Product Differentiation and Process R&D: The Trade-off Between Quality and Productivity in the Spanish Firm

This paper proposes a theoretical model in which the incentives that product differentiation exercises on process innovation are established. The resulting quadratic relationship determines a point beyond which a trade-off between these two variables exists. The estimations based on a panel data of Spanish manufacturing firms confirm this result. Moreover, firm size seems to play a important role on process innovation only for those firms with a certain degree of product differentiation. For the rest, the degree of differentiation of rival firms is the relevant variable.     

Welfare and quality improvement in an international market

This paper analyzes the optimal uniform and discriminatory quality requirements under Cournot competition when two firms produce high-quality and low-quality products, respectively, in an international market. The quality requirements in our paper are not set for the foreign firm but are set to regulate products of different qualities, since in the real world a domestic firm could be a high- or low-quality producer. We find that whether the government should raise the quality requirements depends on the type of competition in which firms engage and the adopted quality requirements. By and large, the government should always set quality requirements raising both firms’ quality directly or indirectly, regardless of the quality of the product of the domestic firm. However, if the domestic firm is a high-quality producer, the government should set a quality requirement that enables the domestic firm to monopolize the market when a discriminatory quality requirement is adopted, and should not set any quality requirement when a uniform quality requirement is adopted. Moreover, we show that the quality requirement can actually improve global welfare in most cases.     

Mutual Recognition of National Minimum Quality Standards may Support International Convergence

In a model of vertical product differentiation, duopolistic firms face quality-dependent costs and compete in quality and price in two segmented markets. Minimum quality standards, set according to the principle of Mutual Recognition, can be used to increase welfare. The results of the one-shot game suggest that standards achieve initial convergence in terms of qualities produced and national welfares. Therefore, the static game is repeated in multiple periods and firms qualities in the previous period determine their costs. In an N-period game, quality standards will in fact lead to convergence in terms of qualities and national welfares.     

On the choice of in-house production versus outsourcing by multinationals

Abstract

The global economy is becoming more integrated with the increase in international fragmentation. This paper examines two forms of global production networks in a general equilibrium framework by building on the ‘knowledge-capital model.’ The focus is the relationship between country characteristics and the multinational firm's choice either to allocate the labor-intensive processing stage in-house to its foreign affiliates or to outsource the activity to outside contractors at arm's-length. Chinese data on the export processing trade are used to test the theory. The findings show that multinational firms with their headquarters in highly skilled-labor-abundant countries of intermediate size have a preference for outsourcing. By contrast, skilled-labor-abundant countries of small size are homes to multinational firms with subsidiary production in the host country where unskilled labor is cheap.     

整体产品质量对品牌-顾客关系质量的影响

顾客对产品质量的感知是对整体产品的抽象判断和评价,不同于企业对产品质量的客观设计与预期。研究顾客对整体产品质量的感知判断标准及结构,对企业维系与顾客的长期品牌关系,实现顾客对产品品牌忠诚的市场效应,具有重要的现实意义。     

Market Delineation and Product Differentiation

The purpose of this study is to analyse theoretically the implications of applying the procedure for market delineation used by competition authorities in the EU and in the U.S. Specifically, we investigate the circumstances under which the procedure will lead to a positive relation between actual market power and the assessed degree of market dominance. Another objective is to test whether the procedure is neutral in the sense that it does not discriminate among different sources of market power. In order to address these issues, we develop an oligopoly model that allows for an arbitrary number of firms as well as for vertical and horizontal product differentiation. It is found that the correlation between actual market power and assessed market dominance is likely to be weak in industries where the marginal cost of production is low and that the procedure discriminates strongly among different sources of market power.     

Dumping and Injury Margins in Markets with Horizontal as well as Vertical Product Differentiation

This paper examines the GATT/WTO rules for anti-dumping measures in a duopoly model with both horizontal and vertical product differentiation. The GATT/WTO rules allow for anti-dumping measures if domestic producers, exposed to price discrimination, also demonstrate injury where price-undercutting is an important indicator of the latter. The paper shows that the procedure for calculating injury is flawed due to negligence of quality differences in the calculation of the margin of price-undercutting. This gives countries with high-quality producers an option to practice protectionism. This asymmetry between countries in ability to implement anti-dumping measures predominantly favors the developed countries which are specialized in producing high-quality products. The paper suggests an overall critical look at the lenient rules for implementing anti-dumping measures—especially the rules for injury determination—in order to restrict the use of such measures to a minimum and to move the world economy closer to free trade.     

