Two versions of the tragedy of the commons

The commons are a one input-one output production process with increasing marginal cost. In the everage return game, each agent chooses his input contribution and total output is shared in proportion to individual contributions. In the average cost game, each agent chooses his output share and total input cost is shared in proportion to individual demands. The tragedy is that the non cooperative equilibrium results in inefficient overutilization of the technology. We prove formally the tragedy when individual preferences are convex and both goods are normal. This result has not been proved previously on such a general preference domain. We also show that overutilization is less severe in the average cost game than in the average return game.     

ENDOGENOUS TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION,CAPITAL ACCUMULATION AND DISTRIBUTIONAL DYNAMICS

This paper develops a post‐Keynesian dynamic model of accumulation, growth and distribution in which endogenous technological innovation plays a significant role. Firms’ rate of labour‐saving technological innovation is made to depend non‐linearly on the distributive (wage and profit) shares, with the latter determining both the incentives to innovate and the availability of funding to carry it out. As it turns out, the direction and the intensity of the effect of a change in distribution on the rates of accumulation and growth depend on the prevailing distribution, with a similar dependence applying—alongside the relative bargaining power of capitalists and workers—to the dynamic stability properties of the system. Hence, the model does not rely on full capacity utilization being reached for a change in the accumulation and growth regime to take place.     

A structural economic dynamics approach to balance-of-payments-constrained growth

This paper derives a balance-of-payments equilibrium growthrate analogous to Thirlwall's Law from a Pasinettian multi-sectormacrodynamic framework. The resulting formula, which we callthe Multi-Sectoral Thirlwall's Law, asserts that a country'sgrowth rate of per capita income is directly proportional tothe growth rate of its exports, with such a proportionalitybeing inversely (directly) related to sectoral income elasticitiesof demand for imports (exports). These income elasticities areweighted by coefficients that measure the share of each sectorin total imports and exports, respectively. It is shown thatseveral theoretical, empirical and policy implications can bedrawn from such a structural economic dynamics approach to balance-of-payments-constrainedgrowth.     

Ownership and its Impact on Coping with Financial Crisis: Differences in State-, Mixed-, and Privately-Owned Enterprises in Thailand

Corporate turnarounds have been studied widely in Western contexts, but few empirical studies detail turnaround experience in non-western countries, especially those undergoing or recovering from financial crisis. An assumption in recent privatization policies has been that change in ownership triggers a form of performance reversal or turnaround. Here, we compare firms with three different forms of ownership two years after the financial crisis in Thailand. This study assesses the impact of ownership differences on the level of corporate entrepreneurship, human resource management practices, and worker effort among state-, mixed- and privately-owned enterprises in Thailand. The results suggest cautious optimism about changes in ownership as a potential means for triggering organizational changes that lead to increased productivity for threatened economies. Mixed ownership may be an effective substitute for private ownership or, alternately, an effective transitional form of restructuring state enterprises in preparation for private ownership.     

The Cost Channel of Monetary Transmission and Stabilization Policy in a Post-Keynesian Macrodynamic Model

This paper develops a macrodynamic model that takes into account the potentially inflationary consequences of interest rate manipulations through the cost channel of monetary transmission. Evaluations of the macroeconomic implications of the cost channel are common in the mainstream literature. But this literature uses supply-determined macro models and provides standard optimizing microfoundations for the various ways in which the interest rate can affect mark-ups, prices and ultimately the form of the Phillips curve. Our purpose is to study the implications of different Phillips curves, each embodying the cost channel and derived from Post-Keynesian, cost-based-pricing microfoundations, in a monetary-production economy. We focus on the impact of these Phillips curves on macroeconomic stability and the consequent efficacy of stabilization policy. Ultimately, our results suggest that the presence of the cost channel is less significant for stabilization policy than the general orientation of the policy regime. These results corroborate earlier findings that, in a monetary-production economy, more orthodox policy regimes are inimical to macro stabilization.     

Repurchase intent antecedents of a competitive brand in the smartphones segment

This research has analyzed the influence of perceived value, affective commitment, normative commitment and positive word of mouth as antecedents of repurchase intention of smartphones of a particular brand. The analysis of the results was made by means of multivariate statistics, applying Structural Equation Modeling technique. The sample consisted of 283 valid cases. The results showed that perceived value positively influences the affective commitment and normative commitment; perceived value by customers does not positively influences positive word of mouth; affective commitment positively influences positive word of mouth; affective commitment positively influences repurchase intention; normative commitment positively influences repurchase intention; and positive word of mouth positively influences repurchase intention of a product of the same brand.     

Measuring convergence of National Accounting Standards with International Financial Reporting Standards

This paper analyses three methods for measuring the success achieved in effecting convergence between any two sets of accounting standards. We begin by reviewing a measurement method based on the concept of Euclidean distances. We then propose two better measures (involving Jaccard's coefficients and Spearman's coefficients) to assess the progress of National Accounting Standards setting bodies in converging their standards with International Financial Reporting Standards [IFRS]. For illustrative purposes, we measure the convergence of National Accounting Standards in Portugal with International Accounting Standards [IAS] and IFRS over the period 1977–2003.     

Corporate Social Responsibility and Resource-Based Perspectives

Firms engage in corporate social responsibility (CSR) because they consider that some kind of competitive advantage accrues to them. We contend that resource-based perspectives (RBP) are useful to understand why firms engage in CSR activities and disclosure. From a resource-based perspective CSR is seen as providing internal or external benefits, or both. Investments in socially responsible activities may have internal benefits by helping a firm to develop new resources and capabilities which are related namely to know-how and corporate culture. In effect, investing in social responsibility activities and disclosure has important consequences on the creation or depletion of fundamental intangible resources, namely those associated with employees. The external benefits of CSR are related to its effect on corporate reputation. Corporate reputation can be understood as a fundamental intangible resource which can be created or depleted as a consequence of the decisions to engage or not in social responsibility activities and disclosure. Firms with good social responsibility reputation may improve relations with external actors. They may also attract better employees or increase current employees’ motivation, morale, commitment and loyalty to the firm. This article contributes to the understanding of why CSR may be seen as having strategic value for firms and how RBP can be used in such endeavour. Manuel Castelo Branco is Invited Lecturer of Accounting at the Faculty of Economics, University of Porto. He is a Ph.D. candidate at the School of Economics and Management, University of Minho. His research has been published in journals such as the Social Responsibility Journal and Corporate Communications: An International Journal. Lúcia Lima Rodrigues, Ph.D is Associate Professor at the School of Economics and Management, University of Minho. She is the Head of the Department of Management and the Director of the Master in Accounting and Management. She is the Editor of the Portuguese Journal of Accounting and Management, Editor for Europe of the international journal Accounting History. She is referee in several Portuguese and International journals. Her research has been published in several major international journals in Accounting such as The Accounting Historians Journal, Accounting Education: An International Journal, Critical Perspectives on Accounting and Accounting Forum.