Alfred E. Kahn: Regulator and Language Maven

Alfred Kahn’s enduring legacy will be his influence on how economists think about the regulation of natural monopoly. But although the substance of his ideas mattered far more than their style, his influence would not have been nearly as great had it not been for his almost slavish devotion to clear language. His career supports the proposition that most of the heavy lifting in economics relies on just a few basic principles that can be stated in plain English. In this essay, I describe how Kahn’s mastery of those principles made him such an effective regulator, but I also note that events since the 1978 deregulation of the airline industry suggest that he and others at the Civil Aeronautics Board failed to appreciate the extent of unexploited economies of scale in the industry.     

Deregulation,governance structures,and efficiency: the U.S. electric utility sector

The business strategy literature offers apparently opposite views of the ability of vertical integration to cope with the uncertainty related to changing regulatory environments. In this paper, we analyze how the process of retail deregulation affects the comparative efficiency of governance structures, which range on a continuum from fully vertically integrated structures to market transactions. Based on the analysis of 177 U.S. electric utilities from 1998 to 2001, our results show that the process of retail deregulation has a negative impact on firms' productive efficiency, as measured using Data Envelopment Analysis. Furthermore, firms that are vertically integrated into electricity generation, or that rely on the market for the supply of their electricity, are more efficient than firms that adopt hybrid structures combining vertical integration and contracting. This research has important implications because it shows the coexistence of different types of governance structures that cope efficiently with regulatory uncertainty through different mechanisms. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

百年GE做大做强的新内涵

美国通用电气公司(简称GE公司)的发展一直广受全球关注.本文介绍了GE公司的基本现状及其做大做强的企业发展理念,分析了它在近年来提出有机增长的背景,着重阐述了其实现企业做大做强目标的"六要素增长实施流程"及相关保障措施,供我国企业参考和借鉴.     

Deregulation without apology: A truncated survivor analysis of long-run efficiency gains in the U.S. trucking industry

Deregulation of the U.S. trucking industry is found to have promoted long-run technical efficiency among less-than-truckload carriers of general commodity freight. It did so by exposing all carriers to competition which caused the very largest group, hauling more than five billion ton-miles annually, to lose output share to smaller carrier groups. Their inability to survive in-full implies that efficiency gains were achieved by reducing the extent of operation under decreasing returns to scale. This conclusion conflicts with other recent findings that deregulation promoted long-run efficiency by creating new ways for all carriers, even the very largest, to achieve economies of scale. The discrepancy in conclusions is significant in that previous findings of continuous scale economies, post-deregulation, leave open the possibility of rising industry concentration with all due repercussions on consumer welfare. A more encouraging outlook emerges from the present survivor analysis which finds the minimum efficient size to be below one billion ton-miles annually. This finding strongly supports a prediction of vigorous competition in the future, at least for this one segment of the trucking industry.This study was funded by a Faculty Summer Research Grant from Villanova University. The author acknowledges and appreciates the Office of Research and Sponsored Projects at Villanova for its support.     

Selling the Case for Gender Equality: Deregulation and Equality Bargaining

This article explores the implications of deregulation for gender equality. Comparative, outcomes-based analyses suggest that deregulated systems are characterized by inequality. A critical case study of British Gas is used here to evaluate the prospects for equality bargaining, that is the use of voluntary, joint regulation to further equality, in the wake of radical deregulation. Responsibility for equality in the workplace is found to have been privatized. The state as regulator has stood back and managers have reclaimed equality policy within managerial prerogative. Action on inequality has become conditional upon the existence of a business case, an approach that is insufficient for the task. Some re-regulation is required to help bargainers exploit fully the potential of joint regulation for equality.     

Letting the market work for you: an evolutionary perspective on product strategy

Managers must choose to allocate scarce resources either to the maintenance of a range of products tailored to heterogeneous consumer preferences or to the efficient production of a small number of products. In addition, managers must choose the degree to which they periodically cull the product line. Vigorous selection removes poor performers from the product line, but this action simultaneously impairs the firm's ability to monitor changes in consumer preferences. Empirical evidence from the computer workstation industry reveals that the ideal choice of product variety depends on the competitive ecology of the industry. Product variety becomes less valuable as the total number of products on the market increases, but it increases in value as uncertainty makes the accurate prediction of demand difficult. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Deregulation of commercial TV in the USA: Control by government or market

Following the FCC's decision to partially deregulate radio, attention is now focusing on the possibility of television deregulation. The authors review the radio deregulation decision and apply similar criteria to television. Debate centres around government v marketplace control; the extent to which stations meet FCC standards for information, local and total non-entertainment programming; and, the effect of deregulation on provision of non-entertainment programming. The real question is when should deregulation take place. The authors suggest that the FCC and Congress should pave the way for deregulation by encouraging competition.     

