Tacit meaning in disguise: Hidden metaphors in new product development and market making

This article explores the role of metaphor in product development processes and market making. Based on a sociocognitive perspective of innovation dynamics and required learning by market actors, the potential of metaphors for mental model development during new product development (NPD) processes is investigated. Three roles for metaphors as cognitive focusing devices for the co-evolution of producers' and consumers' mental models are inferred: mental model communication, mental model matching, and mental model creation. These roles are illustrated by examples that reinforce the need for creativity in applying metaphors as cognitive focusing devices in NPD and market making.     

The determinants of outward foreign direct investment: a firm‐level analysis of Indian manufacturing

This paper analyses the determinants of the overseas direct investment activity of Indian manufacturing enterprises. In general, several firm‐specific characteristics such as age, size, R&D intensity, skill intensity and export orientation are observed to be important explanatory factors in the outward foreign direct investment (O‐FDI) activity of Indian firms. The impact of age and size on O‐FDI has been observed to be non‐linear. The product differentiation activities and the productivity of firms are other useful factors in overseas production expansion in certain industries. The study reveals that the performance of these firm‐specific variables is subject to sectoral dynamics. Internationalization of production activities of Indian firms has been observed to be partly fuelled by policy liberalization during the 1990s.     

COMPETITION POLICY AND CARTEL SIZE

This article examines endogenous cartel formation in the presence of a competition authority. Competition policy is shown to make the most inclusive stable cartels less inclusive. In particular, small firms that might have been cartel members in the absence of a competition authority are no longer members. Regarding the least inclusive stable cartels, competition policy can either decrease or increase their size and, in the latter case, the collusive price can rise.     

How effective is a fat subsidy? Evidence from edible oil consumption in India

Taxes on fats and sugar-sweetened beverages are deployed in the developed world to encourage healthier diets. How effective might such fiscal instruments be in emerging economies? We evaluate the impacts of a subsidy for palm oil, introduced as part of the public distribution system in three Indian states. Using variants of the difference-in-differences approach, we find that palm oil consumption increased, particularly in rural areas, as a result of the subsidy, and traditional oils were displaced by cheaper palm oil. However, the intervention did not significantly alter overall edible oil consumption. These results are robust to different specifications, alternative estimation samples, and the exclusion of households who may have been potential beneficiaries of other interventions. Impacts were higher in Tamil Nadu than in other states, and were higher for vegetarian households in rural areas. There was only weak evidence of spillover income effects on other food groups. Given India's dual burden of malnutrition, our analysis suggests that fiscal policy interventions have the potential to effectively nudge consumer choices towards healthier edible oil consumption.     

Revisiting output-price relations in East Asia

Why slower growth and high inflation can occur concurrently, while in other cases growth can be non-inflationary？ Why did aggregate demand policy sometime fail to work, given an orthogonal shock？ This study ponders on these queries by estimating the aggregate supply and aggregate demand curves in four East Asian countries. Applying the Structural Vector Auto-Regression （SVAR） with the restrictions a-la Blanchard and Quah, it is revealed that while the AD and AS curves in most cases follow the textbook definitions, in some countries the AS curve is so fiat that demand expansion would have been effective to stimulate growth, and supply-based policies would be more desirable to control prices. We also found that during the crisis the supply shock played a more significant role in the price fluctuations, suggesting that focusing on AD management alone was not the best approach to take.