Multiproduct price competition with heterogeneous consumers and nonconvex costs

This paper extends the oligopolistic model of price competition to environments with multiple goods, heterogeneous consumers, and arbitrary continuous cost functions. A Nash equilibrium in mixed strategies with an endogenous sharing rule is proven to exist. It is also shown that, in environments with fixed costs and constant marginal costs, all (symmetric and asymmetric) equilibria exhibit price dispersion across stores. Furthermore, the paper identifies scenarios in which prices will necessarily be random. In these markets, stores keep each other guessing because, given the fixed costs, they would incur a loss if their price strategies were anticipated and beaten by competitors. This is interpreted as an important economic feature that is possibly behind random price promotions such as weekly specials.     

Trading in exhaustible resources in the presence of conversion costs a general equilibrium approach

We survey the literature on the general equilibrium approach to trade in exhaustible resources and present a model in which conversion costs are incorporated and in which the usual balance of payments condition is relaxed. It is found that in many cases the problem of dynamic inconsistency will arise.     

Fast traders and slow price adjustments: an artificial market with strategic interaction and transaction costs

Journal of Economic Interaction and Coordination - In this paper, we propose an artificial market to model high-frequency trading where fast traders use threshold rules strategically to issue...     

Domestic resource costs—the case of Ethiopian textiles

The development and current situation of the cotton manufacturing sector of the Ethiopian textile industry are considered. The domestic resource cost method is described and used to examine the social profitability of the sector. It is concluded that the bulk of the output is socially unprofitable. Alternative courses of action are considered and the view is taken that in the long term the industry could be of real economic benefit to Ethiopia. The value of the domestic resource cost method is assessed.     

On the existence of an increasing symmetric equilibrium in (k + 1)-st price common value auctions

In a classical result, Milgrom (1981a) established that the Monotone Likelihood Ratio Property (MLRP) is a sufficient condition for the existence of an increasing symmetric equilibrium in (k + 1)-st price common value auctions. We show: (1) If MLRP is violated, then for any number of bidders and objects there exists a distribution of the common value such that no increasing symmetric equilibrium exists; (2) If MLRP is violated, then for any distribution of the common value there exist infinitely many pairs of the number of bidders and the number of objects such that an increasing symmetric equilibrium does not exist; (3) There are examples where an increasing symmetric equilibrium exists even when the signal distribution violates MLRP.     

The costs and benefits of a satellite-based system for natural resource management

This paper presents the results of a two-year study commissioned by the Department of Interior to examine the costs and benefits of a remote data acquisition system for natural resource management. Because earlier experience with a number of experimental programs had been so favorable, it was felt that a full analysis should be undertaken. Subsequently, five areas were selected for detailed investigation: agriculture, land use, forestry, water resources, and rangeland. In each instance, the modeling was performed within the framework of a case study. Net benefits were derived from two sources: (1) cost savings at the data acquisition level; and (2) increased economic efficiencies at the operational level. Calculations were done parametrically to account for technological diffusion, uncertainties in implementation, and various assumptions concerning discount rates and cloud cover impacts. The results have shown that a two-satellite system will more than likely pay for itself over the program's planned ten year life.     

住房价格指数以及区位对住房价格的影响——北京市住房价格实证分析

根据北京市的1308个新建住宅项目数据,建立了Hedonic模型,着重分析了时间、距离、环线以及行政区等变量对住房价格的影响,构建了北京市住房Hedonic价格指数和住房价格的梯度曲线.     

An algorithm for resource allocation with constraints in an input-output framework

In a large corporation or at the national level, planning involves a large number of inter-related activities competing for the same resources. In spite of its rather restrictive assumptions, Leontief's Input-Output model is still one of the best tool for the study of physical and financial flows between activities or economic sectors. A simple algorithm to find its solution when the available resources are limited is presented in this paper. The properties of that algorithm that was incorporated in an inter-industrial model built in Venezuela are proven and are followed by examples of application.

