Who Benefits from Industrial Concentration? Evidence from U.S. Manufacturing

This article estimates the impact of industrial concentration on aggregate welfare as well as consumer and producer surpluses taking into account market power and cost efficiency effects. Using a sample of 232 U.S. manufacturing industries, empirical results indicate that an across-the-board increase in concentration would enhance aggregate welfare in 69 % of the industries due to widespread efficiency gains, although these accrue mostly to producers and are not passed on to consumers. Further results indicate that greater concentration is likely to enhance aggregate welfare in industries with low or moderate initial concentration that exhibit economies of scale and have greater exposure to international trade. However, consumers benefit only from increased concentration in industries whose initial levels are low and which face more import competition, lower exports and smaller markets. Producers benefit in symmetrically opposite ways, except for the case of low initial levels of concentration. In the absence of government intervention, Pareto improvements wherein everyone benefits from greater concentration are only guaranteed in industries with low levels of initial concentration in which efficiency gains yield price reductions that benefit consumers as well as producers.     

Do Leveraged Firms Underinvest in Corporate Social Responsibility? Evidence from Health and Safety Programs in U.S. Firms

The explosion of health-related costs in U.S. firms over more than a decade is a huge concern for managers. The initiation of Health and Safety (H&;S) programs at the firm level is an adequate Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative to contain this evolution. However, in spite of their documented efficiency, firms underinvest in those programs. This appears as a puzzle for health economists. In this paper, we uncover a strong negative relation of financial leverage to the implementation of H&;S programs. The negative impact of debt on investment and CSR activities is generally interpreted as an efficient disciplinary effect of debt on managers. H&;S are particularly well suited to revisit this evidence, given their strong profitability and homogeneity across firms. Very interestingly, the negative effect is stronger for firms with high free cash flows, for which debt is used to prevent overinvestment. This strongly suggests that debt, while disciplining managers, also discourages investments which are valuable both for firms and society.     

Did Investors Herd during the Financial Crisis? Evidence from the US Financial Industry

We examine the herding behavior of investors in the US financial industry, especially commercial banks, S&Ls, investment and insurance firms during global financial crisis of 2008 towards own sub‐sector and market consensus using augmented cross sectional absolute deviation of returns (CSAD) model. After distinguishing between fundamental and non‐fundamental information, we find a greater influence of global financial crisis on spurious herding for commercial and investment banks, and such herding increases in the down market and with conditional volatility of returns, but adverse herding is prevalent among investors during normal period in response to fundamental information. We also find that herding intensity on fundamental information is relatively high with market consensus for all financial institutions except insurance firms in high volatility regime, and intentional herding is only significant and limited to S&Ls and investment banks in high volatility regime. Our findings suggest limited spillover effects of herding when investors face non‐fundamental information.     

Did corporate governance safeguard investor interest in the global financial crisis? Evidence from Hong Kong SAR

The global financial crisis of 2008 aroused renewed interest in the effectiveness of corporate governance mechanisms to safeguard investor interests. In this paper, we measure the effects of the crisis from 2008 to 2009 on the share performance of 976 companies listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in the Hong Kong SAR and examine the link between share performance and corporate governance mechanisms. Our results present evidence that firms with a higher proportion of independent directors and a greater concentration of ownership had lower share performance, but lower price volatility, during the global financial crisis. These results suggest that no single corporate governance mechanism is fit for all economic environments and time frames. To strengthen investors' confidence, companies should enhance the efficiency and adaptability of their governance mechanisms in turbulent times.     

ICBC to Open Subsidiary Bank in the U.S.

The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) has planned to open a subsidiary in the United States, as part of its going-global strategy which also involves Russia,Australia and the Middle East,Board Chairman Jiang Jianqing said on October 17.     

Colombian consumers’ outshopping of apparel in the U.S.

Outshopping is defined as purchasing goods outside of consumers’ trading areas. Despite threatening local economies, outshopping generates opportunities for the new trading areas in which it occurs. Studies on outshopping have reported contradictory results and academics suggest further research, especially in relation to consumers’ micro-level characteristics. Moreover, few studies have focused on the U.S. as the trading area and apparel as the traded product. Based on the theory of reasoned action, this quantitative study explores how attitudes toward international outshopping and subjective norm influence purchase intention of apparel goods among international outshoppers in the U.S. by focusing on four characteristics of international outshoppers – self-control in terms of spending, the desire for unique products, age, and gender – as antecedents of attitudes toward outshopping. Colombian consumers (South America) were chosen as respondents because market reports indicate that the U.S. is their top favorite international tourist destination. Findings suggest that more positive attitudes toward outshopping apparel in the U.S. were found among female consumers with higher self-control over their expenditures. Respondents were also influenced by the opinion of others; while age and desire for unique products were found non-significant. By understanding international outshoppers, marketers can develop unique market strategies for attracting global consumers.     

