Does austrian business cycle theory help explain the dot-com boom and bust?

Conclusion Austrian business cycle theory, we contend, is essential to understanding the recent boom and bust cycle in the American (and, to a great extent, the global) economy. That does not mean that every recent macroeconomic event is explained by ABCT. For instance, exchange rate manipulation (e.g., the Reverse Plaza Accord) is not a part of standard ABCT, yet it played a key part in the global macroeconomic picture of recent years. However, as long as central banks continue to engage in episodic credit expansion, we believe that ABCT remains a vital component in the macroeconomist’s tool chest.     

Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Testing and Its Marketing: Emergent Ethical and Public Policy Implications

Journal of Business Ethics - This paper provides a marketing ethics analysis that addresses the practice of selling genetic tests (GT) directly to the consumer (DTC). It details the...     

Industrial sales management in the 1980s

This article offers suggestions for sales management in the 1980s. Experts believe that energy and other resources will decline, government regulation will increase, and increased attention will be given to social responsibility. Several recommendations for dealing with these anticipated pressures are presented.     

Organizational Structure and Performance: Evidence From the Nonlife Insurance Industry in Japan

This study examines the impact of organizational structure on firm performance, incentive problems, and financial decisions in the Japanese nonlife (property‐casualty) insurance industry. Stock companies that belong to one of six horizontal keiretsu groups have lower expenses and lower levels of free cash flow than independent stock and mutual insurance companies. Keiretsu insurers also have higher profitability and higher loss ratios than independent insurers. With a limited sample size, there is some evidence that mutual insurers have higher levels of free cash flows, higher investment incomes, and lower financial leverage than their stock counterparts. Overall, empirical evidence suggests that each structure has its own comparative advantage.     

Efficiency and Demutualization: Evidence From the U.S. Life Insurance Industry in the 1980s and 1990s

This article examines the efficiency changes of U.S. life insurers before and after demutualization in the 1980s and 1990s. We use two frontier approaches (the value‐added approach and the financial intermediary approach) to measure the efficiency changes. In addition, we use Malmquist indices to investigate the efficiency and productivity change of converted life insurers over time. The results using the value‐added approach indicate that demutualized life insurers improve their efficiency before demutualization. On the other hand, the evidence using the financial intermediary approach shows the efficiency of the demutualized life insurers relative to mutual control insurers deteriorates before demutualization and improves after conversion. The difference in the results between the two approaches is due to the fact that the financial intermediary approach considers financial conditions. The results of both approaches suggest that there is no efficiency improvement after demutualization relative to stock control insurers. There is, however, efficiency improvement relative to mutual control insurers when the financial intermediary approach is used.     

创业企业困境中如何控制成本?

困难年景正是推进成本控制的大好时机.经济吃紧时,大家普遍意识到"一切照旧"的老路走不通了.经理人必须想方设法在一切从简的条件下奋力求生.然而,经常被人忽视的是,其实企业在衰退期和在兴盛期的管理存有不少共通之处.