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Riassunto In grandi imprese o in sistemi economici nazionali la pianificazione riguarda un numero elevato di attività interrelate che fanno uso delle stesse risorse. Nonostante le ipotesi di base piuttosto restrittive, il modelloinput-output di Leontief è ancora uno degli strumenti più efficaci per lo studio dei flussi fisici e finanziari tra attività o settori economici.In questo lavoro viene presentato un semplice algoritmo per individuare la soluzione d'un problema di pianificazione quando sono limitati gli ammontari delle risorse. Sono dimonstrate alcune proprietà di questo algoritmo, che fu impiegato su un modello di relazioni interindustriali costruito in Venezuela e sono fornite alcune applicazioni esemplificatrici.

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Versione definitiva pervenuta il 14-2-1983     

Product Rivalry with multiple Strategic weapons: an Analysis of price and advertising Competition

A dynamic model of product rivalry is developed for a market in which firms choose price and advertising intensity. The model, a state-space game, is implemented using data that consist of weekly price, sales, and promotional activity for four brands of saltine crackers sold by four chains of grocery stores in a small town. A number of questions can be asked of this data. First, is advertising predatory (merely changing market shares) or cooperative (shifting out market demand)? Second, are price and advertising own and cross-strategic complements or substitutes? And finally, do investments in stocks of goodwill and in price reductions make firms tough and aggressive or soft and accommodating?     

The allocation of a shared resource within an organization

Many resources such as supercomputers, legal advisors, and university classrooms are shared by many members of an organization. When the supply of shared resources is limited, conflict usually results between contending demanders. If these conflicts can be adequately resolved, then value is created for the organization. In this paper we use the methodology of applied mechanism design to examine alternative processes for the resolution of such conflicts for a particular class of scheduling problems. We construct a laboratory environment, within which we evaluate the outcomes of various allocation mechanisms. In particular, we are able to measure efficiency, the value attained by the resulting allocations as a percentage of the maximum possible value. Our choice of environment and parameters is guided by a specific application, the allocation of time on NASA's Deep Space Network, but the results also provide insights relevant to other scheduling and allocation applications. We find (1) experienced user committees using decision support algorithms produce reasonably efficient allocations in lower conflict situations but perform badly when there is a high level of conflict between demanders, (2) there is a mechanism, called the Adaptive User Selection Mechanism (AUSM), which charges users for time and yields high efficiencies in high conflict situations but, because of the prices paid, in which the net surplus available to the users is less than that resulting from the inefficient user committee (a reason why users may not appreciate ‘market solutions’ to organization problems) and (3) there is a modification of AUSM in which tokens, or internal money, replaces real money, which results in highly efficient allocations without extracting any of the users' surplus. Although the distribution of surplus is still an issue, the significant increase in efficiency provides users with a strong incentive to replace inefficient user committees with the more efficient AUSM.     

Competitive moment matching of a New-Keynesian and an Old-Keynesian model

The paper considers two rival models referring to the new macroeconomic consensus: a standard three-equation model of the New-Keynesian variety versus dynamic adjustments of a business and an inflation climate in an ‘Old-Keynesian’ tradition. Over the two subperiods of the Great Inflation and Great Moderation, both of them are estimated by the method of simulated moments. An innovative feature is here that the moments do not only include the autocovariances up to eight lags of quarterly output, inflation and the interest rate, but optionally also a measure of the raggedness of the three variables. In short, the performance of the Old-Keynesian model is very satisfactory and similar to the New-Keynesian model, or even better. In particular, the Old-Keynesian model is better suited to match the new moments without deteriorating the original second moments too much.     

Bibliometric review of resource dependence theory literature: an overview

Management Review Quarterly - This study aims to present a general overview of the Resource Dependence Theory (RDT) literature using bibliometric analysis. I included 474 articles published in 165...     

