Do Investments in Specialized Knowledge Lead to Composite Good Industries?

We try to understand why firms producing goods by means of complementary components do not merge, especially in industries in which investments in component-based knowledge matters. As Audretsch, we state that these activities are developed by “individuals” who do their best to appropriate the return from their knowledge and whose effort is non-contractible. The organization of the industry into firms is identified to a partition of the set of individuals. In this context, we prove that an organization in which each individual hold his own firms is both stable with respect to unilateral deviation and optimal in the line of the property right approach. If the returns are high enough, this structure is even the only one which shares both properties.     

Restoring the growth potential of formerly centrally planned economies

All formerly centrally planned economies record very substantial declines in their social products. The largest drops in production are recorded in Poland and in east Germany (the former GDR), that is, in those countries where the most radical steps towards a market economy were taken in 1990. Thus it looks as though a recession was unavoidable during transition. But what are the conditions that must be fulfilled in order to restore growth potential to these countries? The following article aims first to devise a theoretical picture of a successful transition. The criteria thus obtained are then employed for an analysis of the recessive processes in Poland, the first east European country to start a radical programme of transition. Finally, the recession in Poland is compared with that in the former GDR.     

Consumer Neuroscience und Neuromarketing - der Blick ins Kundenhirn

Nach wie vor mangelt es in weiten Teilen der K?uferverhaltensforschung an ganzheitlichen Theorien. Mit der Integration neurowissenschaftlicher Verfahren und Erkenntnisse in die Marketingforschung verbindet sich die Hoffnung, diese Lücke zu schlie?en. Diese Erwartung scheint berechtigt, wird aber oft auch überstrapaziert. Eine realistische Einordnung der neuen Forschungsrichtung erl?utert die jeweiligen Methoden und deren Einsatzm?glichkeiten in der Praxis, zeigt aber auch die Grenzen des Neuromarketing auf.     

The Influence and Policy Signalling Role of FOMC Forecasts

Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) policymakers have published macroeconomic forecasts since 1979 and we examine the effects of FOMC inflation forecasts using a structural VAR model. First, we assess whether they influence private inflation expectations. Second, we investigate the underlying mechanism at work and whether they convey policy signals. We provide original evidence that FOMC inflation forecasts influence private ones. We also find that the influencing effect of FOMC forecasts does not come through current Fed rate changes, that FOMC forecasts affect private expectations in a different way than current policy decisions, and that FOMC forecasts are informative about future Fed rate movements.     

The role of coworker support in the relationship between moral efficacy and voice behavior: The case of hospitality students in Ecuador

ABSTRACT

This article explores the relationships among employee moral efficacy, coworker emotional support, coworker instrumental support, and employee voice behavior regarding abusive supervision in the hospitality industry in Ecuador: a high power distance culture. The results indicate that employees’ moral efficacy predicted their voice behavior with regards to abusive supervision and that coworker emotional support strengthened this relation. However, an interaction effect between moral efficacy and coworker instrumental support on voice behavior was not found. This study provides a theoretical extension of the voice literature by introducing the roles of moral efficacy and coworker support, and has practical implications for the hospitality workplace.     

A hospital-initiated multisectoral road safety campaign with speed-adapted coconut drop test in Northern Laos

We investigate the efficacy of a multisectoral road safety campaign initiated at Luang Namtha Provincial Hospital (LNPH), North-Laos. Road safety days (RSD) with helmet promotion were organised prior to the Lao and International New Year 2007. Motorbike helmet protectiveness was demonstrated by dropping peeled versus unpeeled coconuts from 6-m high sticks simulating city speed-limit (40?km/h). The primary outcome was the number of road traffic injuries (RTI) needing admission (severe RTI) before and after the first RSD. Secondary outcomes were helmet usage, total RTI, hospital staff's behavioural changes and law enforcement. Neighbouring Bokeo Provincial Hospital (BPH) had no intervention. Severe RTI dropped by 34.7% within 12 months (from 449 to 293, p?≤?0.0001, BPH +123% [from 88 to 196]). Total RTI increased by 10.8% (from 772 to 855, p?=?0.0396, BPH +260.8% [from 186 to 671]). Police started the law enforcement right after the RSD. Helmet use increased from 11.2 to 42.5% (p?相似文献   

Commitment and the adoption of a common currency*

In contrast to Mundell's inquiry on the optimality of currency areas, this article aims to understand under what circumstances a Pareto‐dominant monetary union will be established. Using a multicountry overlapping generations model, we highlight gains from monetary union arising from reduced transactions costs and lower inflation. Despite these gains, countries acting independently will impose barriers to exchange through local currency restrictions, thereby creating transactions costs and providing an incentive for inflation. Therefore, the gains from monetary union are most likely to be lost without collective effort.     

Capital indivisibility and tax competition: Are there too many business areas when some of them are empty?

In this paper, we propose a model where local jurisdictions must engage a development cost before competing for hosting a firm with uncertain preferences among possible sites. We first show that even an optimizing central planner managing all the jurisdictions develops more sites than there are plants to host. Doing so, he diversifies his supply and has a higher probability of hosting the firm. Then, we show that, if every jurisdiction is managed by a local government, there are more developed sites than with the central planner, which implies excess supply.