The Politics of Inequality as Organised Spectacle: Why the Swiss Do Not Want to Tax the Rich

In 2015, Swiss voters had the opportunity to impose a tax on the super rich in a popular vote and thereby fund a redistributive policy. However, a large majority voted against its seemingly obvious self-interest and rejected the tax. We propose an explanation for this puzzling outcome, bridging the usually separate behavioralist and institutionalist perspectives on the politics of inequality. We start from the observation that political economy tends to neglect processes of preference formation. Theorising preferences as socially constructed, we show that interest groups played a major role in shaping the outcome of the vote. Business frames were multiplied through allied parties and the media and had a major impact on individual voting behaviour. In addition, we demonstrate that interest groups representing business interests derive the content of their communication from business’s structurally privileged position in the capitalist economy. Specifically, creating uncertainty about possible perverse effects of government policies on jobs and growth is a powerful tool to undermine popular support. Frames based on this structural power ultimately explain why the Swiss refrained from ‘soaking the rich.’     

Cross-listing effect on information environment of foreign firms: ADR type and country characteristics

We examine sources of improvement in the information environment of foreign firms that cross-listed in the United States as American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) between 1995 and 2005. We analyze changes in the number and dispersion of analyst recommendations on foreign firms following their cross-listing. We find increases in analyst coverage intensity across all four types of ADR programs, especially among firms that were listed on organized exchanges (the listing effect), and those that adopted capital raising ADR programs (the financing effect). Our results suggest that the listing effect is more persistent than the financing effect. On the other hand, reductions in recommendation dispersion are observed mainly for firms that choose non-capital raising ADRs and those from emerging markets. Overall, improvements in information environment are more profound among foreign firms originating from countries with greater information asymmetry, namely, countries with weaker legal tradition and rule of law, and countries that are less familiar to U.S. investors.     

Upfront payments and exclusion in downstream markets

Although upfront payments are often observed in contracts between manufacturers and retailers, little is known about their competitive effects or the role retailers play in securing them. In this article, we consider a model in which two competing retailers make take‐it‐or‐leave‐it offers to a common manufacturer. We find that upfront payments are a feature of equilibrium contracts, and in all equilibria, only one retailer buys from the manufacturer. These findings support the claims of small manufacturers who argue that they are often unable to obtain widespread distribution for their products because of upfront payments.     

Coordinated Effects in the 2010 Horizontal Merger Guidelines

Recent research has highlighted the quantitative contribution to merger analysis from extending unilateral effects models to understand the payoffs to future potential coordinated effects. Some of the emphasis of this research appears to have made its way into the 2010 Horizontal Merger Guidelines. In this paper, we demonstrate the quantification of coordinated effects in an oligopoly and procurement model, and we show that screens that are based on upward pricing pressure are not adequate in mergers where coordinated effects are a potential concern.     

Cost-effectiveness of currently recommended direct-acting antiviral treatments in patients infected with genotypes 1 or 4 hepatitis C virus in the US

Objective: This study compared the cost-effectiveness of direct-acting antiviral therapies currently recommended for treating genotypes (GT) 1 and 4 chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients in the US.

Methods: A cost-effectiveness analysis of treatments for CHC from a US payer’s perspective over a lifelong time horizon was performed. A Markov model based on the natural history of CHC was used for a population that included treatment-naïve and -experienced patients. Treatment alternatives considered for GT1 included ombitasvir/paritaprevir/ritonavir?+?dasabuvir?±?ribavirin (3D?±?R), sofosbuvir?+?ledipasvir (SOF/LDV), sofosbuvir?+?simeprevir (SOF?+?SMV), simeprevir?+?pegylated interferon/ribavirin (SMV?+?PR) and no treatment (NT). For GT4 treatments, ombitasvir/paritaprevir/ritonavir?+?ribavirin (2D?+?R), SOF/LDV and NT were compared. Transition probabilities, utilities and costs were obtained from published literature. Outcomes included rates of compensated cirrhosis (CC), decompensated cirrhosis (DCC), hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and liver-related death (LrD), total costs, life-years and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs). Costs and QALYs were used to calculate incremental cost-effectiveness ratios.

Results: In GT1 patients, 3D?±?R and SOF-containing regimens have similar long-term outcomes; 3D?±?R had the lowest lifetime risks of all liver disease outcomes: CC =?30.2%, DCC = 5.0?%, HCC = 6.8%, LT =?1.9% and LrD =?9.2%. In GT1 patients, 3D?±?R had the lowest cost and the highest QALYs. As a result, 3D?±?R dominated these treatment options. In GT4 patients, 2D?+?R had lower rates of liver morbidity and mortality, lower cost and more QALYs than SOF/LDV and NT.