Advertising the U.S. National Organic Standard: A Well-Intentioned Cue Lost in the Shuffle?

The 2002 implementation of the National Organic standard and development of the USDA organic seal gave food advertisers a new tool with which to communicate food characteristics to consumers. Based principally on farm and manufacturing practices, the standard offers consumers an expansion of their food choices. Parents of young children have been shown to have particular interest in organic food. Using parent-targeted magazine-based food ads, this paper explores how organic has been promoted, how its advertising strategy compares to that for conventional foods, and whether organic food has been appropriately differentiated from conventional foods such that the USDA organic seal carries a significant and unique meaning to both consumers and the food industry. The content analysis shows that the period following the implementation of the National Organic Program exhibits a general upward trend in usage of health-related cues but minimal increase in use of terms associated with the “organic” ideal. A direct comparison of organic and non-organic food ads shows that there has been little leakage of terminology related to “organic” into mainstream food advertising strategy. Most importantly, we find that “organic” is intermixed with health cues, contributing to the often-found consumer perception that “organic” means “healthier,” and suggesting that the goals of the NOP to offer consumers a clear definition and a way to reduce confusion have not been met in advertising strategy.     

Which State Policies Lead to U.S. Firm Exits? Analysis with the Economic Freedom Index

This research investigates the relationship between public policy and firm deaths in the U.S. states. Policies that promote firm births may increase or decrease firm deaths. We use components of the Economic Freedom of North America index as a metric to evaluate the relationship between increased government size and firm deaths for the 50 states during 1989–2004. Elements of economic freedom are significantly related to firm deaths but in conflicting directions. We find that in the relevant range, some increases in state policy lead to firm death more than others. The paper also discusses our results and the implications for both future academic research and public policy.     

Pray local and act global? Christian religiosity in the U.S. and human rights

This study examines the influence of Christian religion on corporate decisions related to human rights in the United States. Specifically, it examines the empirical association between a company's human rights practices and the Christian religiosity in its local community, as well as individual CEO religiosity in the United States, both of which have not been tested in prior studies. Employing a large sample from the United States, we find a congruent association between the “human rights friendly” practices of a company and the Christian religiosity of the local community. This novel finding is robust to a diverse set of tests. In addition, we find that the association between Christian religiosity in the United States and human rights is more significant in reducing human rights concerns, than it improves human rights strengths. This study interprets these results as upholding the religious morality hypothesis, namely, that companies located in areas with higher religiosity are likely to engage in more human rights‐friendly practices, and the United States. Christians consider religion as an influencing factor that encourages managers to embrace human rights. Furthermore, this study finds that individual religious managers tend toward more human rights‐friendly practices, supporting our religious manager hypothesis.     

Corporate Philanthropy in the U.K. 1985–2000 Some Empirical Findings

This paper briefly reviews the theories that seek to explain the phenomenon of corporate charitable donations and then provides a review of the empirical issues that have arisen in previous studies in this area. The findings of an analysis of charitable donations data from the entire U.K. FTSE index for the years 1985–2000 are then reported. These findings include the observation of a time-related increase in charitable donations, which is compared with an earlier study to give a 24 year history of charitable donations in the U.K. The findings note little responsiveness of the monetary value of charitable donations to the economic performance of firms. An international comparison over time against U.S. trends is also reported and shows how U.S. corporations have traditionally been more generous than U.K. firms, but that the trend in the U.S. is downwards. Membership of a U.K.-based "tithing" club (the PerCent Club) is shown to be associated with higher profit performance against non-members. Members' charitable contributions against profit are shown to be higher than the FTSE mean although short of the 0.5% target figure in "cash" terms. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of these findings in relation to the theoretical positions advanced for corporate philanthropy.     

United Airlines Connects China and U.S. Capitals—— United now offers five daily nonstop flights from China to the U.S.

