Worker Cooperatives in the Theory of the Firm: Marx and Veblen on Technological Determinism

This article contends that, in their treatments of worker cooperatives, the predominant theories of the firm adhere to the logic of technological determinism, and can accordingly be evaluated using the ideas of Thorstein Veblen and Karl Marx. Invoking these patriarchs’ respective distinctions between instrumental and ceremonial institutions and between the technical and social relations of production, the article argues that, contrary to contemporary theories of the firm, worker cooperatives possess an inherent but often latent advantage in implementing bureaucratic organizational structures, enjoying their instrumental/technical benefits for technology and coordination without incurring their ceremonial/social drawbacks for behavior and cooperation.     

Do Codes Make a Difference? The Case of Bank Lending and the Environment

Codes of conduct are a conspicuous feature of modern business organization, but doubts have been raised regarding their efficacy in ensuring high standards of behavior. Although some of the issues involved have been discussed at some length in the business ethics literature, the amount of systematic empirical evidence on the impact of codes is very limited. This paper seeks to make a contribution to that body of knowledge by studying the policies and procedures of a sample of banks which have signed a statement on banking and the environment promulgated by the United Nations Development Programme. Although some differences are found when compared with a sample of banks which did not sign the Statement, they are not extensive. The implications of the findings, for codes of conduct and for future empirical studies, are then discussed.     

保持现金的流动——管理系统透视

经济衰退时期经常会出现变化.许多人发现自己没有了工作,或者工作的时间与收入相继减少.人们力图使收支相抵以避免入不敷出,他们正竭尽全力以小博大.     

The Survival Rate of Defined-Benefit Plans, 1987-1995

We look at the survival rate of defined-benefit pension plans with at least 500 participants over the period 1987–1995. We find that termination in favor of defined-contribution plans is a rare event and that the vast majority of these plans survive, albeit often under a different plan sponsor or in a new merged plan. Indeed, the frequency of mergers is an important feature in the pension market and partially explains the growing number of large defined-benefit plans.     

Rate structures in nuclear and non-nuclear US electric utility jurisdictions

This study investigates whether the structure of customer rates for US electric utilities with nuclear power generation is significantly different from the rate structure of non-nuclear utilities. Using previous estimates of the marginal costs of generation by nuclear and fossil-fuel plants, and of transmission and distribution, tests are made to determine if pricing practices are similar in nuclear and non-nuclear jurisdictions. The results show that the rate structure for the nuclear utilities is inefficient, with industrial rates significantly higher than first-best or second-best pricing criteria allow, whereas the rates for non-nuclear utilities are second-best efficient, with a slight favouritism toward the industrial class.     

美国铁路管制的由来和发展：历史和思路

回顾并评析1887年以来的美国铁路管制历史，认为美国铁路放权改革经验值得总结。     

Financing the social economy: a case study of Triodos Bank

Nonprofit and voluntary sector organisations are taking an increasingly sophisticated approach to their financial management, including their banking requirements. While there have been signs that the mainstream commercial banks have been responding to those needs, recent years have also witnessed a number of initiatives taken by organisations with roots closer to the nonprofit and voluntary sector. One such organisation is Triodos Bank. This paper seeks to explain what Triodos Bank does, paying particular attention to those unusual features of its operations which are likely to be of interest to managers of nonprofit and voluntary sector organisations. It is suggested thatwhatTriodosdoesisbothinterestinginitself and indicative of ways in which social economy financing might develop in the future. Copyright © 2001 Henry Stewart Publications     

Increasingly Marginal Utilities: Diversification and Free Cash Flow in Newly Privatized UK Utilities

This article was the experience of the newly privatized UK utilities as a unique natural experiment to explore aspects of the life cycle/free cash-flow hypothesis of Dennis Mueller and Michael Jensen. It demonstrates that in their immediate post-privatization, regulated environment the UK utilities experienced severe attenuation of all the principal forms of corporate governance, while remaining substantial cash generators but with limited scope for core business growth. It shows that the firms responded with a rapid – and apparently unsuccessful – expansion of non-core activities. The article then uses a two-way random effects panel design and finds substantial and robust support for the maintained hypothesis that (lagged) cash-flow drove diversification. The results also generate clear implications for privatization policy. In particular, they suggest that the incentive benefits anticipated from substituting private for government ownership may become distorted if the managements of newly privatized enterprises are sheltered from the regular disciplines of corporate governance.