph, every cycle is positive. Our object is to investigate consistent marked graphs. It is shown that if such a graph has both positive and negative points, it cannot be highly connected; more precisely, it is not 3-connected. We conclude with a series of constructions which show that a given consistent marked graph can often be reduced to smaller ones.     

International joint ventures: Theoretical considerations

This paper constructs models to investigate the rationale for a multinational corporation to enter into a joint venture to serve a host market. In particular, the model examines the impact of profit sharing, cost reductions, risk reductions, and competition reductions on the profits of international joint ventures. The results may explain the ‘recent’ popularity of international joint ventures. The models show that (1) a joint venture is the dominant entry strategy when there is a formidable local competitor and the risks of operation are high, (2) a wholly owned subsidiary is preferred if a multinational corporation has a significant cost advantage, (3) a joint venture is preferred to a wholly owned subsidiary if significant cost reductions can be achieved through combining the strengths of a multinational corporation and a local firm, and (4) multiple licensing is preferred if the number of local firms is large.     

Bayesian Nash equilibrium and variational inequalities

This paper provides a sufficient condition for the existence and uniqueness of a Bayesian Nash equilibrium by regarding it as a solution of a variational inequality. The payoff gradient of a game is defined as a vector whose component is a partial derivative of each player’s payoff function with respect to the player’s own action. If the Jacobian matrix of the payoff gradient is negative definite for each state, then a Bayesian Nash equilibrium is unique. This result unifies and generalizes the uniqueness of an equilibrium in a complete information game by Rosen (1965) and that in a team by Radner (1962). In a Bayesian game played on a network, the Jacobian matrix of the payoff gradient coincides with the weighted adjacency matrix of the underlying graph.     

A theory of supplier network-based innovation value

To understand how a supplier helps a buying company create value through innovations, studies have focused on a supplier's internal resources or its relationship with a buying company. Building upon this body of literature, we develop a theory of supplier network-based innovation value in this conceptual paper. This theory explains how a supplier's upstream and downstream value network can be a source of competitive advantage for a buying company. Specifically, it proposes that the levels and types of supplier innovation value is contingent on the configuration of a dual-ego value network, characterized by the locus and degree of buyer-supplier structural equivalence. This theory also explains how a supplier's ties with a buying firm's competitors can pose both opportunity and risk to buying company innovation. This theory contributes to the literature by showing when “seemingly undesirable” suppliers, due to a lack of technical capability or strong relationship with a buying company, might still be valuable to a buying company's innovation.     

Managing team activities toward success

Although there are many definitions of a team and teamwork, Amgen, Inc., has defined a team as "a dynamic group of diverse people with common objectives but different responsibilities that is chartered with improving a process, a product or a service." Teamwork constitutes a blending of team dynamics with partnership; thus a new term was created to define teamwork at Amgen--"teamship."     

浅谈如何提高医院招聘的有效性

在经济高速发展的时代,如何招聘一支高素质的员工队伍,塑造医院的良好社会形象,拓宽医院的生存发展空间成为当务之急。本文以某三级医院人力资源部门招聘工作为例,对怎样提高人员招聘的效率进行了探讨。     

The Economy of Music Programs and Organizations. A Micro Analysis and Typology

The paper presents a model for understanding the inner economy of live music programs and organisations at a micro level, according to a management and accounting perspective. The complexity and variety of situations and solutions in organizing live music is described with reference to a number of real events. As a way of handling such a complexity and variety in organising, a typology is proposed based on three distinct features that can be found, to a different extent, inside music entities: the preparation of the Premiere; the running of performances after the Premiere; and the management of a portfolio of music programmes. The typology is a tool to understand possible implications on the economy of music programs arising from different solutions to the issue of organising and related cost behaviour.     

Quantification of preferences in markets

In this paper we quantify agent preferences in a market. In our framework every agent has a utility level associated with each transaction, and we assume that the probability of a feasible market transaction increases with an increase in total utility. It is surprising to observe that this simple behavioral principle induces a usually unique probability measure that can be constructed by a fast numerical algorithm. This unusual combination of a rigorous model and a fast numerical algorithm makes it possible to construct a well-defined set of preferences that implies a set of observed commodity prices.     

A note on the microeconomics of migration

"The purpose of this note is to demonstrate in a simple model that an individual's migration from a small town to a large city may be rationalized purely by a consumption motive, rather than the motive of obtaining a higher income. More specifically, it is shown that in a large city an individual may derive a higher utility from spending a given amount of income than in a small town." A formal model is first developed that includes the principal forces at work and is then illustrated using a graphic example. The theoretical and empirical issues raised are considered in the concluding section.     