Following months of intense competition. United Airlines [NASDAQ: UAUA], the largest transpacific passenger carrier, connected for the first time ever the capitals of Washington, D.C., and Beijing when its flight touched down at Beijing Capital     

Do Firms Get the Financing They Want? Measuring Credit Rationing Experienced by Small Businesses in the U.S.

This paper measures the extent to which small businesses in the United States in the late 1980s were able to access the external credit finance they desired. We argue that a comprehensive definition of credit rationing must account for both (a) creditworthy firms that apply for and are denied financing, and (b) creditworthy firms that decide not to apply for desired external financing, given expectations about how long it may take to obtain financing and the evolution of investment opportunities.Data from a national survey of small businesses shows that only 2.14 percent of firms did not obtain the funding for which they applied in 1987–88. Another 2.17 percent may have faced some short-run constraints on investment: they were initially denied by lenders but received the credit for which they applied by the end of the sample period. Finally, an additional 4.22 percent of firms are estimated to have been discouraged from applying because of expected denial.Constrained firms are smaller, younger, and more likely to be owned by their founders than those firms that successfully applied for external finance. The total number of credit constrained firms seems quite small, particularly because we cannot distinguish empirically between creditworthy and noncreditworthy firms. Thus the extent of true credit rationing appears quite limited.     

Factor Substitution in U.S. Manufacturing: Does Plant Size Matter?

We use micro data for 10,412 U.S. manufacturing plants to estimate the degrees of factor substitution by industry and by plant size. We find that (1) capital, labor, energy and materials are substitutes in production, and (2) the degrees of substitution among inputs are quite similar across plant sizes in a majority of industries. Two important implications of these findings are that (1) small plants are typically as flexible as large plants in factor substitution; consequently, economic policies such energy conservation policies that result in rising energy prices would not cause negative effects on either large or small U.S. manufacturing plants; and (2) since energy and capital are found to be substitutes, the 1973 energy crisis is unlikely to be a significant factor contributing to the post 1973 productivity slowdown.     

The impact of a U.S.–U.K. free trade agreement on workers: a CGE model with worker displacement

Business Economics - On May 5, 2020, the U.S. Trade Representative announced plans to negotiate a free trade agreement with the United Kingdom (USUKFTA). We use GTAP to model the economic...     

Firm-specific assets and the internationalization–performance relationship in the U.S. movie studio industry

We study the role that firm-specific assets (FSAs) play in the processes underlying the internationalization–performance relationship. International business scholars have begun studying the interrelationship between FSAs, internationalization, and performance; however, this research is still emergent, and has produced inconclusive results. We believe that this may be due, in part, to research designs involving the same FSAs across many industries, even though individual industries may rely on different FSAs in their internationalization strategies. We address this issue in a single industry study of U.S. movie studios, which typically rely on blockbuster production capabilities as FSAs in their internationalization efforts. We show how these FSAs co-evolve with firms’ degree of internationalization, and how each factor mediates the positive effect of the other on performance. Our results highlight the importance of studying specific industries and their salient FSAs when assessing their role of such resources in the internationalization–performance relationship.     

What influences entrepreneurship among skilled immigrants in the USA? Evidence from micro-data

Business Economics - Self-employment among immigrants is a key source for income and social assimilation with natives. Rate of self-employment is significantly higher for immigrants than for...     

A Dixonian analysis of petrol retailing in the U.K. – 1880-2000

The development of the retail petroleum industry in the U.K. has received only sporadic attention by academics. Whilst the retail petroleum industry in the U.K. is usually thought of as an oligopoly, with a small number of companies controlling the production and movement of products through vertical integration, there is evidence of significant high-level changes in the global industry resulting in the loss of retailing sites belonging to the major companies, and a rise in the number and influence of competitors. These constitute both multiple retailers such as supermarket chains, and at the ‘competitive fringe’, a rise in the number of smaller independents. In this paper, we identify the changes and then analyse the factors underlying them using the Dixonian system model of macromarketing. In contrast to the usual fine-grained approach of the marketing mix, the Dixonian system comprises an hierarchical, systematic view of the product market which suits an analysis of the complexity of the factors in this sector.     

Have Sovereign Bond Market Relationships Changed in the Euro Area? Evidence from Italy

Intereconomics - The Italian sovereign bond market experienced considerable disruption in May 2018 and subsequent months amid concerns about the fi scal implications of political developments in...