ON THE PROFITABILITY OF RESALE PRICE MAINTENANCE WHEN DEMAND IS UNCERTAIN

A previous study finds that in a market where a manufacturer faces uncertain demand and sells to consumers through competitive retailers, the manufacture wishes to support adequate retail inventories by imposing resale price maintenance (RPM). I show that if retail inventories are allocated to consumers through first‐come‐first‐served rule rather than efficient rationing rule in the game with unconstrained retail competition, imposing RPM may not be profitable. It may not encourage more retail inventories either. RPM may also lower consumer surpluses and social welfare. This study casts some doubt on the demand uncertainty theory that supports RPM.     

PRECAUTIONARY DEMAND FOR LABOUR AND FIRM SIZE

This paper studies firms' job creation decisions in a labour market with search frictions. A simple labour market search model is developed in which a firm can search for a second employee while producing with a first worker, and this creates the equilibrium size distribution of firms. A firm expands employment even if the instantaneous payoff to a large firm is less than that of staying small – a firm has a precautionary motive to expand its size. In addition, this motive is enhanced by a greater market tightness. Because of this effect, firms’ decisions become interdependent – a firm creates a vacancy if it expects other firms to do the same, creating strategic complementarity among firms and thereby self‐fulfilling multiple equilibria. An increase in productivity can cause a qualitative change in labour market tightness and the rate of unemployment.     

ON ASYMPTOTIC PROPERTIES OF THE PARAMETERS OF DIFFERENTIATED PRODUCT DEMAND AND SUPPLY SYSTEMS WHEN DEMOGRAPHICALLY CATEGORIZED PURCHASING PATTERN DATA ARE AVAILABLE*

We derive asymptotic properties of an estimator for supply and demand models extended with additional moments relating consumer demographics to the characteristics of purchased products. We clarify the structure of a practical sampling scheme in which the extended estimator is consistent, asymptotically normal, and more efficient than the original estimator. We provide conditions guaranteeing the asymptotic theorems hold for the random coefficient logit model of demand with oligopolistic suppliers. Extensive simulation studies demonstrate significant benefits of the additional moments in estimating the random coefficient logit model.     

民营制造业中的企业规模—工资效应

本文基于调查数据就民营制造业中企业规模对工人工资的影响进行了实证研究。结果显示,企业规模—工资效应在民营制造业中普遍存在,工人工资与企业规模正相关。同时发现,工人素质假说和劳动生产率假说对于该效应的成因具有较强的解释力。对传导机制的研究表明,企业规模主要通过工人素质、资本密集度、技术水平以及工会组建率等因素间接作用于工人工资。     

WAGE AND EMPLOYMENT DETERMINATION WHEN EMPLOYMENT ADJUSTMENT IS COSTLY*

The paper introduces employment adjustment costs into two widely used models of the trade union, and contrasts the resulting equilibrium wage and employment levels with those which result if employment can be costlessly adjusted.     

上海出口机电产品涉及产业现状与发展对策——以计算机、集成电路、船舶和汽车等产业为例

以计算机、集成电路、船舶和汽车等出口机电产品涉及的产业作为研究对象,分析上海出口机电产品的产业现状及存在问题,并有针对性地提出相应的产业政策建议.这对于提高上海出口机电产品整体发展水平具有重要意义,同时对于相关省市的机电产品发展以及全国的出门机电产品发展具有一定的借鉴意义.     

FIRM SIZE AND EFFICIENCY IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN MOTOR VEHICLE INDUSTRY*

The South African motor vehicle industry has historically been considered a critical industry in the South African economy and the target of numerous government policies designed to protect it and/or increase its international competitiveness. This study examines the cost performance of firms in this industry according to their size, using data categorised by output level. The results are consistent with statistically significant economies of scale at the lowest output levels and a cost inefficiency averaging from about seven to nine per cent for all firms. The findings also suggest that all else equal, the smallest firms and the largest firms have lower unit costs than mid‐sized firms. While this work suggests that policies that would give incentives for the smallest firms to increase their scale of operations might help to reduce their unit costs, further investigation needs to be done with respect to why firms in the mid‐level size categories appear to be less efficient.     

A THEORY OF WAGES AND LABOR DEMAND WITH INTRA‐FIRM BARGAINING AND MATCHING FRICTIONS*

This article provides a model of labor market equilibrium with search and within‐firm strategic bargaining. We yield explicit closed form solutions with heterogeneous labor inputs and capital. The solution exhibits overemployment. We show that higher relative bargaining power for some groups of workers may lead to overemployment relative to other groups, with such other groups being underemployed instead if they have a lower relative bargaining power. Similarly, the hold‐up problem between capitalists and employees does not necessarily lead to underinvestment in physical capital.     

总需求和总供给冲击对我国失业和产出动态关系的影响分析

在我国的失业产出关系中,短期内,总供给冲击是产出波动的主要来源,总需求冲击则是失业波动的主要来源,总需求冲击和总供给冲击共同破坏了产出失业之间反向变化关系,但是总需求冲击的破坏作用更多一些。在长期,总需求冲击对产出没有影响,总供给冲击对产出有显著的正的影响,总需求冲击在长期对失业没有影响,但总供给冲击在长期会对失业产生不利影响,即正的供给冲击的累积影响所带来的产出增加在长期使我国的失业率上升。     

INFLATION AND THE PUBLIC DEFICIT WHEN THE UTILITY OF MONEY IS INSATIABLE*

When the marginal utility of money is positive even at very high levels of the asset (Yoshiyasu Ono's, 1994, assumption), the relationship between inflation and the public deficit at full employment may result in a unique perverse equilibrium where higher deficits reduce inflation. If there are two equilibria, the low inflation equilibrium is one where the perverse effect between inflation and the public deficit prevails; while in the high inflation equilibrium higher public deficits increase inflation. These results contrast sharply with traditional results found in the literature.