Quantification of the task performance of a uniformed police patrol officer: A group process approach

This paper describes the development of a police task performance index (PTPI). This measure, a quantitative indicator of task performance, consists primarily of a ratio of weighted tasks performed to weighted tasks required for a particular situation. Quantification of the index was based on the consensus of an expert panel of police officers. Consensus was obtained through the use of both the Delphi technique and a modified nominal group process.The PTPI was developed for the special case of those police tasks performed by a uniformed patrolman at the scene of a medical emergency. Four categories of medical emergencies were examined—medical emergency only, crime scene with injuries, traffic accident with injuries, and a situation with injuries involving a threat to public safety (e.g. a fire). Application of the index is illustrated in two case examples.     

Optimal decisions in foreign exchange bidding markets

I characterize optimal bidding decisions in bidding markets where each agent does not perceive she can significantly affect the market outcome. Using a foreign exchange bidding framework to provide a micro-foundation for the shape of a bidder's payoff function, I show that (1) in a discriminatory auction a bidder bids for a price that equals the value of the marginal product of her bid quantity, and (2) in a competitive auction a bidder bids for a price that equals the value of the average product of her bid quantity. An example illustrates the comparative properties of these solutions.     

问题导向方法在经济欠发达地区城市设计中的应用——以新疆阿勒泰市为例

本文从传统城市设计的三部曲和经济欠发达地区的特殊性入手,指出相对于目标导向方法,问题导向的城市设计方法更适用于经济欠发达地区文章提出以问题为导向的设计方法并不是要完全抛弃目标导向方法,而是要把它作为重要的分析手段和前提,并通过在新疆阿勒泰市的探索与实践,归纳出“建立整体框架——搜寻重点问题——制定解决方案——转换成管理...     

TRAP abortion laws and partisan political party control of state government

Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers (or TRAP) laws impose medically unnecessary and burdensome regulations solely on abortion providers in order to make abortion services more expensive and difficult to obtain. Using event history analysis, this article examines the determinants of the enactment of a TRAP law by states over the period 1974–2008. The empirical results find that Republican institutional control of a state's legislative/executive branches is positively associated with a state enacting a TRAP law, while Democratic institutional control is negatively associated with a state enacting a TRAP law. The percentage of a state's population that is Catholic, public anti-abortion attitudes, state political ideology, and the abortion rate in a state are statistically insignificant predictors of a state enacting a TRAP law. The empirical results are consistent with the hypothesis that abortion is a redistributive issue and not a morality issue.     

Age-test Markov chains for drug testing and detection

Random urinalysis strategies stratified by time since the last test are characterized with a set of Markov chain models. The probability of a person being tested depends on the amount of time since the person's last test. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has proposed a two strata drug testing strategy based on time since last test. The proposal included a high testing rate for people not yet tested in a given time period and a low testing rate for people testing negative in a given time period. Southern California Edison has implemented a variation of the NRC proposal. These strategies can be modeled within a Markov chain framework. Time to detection is calculated as a function of testing probabilities and drug usage levels. Drug user gaming strategies are discussed with illustrations. These models are implemented as part of a U.S. Navy drug policy analysis system.     

Taking the leap from dyads to triads: Buyer–supplier relationships in supply networks

A network is made up of nodes and links. The smallest unit that consists of both these network elements is a dyad made up of two nodes (a buyer and a supplier) and the link that connects them (a buyer–supplier relationship).Naturally, the focus of the supply chain management literature has been on this dyad. For instance, a buyer affects a supplier through its supplier evaluation and certificate programs, as well as long-term agreement practices. The relationship between a buyer and its supplier has been characterized as cooperative or adversarial. We have learned a great deal about supply chains through such studies in dyadic context.However, we submit that in a network, a dyad is not the smallest unit of a network. In fact, the smallest unit is a triad, made up of three nodes and the links that connect them. If so, how would this recognition guide us as we move forward to investigate supply chains as a network? What would be its implications to the genre of the literature on buyer–supplier relationships?     

NIT picking: The macroeconomic effects of a Negative Income Tax

I study a revenue-neutral reform of the U.S. income tax and welfare system that involves the adoption of a Negative Income Tax (NIT). The reform is undertaken in a life-cycle economy with individual heterogeneity and uninsurable idiosyncratic labor risk. The optimal NIT consists of a 22% rate and a transfer equivalent to 11% of per-capita GDP. The ex-ante average welfare gain is a 2.1% annual increase of individual consumption. I show that a NIT outperforms a flat tax reform (income tax plus deduction) by a considerable margin. The key consequence of the reform is that high-productivity agents increase their relative importance in the labor supply at the expense of low-productivity agents.