Technology adoption, learning spillovers, and the optimal duration of patent-based monopolies

The paper analyses an often overlooked aspect of the patent system, namely, that a monopoly franchise for production of a new good could lead to a second-best welfare optimum event when there was no future prospect of inventions being induced by the patent. It is shown that a paten may improve economic welfare relative to a regime of competitive supply when there are learning externalities or ‘spillovers’ from experience in the process of production. Comparative statics show that stronger learning effects at low levels of experience tend to strengthen the case for ex post grant of a monopoly franchise.     

An Exploration of the Role Values Plays in Design Decision-Making

The paper explores the role of values in design decision-making through the eyes of key authors and a pilot study. ‘Knowing that’ and ‘knowing how’ in designing are reviewed and the problematic distinctions between ‘know how’; and skill noted. The effect of values on design decision-making is discussed and examples from the pilot study are presented together with a new categorisation strategy for values in design decision-making.     

Quantifying the benefits of breaking bulk in retail operations

We explore the benefits of ‘breaking bulk’ in retail operations. Here, breaking bulk refers to delivering single units from distribution centers to retail outlets rather than the multiple units bundled together by manufacturers termed ‘case-packs’. The focus is largely on the benefits to space management at the retail level, rather than the more obvious reduction in inventory costs. Using data from the grocery industry, results indicate that retail unit profitability can be increased substantially by breaking bulk—but only if current inventory replenishment practices are changed. In essence, breaking bulk allows for either higher product variety within a store or identical variety in smaller stores. This work seeks to quantify the order of magnitude of that benefit.     

Information technology today and tomorrow

This article discusses the innovations that have occurred in information technologies, which have led to the development of ‘intelligent’ electronics- based systems such as robots and computer-controlled tools. The author analyses the debate that has arisen surrounding the production and use of these systems, relating them to employment levels. He considers the future of industry and the economy, which will both see great changes in their structure as intelligent machines become ubiquitous.     

Australian consumer attitudes to health claim – food product compatibility for functional foods

This study with Australian consumers investigated how appealing different health claims combined with particular food carriers were to Australian consumers, and compared the results of a similar study with Dutch consumers. 149 shoppers considered up to 30 different food concepts, rating how ‘attractive’, ‘believable’, and ‘new and different’ they found each concept and their ‘intention to try’. Each variable was significantly related to intention to try (p < 0.001) and together explained 56% of the intention score. Claims and carriers independently had a significant effect on ratings of attractiveness and intention to try but, unlike the Dutch study, the carrier was a more important predictor of intention to purchase than the claim. Implications for regulation of health claims for food are discussed.     

Misuse of the ‘modified’ t statistic in regulatory telecommunications

Since the enactment of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (1996), extensive expert testimony has justified use of the ‘modified’ t statistic (Brownie et al. Biometrics 46 (1990) 259–266) for performing two-sample hypothesis tests on Bell companies’ CLEC and ILEC performance measurement data. This paper demonstrates how key statistical claims made about the ‘modified’ t in this setting are false, leading not only to incorrect inferences as it currently is being used, but also to the possible undermining of the primary stated objective of the Act—the promotion of competition in the newly deregulated local telephone service markets. A simulation study provides strong evidence for the use of several other easily-implemented statistical procedures in this context; they should be useful in other settings as well.     

Magic bullets and the nutrition agenda

This article is a rejoinder to Berg and Austin's paper. The authors have no quarrel with Berg and Austin's conclusion that ‘progress’ has been unspectacular and patchy, or that there is much worthwhile work to be done. However, the authors argue that what Berg and Austin have described is not a ‘new paradigm’, but more of the same — more magic bullets.     

Trends and projections for Bangladeshi food production : Rejoinder to M. Alauddin and C. Tisdell

This rejoinder considers the issues raised in an article by M. Alauddin and C. Tisdell on foodgrain production in Bangladesh: a comparison of official output statistics and a revised data series constructed by J.K. Boyce; methodological problems in growth rate estimation; and the ‘ustainability’ of Bangladeshi foodgrain production. In the author's view, the key constraint on agricultural growth in Bangladesh is the inability of cultivators to achieve effective water control, within the framework of an inequitable agrarian structure.     

Determining the level of regulation in EU telecommunications. A preliminary assessment

The attention of the EU is currently focused on which aspects of telecommunications should be regulated at a national and which at a European level. The paper argues that in practice this is not an ‘either/or’ question, but a question of the degree of regulatory detail at the European level. The criteria for making choices on this dimension should be the standard ones of efficiency, equity, accountability and (in this case) consistency with the single market. The presence of externalities favours a central solution, while reliance on local information and a desire for political accountability favour decentralization. A number of possible regulatory frameworks are analysed, including the creation of an independent European regulator. In many contexts, some form of policy coordination is preferable to the creation of new centralized institutions.     

