Do retail mergers affect competition? Evidence from grocery retailing

This study estimates the price effects of horizontal mergers in the U.S. grocery retailing industry. We examine fourteen regions affected by mergers, including mergers in highly concentrated and relatively unconcentrated markets. We identify price effects by comparing markets affected by mergers to unaffected markets using difference‐in‐difference estimation with three different comparison groups, propensity score weights, and by using the synthetic control method. Our results are robust to the choice of control group and estimation technique. We find that mergers in highly concentrated markets are most frequently associated with price increases, and mergers in less concentrated markets are most often associated with price decreases.     

Utilizing environmental information and pricing strategies to reduce externalities of tourism: the case of invasive species in the Galapagos

The increase in demand for nature-based tourism brings economic and educational benefits but risks the introduction of invasive species. Increasing the length of tourist trips can better balance these benefits and risks by maintaining revenues while reducing the number of unique contacts with tourists. Changing the relative prices of trips can induce tourists to take longer trips. We hypothesized that providing information about the negative externalities of tourism could improve the effectiveness of such pricing strategies.

We administered one of two discrete choice surveys to tourists considering a trip to the Galapagos. One of the surveys described the Galapagos as a fragile ecosystem susceptible to invasive species; the second described it as a standard nature-based destination. For each sample, we estimated the probability of the tourist choosing a short versus long trip, given the tourist's personal information and trip options presented to him. We then simulated the demand for trips using three pricing strategies. We found that providing information on invasive species significantly increased the efficacy of strategic pricing. We propose using a two-prong approach to tourism management: educate potential tourists about the islands’ vulnerabilities, and simultaneously increase the per-day cost of short trips relative to that of longer trips.     

A theoretical framework for the studio as a learning environment

In this article we describe a holistic, ecological framework that takes into account the surface structures and pedagogical approaches in the studio and how these elements are connected to the construction of design knowledge: epistemology. In our development of this framework, we came to understand how disciplinary underpinnings and academic culture shape the ways that studio is enacted. Using practice theory, we illustrate our framework with two examples—one in Industrial Design and another in Human Computer Interaction—that demonstrate the ways in which the studio can act as a bridge between academic and professional communities. We came to see the studio as a unique practice community that connects academic and professional contexts. We argue that successful implementation of studio-based learning involves an awareness of disciplinary canons, ontological approaches to knowledge, and the academic constraints on studio-based approaches to learning.     

Dynamics and equilibrium in a structural model of wide‐body commercial aircraft markets

This paper develops and estimates a dynamic equilibrium model of the market for new and used commercial aircraft. The model is estimated by maximum simulated likelihood using data on wide‐body aircraft owners and prices for transactions occurring 1978‐1997. The importance of explicitly modeling dynamics and equilibrium in new and used markets for durable goods is illustrated in two counterfactual experiments. Estimates of the structural model are used to show that implementing an investment tax credit not only increases demand for new wide‐body aircraft by the airlines that receive the tax credit, but also increases the number of new wide‐body aircraft owned by airlines not directly affected by the policy. Further, the model indicates that a policy which improves the efficiency of secondary markets for used wide‐body aircraft will also stimulate demand for new wide‐body aircraft. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Forecasting livestock prices with individual and composite methods

We investigate the incentives of private firms to adopt new technologies. Econometric investigation is performed on a pooled sample of individual US airline firms over the period 1971 to 1986 for which extensive information on available jet aircraft technology and fleet choice have been recorded. Given the incidence of successive commercial aircraft innovations and variation in production attributes across firms, we are able to consider a wider array of ‘time-dependent’ and ‘time-independent’ adoption influences than in previous firm-level studies. To the extent that our study provides useful general insights into adoption decisions by firms, the results have implications for US global competitiveness policy. One key finding is that firms subject to increased product market competition exhibit a higher propensity to adopt technological innovations.     

Productivity of New York Dairy Farms Measured by Nonparametric Malmquist Indices

The productivity of 70 individual New York dairy farms, decomposed into technical efficiency change and technological change components, was measured annually from 1985 to 1993 from output distance functions estimated using nonparametric programming methods. Technology is measured regressively only if it is regressive to all previous periods rather than just the immediate previous period. Productivity increase averaged 2.6 per cent annually, mostly from gains in technological improvements, since average efficiency decreased slightly. Twenty-five per cent of the farms failed to increase productivity sufficiently over the period to offset the decreased ratio of output to input prices.     

Discrimination and development? Immigration,urbanisation and sustainable livelihoods in Johannesburg

Through its analysis of new survey data and interviews coupled with participant observation, this article examines how official and popular responses to international migration and urbanisation may undermine Johannesburg's efforts to build a prosperous, safe and inclusive city. Working from the position that international migration is an inexorable response to regional economic inequality, it illustrates how ignorance, xenophobia and legal discrimination are preventing significant numbers of foreign migrants from productively integrating into Johannesburg's politics, economy and communities. It concludes that, in an era of migration, building inclusive and sustainable cities means finding creative ways to combat discrimination based on nationality, even when such exclusion is legally, politically, and socially mandated. Doing otherwise tacitly endorses human rights abuses, social fragmentation, inequitable growth and insecurity.     

A tale of three cities: Large,medium, and small consumer markets compared

In what size consumer markets does the consumer fare best — those of large, medium-sized, or small cities/towns? This is the general question that this article seeks to answer through analysis of price-quality data pertaining to Minneapolis (a large city), Ann Arbor, MI, and Ithaca, NY (a small town). While differences were smaller than expected, limited evidence from this pilot study support the notion that small markets are most efficient. At the same time the analysis confirms others' findings that most consumer markets are chaotic.     

Illegal Landings: An Aggregate Catch Self-Reporting Mechanism

To solve the problem of illegal landings this article proposes a new tax mechanism based on the regulator's own aggregate catch estimates and ex ante self-reports of planned catch by fishermen. We show that the mechanism avoids illegal landings while ensuring (nearly) optimal exploitation and generating (nearly) correct entry and exit incentives. Finally we simulate the mechanism for the Danish cod fishery in Kattegat to obtain a rough indicator of the size of the tax. It turns out that the average tax payment as a percentage of profit is surprisingly low.