将质量管理融入长庆互联网维护管理中

长庆互联网的安全与稳定畅通,关系到数万口油、气井,上千座站、库,数千km长输管道的诸多生产建设与管理。从提升长庆互联网的运行维护管理水平入手,深刻阐述了在互联网运行维护管理过程中融入ISO9001质量管理体系,实施全过程管理对确保长庆互联网的安全与稳定畅通所具有的现实意义。     

电力科技产业化发展的出路何在

长期以来，电力科技产业化工作持续徘徊在低谷，表现为规模小、效益低、投入少、见效慢。尽管这些年我们在技术开发等方面进行了大量的工作，也产生了一批批重大的科技成果，但是，让这些成果尽快实现其市场价值，尽快实现其现实的生产力，其间还有较大的距离，若与先进的国际跨国公司相比，我们的研发实力、转化机制、市场准入等一系列措施，就更不可同日而语，这已经成为困扰我们多年的问题。在我国加入WTO之后，国内的市场经济也将融入世界经济的大循环之中，在这种背景下，科技产业化问题变得更加突出，如果不认真加以对待，势必在新…     

我国航空运输业放松管制绩效研究

2002年以来我国航空运输业开始了全面放松管制的改革,但对于放松管制的效果一直缺乏有信度的经验检验.通过建立垄断竞争模型,表明航空公司的数量与边际成本是影响我国航空运输需求和价格的关键因素.基于1992～2009年的数据进行实证分析,表明以引入竞争为目标的一系列放松管制改革,在刺激我国航空公司数量增加的同时,有效降低了航空服务的边际成本,从而促进了我国航空运输业的发展.     

制度偏好差异与电力产业规制放松的困境--"厂网分开"引发的深层思考

本文利用“芝加哥”学派利益集团理论的基本假设，对我国电力产业内部人势力的形成、强化及其行为对市场交易的扭曲进行了详尽的分析，从而为当前电力产业规制困境的发生提出了一个基于制度偏好和企业行为的解释。结果表明，在缺乏有效规制的背景下．对自然垄断产业实施等同于一般产业的“放权让利”武改革，为利益集团的成长提供了制度条件和资金支持。由于管制权力分散在诸多的“条块”之间。“厂网分开”后也没有建立权威性的专业机构．不同利益取向的参与者之间的博弈使电力产业的规制放松陷入困境。     

当前怎样办理进口印刷设备的手续

2003年年底,商务部、海关总署根据我国加入WTO议定书的承诺和<中华人民共和国外经贸部、海关总署、国家质量监督检验检疫总局第十号令>联合发布了71号公告.从2004年1月1日开始,将进口胶印机由原来作为特定产品管理改为自动进口许可机电产品来管理,即胶印机的进口许可证由原外经贸部机电产品进出口办公室签发改由各省、自治区、直辖市以及国务院部分部委机电产品进出口办公室签发.这样做简化了报批手续,方便了企业,节约了时间.     

Effects of Deregulation and Vertical Unbundling on the Performance of China's Electricity Generation Sector

The restructuring of the Chinese electricity sector in 2002 reshaped the market structure by vertically unbundling the dominant integrated firm and started the process of wholesale price liberalization. We estimate factor demands to study whether these reforms boosted productivity in the generation segment of the industry. Controlling explicitly for price‐heterogeneity across firms and unobservable productivity shocks, we find that the reforms are associated with reductions in labor and material use of 7 and 5 per cent, respectively. These effects only appear two years after the reforms and are robust to many specification checks. The absolute magnitudes of the estimated restructuring effects vary in intuitive ways by location, firm size or age, and for different definitions of restructured firms.     

Process safety management: A U.K. approach

Process safety in the UK is discussed from both the legal and management standpoints. General safety legislation requires a formal statement of company policy and arrangements for managing safety, but allows freedom for an organization to decide what those arrangements should be. The basis of a company-wide approach to process safety management that meets legal requirements is outlined. Some of the main points requiring attention for effective process hazard recognition, assessment and control on a continuing basis are discussed.     

2004年怎样办理二手机的进口手续

2002年,我曾写过一篇《再谈引进二手机的程序和要注意的问题》的稿件.2003年和2004年商务部和国家质量监督检验检疫总局先后发布了《关于进口旧机电产品备案与办理进口许可证工作的衔接问题的通知》和《进口旧机电产品检验监程序的规定》以及商务部、海关总署发布的《关于调整部分机电产品管理方式的通知》等文件.