A mischievous attitude to African agriculture

The term ‘commercial agriculture’ has come to have two definitions: one for industrialized countries, and another for developing countries. Many academics and journalists imply that, for example, African agriculture is only ‘commercial agriculture’ when Africans are producing export crops such as coffee, cotton or tea for industrialized countries. Jossy Bibangambah disputes the logic and uses the case of Uganda to explain how food crops and cash crops compete when it comes to allocating resources.     

Compatibility and competition in airlines demand side network effects

Network effects arising in air transport markets are usually viewed as resulting from the implications of joint production on the cost side. In this paper, we focus on network effects originating on the demand side. We consider a network that links three cities involving two direct and one indirect connection. Two carriers, with asymmetric traffic rights on this network compete sequentially: at the first stage, they choose their departure times; at the second, they set prices. We show that in order to compensate its network disadvantage the ‘weak’ carrier chooses its departure time as close as possible to its competitor's. This is in contrast to the usual maximum differentiation principle. The network effect intensifies price competition. Depending on the size of the market and on consumers valuation of waiting time, various subgame perfect equilibrium configurations are exhibited.     

From TDF to international data services

TDF is a live subject, constrained by old confusions and worn out issues. Under a suggested new term ‘international data services’, which applies itself directly to the problems involved, this paper examines the current environment and addresses the pressing issues. The author discards matters that are no longer applicable to examine those that are neglected, and he stresses the need for a broad international agreement on pressing issues.     

Communication technology transfer : Impact on economic development

International technology transfer is defined and described from the economics perspective, with emphasis on costs. Its role in economic development is discussed, including its impact on social values and the question of ‘appropriate’ technology for developing countries. Examples are provided for communications technology, particularly in the areas of telecommunications and satellite communications.     

Opportunism and menus of two-part tariffs

We show that a menu of two-part tariffs can solve the opportunism problem identified by McAfee and Schwartz (1994) [McAfee, R.P., Schwartz, M., 1994. Opportunism in multilateral vertical contracting: nondiscrimination, exclusivity, and uniformity. American Economic Review, 84 210–230] in vertical games with sequential contracting, provided the sunk costs incurred by the first firm to invest are not too large. If the seller were to engage in opportunism with a second firm in an attempt to shift rents from the first firm, the first firm could mitigate the dissipation of its rents by choosing from its menu of contract options the tariff with the higher marginal price and lower fixed fee. The prospect of the first firm's choosing the ‘wrong’ two-part tariff in the event of opportunism is, in some environments, sufficient to make opportunism unprofitable for the seller.     

Defining inventory control points in multiproduct stochastic pull systems

Multistage pull production systems have been widely implemented in recent years and constitute a significant aspect of lean manufacturing. One of the important considerations in such systems is identifying the control points, i.e. where in the multistage sequence to locate the output buffers. Allowable container/batch sizes, optimal inventory levels, and ability of systems to automatically adjust to stochastic demand depend on the location of these control points yet the issue of optimal location has not been widely addressed. This paper considers a multiproduct pull setting where part types compete with each other for common production resources. In this environment it is important to consider factors such as lead time variability and to include the corresponding queuing aspects into the model. Each workstation is modeled as a GI/G/1 queue. Waiting times spent by parts at workstations are approximated using a decomposition/recomposition algorithm. Necessary and sufficient conditions are provided for the optimality of a single control point. Conditions under which multiple control points are optimal are investigated along with the impact of product mix and utilization parameters on the number of control points. Analytical model results are validated by simulation.     

Third generation new entrants in the European mobile telecommunications industry

This paper focuses on new entrants within the European mobile telecommunications industry. More particularly, the paper identifies those new entrants that emerged from the third-generation (3G) licensing process across Europe before examining how they have fared. Four operators seeking to become new entrants across a range of countries are identified, although only one of them—Hutchison Whampoa trading as ‘3’—is considered to be fully active as a 3G new entrant. It is argued that the success of Hutchison Whampoa to date has been patchy, and that a supportive parent company has significantly contributed to its ability to remain active.     

Telematics, teleconferencing and education

‘Telematics’ refers to the transmission of information over a distance. In the context of three theoretical perspectives - technological determinism, symbolic interactionism and information theory - the author discusses the impact of telematics in education on the learner, the content learned, and the learning process.     

Fish protein concentrate: Lessons for future food supplementation

Fish protein concentrate (FPC) was widely publicized during the late 1960s as the most promising of a number of ‘technological fixes’, to eliminate worldwide malnutrition. On the basis of their deep involvement in a study on the fate of FPC projects in over 40 countries, the authors speculate in this paper what lessons should be learned from the FPC experience for future food supplementation endeavours.     

Quality infomediation in search markets

We examine the effects of informational intermediation by a third party ‘infomediary’ in a search model with heterogeneous seller qualities and asymmetric information. The infomediary earns revenue by selling a list of accredited sellers (a ‘guidebook’) to buyers and selling accreditations to sellers. We show that such information always improves welfare but can hurt informed buyers (as well as the uninformed) if it is not sufficiently informative about seller qualities. The model also provides a number of insights concerning the private and social incentives to create information, and the determinants and nature of demand for infomediation services by buyers and sellers.