Domain-Specific Consumer Involvement in the U.S. Wine Market

An 18-item multidimensional scale was developed to measure wine consumer involvement level impact on behavior and consumption dynamics. Data were collected at wine tasting events in Portland, Oregon, U.S., yielding a final sample size of 101 respondents. Male wine consumers do not display a higher level of involvement with wine as a product than females, and neither do consumers 45 years and older in comparison with younger consumers. Consumers with high education and income levels do not use these as a basis of their involvement level with wine. Price is not more frequently used by low involvement wine drinkers in the wine purchasing decision.     

The Trucking Industry: The Lynchpin of the U.S. Economy

This paper describes the role of trucking in the U.S. economy; the major changes that have impacted the industry since the mid-1950s; its current and future position vs. other freight transportation modes, especially rail; and competition within the trucking industry.     

Reaching the U.S. Hispanic Wine Market: Highlighting the Opportunities

With over 50 million Hispanics living in the United States commanding 1.2 trillion dollars in purchasing power, Hispanic wine consumers may comprise a lucrative market for the saturated wine industry. Yet the wine industry has largely ignored consumers who do not fit the profile of its traditional demographic base. This study aims to fill a gap in the existing body of knowledge on Hispanic consumers of wine. Building on acculturation theory, the current study investigates predominant attitudes, opinions, and interests of the Hispanic consumer relating to wine consumption. The results of three focus groups indicate that the core cultural values of family, food, and social interaction are critical factors in developing an interest in wine among Hispanic wine consumers. Levels of acculturation also play a significant role in wine consumption among Hispanic consumers. Special attention should be addressed to younger, more acculturated consumers, as they are not only the primary consumers of wine but also advocates for wine for their parents and other groups of consumers.     

China's Shale Gas Industry Attracts U.S. Firms

China,the world's biggest energy user,is set to copy the U.S.success in making shale gas a cheap and plentiful new fuel source.Though still in its early days with production nowhere near the commercial stage,China's shale-gas industry holds lucrative opportunities for U.S.companies that provide oil-field services.     

The Competitive Characteristics of U.S Manufacturers in the Machine Tool Industry

This paper examines the competitive characteristics of U.S. manufacturers in the machine tool (MT) industry. After several decades of decline, this industry has recently shown signs of a modest but sustained recovery. Empirical evidence from a national survey of 104 MT producers suggests that the revival of this sector has been driven by a combination of factors, including renewed export involvement, improved customer support, and better product design. Although most MT companies are small-to-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the survey data show that very small SMEs are poorly represented in the recovery thrust of the industry as a whole. Our principal conclusion is that the MT industry has been following an export-led path toward stabilization, but that certain types of small producers are unlikely to thrive for very long. The most serious problems facing small producers include shrinking local markets, import competition, shortages of skilled labor, and cyclical demand.     

An Overview of the U.S. Regulated Fund Industry

The largest segment of the asset management business in the United States is registered investment companies (regulated funds). This article focuses on U.S. regulated investment companies—mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, closed-end funds, and unit investment trusts. These funds manage more than $17 trillion of assets, largely on behalf of U.S. investors. The industry has experienced strong growth over the past quarter century from asset appreciation and strong demand from households due to rising household wealth, the aging of the U.S. population, and the evolution of employer-based retirement systems. Price competition and supply-side product innovations and efficiencies have reduced the average price that investors pay for fund services.     

美国零售业态发展浅析

零售业态在美国得到了空前的发展,且已相当成熟,对美国业态的发展研究将会使我们从中受到启示:政府根据具体经济环境鼓励发展无店铺、杂货店、保健品店等多种业态,而且,在业态结构的管理上要进行优化,使之均衡发展,此外政府应该建立信息平台和预警体系,为零售业态健康发展提供保障。     

China Int＇I Fair for Investment Trade Opens

China International Fair for Investment and Trade（CIFIT） the 11th of the kind.opened recently,as Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi used a symbolic key to open a door to a hall at the main venue of CIFIT,where diverse rounds of business talks will be carried out.[第一段]     

The Determinants of Plant Exit: the Evolution of the U.S. Refining Industry

This paper analyzes the exit and expansion of U.S. petroleum refineries using plant-level data from 1947 to 2013. We find that small refineries and refineries owned by a multi-plant firm are more likely to close. If a multi-plant firm closes a refinery, it closes a smaller one. Unlike previous research, we find no clear relationship between a firm’s share of national refining capacity and the probability of refinery exit. We also find that refineries close when the industry as a whole has low capacity utilization. In total, firms close small, likely inefficient, refineries when refinery utilization is low.     

