PITFALLS IN CROSS‐SECTION STUDIES WITH INTEGRATED REGRESSORS: A SURVEY AND NEW DEVELOPMENTS

In cross‐section studies, if the dependent variable is I(0) but the regressor is I(1), the true slope must be zero in the resulting “unbalanced regression.” A spuriously significant relationship may be found in large cross‐sections, however, if the integrated regressor is related to a stationary variable that enters the DGP but is omitted from the regression. The solution is to search for the related stationary variable, in some cases the first difference of the integrated regressor, in other cases, a categorical variable that can take on limited number of values which depend on the integrated variable. We present an extensive survey, new developments, and applications particularly in finance.     

Technological discontinuities, competition and firm performance

This article discuss in a tentative way what determines the effect of technological discontinuities on the competitive position. of companies within an industry. Three cases of technological change are anahzed: the change from manual to romputer numericalb controlled metal cutting machine tools, the change from stand-alone machine tools to flexible manufacturing systems; and the change from non-cellular to cellular mobile telephony It is argued that the character of technological discontinuity affects market shares, by altering the barriers to entry and mobility, and by being more or less in accordance with the different firms' vision about the future, implying variations in the time needed to detect and accept the new threat or opportunity. A technological discontinuity that includes a new threat or opportunig. A technological discontinuip that involues a new generic technology which substitutes for rather than adds to the previous technology base is seen as being most disruptive. The time actualb available for detecting the need to change and to act is limited by the market growth of the new product (the 'speed of diffusion between users). The faster the difficulties is, therefore diffusion is the greater are the possinbilities that early movers will fain intial advantages. Furthermore, the faster the diffusion is the greater are the possibilities that early movers will build sustanable, volume-related entry and mobility barries.     

External technology acquisition in large multi-technology corporations

Based on different contractual forms and their associated degrees of organizational integration, a typology of strategies for technology acquisition (sourcing) is constructed. Based on a sample of corporations in Europe, Japan and US, it is shown that external acquisition of technology through various strategies increases in importance in general. Product case studies further show that external acquisition of technology is associated with technology diversification into increasingly costly new technologies. As a result corporations become multi-technological ('multech'). At the same time quasi-integrated corporate systems of innovation arise in which in-house R&D is managed together with a mix of strategies for external acquisition of technology, using various contractual forms. This presents new challenges to traditional in-house R&D management. Technology diversification is moreover shown to be associated with growth of sales as well as with growth of R&D expenditures. A high level of external technology acquisition presents risks that ought to lead companies to consider technology based product diversification.     

Consumer Self-Control Strategies: An Empirical Study of Their Structure and Determinants

People use self-control strategies to overcome time-inconsistent preferences. In the present study one aim was to test a two-factor model of consumer self-control strategies that divides them into desire-reducing and willpower strategies. Another aim was to explore what may determine the use of such strategies. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses gave support for the two-factor model of self-control. A positive attitude toward risk taking as well as the intention to reduce consumption in response to economic impairment predicted a decrease in the use of both strategies. Financial situation, age, and sex were found to influence the use of desire reduction and willpower in different directions. Income was not a predictor of the use of self-control strategies.     

What is Socioeconomics? An Overview of Theories,Methods, and Themes in the Field

The term socioeconomics is widely used, even though it is often connoted to quite divergent understandings about what it actually describes. It sometimes appears as an umbrella term for a range of quite successful but diverse and occasionally antagonistic approaches that cannot easily be combined. Sometimes it is applied to rather specific scientific endeavors. This paper is not conceptual, i.e., it concludes with some moderate considerations about optional ways to advance a consolidation of socioeconomics only. In first instance, it is intended to provide some orientation in the diverse field and discusses distinctions that can be made between major theoretical and methodological currents, subject areas, and understandings of the purpose of socioeconomics.     

DEFINING RELEVANT MARKETS FOR PHARMACEUTICALS

To identify the relevant product markets for Swedish pharmaceuticals, a spatial econometrics approach is employed. First, we calculate Moran's Is for different market definitions and then we use a spatial Durbin model to determine the effect of price changes on quantity sold of own and competing products. As expected, the results show that competition is strongest between close substitutes; however, the relevant product markets for Swedish pharmaceuticals extend beyond close substitutes down to products included in the same class on the four‐digit level of the Anatomic Therapeutic Chemical system as defined by the World Health Organization. The spatial regression model further indicates that increases in the price of a product significantly lower quantity sold of that product and in the same time increase the quantity sold of competing products. For close substitutes (products belonging to the same class on the seven‐digit level of the Anatomic Therapeutic Chemical system), as well as for products that, without being close substitutes, belong to the same therapeutic/pharmacological/chemical subgroup (the same class on the five‐digit level of the Anatomic Therapeutic Chemical system), increased competition is also visible after 1 July 2009 when the latest policy changes with regards to pharmaceuticals have been implemented in Sweden.     

Fetal Iodine Deficiency and Schooling: A Replication of Field,Robles, and Torero (2009)*

Scholars have theorized that congenital health endowment is an important determinant of economic outcomes later in a person's life. Field, Robles, and Torero (2009, American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 1, 140–169) find large increases in educational attainment caused by a reduction of fetal iodine deficiency following a set of iodine supplementation programs in Tanzania. We revisit the Tanzanian iodine programs with a narrow and wide replication of the study by Field et al. We are able to exactly replicate the original results. We find, however, that the findings are sensitive to alternative specification choices and sample restrictions. We try to address some of these concerns in the wide replication; we increase the sample size fourfold, and we improve the precision of the treatment variable by incorporating new institutional and medical insights. Despite the improvements, no effect is found. We conclude that the available data do not provide sufficient power to detect a possible effect, as treatment assignment cannot be measured with sufficient precision.     

» Mehrwertkommunikation erfordert nach vollziehbare Kriterien für den Kunden «

Schweizer Konsumenten setzen sich sehr kritisch mit Lebensmitteln auseinander und sch?tzen Produkte, die über einen erkennbaren und relevanten Mehrwert verfügen. Mit einer innovativen Produktpalette an hochwertigen Frischeprodukten ist es Emmi gelungen, im In- und Ausland zu einem führenden Anbieter von Mehrwertprodukten aufzusteigen. Urs Riedener erkl?rt diesen Mehrwert und wieso Authentizit?t eine unabdingbare Voraussetzung für Glaubwürdigkeit ist.     

DELAYED OVERSHOOTING AND REAL EXCHANGE RATE PERSISTENCE IN AN IMPERFECT INFORMATION MODEL

Recent studies have pointed out that monetary shocks in sticky price models cannot generate real exchange rates that exhibit delayed overshooting and are highly persistent. This paper demonstrates that such exchange rate dynamics can be generated by incorporating incomplete information about the true nature of the monetary shock into a standard New Keynesian model of a small open economy.