Trade Policies for Exporting Industries under Free Entry

This paper computes optimal export taxes and domestic production subsidies for exporting industries under free entry. We show that domestic welfare is not at maximum, as is typically believed, when the export price is a monopoly price, and the domestic price is a competitive price, because a market structure effect has to be taken into account. Furthermore, we show that the optimal tax/subsidy formulas for an oligopoly coincide with those under perfect competition, if foreign and domestic demand functions are both linear. We also discuss optimal trade policies when only one instrument is available, and we run numerical simulations to determine and compare optimal trade taxes under endogenous and exogenous market structures.     

The Identification of Preferences from Equilibrium Prices under Uncertainty

The competitive equilibrium correspondence, which associates equilibrium prices of commodities and assets with allocations of endowments, identifies the preferences and beliefs of individuals under uncertainty; this is the case even if the asset market is incomplete. Journal of Economic Literature Classification Numbers: D52, D80.     

Oligopolistic Competition and New Technology Adoption under Uncertainty

The paper examines the adoption of a new technology in oligopoly, where there is ex ante uncertainty about variable costs of the new technology. Each firm can either adopt the new process by bearing some up-front investment or may continue to use the old one, after which firms play a Cournot market game. If in equilibrium both technologies are employed, more uncertainty about the new technology increases (decreases) the number of innovating firms and decreases (increases) the product price if the up-front investment is large (small). Our model applies readily to vertical integration if integrated firms neither buy nor sell the intermediate good on the market. However, if buying and selling is allowed, the number of integrated firms is independent of input price uncertainty.     

不确定环境下的企业战略设计模式

本文通过对传统企业战略设计模式的再思考 ,并从企业战略设计的实际情况出发提出 :当企业面对不确定环境时 ,战略思维方式应该从线性向非线性转变 ,从而提高企业战略在不确定环境下的“预见”力和应变能力。本文建立了一个基于战略转换的战略形成、实施同步并行的企业战略设计模式 ,来达到在复杂、不确定的环境中获取持续竞争优势的目的。     

Cost Uncertainty and Unilateral Abatement

Unilateral abatement is sometimes advocated in order to set a good example that will make other countries follow. The aim of this paper is to investigate whether existence of correlated cost uncertainty provides an incentive for a country to undertake unilateral abatement. The theoretical model is driven by two main mechanisms; first, a learning effect, as the follower country might reduce its risk premium as it can observe the cost level in the leader country. Second, there is the public good effect, i.e., the marginal benefit of abatement declines when abatement is a public good and other countries contribute to pollution reductions. Results shows that unilateral abatement would be efficient in reducing uncertainty about the unit costs of abatement if a country with low cost uncertainty would undertake abatement first, while a country with initially high cost uncertainty would follow. However, countries may prefer to act simultaneously because of the larger uncertainties that are inherent in a sequential game.      

不确定环境下非对称竞争供应链的纵向结构选择

构建了不确定环境下非对称竞争供应链模型,考察了两条供应链在纵向中心化、分散化及混合化结构下的绩效,分析了供应链纵向结构的动态演化过程及其均衡结果,识别了潜在市场份额、需求风险、零售商预测能力等对供应链纵向结构选择的影响。结果表明:相比制造商,供应链系统的纵向结构选择并不依赖于需求风险和零售商的预测能力;当市场份额较大时,无论是制造商还是供应链系统,绩效改进的中心化结构的稳健性得到增强。     

Uncertainty determinants of corporate liquidity

This paper investigates the link between the optimal level of non-financial firms' liquid assets and uncertainty. We develop a partial equilibrium model of precautionary demand for liquid assets showing that firms alter their liquidity ratio in response to changes in either macroeconomic or idiosyncratic uncertainty. We test this hypothesis using a panel of non-financial US firms drawn from the COMPUSTAT quarterly database covering the period 1993–2002. The results indicate that firms increase their liquidity ratios when macroeconomic uncertainty or idiosyncratic uncertainty increases.     

Regulation and Investment under Uncertainty: An Application to Power Grid Interconnection

Using real options, we consider a firm that must undergo a costly and time-consuming regulatory process before making an irreversible, lagged investment whose value varies randomly. We apply our model to Hydro-Québec's proposal to build a 1,250 megawatts interconnection with Ontario. We find that the optimal starts of the regulatory review and of the project construction depend on the randomness of project benefits and on the duration of the regulatory authorization. A sensible limit on the latter allows the regulator to address changing circumstances at little cost to the firm. However, long and uncertain regulatory proceedings make investing less attractive.     