美国物质产品生产部门产能过剩变动趋势及其原因的经验分析

1990-2011年美国采掘业、制造业和公用事业的资本积累和产出不断增长．但这种增长的背后却存在越来越严重的产能过剩问题。为了解释这一现象,笔者提出二个假定并进行统计检验,结果表明三部门的产能过剩主要归因于生产部门整体资本有机构成、三部门自身的利润率和资本积累的变化。此分析结果对于区分中国产能过剩形成过程中政府和市场的不同作用有一定借鉴意义。     

The U.S. Carpet Industry: History,Industry Dynamics,and a Simple Model for Short-Term Forecasting

This article presents a simple model that can be used to assess the current situation of the carpet industry and develop a short-term outlook for it. Using quarterly data over the time period 1999:Q1–2016:Q2, we build a regression model of U.S. carpet industry shipments. We find that the recent leveling-off of shipments is likely to persist. While housing recovery will aid the demand for carpeting, increases in income are likely to be offsetting, as the switch to alternative floor coverings will be ongoing.     

An Examination of Dividend Policy in the U.S. Restaurant Industry

Abstract

We examine the potential role that agency costs have on dividend payout policy in the restaurant industry. Specifically, we hypothesize that dividends serve to constrain the actions of management. Interest payments also have the same effect, and in a sense, may act as an effective substitute for dividend payments. Furthermore, the larger number of firm owners, the greater the need for dividends to control agency costs. Our findings show significant differences in debt ratios and the number of shareholders between restaurant firms that pay dividends and those that do not.     

Ingredients in the Early Development of the U.S. Biotechnology Industry

This paper explores the ingredients that stimulated the development of the biotechnology industry in the US and contrasts conditions with those in Europe. It examines relationships between established firms and new start-ups; the financing and managerial environment and the organizational environment, whereby firms were able to set up networks of alliances. Its main findings are that: 1) The funding of the medical science research base has been substantially more generous in the U.S. than Europe. It is the funding of the science base rather than of the biotechnology industry directly that has provided the foundations for start-ups to be created out of the science base. 2) It has been easier for U.S. academics to found start-ups, close to their research establishment, and to retain their academic posts and status as well as be involved in a commercial enterprise. In Europe, the scientific/academic and commercial worlds have a wider divide. 3) Start-ups have been concentrated in the therapeutics and agricultural fields, with strong scientific research inputs into their commercialization, in contrast to other sectors where downstream processing innovations have been more important, which have been undertaken in-house by the large incumbent companies. 4) Financing and managerial conditions have been significantly easier in the U.S. for start-ups, in terms of access to venture capital specialising in high technology, ability to use the stock market to raise capital, and access to people able to forge links between scientists and entrepreneurs, and to introduce managerial expertise into new companies. 5) There has been a greater facility in the U.S. than in Europe for alliances to be formed between incumbent companies and indigenous U.S. start-ups; European start-ups have not found similar backing from European incumbent companies.     

The U.S. Television Set Market

The U.S. television set market is projected to reach the $27 billion mark by 2010, up from $25 billion in 2006. The bulk of this growth will come from the flat-panel television set segment, which is projected to grow 65 percent from 2006-2010. The transition to digital television continues to be a major underpinning of the television set market in the United States. Additionally, consumers are increasingly looking to use their television sets for a myriad of non-traditional activities including accessing the Internet, checking e-mail, and watching content accessed from hardware devices like digital video recorders. JEL Classification L63     

Estimates and Determinants of Armington Elasticities for the U.S. Food Industry

This paper provides estimates of elasticities of substitution between domestic and imported goods for 40 4-digit S.I.C. food manufacturing industries and explains the inter-industry differences among these coefficients in terms of industry sectoral characteristics. The results show that there is a wide range of variation among such elasticities and that the intensity of each industrys percentage of output sold to final consumers, foreign direct investment, expenditures on advertising and the existence of import quotas affect the degree of substitutability between domestic and foreign goods in the face of a relative price change.     

论美国国会与对外贸易法的制定与执行

在美国三权分立政体下,对外贸易法律的制定和执行是国会、总统交互作用的复杂过程。国会一方面通过授权总统扩大自由贸易;另一方面又建立完善的进口救济制度来平衡贸易保护主义的利益。国会还把相当的权力委托给国际贸易法院由其行使司法审查权,防止行政机关滥用授权。美国贸易政策的制订权往往是在行政部门和立法部门之间进行分配,法院通常奉行"司法克制"的态度,通常避免就国会和总统之间在对外政策领域的权力关系问题进行裁决。但其一旦决定介入,必然成为最终的决定性因素。     

美国信息技术保护规则新变化对我国制造业出口的影响

对于我国那些有着通过信息化以促进产业转型升级和实施＂走出去＂战略的企业而言,非常有必要对美国华盛顿州关于信息技术保护的新法案及美国联邦层面有关的新动向做出审慎评估和预判,根据自身实际情况尽早做出积极应对。美国华盛顿州继路易斯安那州之后,于2011年4月通过了一部反不正当竞争的新法案,并已于2011年7月22日生效。该法案规定,产品的制造、分销、