ENDOGENOUS QUALITY CHOICE AND THE IMPACT OF QUANTITATIVE RESTRICTIONS

In this article a model of vertical product differentiation with two firms (a home firm and a foreign firm) engaged in endogenous quality competition. The firms engage in a two-stage game, where in the first stage they choose qualities in a sequential manner. In the second stage, the firms compete in quantities (a la Cournot) moving sequentially again. In the second part of this article, the impact of quantitative restrictions (ike a VER or quota) on the quality choices and other related variables like prices, firm profitability, consumer surplus, etc.     

WEB‐BASED AND MAIL SURVEYS: A COMPARISON OF RESPONSE,DATA, AND COST

The mail survey is the most common data collection technique used by logistics researchers today. Many researchers have noted that response rates to mail surveys have been declining. The Internet offers logistics researchers several potential advantages over traditional mail surveys. This research compares these two methods across response rates, speed of response, consistency of results, and cost. The research also provides unique insight regarding the ability of electronic methods to gain interest and subsequent participation among potential respondents thereby helping in theory testing.     

QUALITY,OPERATIONAL LOGISTICS STRATEGY,AND REPURCHASE INTENTIONS: A PROFILE DEVIATION ANALYSIS

Emerging thoughts on quality suggest that three principal sources of customer‐based value creation exist for firms operating in the online marketplace. These include a focus on delivering (1) service quality, (2) product quality, and (3) eBusiness quality. Drawing on strategic choice theory coupled with configuration theory, we conducted a profile deviation analysis among customers of online grocery firms using the “ideal” quality profile for four operational logistics strategies as the benchmark (semi extended strategy, fully extended strategy, de‐coupled strategy, and centralized extended strategy). The findings suggest that service, product, and eBusiness quality‐based fit with operational logistics strategy type are associated with customers' behavioral (repurchase) intentions. This lends support to the notion that capitalizing on the appropriately weighted quality‐focus represents a strategic vehicle to create superior outcomes in online businesses. The makeup of these ideal quality profiles that represent the strongest repurchase intentions of customers is also provided.     

ENVIRONMENTAL TAXES,RELATIVE PRICES AND CHOICE OF TECHNIQUE IN A LINEAR MODEL OF PRODUCTION

A classical model of production is used to study the effects of environmental taxes on relative prices and on the choice of technique. It is shown that a taxation of energy inputs can induce cost-minimizing producers to switch to a technique that requires more total energy. An explanation for such a ‘perverse’ substitution is provided by showing that with a positive rate of profits the relative prices of (relatively) energy-intensive products can be higher with a higher tax rate.     

OPTIMAL PORTFOLIO, CONSUMPTION-LEISURE AND RETIREMENT CHOICE PROBLEM WITH CES UTILITY

We study optimal portfolio, consumption-leisure and retirement choice of an infinitely lived economic agent whose instantaneous preference is characterized by a constant elasticity of substitution (CES) function of consumption and leisure. We integrate in one model the optimal consumption-leisure-work choice, the optimal portfolio selection, and the optimal stopping problem in which the agent chooses her retirement time. The economic agent derives utility from both consumption and leisure, and is able to adjust her supply of labor flexibly above a certain minimum work-hour, and also has a retirement option. We solve the problem analytically by considering a variational inequality arising from the dual functions of the optimal stopping problem. The optimal retirement time is characterized as the first time when her wealth exceeds a certain critical level. We provide the critical wealth level for retirement and characterize the optimal consumption-leisure and portfolio policies before and after retirement in closed forms. We also derive properties of the optimal policies. In particular, we show that consumption in general jumps around retirement.     

A PRACTITIONER'S DECISION MODEL FOR THE TOTAL COST OF OUTSOURCING AND APPLICATION TO CHINA,MEXICO, AND THE UNITED STATES

Outsourcing of manufacturing to Mexico and China includes costs that are not always considered and benefits that are not always correctly quantified. An analytical model for determining outsourcing costs was developed and results from that model are presented. Using that model, the sensitivity of outsourcing costs to several variables was modeled and analyzed. Guidance is provided regarding factors to consider in an outsourcing decision.     

ADVERTISING,PERCEIVED QUALITY AND STRATEGIC ENTRY DETERRENCE AND ACCOMODATION(*)

Abstract. When faced with the choice between two brands of a homogeneous good, consumers—cetevis paribus—have been observed to prefer the brand with which they have become familiar through advertising to the unadvertised brand. Some consumers are even prepared to pay a price premium for the advertised brand. Taking this behaviour as a datum, we show that an incumbent monopolist can use advertising to erect a barrier to entry or to influence the nature of entry (strategic entry accomodation).     