Competitive Strategies in an International Context: Impact of Multi-Cultural Dimensions

ABSTRACT

This study extended research on organization characteristics associated with successful technology-based competitive strategies in U.S. firms to Brussels-based firms in order to specifically investigate the multicultural aspects of competitive strategies in an international context. Organization characteristics associated with success in U.S. firms also were associated with success in Brussels firms. However, the pattern of performance criteria varied. Brussels firms with responsive and innovative organizational systems exhibited higher sales growth, higher creation and maintenance of employment, higher reduction of employee turnover and higher overall success. In contrast, firms characterized by traditional and hierarchical management philosophies exhibited lower profit growth, lower profit margins and lower returns to shareholders.     

Estimating the impact of enterprise resource planning project management decisions on post-implementation maintenance costs: a case study using simulation modelling

Organisations often make implementation decisions with little consideration for the maintenance phase of an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, resulting in significant recurring maintenance costs. Poor cost estimations are likely related to the lack of an appropriate framework for enterprise-wide pre-packaged software maintenance, which requires an ongoing relationship with the software vendor (Markus, M.L., Tanis, C., and Fenema, P.C., 2000 Markus, M. L., Tanis, C. and Fenema, P. C. 2000. Multisite ERP implementation. CACM, 43(4): 42–46. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]. Multisite ERP implementation. CACM, 43 (4), 42–46). The end result is that critical project decisions are made with little empirical data, resulting in substantial long-term cost impacts. The product of this research is a formal dynamic simulation model that enables theory testing, scenario exploration and policy analysis. The simulation model ERPMAINT1 was developed by combining and extending existing frameworks in several research domains, and by incorporating quantitative and qualitative case study data. The ERPMAINT1 model evaluates tradeoffs between different ERP project management decisions and their impact on post-implementation total cost of ownership (TCO). Through model simulations a variety of dynamic insights were revealed that could assist ERP project managers. Major findings from the simulation show that upfront investments in mentoring and system exposure translate to long-term cost savings. The findings also indicate that in addition to customisations, add-ons have a significant impact on TCO.     

竞争制造商持股关系的供应链分析

考虑两竞争制造商通过共同零售商销售替代产品的两层供应链系统,分别研究制造商未持股和制造商单向持股情形下供应链成员的决策及其对供应链绩效的影响。对制造商单向持股存在持股方与售股方都可以接受的持股成本区间,但这会损害零售商收益和供应链整体绩效,随着持股比例的增加,对供应链绩效的损害会进一步加剧。     

Coping with oil price shocks - the case of Japan

The world economy has now suffered two major oil price shocks. Although the percentage increase in 1973-74 (OPEC I) was much larger than in 1979-80 (OPEC II). the potential effect on the level of world prices - and hence on the real economy - was about the same in each case. One lesson that was learned from OPEC I was that the impact of the oil price increase on individual economies depended on the policies followed by each country. For example, in the UK the inflation rate rose to 27 per cent in 1975 whereas in West Germany - which was just as dependent on imported oil - inflation rose to 7 per cent. In this Economic Viewpoint we consider the example of one country - Japan - which changed its policies between the two events. As a result it changed from being one of the least successful to being one of the most successful in coping with the oil price increase.     

From a var model to a structural model,with an application to the wage–price spiral

In this paper a VAR model is considered as a general framework in which a structural model can be tested. We carefully describe the hypotheses defining a structural model; this leads us to discuss various notions such as: predeterminedness, non-causality, exogeneity, contemporaneous identification, overall identification, weak and strong structural forms. Then we propose a test procedure, based on the asymptotic least-squares method, which allows successive testing of each aspect of a structural model. This procedure is applied to the wage–price spiral.     

Pseudo maximum likelihood estimation of spatial autoregressive models with increasing dimension

Pseudo maximum likelihood estimates are developed for higher-order spatial autoregressive models with increasingly many parameters, including models with spatial lags in the dependent variables both with and without a linear or nonlinear regression component, and regression models with spatial autoregressive disturbances. Consistency and asymptotic normality of the estimates are established. Monte Carlo experiments examine finite-sample behaviour.