货币增长不确定性与通货膨胀不确定性——“波动溢出”假说与实证检验

文章基于通货膨胀——通货膨胀不确定性关系的理论研究,提出货币增长不确定性向通货膨胀不确定性波动溢出的计量检验假说,并利用中国数据,运用多元GARCH模型进行实证检验。结果发现,存在货币增长不确定性显著向通货膨胀不确定性波动溢出的效应。这意味着,货币增长不确定性具有提供有关预测通货膨胀不确定性信息的能力。同时也表明,货币增长不确定性是通货膨胀不确定性的重要解释变量,其重要性不应被忽视。实证结论的政策含义是:减少货币增长不确定性是降低通货膨胀不确定性的重要途径,我国20世纪90年代中后期稳健的货币政策所带来的通货膨胀不确定性显著降低的现实支持了这个观点。     

Relative Emission Standard versus Tax under Oligopoly: The Role of Free Entry

We compare the effects of an emission tax, and those of a relative emission standard, on welfare and pollution levels under oligopolistic market structures. We consider the cases where the number of firms is fixed and where there is free entry and exit of firms. When the number of firms is fixed, (i) a relative emission standard is welfare-superior to an emission-equivalent emission tax, and (ii) an emission tax is emission-superior to a welfare-equivalent relative emission standard. Under free entry and exit, the results are just the opposite when the inverse demand function is concave.     

Mixed Oligopoly at Free Entry Markets

We investigate the optimal behavior of a public firm in a mixed market involving private firms and one public firm. Existing works show that welfare-maximizing behavior by the public firm is suboptimal when the number of firms is given exogenously. We allow free entry of private firms and find that, in contrast to the case with the fixed number of firms, welfare-maximizing behavior by the public firm is always optimal in mixed markets. Furthermore, we find that mixed markets are better than pure markets involving no public firm if and only if the public firm earns nonnegative profits.     

Uncertainty and Climate Change

Uncertainty is pervasive in analysis of climatechange. How should economists allow for this? And how have they allowed for it? This paperreviews both of these questions.     

关于科学不确定性的若干思考

科学的不确定性问题已成为国内外学术界关注的一个热点.如何认识科学的不确定性关系到能否以科学的态度对待科学,关系到认识自然和认识社会方法的变革、关系到如何进一步深化科技管理体制改革,以及全面准确地理解建设创新型国家的深刻内涵.本文就科学不确定性的基本内涵、产生的主要原因及对未来科技发展和科技管理带来的启示进行了初步分析研究,提出了若干思考和看法.     

Uncertainty over future environmental taxes

Besides static efficiency properties, environmental policies should be evaluated in terms of their longer-run impacts on investment and technological change to reduce pollution and degradation of natural resources. Using a stochastic dynamic programming approach, this paper analyzes how uncertainty about a future environmental tax on a polluting input alters investment in resource conservation and how such investment affects future demand for the polluting input. The impact on investment depends crucially on price elasticities of demand and on the manner in which investment shifts and rotates the demand schedule for the polluting input in the future. The expectation of a higher tax does not necessarily create stronger incentives for investment in resource conservation. More uncertainty about future policies does encourage investment if it makes a firm more responsive to future price changes and discourages investment if it makes a firm less responsive to price changes.     

需求不确定性下供应商回收未售商品对季节性商品采购的影响

分析需求不确定性条件下,供应商回收零售商未售商品策略对零售商季节性商品采购量的影响,通过数学模型分别对不同需求状态和不同回收价情况下零售商最优采购量进行仿真,说明随着需求不确定性程度的增加,零售商商品的采购数量增加而期望利润下降;供应商通过优化批发价和回收价组合可以增加零售商在相同需求状态时的采购量,提高供应商的期望利润。     

Uncertainty and central bank transparency: A non-Bayesian approach

We use a non-Bayesian approach to uncertainty, where “ambiguity” is taken into account, in order to analyze the issue of central bank transparency, and we underline that the use of such an approach may greatly change the results. We reconsider a specific argument against transparency found in the literature. We show that, in the presence of ambiguity, the argument can become a case in favor of transparency, which seems more in accordance with some stylized facts. Reduced Knightian uncertainty associated with increased transparency can contribute to making transparency beneficial.     

Entry Facilitation by Environmental Groups

We consider a model of vertical product differentiation where consumers care about the environmental damage their consumption causes. An environmental group is capable of increasing consumers’ environmental concern via a costly campaign. We show that the prospect of such a campaign can induce entry by a firm that is able to employ a cleaner technology than the one used by the incumbent. We further demonstrate that the subsequent competition can lead to an adverse effect on aggregate pollution, i.e. the decline in average industry pollution per product is offset by the increase in aggregate production.      

信息技术应用的成本节约:不同行业的比较

信息技术应用节约了企业的交易成本和协调成本,影响了企业边界的变动。基于交易成本理论的分析表明,对于在成熟行业和新兴行业经营的企业来说,其有关性质上的差异影响了信息技术应用带来的成本节约效果,从而使企业的边界发生了不同方向的变动。     

不确定性与会计职业判断

市场经济是一个动态的、复杂的、开放的经济系统,在其运行过程中,存在着大量的不确定性因素.作为以价值形式对经济运行进行数量反映和质量分析的会计,必然存在着对会计职业进行判断的问题.本文从经济活动不确定性的成因与会计职业判断的项目要求的因果关系分析入手,强调提高会计人员的职业判断能力,减少经济活动的风险的必要性.     

Timing of Entry under Externalities

Received August 23, 2000; revised version received May 14, 2001