Alasdair Macintyre’s Aristotelian Business Ethics: A Critique

This paper begins by summarizing and distilling MacIntyre’s sweeping critique of modern business. It identifies the crux of MacIntyre’s critique as centering on the fundamental Aristotelian concepts of internal goods and practices. MacIntyre essentially follows Aristotle in arguing that by privileging external goods over internal goods, business activity – and certainly modern capitalistic business activity – corrupts practices. Thus, from the perspective of virtue ethics, business is morally indefensible. The paper continues with an evaluation of MacIntyre’s arguments. The conclusion is drawn that MacIntyre’s critique, although partially valid, does not vitiate modern business as he claims. In short, modern business need not of necessity be antithetical to individuals’ pursuit of internal goods within practices.     

Local and Global Competition in Information Technology

We examine the implications of changing competitive dynamics in global information and communications technology (ICT) markets for government demand-steering policies whose goal is local rents. Both computing and telephony are undergoing changes in global industry structure and changes in the nature of competition. The convergence of computing and telephony and the rapid technological change (and accompanying technological uncertainty) driving this convergence reinforce trends toward vertical competition. The emergence of global ICT markets lowers entry barriers, likely encouraging government-supported local entrants into global ICT markets. There are, however, strongly offsetting disadvantages. The underlying economics of ICT markets under vertical competition will work to reinforce the dominant position of U.S.-based incumbents in many segments. The prospects for exports, command of rent-related standards, and large rents from exports are not very bright. We expect to see far more demand-steering attempts than successes. J. Japan. Int. Econ., December 1999, 13(4), pp. 336–371. Landau Economics Building, Department of Economics-6072, Stanford, California 94305-6072; and International Computer Services Research, Stanford Computer Industry Project, Landau Economics Building, SIEPR 144, Stanford, California 94305-6016. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.Journal of Economic Literature Classification Numbers: L5, F110.     

Private acquisition gains: A contingent claims explanation

This paper studies announcement returns of Western European acquisitions of private and public targets. It uses a contingent claims perspective to offer a new explanation for the difference in abnormal returns between acquirers of private and public targets. In this context, an acquisition is analogous to buying a call option and the value of the acquirer increases with uncertainty about its growth prospects (options). We test this idea by studying the relation between announcement returns and acquirer's characteristics that proxy for the existence of growth options. Consistent with the contingent claims hypothesis, the private acquisition gains are associated with the combined effects of growth options (having higher runup before the acquisition announcement) with low level of leverage (near-all equity capital) and with uncertainty (measured by age and analyst coverage of acquirers).     

The Structure of the Introductory Economics Course in United States Colleges

The authors examine class size, teaching methods, and the one-semester/two-semester organization of the first course in economics, where colleges and universities are classified into five broad categories, from liberal arts colleges to research institutions. Student satisfaction with respect to their institution is also reported.     

Open Economy and Processor Oligopoly Power Effects of Beef Advertising in Canada

A North American beef industry model incorporating a hypothesized relationship between beef advertising and processor oligopoly power was estimated and used to evaluate various advertising options faced by Canadian cattle producers. Generic and branded advertising significantly increased Canadian and U.S. beef demand. As well, historic generic beef advertising expenditure in Canada returned a net profit to Canadian producers. However, additional Canadian producer investment in generic beef advertising in Canada lowered producer profits, while investment in Canadian or U.S. brand advertis- ing or U.S. generic advertising generated positive net returns.
Nous avons construit un modèle mathématique pour le secteur nord-américain de la viande de boeuf, incorporant un rapport hypothétique entre la publicité du produit et le pouvoir oligopolistique au niveau du secteur de la préparation-transformation. Nous avons utilisé le modéle pour évaluer diverses options de publicité auxquelles font face les producteurs de bavins canadiens. La publicité générique et la publicité de marque ont procuré un accroissement de la demande de viande bovine tant au Canada qu'aux États-Unis. De plus, les dépenses engagées au cours des années au chapitre de la publicité générique de la viande bovine au Canada ont valu aux producteurs canadiens un bénéfice net. En revanche tout accroissement des investissements consacrés à la publicité générique par ces producteurs s'est soldé par une baisse des profits à la production, alors qu'aux États-Unis il se révélait en général rentable. Par aileurs, l'intensification de la publicité de marque s'est montrée rentable dans les deux pays.     

Perceptions and Worry about Hazards at Work: Unions, Contract Maintenance, and Job Control in the U.S. Petrochemical Industry

Union statements and journalist accounts have tied workers' fears of accidents to the increasing use of subcontractors at U.S. petrochemical plants. In this case study of workers at a chemical facility in Louisiana, we explore who perceives and worries about chemical exposures and explosions in the work place and why. Perceptions of chemical exposures were highest among union members, contract workers, and those with low job control, whereas perception of explosions was highest among those reporting being rushed or overworked. Contract workers appear to be more worried about hazards in the industry than direct-hire employees.     

Teamworking: a new dynamic in the pursuit of management control

This article examines the introduction of teamworking in the pharmaceutical industry. It was found that the organisation of work contained a mix of benefits and costs. The balance between the two was not random; employees' response was influenced by and connected to prior experiences and expectations, management's business strategies and approach to industrial relations and HRM. The article argues that there was a new dynamic, but one cast within the familiar terrain of management seeking to maintain control and generate consent.     

Economic Impacts of Inbound Tourism under Different Assumptions Regarding the Macroeconomy

On what is taken to be the 'Standard View', increased tourism expenditure from inbound markets has direct, indirect and induced effects on a host destination, leading to increased production, income and employment. Strong links between tourism and other sectors of business reduce import leakages from tourism expenditure thereby enhancing the multiplier effects of the injected expenditure on domestic output, value added and employment. The usual technique for analysing these effects is input-output analysis. This paper argues that economy-wide effects must be taken into account in determining the impacts of increased tourism expenditure on a destination, and that the 'Standard View' is superficial and very often misleading. An expanding tourism industry tends to 'crowd out' other sectors of economic activity, reducing the demand for traditional exports and import competing industries. The extent of these 'crowding out' effects depends, in turn, on the workings of labour markets, changes in prices and the real exchange rate, and the macroeconomic policy context. It is argued that these mechanisms can only properly be taken into account using Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) models rather than input-output modelling. The paper then looks at applications of CGE modelling to tourism growth in both nations and regions, classifying the various studies according to assumptions made about labour markets and government policies. The discussion has relevance for estimating the economic contribution of tourism in all destinations. The paper concludes with some observations regarding the use of CGE modelling in tourism contexts internationally and issues for further research.     

Generic advertising without supply control: implications of funding mechanisms for advertising intensities in competitive industries

Producer profit-maximising rules for generic commodity advertising programs and associated funding levies are derived. Lump-sum, per unit and ad valorem levies, and government subsidy funding arrangements are compared and contrasted. The initial single-product competitive market model is extended to incorporate international trade, government price policies, and multiple commodity interactions.