Exports,Foreign Direct Investment and Employment: The Case of China

This paper analyses the growth of production and employment in China during the period 1978 to the early 1990s. It argues that the Chinese experience with export‐led growth provides an excellent case study of the phenomenon of a vent for surplus resources provided by exports, identified by Adam Smith in the Wealth of Nations and elaborated by Hla Myint. The paper extends the Smith‐Myint model of ‘vent‐for‐surplus’ productive capacity to ‘vent‐for‐surplus’ resources by allowing for foreign investment flows. The ‘vent‐for‐surplus’ effect of exports on employment and growth is examined in a dynamic labour demand framework for a panel of township and village enterprises (TVEs) in China.     

农业保险：政府与市场的保险成本分配博弈分析

作为"三农"问题的一个重要方面,农业保险倍受社会各界关注。文章认为,政府与市场的保险成本分配问题是农业保险成功与否的核心问题。本文运用博弈论的方法,建立了农业保险市场的博弈模型,然后对政府成本为零和政府成本为正的农业保险市场进行博弈分析,合理地解释了农业保险市场的保险成本分配问题,并给出了一组保险成本分配解。     

A Note on Quality Choice,Monopoly, and Network Externality

Introducing network externalities into a model of vertically differentiated products, Lambertini and Orsini (2001, 2003) analyze the implications of a monopolist’s quality choice for social optimum. Moreover, they examine how the network externality affects quality, quantity, price, and social surplus. In this note, by looking at the nature of cost functions and the degree of network externalities, we reconsider their results, at least some of which depend upon the specificity of the cost functions.      

市场经济模式中国的借鉴·选择·创造

通过对西方三种典型市场经济模式的比较,既明晰了市场经济的共性,更突出了市场经济模式的差异及其根源.市场经济模式只是分类的一种抽象,任何标准模式都不能照搬,只有进行比较借鉴与选择.中国要建设社会主义的市场经济模式,必须从本国国情出发进行模式创造.     

外资银行的机会:专业的定制服务

<正>放眼看去,中国的市场上已经密密麻麻布满了各类银行的分支机构。据统计,截至2004年底,全国各类金融机构近800家。国内雨后春笋般发展的金融业,给新来乍到的外资银行提供了机遇,也提出了难题:如何寻找适合自己的途径?来自招商银行的经验可以给急于拓展市场的外资银行一些启示。     

Two‐part Pricing,Public Discriminating Monopoly and Redistribution: A Note

This note analyzes some properties of optional two‐part pricing in a two‐type economy. First, the optimal contracts along the Paretian frontier are described. Then, the duality relation between the Rawlsian program and the discriminating monopoly is demonstrated. Last, this property is used to build a mutualist mechanism implementing the constrained Pareto optima.     

引入外资对中国保险产业组织影响的实证分析 --以上海为案例

本文从实证角度分析了引入外资对上海保险产业组织的影响.外资进入后,通过引起市场主体、市场份额的变化,使上海保险市场结构更趋合理.外资在对市场竞争行为的影响上,虽然可能使竞争无序,但总的效应是积极的.通过对中外资保险公司经营绩效的对比,本文认为,外资进入有利于上海保险市场绩效的提高.     

我国外贸上市公司竞争力研究:以20个公司为例

在国际经济发展低迷的情况下,我国外贸企业如何应对和发展成为一个重要的课题。从我国外贸企业发展水平、资金利用情况、人才引进情况等多个指标看,我国的外贸企业目前处于一个相对不发达的层次。本文从提升外贸企业竞争力的角度出发,对此进行了探讨并提出应对策略。     

ASSESSING THE VIABILITY OF REUSABLE PACKAGING: A RELATIVE COST APPROACH

While environmentally friendly operations can provide a positive public image, firms wishing to reduce their environmental impact must initiate activities that reduce cost as well. Reusable container systems are one means of reducing environmental waste, but the economics of such systems has been somewhat uncertain to date. This research proposes a cost model to evaluate the combined impact of logistics and packaging costs on the container decision. Additionally, a simulation/regression analysis is used to analyze model results to determine the relative importance and interactions between container decision factors.     

外商投资的区域聚集及其对经济增长的影响分析:以江苏省为例

本文在现有理论文献的基础上,从经济规模、地区劳动力和土地面积多角度构建了外资利用水平的无量纲指标:业绩指数、人均指数、地均指数以及综合指数;提出用综合指数的离散系数来表征利用外资的区域聚集度;在此基础上,建立了计量经济模型,探讨外资聚集度对经济增长的影响。并以江苏省为例,展开实证分析。     

Endogenous Cycles and Menu Costs: A Dynamic Macroeconomic Model of Monopoly

We present a dynamic model of price setting in which price adjustments are costly for the monopolist. The general price level changes endogenously due to welfare changes. For the resulting two‐dimensional dynamical system the existence of a continuum of stationary points is proven. Furthermore, simulations show that endogenous cycles of output can occur.