Trade,foreign direct investment or acquisition: Optimal entry modes for multinationals

We examine multinationals' optimal entry modes into foreign markets as a function of market size, FDI fixed costs, tariffs and transport costs. Our results highlight why large countries are more likely to attract acquisition investment, while intermediate sized countries may be served predominantly through trade, even in the presence of high tariffs. Small countries are most likely to experience either FDI or no entry. We also show how these results vary with the competition intensity in the host country.FDI fixed costs, tariffs and transport costs are crucial not only in determining whether to engage in FDI or trade, but they are also shown to influence the acquisition choice as trade and FDI threats influence the acquisition price. Finally, we explore the welfare implications of tariff reductions for both the local firm and the multinational and investigate political motives to impose endogenous tariffs that influence not only the welfare of a local firm, but also the entry mode of the multinational.     

The choice of market entry mode: Greenfield investment,M&A and joint venture

Multinationals may enter a host market by different modes of foreign direct investment (FDI). This paper examines the choice of FDI mode, and shows that the profitability of greenfield investment influences this choice not only directly, but also indirectly since it determines the outside option of potential acquisition targets and joint venture partners. In particular, even if greenfield investment is a viable option, the multinational may prefer a joint venture to M&A, and M&A to greenfield investment, provided that M&A and joint venture both involve sufficiently low fixed costs. The reason is that the profitability of greenfield investment both reduces the acquisition price in the case of M&A, and gives local firms an incentive to agree to a joint venture.     

The value of commuting time in an empirical on-the-job search model – an application based on moments from two samples

This article estimates the Value of Commuting Time (VOCT) among Swedish males in an empirical on-the-job search model. It uses a large sample of employee-establishment linked data obtained from administrative registers. The sample lacks information on mode choice for the journey to work. We therefore estimate a mode choice model on another sample and use this model to link the administrative data to the relevant set of travel times, costs and distances. The VOCT is found to be 1.8 times the net hourly wage rate in the sample. The relatively high estimate results from a high VOCT among cohabiting men.     

TALL TREES, PEOPLE, AND POLITICS: THE OPPORTUNITY COSTS OF THE REDWOOD NATIONAL PARK

Because individuals in the marketplace directly face opportunity costs, they must balance marginal costs against marginal benefits. In contrast, in politics, the opportunity costs facing decision makers are diluted. Estimates of the social costs of various public programs are generally understated, while the estimates of social benefits are exaggerated
This paper places the establishment and expansion of the Redwood National Park within this framework and analyzes it as a public investment decision. It is shown that in the initial creation of the Redwood National Park in 1968, the costs of land acquisition and employment loss were underestimated, while the projections for gains in tourism were excessive. Despite the opposition of local landowners and residents, the Park was further expanded 10 years later in 1978. There was again a misstatement of costs and benefits and also the creation of an expensive new entitlement program to defuse the opposition of labor
The experience with the redwood National Park illustrates the results of the political process, which allows decision makers to internalize benefits and externalize costs. Emotion and rhetoric tend to displace a careful weighing of marginal costs and benefits     

Technological innovation and multinational expansion: A two-way link?

The paper examines how investment in research influences the form of foreign expansion chosen by the firm, and vice versa. We consider a two-country model where a monopolist producing in one country can choose between export and foreign direct investment. We assume process innovation, where the cost-reducing technological innovations are an outcome of the firm's investment in R&D. The role of technology transfer costs is explored. The model shows that, with low costs of technology transfer, there is a two-way link between the firm's R&D effort and multinational expansion. We also prove that both the research choice and the multinational choice have a positive effect on consumers' welfare in both countries.     