会计师事务所规模与审计质量——基于审计意见视角的经验研究

文章利用沪深两市上市公司2007-2008年数据,以审计意见类型作为审计质量的替代变量,并分别以业务收入、CPA人数和从业人员人数来衡量事务所规模,检验事务所规模与审计质量之间的关系。结果发现,无论采用何种方法度量事务所规模,其与审计质量之间均未表现出显著的正向关系。进一步的研究发现,事务所规模与审计质量之间大体上呈倒U相似文献   

Foreign demand shocks,product switching,and export product quality: Evidence from China

Using Chinese customs data spanning from 2000 to 2013, we explore how foreign demand shocks in exporting markets impact product switching, factor adjustments, and export quality of Chinese exporting firms. We document that positive demand shocks would render firms to expand product scope by increasing the number of added varieties and decreasing the number of dropped varieties. In line with the expansion of product scope, firms adjust their factor reallocations by hiring more employees and producing in a more capital-intensive way when facing higher positive demand shocks. Higher capital intensity induces productivity improvement, and thus increases firms' export revenue, export price, and export-product quality. We also document that positive foreign demand shocks render firms to concentrate less on their core varieties by skewing their export sales away from the best performing products.     

Product quality,firm heterogeneity and trade liberalization

This paper develops a framework for studying the general equilibrium effects of endogenous quality upgrading, a new margin of trade, on the welfare impact of trade liberalization. The theoretical model introduces product quality differentiation amongst heterogeneous firms and focuses on supply-side determinants of international trade. Among other results, in general equilibrium, trade liberalization decreases the share of high-quality varieties in exports and the average productivity of exporters. These changes affect average export price in opposite ways. Nevertheless, trade liberalization in the quality-extended model increases consumers’ welfare by more than in the benchmark model.     

垂直差异化与电信运营商合谋分析

电信产业是典型的寡头垄断产业,有足够的市场事实可以证明电信运营商之间易出现合谋行为。本文引入垂直产品差异化变量,研究垂直差异化下电信运营商间合谋行为的机理。当电信运营商之间产品的垂直差异化水平达到一定程度时,运营商间维持合谋所需的贴现因子水平小于产品同质时的贴现因子水平,并且随着差异化程度的增加,维持合谋所需贴现因子水平逐渐降低,说明垂直产品差异化有利于合谋的实现和维持。但是,对于提供不同质量产品的运营商,维持合谋的激励程度不同,提供高质量产品的运营商更容易背叛合谋。     

Competition,firm size and returns to skills: Evidence from currency shocks and market liberalisations

We investigate the impact of product market competition on returns to skills in Italy using a longitudinal dataset on individual working histories. This impact is identified using three exogenous shocks affecting competition: the unforeseen devaluation of the Lira in 1992, its return to a fixed exchange regime in 1996 and the market liberalisation in the utility and transport sectors in the late 1990s–early 2000s. We analyse how firm heterogeneity and shocks of different types and signs affect the impact of competition on skill premia. We find that opposite shocks have opposite effects: an increase (resp. decrease) in international competition increases (resp. decreases) skill premia. Moreover, international shocks have greater effects on medium sized firms, while domestic liberalisation shocks have greater effects on large incumbents.     

Strategic trade policy with endogenous choice of quality and asymmetric costs

This paper examines strategic trade and joint welfare maximizing incentives towards investment in the quality of exports by an LDC and a developed country. Firms first compete in qualities and then export to an imperfectly competitive, third country market. Under Bertrand competition, unilateral policy involves an investment subsidy by the low-quality LDC and an investment tax by the developed country, whereas jointly optimal policy calls for the reverse so as to reduce price competition by increasing product differentiation. Under Cournot competition, unilateral policy is also reversed from the Bertrand outcome, but jointly optimal policy involves a tax in both countries.     

