Net neutrality and investment incentives

This article analyzes the effects of net neutrality regulation on investment incentives for Internet service providers (ISPs) and content providers (CPs), and their implications for social welfare. Concerning the ISPs' investment incentives, we find that capacity expansion decreases the sale price of the priority right under the discriminatory regime. Thus, contrary to ISPs' claims that net neutrality regulations would have a chilling effect on their incentive to invest, we cannot dismiss the possibility of the opposite. A discriminatory regime can also weaken CPs' investment incentives because of CPs' concern that the ISP would expropriate some of the investment benefits.     

Radiological findings of human fascioliasis

Fasciola hepatica is a trematode of herbivorous mammals. Humans are accidentally infected by the ingestion of water or raw aquatic vegetables contaminated with the metacercaria. Radiological findings of six patients with fascioliasis (five hepatic fascioliasis, one biliary fascioliasis) were analyzed. The diagnosis was based on serologic testing and/or histopathologic findings of eosinophilic abscess in five patients and identification of the adult worm in one patient. The characteristic radiological features of hepatic fascioliasis were (1) cluster of microabscesses arranged in tract-like fashion (burrow tract), (2) subcapsular location of the hepatic lesions, and (3) very slow evolution of the lesion on follow-up examinations. In biliary fascioliasis, there were multiple conglomerated filling defects in the common bile duct. The authors believe that the demonstration of these features, together with peripheral eosinophilia or eosinophilic aspirate from the hepatic lesion, is very helpful in making the correct diagnosis.     

Cost allocation of WCDMA and wholesale pricing for mVoIP and data services

This study estimates cost-based prices for wholesale voice and data services provided to 3G (WCDMA) MVNOs according to their distinct types. For estimation, 3G MVNOs are classified into different types, and the overall cost of WCDMA facilities are separated into voice and data components based on their subscriber rates, actual traffic rates, as well as efficiency consideration of traffic rates. The study then calculates cost-based wholesale prices of voice and data services for each of the 3G MVNO types. The result of this study shows that a cost-plus pricing scheme can help achieve the policy goals of the regulator, namely, lowering telecommunications tariffs and facilitating the introduction of new convergent-type services, far more effectively than the current retail-minus pricing scheme. The findings of this study may assist firms in developing business models based on 3G networks and telecom regulators in designing policies related to interconnection, mVoIP, prepaid calls, wholesale services, and network neutrality.     

Market implied future earnings and analysts’ forecasts

This study provides evidence on market implied future earnings based on the residual income valuation (RIV) framework and compares these earnings with analyst earnings forecasts for accuracy (absolute forecast error) and bias (signed forecast error). Prior research shows that current stock price reflects future earnings and that analyst forecasts are biased. Thus, how price-based imputed forecasts compare with analyst forecasts is interesting. Using different cost of capital estimates, we use the price-earnings relation and impute firms’ future annual earnings from three residual income (RI) models for up to 5 years. Relative to I/B/E/S analyst forecasts, imputed forecasts from the RI models are less or no more biased when cost of capital is low (equal to a risk-free rate or slightly higher). Analysts slightly outperform these RI models in terms of accuracy for immediate future (1 or 2) years in the forecast horizon but the opposite is true for more distant future years when cost of capital is low. A regression analysis shows that, in explaining future earnings changes, analyst forecasts relative to imputed forecasts do not impound a significant amount of earnings information embedded in current price. In additional tests, we impute future long-term earnings growth rates and find that they are more accurate and less biased than I/B/E/S analyst long-term earnings growth forecasts. Together, the results suggest that the RIV framework can be used to impute a firm’s future earnings that are high in accuracy and low in bias, especially for distant future years.     

Estimating hourly variations in passenger volume at airports using dwelling time distributions

A mathematical model using a probability density function of the terminal dwelling time distribution is developed to estimate the number of passengers arriving at an airport terminal at various times. A two-way ANOVA that tests the effects on different airports and access time durations were carried out, and the results showed a significant difference between terminal dwelling times among airports. The paper also provides some insight into airport terminal operation when there are significant changes to flight schedules and the introduction of new airlines, etc.     

Customer Information Sharing: Strategic Incentives and New Implications

We study oligopolistic firms' incentives to share customer information about past purchase history when firms are uncertain about whether a particular consumer considers the product offerings as complements or substitutes. We show that both the incentive to share customer information and its effects on consumers depend crucially on the relative magnitudes of the prices that would prevail in the complementary and substitute markets if consumers were fully segmented according to their preferences. This paper has important implications for merger analysis when the primary motive for merger is the acquisition of another firm's customer lists. Our analysis also suggests a new role of middlemen as information aggregators.     

Foreign direct investment motivations and knowledge acquisition from MNEs in overseas subsidiaries

Despite studies exploring factors affecting knowledge acquisition from multinational enterprises in subsidiaries, what accounts for a successful acquisition is unresolved. We argue that such disparity may stem from inattention to investment motivations of multinational enterprises (MNEs) in foreign markets and to the fact that learning patterns of subsidiaries can be influenced by foreign firms' market‐seeking or efficiency‐seeking behaviors. We find that absorptive capacity in learning organizations and daily interactions with knowledge possessors are essential to learning from parent firms. In addition, active support from parent firms is particularly crucial for subsidiaries seeking to improve operational efficiency of MNEs. We also suggest that potential absorptive capacity plays a catalyst role in initiating knowledge acquisition, particularly in cases where MNEs have market‐seeking motivations. Copyright © 2014 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Estimation of Money Demand Function of South Korea Considering Regime Switching

The stability of money demand function is an important issue in macroeconomic policy implementation. Money demand of Korean economy was estimated. Cointegration test with time dummy variables results show that there is not only long-run equilibrium relationship between money demand and macroeconomic variables, but also structural breaks in this equilibrium relationships. Least squares, state-space, and Marcov switching methods show that there also has been instability （or regime shifts） of parameters in money demand, especially over 1997 crisis and the early 2000s. This fact implies that monetary policy for stabilization might encounter big problems due to change （instability） of money demand.     

The demand for urban water by customer class

Reduced-form wage and employment equations derived from a bargaining model are estimated using the two-step method proposed by Engle and Granger (1987 Econometrica, 55, 251-276). Wages and employment arinfluenced by varriables which determine profits on the one hand, and the utility of the union on the other hand. In addition, bargaining power appears to matter. Union strength was discovered to have a positive effect on both wages and employment in the manufacturing industry. The a positive effect on both wages and employment in the manufacturing industry. The two-step method made it possible to evaluate both the long-run elasticities and shortrun adjustment. Step response functions indicate that adjustment is not particularly slow in general. This papers to be true for wages but especially for employment. Hence, if the actual real-wage-employment combination is considered inappropriate, it is not primarily due to ‘too slow’ adjustment. Rather, it implies that the equilibrium is inappropriate.