Approximation approach for the performance analysis of production lines under a kanban discipline

In a JIT production environment, pull-type control systems are usually implemented to reduce the lead time and to synchronize the production rate with the demand rate. The design of an effective production control system requires easy and reliable approaches for evaluating the effect of the major system parameters on its performance.In this paper we model the kanban control system of a manufacturing line as a Markov process. In addition, we develop an approximation approach to the model that permits reliable evaluation of manufacturing system performance in terms of throughput time and work-in-process. The validation of the approach is implemented by comparing the exact results (based on discrete event simulation) and the approximated results.A good approximation is observed for a large range of conditions.     

Increasing Dependency Ratios, Pensions and Tax Smoothing

The implication of increasing dependency ratios for pay–as–you–go, defined–benefit pension programmes are examined. Modifications aimed at smoothing contributions while maintaining benefits intact are analysed for both open and closed economies.
(J.E.L.: H2, F3, J1).     

Measuring the Effective Tax Burden in the Real World*

This paper argues that forward‐looking indices of the effective tax burden on income from capital – namely, effective marginal and average tax rates – are negatively biased because traditional models overlook dividend constraints associated with financial tax incentives, such as accelerated depreciation. The paper presents measures of the two indices adjusted to remove the bias and compares the new indices with the traditional ones. Numerical simulations carried out to quantify the magnitude of the bias for France, Germany, Ireland, Italy and the UK give evidence of sizeable distortions in the unadjusted indices and, in turn, suggest significant mismeasurement in the current assessment of the effective tax burden.     

The future of fiscal federalism

For at least three decades after World War II, there was little interest in fiscal decentralization. Because of the large growth in public spending that took place during that period, a growth that was mainly focused at the central government level, this was a period characterized by fiscal centralization in most countries. Starting in the late 1970s, a reaction against large governments started. This reaction followed two distinct tracks: privatization and fiscal decentralization. The paper argues that these two tracks were almost two sides of the same coin and were largely mutually exclusive. They reflected similar concerns and objectives. In more recent decades, globalization has been creating global public goods or public “bads” and international activities that would require public attention or the action of a “world government”. Because no such government exists, its role is progressively being delegated to proxies, in the form of international organizations, agreements, treaties, accords and other forms of international understandings. The paper concludes that this development is likely to weaken over time the role of central governments. It also speculates that it may strengthen the importance of municipalities.     

Predicting consumers’ cheating behavior. The role of mental representation of goods and psychological ownership

This study examines the likelihood of cheating when consumers are offered with the option of using postponed payment plans after purchasing hedonic goods. It addresses how the nature of the good combined with payment timing affects its perceived psychological ownership, which in turn influences consumers’ cheating behavior. Three experimental studies indicate that when consumers mentally represent a hedonic (vs. utilitarian) good, they are more likely to cheat. This effect is greater with a postponed payment than with an immediate one. Findings also show that perceived psychological ownership is lower for hedonic goods and this explains different levels of cheating behavior. The paper offers managerial guidance on how to increase perceived psychological ownership for hedonic goods, with the goal of reducing cheating behavior.     

Trading protocols and price discovery: Implicit transaction costs in Indian single stock futures

We show how trading protocols impede the price discovery process in single stock futures as implicit trade costs outweigh explicit costs. Despite the trade volume dominance, trade costs advantage and leverage efficiency in futures markets, single stock futures account for only 35% of the price discovery vis-á-vis the spot market. Futures market's informational efficiency is adversely affected by market frictions in the form of marketwide position limits, minimum contract values, and margin requirements.     

A Multiagent Model for Coordinated Distribution Chain Planning

The aim of this article is to show the advantages that the use of a multiagent model can provide in implementing vertical and lateral coordination among the components of a noncentralized distribution chain. This model has been implemented in Java language in order to allow for the development of a Web-based decision support system that can perform the coordination strategies, simulated in this article in a real logistics chain.

This article, after introducing the main concepts related to the adoption of coordination mechanisms within a supply chain, the main issues of agent-oriented technology, and a brief review of the related literature, presents the structure of the proposed model and the static and dynamic behaviors of the decision-making agents. The design issues of specific coordination models, the negotiation mechanisms introduced, and their proper tuning are then discussed. The models have been applied to a real two-level distribution system of an electromechanical company, made up of a supplier and a geographically distributed network of retailers. Experimental results showed the benefits derived from the adoption of coordination-based models, above all in supply contexts, characterized by relevant information sharing among the main tiers of the chain.     

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