The effect of ambiguous risk, and coordination on farmers' adaptation to climate change — A framed field experiment

The risk of losses of income and productive means due to adverse weather can differ significantly among farmers sharing a productive landscape, and is of course hard to estimate, or even “guesstimate” empirically. Moreover, the costs associated with investments in reduced vulnerability to climatic events are likely to exhibit economies of scope. We explore the implications of these characteristics on farmer's decisions to adapt to climate change using a framed field experiment applied to coffee farmers in Costa Rica. As expected, we find high levels of risk aversion, but even using that as a baseline, we further find that farmers behave even more cautiously when the setting is characterized by unknown or ambiguous risk (i.e. poor or non-reliable risk information). Secondly, we find that farmers, to a large extent, coordinated their decisions to secure a lower adaptation cost, and that communication among farmers strongly facilitated coordination.     

The evolution of a technological system: the case of CNC machine tools in Korea

Focusing on a product, this paper reconstructs the concept of technological systems first introduced by Carlsson and Stankiewicz (1991) in this Journal. Based on the model, we analyze the evolution process and performance of Korea's technological system for computer numerically controlled (CNC) machine tools as a catching-up case. The study shows that the length of 'learning period' for the system was substantial, even in a catching-up case. Especially, in the Korean case, the government played a 'macro-entrepreneurial' role in the molding of the technological system by giving legitimacy to the system, by mobilizing a nation-specific industrial organization of Chaebol system, and by enhancing the academia-industry-research institution links.JEL Classification: L52, L61, O30We thank two anonymous referees for very helpful comments and suggestions.Correspondence to: B. Carlsson     

The use of macroeconomic models in economic policy making: The Norwegian experience

Planning in Norway has a long tradition. The use of models is an integral part of short- and medium-term economic policy administration. A large-scale input-output model, MODIS IV, is used as the short- and medium-term forecasting and planning model. The use of the model secures consistency when analysing the economy. The model is very open in the sense that important interrelations in the economy are left out. The model contains only ‘good’ relations in the Leif Johansen sense of the word. Smaller aggregate and more closed versions of the model are used for analysing policy alternatives. These models contain both ‘good’ and ‘bad’ relations. The use of macroeconomic models is an important aid for proposals regarding economic policy in the Ministry of Finance. Because the whole ministry (with expert help from other ministries) takes an active part in the model work, MODIS IV serves as the centralizing mechanism. It helps to make economists from many ministries go around the same centre, speak the same ‘language’ and organize all relevant information and judgements in a consistent way. Experience shows that ‘numbers discipline’ and force the different arguments on to a higher level of precision.     

Are standardized EMSs useful in local authorities? A study of how a tool from the private sector is used in the public sector

Following the trend in the private sector, standardized environmental management systems (EMSs) have been introduced in several local authorities around the world. When the tool is transferred from the private sector to the public, one can ask how useful the tool is in the new environment, since the private and the public sectors are two different types of social sphere, with different institutional logics. Taking a closer look at the situation in Sweden, this paper aims to investigate the applicability of standardized EMSs in local authorities and the public sector in general. Based on qualitative interviews with public officers in two municipalities in Sweden, it is argued that EMSs are useful in municipalities. However, the study also reveals that an EMS seems to be more suitable for technical service administrations and municipally owned companies than social service administrations. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

Strategy and management control systems: A study of the design and use of management control systems following takeover

This paper describes and analyses the approach taken by four well-known Swedish companies to management control following takeover. The findings suggest two factors which can explain how the management control systems were designed and used after an acquisition: the corporate strategy of the acquirer and the business strategy of the acquired company. The case studies show how these forces could impose mutually inconsistent requirements on the management control system of the acquired firm, and also how these inconsistencies were resolved.     

A fundamental asymmetry of asymmetric shocks

A simple N-country specific-factor-type model with imperfectly mobile labour is developed. It is shown that the effects of country-specific productivity shocks hitting a small country have fundamentally asymmetric effects: A positive shock will be accommodated by a moderate wage increase and sizeable in-migration, whereas a negative shock will be accommodated by a significant decrease in wages and moderate out-migration. It is argued that the results of the model are consistent with the recent Irish experience. The welfare effects of small economic fluctuations are also discussed.     

