Minimum wage and restaurant hygiene violations: Evidence from Seattle

We study the association between the minimum wage and food establishment hygiene violations between Seattle (the treated city) and Bellevue (the control city), both cities located in King County and sharing the same health inspection department. An increase in the real minimum wage of $0.25 is associated with an increase of at least 8% in total and less severe (blue) hygiene violation scores for food establishments in Seattle. We find mixed support for the increase in more severe (red) violations. A decline in employment with an increase in minimum wage could be driving the increases in hygiene violations.     

Critical factors in technological innovation and their policy implications

This paper explores the critical factors which affect the innovation proccess. Some ways in which some of these factors can be influenced by appropriate policy measures are discussed. In particular, the role of the federal government in promoting innovation is discussed.The role of the government in stimulating and nurturing the innovation process is a controversial one. Proponents of the free enterprise system, many of whom are spokespersons for various industries, have persistently pointed out the deleterious effects of regulation and control on the innovation process. By contrast, advocates of an activist government role are often able to cite the protection of the common welfare as a primary need for government intervention. In truth, the “government” is a patchwork of many governments, operating through many agencies and affecting firms and individuals at several levels and leverage points. The same regulation that has deleterious effects on Industry A may be a stimulus for innovation in Industry B. Even in Industry A, the regulation may act as a force in directing efforts toward certain types of R&D programs that would not otherwise be undertaken.In this paper we examine the specific instances where innovation projects, both product or process types, were affected by government regulation. We also briefly review the critical factors which affect the innovation process and how various governments in industrialized countries have taken actions to influence these factors. Finally, we examine some general guidelines for policymaking purposes.     

Introduction to the special section on subsistence marketplaces

We provide an introduction to the special issue on subsistence marketplaces. We briefly describe the stream of subsistence marketplaces, and the conference series associated with the call for papers. We provide a brief overview of the diverse set of papers in the special section.     

Firm and industry characteristics influencing publications of scientists in large American companies

This study examines the relationship between the volume of scientific and technical publications (papers) produced by industrial scientists, and the characteristics of the corporations in which they work. Specifically, the study examines 1. the relationship between several key financial characteristics of U. S. industrial firms and the production of scientific papers; 2. the relationship between the amount of scientific papers published by industrial scientists and the publication of patents; 3. the relationship between the quality of the scientists employed by U. S. industrial firms and the firms' output of papers and patents. Data from 225 U. S. corporations were collected for the years 1975 through 1983. The corporations chosen for the study all have a history of consistent R and D expenditure. There is a substantial correlation between patenting and the publication of scientific papers although controlling for the size of the corporation reduces the correlation. Large firms, as measured by their annual sales, produce proportionately fewer scientific papers than do small firms. The number of elite scientists in a corporation is more highly correlated with the publication of scientific papers than with patenting.     

Diversification and performance: evidence from East Asian firms

We examine the impact of diversification on performance for firms operating in different institutional environments during a relatively stable period and during a major economy‐wide shock. We locate our study in six Asian countries at different levels of institutional development. Results indicate that diversification negatively impacts performance in more developed institutional environments while improving performance only in the least developed environments. Even in the least developed institutional environments, diversification offers limited benefits when an economy‐wide shock strikes. Though successful diversifiers are sometimes affiliated with business groups, diversification is associated with poorer performance for both affiliated firms and independent firms. In sum, we find that the outcomes of diversification are influenced by institutional environments, economic stability and affiliation with business groups. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Estimating potential for aftermarket requirements

This article will focus mainly on utility electric plant maintenance with particular emphasis on steam (nonnuclear) turbine-generator maintenance. Our objective has been to identify and examine relationships between the target market and other recorded key operating parameters that would be useful for future forecasting of trends in the target market.     

Private peering,transit and traffic diversion

Private peering refers to settlement-free connectivity agreements between Internet Service Providers meant to interconnect their networks by-passing congested National Access Points. We explore the incentives for bilateral peering with particular emphasis on traffic diversion. A private peering agreement between two providers improves the quality of both and would divert traffic from third parties. This provides an incentive for peering. A three-player model is introduced and analyzed. Complication introduced by price competition and heterogeneous consumers are also studied.     

Endogenous fertility and growth in a model with old age support

Summary. This paper examines the interrelationship between capital accumulation, fertility, and growth by introducing an endogenous fertility decision into Diamond's (1965) neoclassical growth model. Under the assumptions that children provide old age support and that individuals incur a variable time cost of raising children, it investigates the potential for cyclical fluctuations in the capital-labor ratio and fertility, as well as for development trap phenomena to be observed. It is shown that when capital and labor are highly substitutable in production, there is a unique steady state equilibrium, and either damped or undamped oscillations in fertility and the capital-labor ratio may occur. However, when the elasticity of substitution between capital and labor is less than one, two steady state equilibria may exist; one with a high capital-labor ratio and a high rate of population growth, and the other with a lower capital-labor ratio as well as a lower population growth rate. The former is a saddle, while the latter may be either a source or a sink. In the latter case development traps are possible. Received: June 16, 1997; revised version: December 18, 1997     

Speeding Up the Pace of New Product Development

This study empirically investigates a wide array of factors that have been argued to differentiate fast from slow innovation processes from the perspective of the research and development organization. We test the effects of strategic orientation (criteria- and scope-related variables) and organizational capability (staffing- and structuring-related variables) on the speed of 75 new product development projects from ten large firms in several industries. Backward-elimination regression analysis revealed that (a) clear time-goals, longer tenure among team members, and parallel development increased speed, whereas (b) design for manufacturability, frequent product testing, and computer-aided design systems decreased speed. However, when projects were sorted by magnitude of change, different factors were found to influence the speed of radical and incremental projects. Moreover, some factors that sped up radical innovation (e.g., concept clarity, champion presence, co-location) were found to slow down incremental innovation. Together, the radical and incremental models explain differences in speed better than the general model. This suggests a contingency approach to speeding up innovation. Implications for researchers and managers are discussed.