Looking beyond the Market

The purview of market economics is incomplete because it ignores economic activity within the home, according to Peter Taylor-Gooby, Lecturer in Social Policy and Administration at the University of Kent. Domestic relationships require a socialist framework to meet 'need' in a way that the market cannot.     

Singapore-based subsidiaries of US multinationals and singaporean firms: A comparative management study

The objective of this exploratory study is to compare and contrast various aspects of US management with Singapore management. One hundred and four top managers, 99 middle managers and 780 operating employees from 20 manufacturing companies participated in the survey. The chief executive of each company was contacted by mail before the survey was begun.Hypotheses concerning the management philosophies, management practices and management effectiveness were tested for differences between US subsidiaries and Singaporean firms.The results of the research indicate significant statistical differences for the two groups of companies with respect to the management variables. Explanations regarding these differences are presented.A paper comprising a substantial portion of this article was presented by the author at the43rd National Academy of Management Conference held in Dallas, Texas between August 14 and 17, 1983.The author is grateful to Dr Bruce W. Stening, of the Department of Management at the University of Western Australia for his perceptive guidance during the study. The author is with the Department of Management, University of Western Australia.     

Using simulated mergers to evaluate corporate diversification strategies

This study suggests that simulated mergers can be used to help evaluate the effects of diversification on corporate performance. The results, which are consistent with a risk-reduction motive for conglomerate diversification, imply that conglomerate strategies focused on fewer and larger units may be advantageous in terms of certain measures of risk and return. Forecast error is used here to measure strategic risk, and return on equity is used to measure return.     

Revealing demand for an actual public good

In spite of important theoretical advances and a number of laboratory tests in recent years, no practicable mechanism for revealing demand for public goods has yet emerged. A method is presented which seems capable of meeting the political demands of such mechanisms. It was successfully tested on an actual public-good project provided by the Swedish government. The method is evaluated against the background of the results of this nonlaboratory and nonhypothetical test.     

Shareholder Activism, "Voluntary" Restructuring, and Internal Labor Markets

We model an internal labor market in which employee behavior and compensation are affected by the firm's financial position and the threat of hostile takeover or other exercise of shareholder "voice." We show how good past performance can result in excessively generous promotion and pay decisions. While the threat of shareholder activism will remove this "slack," activists optimally face a positive cost barrier, which in turn varies across firms. The cost barrier is higher when cooperation or "helping" between employees is more important, and is lower when employees receive efficiency wages due to an inability to "pay" for their jobs. Since the importance of helping is associated with pay compression and "flat" pay ladders, such firms should also exhibit a greater degree of management entrenchment.     

Migration and the urban labour market: The case of San Salvador

This article analyzes the employment and incomes of migrants in the city of San Salvador. The study finds that, both rural-urban and urban-urban migrants experience income gains and are increasingly employed in the formal sector. However, the upward mobility of urban-urban migrants is much larger. Compared with urban natives, these migrants have higher income levels and employment rates after five years of urban residence, while rural-urban migrants earn much less and tend to remain in the informal sector more frequently. This evidence is contrary to findings obtained in other studies, for example Brazil, which showed that urban natives and migrants have comparable levels of income and employment. The authors suggest that the experience of rural-urban migrants is a result of the functioning of the urban labour market. Within this market a mechanism exists whereby access to the high-wage sector is limited by discriminating among workers. As a result, rural-urban migrants, often recognizable by their racial characteristics, are denied access to high-wage jobs.