Problems of establishing service supply relationships: Evidence from a high-tech manufacturing company

This paper identifies areas, which may cause problems when establishing service supply relationships. Case research has been conducted within the service division of a global manufacturing company, analysing 11 instances where the company established or attempted to establish a relationship with a supplier to provide services as part of their offering to the end-customer. Four problem areas are identified through inductive case analysis. First, writing legal agreements for service exchanges. Second, clearly specifying service processes to be transferred to suppliers. Third, handing over service delivery to suppliers. Fourth, losing control over the relationship with the customer. These problems expand on already known problems of establishing supply relationships. Suggestions for how the problems may be moderated are also provided.     

Wage Formation,Regional Migration and Local Labour Market Tightness*

Empirical studies of regional wage formation and interregional migration routinely include the regional unemployment rate as indicator of local labour market tightness. However, these studies are usually motivated by economic theories that emphasize transition probabilities between unemployment and employment, and the unemployment rate is an imperfect proxy for these probabilities. We use a large micro data set to compute estimates of the rate of outflow from unemployment for 90 Norwegian travel‐to‐work areas. The outflow rates perform better than traditional measures of regional labour market tightness in panel data analyses of regional wages and interregional migration.     

Decision Support in Virtual Organizations: The Case for Multi-Agent Support

The new economy, which is being formed by the Internet-based e-commerce and the now emerging mobile commerce, may become what Martin calls a cyber economy. This will combine traditional business with the new e- and mobile business, and will be driven by a new breed of online customers, who operate both wired and wireless networks, who will expect fast delivery, easier transactions and more fact-based information. The cyber economy requires that business is operated with virtual organisations and that decision making in this context – virtual organisations and the cyber economy – will require new and advanced forms of decision support. We have found that a useful decision platform can be built around hyperknowledge and the use of multiple software agents, if the core of these agents is built on fuzzy logic and approximate reasoning.     

Flexible manufacturing and U.S. trade performance

Zusammenfassung Flexible Produktionsweise und die amerikanische Exportleistung. — Der Autor benutzt ein Modell, das die Produktionstechnologie in 37 Zweigen des Maschinenbaus der USA im Jahre 1983 beschreibt, und kommt zu dem Schlu\, da\ flexible Technologien durchweg einen positiven Beitrag leisten, wenn es darum geht, die Nettoexporte zu erkl?ren, w?hrend die Technologie der Massenproduktion weder einen positiven noch einen negativen Beitrag leistet. Industrien, die durch gro\e Betriebe mit flexibler Produktion, einen hohen Automatisierungsgrad, eine gro\e Zahl neuer Produkte und schnelles Wachstum gekennzeichnet sind, erzielen die beste Exportleistung. Es zeigt sich au\erdem, da\ ein Modell des intra-industriellen Handels bei Verwendung derselben Daten die beobachteten Ver?nderungen der Exportentwicklung weit schlechter erkl?rt als das Faktorproportionen-Modell.

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Résumé Flexibilité dans la production et la performance des exportateurs américains. — En utilisant un modèle qui décrit la technologie de production dans 37 industries mécaniques aux Etats Unis en 1983, l’auteur découvre que la technologie flexible contribue beaucoup à expliquer les exportations nettes tandis que la technologie de la production en masse donne l’impression de n’avoir pas une influence ni positive ni négative. Les industries qui sont caractérisées par de grands établissements avec une production flexible, d’un haut niveau d’automatisation, d’un grand nombre de nouveaux produits et d’un accroissement rapide ont le plus grand succès sur les marchés mondiaux. L’auteur trouve aussi qu’un modèle de commerce intra-industriel qui est appliqué aux mêmes dates explique beaucoup moins de la variation observée des exportations que le modèle de la dotation en facteurs.

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Resurnen Producción manufacturera flexible y el comercio de los EE UU. — Utilizando un modelo que describe la tecnología de producción en 37 industrias de ingenieria de los EE UU en 1983 se encuentra que la tecnologia flexible contribuye consistente y positivamente a explicar las exportaciones netas, mientras que la tecnologia de producción masiva parece no haber contribuido ni positiva ni negativamente a dicha explicación. Las industrias caracterizadas por plantas grandes con production flexible, un alto grado de automatization, un gran número de productos nuevos y un crecimiento rápido han sido las de mayor éxito en cuanto a las exportaciones. También se encuentra que un modelo de comercio intraindustrial aplicado a los mismos datos explica aún mucho menos de la variación del comercio observada que el modelo de la proportion de factores.