Limitations: While the results are based on input values, which were obtained from a variety of heterogeneous sources—including clinical trials, the findings were robust across a plausible range of input values, as demonstrated in probabilistic sensitivity analyses.

Conclusions: Among currently recommended treatments for GT1 and GT4 in the US, 3D?±?R (for GT1) and 2D?+?R (for GT4) have a favorable cost-effectiveness profile.     

Deregulation and environmental differentiation in the electric utility industry

This paper analyzes how economic deregulation impacts firm strategies and environmental quality in the electric utility industry. We find evidence that the deregulation introduced to this historically staid industry has stimulated environmental differentiation. Differentiation is most likely to appear where its point of uniqueness is valued by customers, and we confirm this relationship in our sample. Specifically, utilities that served customers who exhibited higher levels of environmental sensitivity generated more ‘green’ power. The tendency for firms to differentiate in this way is lessened if they are relatively more dependent on coal‐fired generation or relatively more efficient. Thus, there is evidence that firms sort themselves into either differentiation or low‐cost strategies as the competitive realities of a deregulated world unfold. Deregulation and the ensuing environmental differentiation illustrate how utilities exploited formerly unmet customer demand for green power. The result has been greater levels of renewable generation and, hence, a cleaner environment. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Imperial Governance: Governing Inwards or Outwards?

This article presents an analysis of the European Union and of the integration process using the concept of empire. It also offers a critical reflexion on the use of the concept of empire to analyse contemporary polities. It argues that many scholars of politics have a biased understanding of this concept, which is ‘tailored’ to analyse only one type of empire, the colonial empire, and to disregard the existence of another type of empire. To escape this trap, the article suggests the use of two concepts, ‘inwards imperial governance’ and ‘outwards imperial governance’. These concepts make it possible to account for different types of empire in the past as well as contemporary polities. They also help shed a different light on the EU’s empirehood and its evolution over time. In its concluding remarks, the article suggests the potential usefulness of these concepts for the analysis of other contemporary cases.     

Kurzarbeit — Sinnvoller Konjunkturpuffer oder verlängertes Arbeitslosengeld?

Zusammenfassung  Zur überwindung der aktuellen Krise wird nicht nur in Deutschland das Instrument der Kurzarbeit verwendet. Es ist in Deutschland im Vergleich zu anderen L?ndern jedoch sehr gro?zügig gestaltet und wurde kürzlich sogar noch ausgeweitet. Damit besteht die Gefahr, dass nicht nur — wie beabsichtigt — bei einem vorübergehenden Arbeitsausfall Entlassungen verhindert werden, sondern notwendige strukturelle Anpassungen verz?gert werden. Wie ist die Ausgestaltung der deutschen Kurzarbeit zu bewerten? Dr. Werner Eichhorst, 40, ist stellvertretender Direktor am Institut zur Zukunft der Arbeit, IZA in Bonn; Paul Marx, 26, Dipl.-Politologe, ist dort als Doktorand t?tig. Erweiterte und aktualisierte Fassung von W. Eichhorst, P. Marx: Le ch?mage partiel, ammortisateur social de la crise?, in: Regards sur l’Economie Allemande, H. 90, S. 23–30.     

Student employment and academic performance: an empirical exploration of the primary orientation theory

This study empirically assesses the thesis that student employment only hurts academic performance for students with a primary orientation towards work (versus school). To this end, we analyse unique data on tertiary education students’ intensity of and motivation for student employment by means of a state-of-the art moderation model. We find, indeed, only a negative association between hours of student work and the percentage of courses passed for work-oriented students. This finding may explain the contradictory results in the literature neglecting this factor.     

Strategic analysis of providing corporate sustainability open data

How companies report their data is undergoing digitization and sustainable transformation. Sustainability is important; therefore, various stakeholders are interested in sustainability information. Companies provide the required information and strive toward the use of information systems to ensure efficient data processing. A possible approach for information provision is open data. This research introduces the idea of corporate sustainability open data (CSOD) as one new mechanism of companies' sustainability self-reporting. Since CSOD is not yet commonly practiced by companies, a strategic analysis of the situation and its possible consequences is conducted with an analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. This research provides an overview of companies' sustainable development through open data. Moreover, it identifies drivers, challenges, and reasonable strategies for CSOD adoption. Thus, the research contributes to the establishment of an innovative application of open data in the private sector to support sustainable transformation worldwide.