The benefits of storage and non‐renewable resource price dynamics

Abstract Both the Theory of Storage and the Hotelling model play a prominent role in the study of non‐renewable resource prices. This paper combines these approaches by modifying the Hotelling model to allow firms to hold inventory in addition to in‐ground reserves, contributing three new results. First, inventory is more likely to be held if future demand and/or the marginal cost of extraction are uncertain. Second, the market price of the commodity is based on the Theory of Storage when inventory is held. Third, the optimal extraction of the resource is based on the Hotelling model.     

U.S. male generational cohorts: Retail format preferences,desired retail attributes,satisfaction and loyalty

Reports in the academic and popular press acknowledge the growing importance of male shoppers from a retail perspective (Albright, 2010) yet to date most studies have only compared men to women or when examining fashion products (Shim and Kotsiopulos, 1991). No research has been done to segment males in order to provide retailers with a better understanding of male shopping behavior (Bakewell and Mitchell, 2003, Meredith et al., 2007). This exploratory study surveyed 560 U.S. males examining retail format preferences, desired retail attributes, satisfaction and loyalty using Generational Cohort Theory (GCT). Results suggest significant differences between male generational cohorts in terms of retail format preferences with males from the Silent Generation preferring the category killer format more than males in the Millennial Generation and both 13th Generation and Millennial Generation males preferring internet-only retailers than did Silent Generation Males. Silent Generation males were also found to be more satisfied with retailers in their area, when compared to the younger Baby Boomer and 13th Generation males. No significant differences were found in desired retail attributes or store loyalty. Additional research investigating U.S. and non-U.S. males using GCT is suggested.     

For-Profit Business as Civic Virtue

According to the commonsense view of civic virtue, the places to exercise civic virtue are largely restricted to politics. In this article, I argue for a more expansive view of civic virtue, and argue that one can exercise civic virtue equally well through working for or running a for-profit business. I argue that this conclusion follows from four relatively uncontroversial premises: (1) the consensus definition of “civic virtue”, (2) the standard, most popular theory of virtuous activity, (3) a conception of the common good widely shared by liberal political philosophers, and (4) the mainstream economic theory of for-profit business.     

Is Market Society Intrinsically Repugnant?

In Why Not Socialism?, G. A. Cohen argues that market society and capitalism are intrinsically repugnant. He asks us to imagine an ideal camping trip, which becomes increasing repugnant as it shifts from living by socialist to capitalist principles. In this paper, I expose the limits of this style of argument by making a parallel argument, which shows how an ideal anarchist camping trip becomes increasingly repugnant as the campsite turns from anarchism to democracy. When we see why this style of argument fails to generate interesting objections to democracy, we then see why it also fails to generate interesting objections to market society.     

The Right to Organize in the Philippine Business Process Outsourcing Industry

Abstract

There has been some concern over the past few years that nations with emerging economies are sacrificing human dignity over economic progress. An emerging market such as the Philippines has to deal with a host of economic, social, and political issues as its economy develops. One of the issues that concern those who are involved in human rights advocacy is labor rights. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the labor rights issues surrounding the Philippine business process outsourcing (BPO) industry, specifically the right to organize. It also aims to investigate how the changing structure of the Philippine economy has affected the labor rights of its people. This paper will use the BPO industry in the Philippines as a case study. This paper will also try to compare the Philippine experience with those of other countries in order to put its findings in context. Finally, the paper shall examine the effects of globalization on workers’ ability to organize and advocate for their rights.     

影响未来生活的全球十大科技

每年我们杂志都会选出十大科技,我们认为这些技术有最大的潜力可以改变全世界的图景。第一,社交缩影技术一般的搜索引擎都想用一个方式让大家知道哪些信息是对人们有用。现在有一个更好的解决办法,这个技术在去年非常流行,其概念叫社会地图。在网     

A Seasonal Inverse Almost Ideal Demand System for North American Fresh Tomatoes

Increased fresh tomato trade has prompted a number of trade disputes between the United States, Canada, and Mexico. One precondition of an antidumping dispute is meeting the “likeness of product” criterion. However, fresh tomato shipments and imports are highly seasonal, suggesting that the degree of substitutability (or product likeness) may depend fundamentally on whether fresh tomato varieties are in- or out-of-season. We develop a seasonally adjusted inverse demand system using Canadian and Mexican monthly import data along with U.S. state shipping data to address both seasonality and product substitutability in the fresh tomato market. We find that market equilibrium and the degree of product substitution are affected by seasonality and product availability in the consumer choice set. Le commerce accru de la tomate fraîche suscite des différends commerciaux entre les États-Unis, le Canada et le Mexique. L'une des préconditions d'un différend en matière d'antidumping est liée au respect du critère de la « similarité du produit ». Toutefois, les expéditions et les importations de tomate fraîche sont très saisonnières, ce qui laisse supposer que le degré de substituabilité (ou de similarité du produit) puisse reposer fondamentalement sur le fait qu'il s'agisse ou non de variétés de tomate fraîche pleine saison ou hors-saison. Nous avons mis au point un système désaisonnalisé de la demande inverse utilisant des données mensuelles sur les importations canadiennes et mexicaines et des données sur les expéditions des États-Unis pour étudier la saisonnalité et la substituabilité dans le marché de la tomate fraîche. Nous sommes arrivés à la conclusion que la saisonnalité et la disponibilité des produits offerts au consommateur influent sur l'équilibre du marché et le degré de substitution du produit.     

Valuation of housing index derivatives

This study analyzes the valuation of housing index derivatives traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME). Specifically, to circumvent the nontradability of housing indices, we propose and implement an equilibrium valuation framework. Assuming a mean-reverting aggregate dividend process and a utility function characterized by constant relative risk aversion, we show that the value of a housing index derivative depends only on parameters characterizing the underlying housing index, the endogenized interest rate and their correlation. We also analytically and numerically examine risk premiums for the CME futures and options and obtain three important findings. First, risk premiums are significant for all contracts with maturities longer than one year. Second, the expected growth rate of the underlying index is the key determinant for risk premiums. Third, risk premiums can be positive or negative, depending on whether the expected growth rate of the underlying index is higher or lower than the risk-free yield-to-maturity. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 30:660–688, 2010