Integrated Model of Marketing Quality (MARKET-Q) in the B-to-B Sector

In the past, product quality and relationships were the main concepts for a differentiation strategy in b-to-b markets. Currently, the brand is discussed as an additional concept in the b-to-b sector. In the past, the literature mostly analysed these marketing concepts in an isolated way. This paper presents for the b-to-b sector a new marketing quality model (MARKET-Q) which integrates product quality, relationship quality, and brand quality in a single framework. Furthermore, the results of empirical tests of this model are presented in this paper. A main study and two replications clarify the general procedure and the validity of the model. Additionally, the empirical studies underpin the high relevance of brands in the b-to-b sector.     

Firm Clustering and Specialization: A Study of Taiwan’s Machine Tool Industry

This study investigates links between firm clustering and firm specialization. The paper argues that firms located in multi-centered, locally owned industrial districts are likely to be relatively specialized. Based on data from 163 companies in Taiwan’s machine tool industry, this study finds support for a positive association between location in a multi-centered, locally owned industrial district and firm specialization.      

完全垄断市场下商品的质量与价格的比较

文章主要讨论的是企业专利后期产品质量的选择问题。文章分析表明,在给定企业原有产品品种质量不变的情况,如果企业再生产一种更高质量的产品,则企业可以增加其利润。但是,如果企业生产一种更低质量的产品,则并不能增加其利润。所以,如果企业多元化生产的是一种更低质量的产品,由于这不符合其利润最大化原则,所以它极有可能是为了垄断市场而进行的一种沉没成本投资,从而为其他厂商的进入设置进入壁垒。     

产品垂直差异、产品内分工与南北贸易

存在产品垂直差异和产品内分工的贸易模型可以更为深刻地考察南北贸易的模式及影响因素。其中,生产技术仍然是决定生产分工格局的重要决定因素,当其他条件保持不变时,如果南方生产技术水平提高,其将扩大生产范围,在保持生产原有质量产品的情况下,向更高质量产品的生产领域进军。而北方发生技术进步时,其生产范围将缩小,抛弃低质量产品的生产,专攻高质量产品的生产。当两国分别在不同的生产阶段发生技术进步时,基本变化趋势是使本国发生技术进步的生产阶段趋向高质量产品的生产。     

浅谈产品品质的文化内涵

随着社会主义商品经济的不断发展,市场的竞争越来越激烈。要想在竞争中不被淘汰,只有持续地提高产品的品质才是唯一的出路。要保持持续性,生产企业除了要不断追求技术创新外,还要以企业文化作为支撑。同时．还要拥有并保持良好的品质习惯。在实际操作中使不良品在源头上得到控制。     

Foreign competition and quality sorting: Overlaps in US and Chinese exports

The paper studies the performance of US exports conditional on presence and magnitude of Chinese exports in the same foreign markets. Outcomes within product—destination markets are analysed in a panel covering 4,219 products, 67 destinations and 11 years (1996–2006). Generally, an increasing exposure to Chinese export competition is related with lower US export revenues, quantity and market shares. Robustness checks support existence and direction of a causal relationship. Other outcomes, such as product switching, market exit and export unit value adjustments are less clear‐cut. Detailed analyses of responses in individual destinations and product categories suggest that this is, partly, because Chinese and US exports compete only in some markets. In product markets where lower US export quantity coincides with adjustments of export unit value, quality sorting appears to be prevalent. In some cases, however, lower export unit values appear to help export quantities remain unchanged. Overall, the average estimated displacement effects obtained from a pooled sample mask substantial panel‐unit heterogeneity.     

事务所转制、法律风险与审计质量

文章以我国财政部、工商总局联合推动的会计师事务所向“特殊普通合伙组织形式”转制这一特色事件为契机,基于审计师法律责任的视角,选取2008-2013年我国A股上市公司及其主审会计师事务所为样本,动态实证分析事务所转制对审计质量的影响。研究结果表明：具备证券资格的事务所全部完成特殊普通合伙转制之后,审计质量的整体水平显著提升;而且有限责任制转换为特殊普通合伙制增加了审计师的法律责任,同时也提高了其法律风险意识。具体表现为：转制之后,审计师对高法律风险客户的盈余管理容忍度下降,也更倾向于对高风险客户出具非标审计意见。由此可见,我国会计师事务所特殊普通合伙转制方案取得了显著成效,这将有利于我国注册会计师行业的持续发展和做强做大。