基于SaaS的在线软件服务定价模式研究

SaaS是一种通过互联网提供软件的应用模式,对于许多中小企业来说,SaaS是一种可以降低信息化成本的较好途径,它避免了企业硬件购买、平台搭建、基础设施和应用软件维护的投入。而SaaS的成功运作,关键在于正确定价模式的选择。基于SaaS服务的价格形成机制分别探讨了四种不同的定价模式:按需定价模式、基于成本的定价模式、基于价值的定价模式和面向竞争的定价模式,并讨论了不同定价策略在SaaS服务模式中的适用性。     

Investment Liberalization and Cross‐Border Acquisitions: The Effect of Partial Foreign Ownership

This paper investigates the optimal strategy for a multinational to conduct FDI. We find that the incentives to use acquisition rather than greenfield investment change significantly if the multinational is allowed to have already an ownership interest in the target local firm before the market is fully liberalized. Interestingly, when investment costs are sufficiently high, the multinational prefers not entering the market at all with partial ownership in place, whereas a cross‐border takeover would be the optimal entry mode otherwise. For intermediate levels of entry costs, holding a stake in the local producer reverses positively the profitability of a full acquisition compared to greenfield investment.     

转型时期家族企业治理模式选择的政治经济学

文章分析了中国转型时期家族企业治理模式的选择.家族企业究竟采用关系型治理还是采用规则型治理取决于其对两种治理模式的收益和成本的权衡,市场作用和地方政府作用会对这种权衡产生影响.我们在理论模型基础上的比较分析表明,在某些条件下地方政府的作用会使得家族企业在治理模式上更容易倾向于选择关系型治理,而在另一些条件下地方政府的作用会使得家族企业在诒理模式上更容易倾向于选择规则型治理,这反映了家族企业治理模式选择的政治经济学.     

近代安徽大通镇辟为寄航港后商业若干变化

传统商业向近代商业、传统市场向近代市场转变过程是一个社会转型的重要内容。大通自辟为寄航港后,商业发生了若干变化,商业的规模进一步扩大,商品经营结构与商业经营方式进一步多样化,商业更加繁荣,与芜湖、安庆、蚌埠并为近代安徽四大商埠。     

基于演化博弈企业创新模式的策略研究

处于不同生命周期的企业面临的策略选择是不同的,通过博弈模型的假设,分析了企业合作与竞争的影响因素,结合企业不同发展阶段的影响因素的特点,提出了不同阶段的策略模式选择。从企业的不同生命周期的模型假设看出,竞争与合作策略选择是随着企业不同的发展阶段,各自的成本,收益以及在市场上是否处于有利地位的不同而不同的。对于企业而言,处于不同的生命周期,其面对的内外部环境是不同的,因此选择不同的战略模式,即选择不同降段的创新模式来实现各自更好更快的发展。     

The Impact of Foreign Direct Investment on Home and Host Countries with Endogenous R&D

The paper analyzes the impact of FDI on home and host countries, when firms compete both in the choice of international strategy and in R&D. A two-country, two-firm model is used. The problem is structured as a three-stage game in which firms must decide: the mode of foreign expansion; how much to invest in R&D; how much to sell in each market. It is shown that in high-technology sectors a policy of attracting inward FDI may increase welfare in both the home and host countries. The effect on host-country welfare is found to be more beneficial if technological spillovers are national, instead of international, in scope.     

Foreign direct investment in vertically related markets

We study an MNE's choice of FDI mode in a vertically related market with local input sourcing. We show how the market's vertical structure and trading features affect this choice. An MNE's incentives to expand through cross-border acquisition rather than through greenfield investment are stronger in markets with higher upstream bargaining power, upstream concentration and unobservable contract terms. The opposite holds in markets in which wholesale price contracts, instead of two-part tariffs, are used. Our welfare analysis suggests that the host country should not always welcome FDI and should discourage FDI through acquisition.     

企业兼并中的人际关系磨合成本研究

兼并会造成企业内社会资本的损失,兼并中的人际关系磨合成本是一种交易成本,磨合过程可以视为"交易成本资本化",从而形成新的社会资本的过程.本文重点分析了影响企业兼并中磨合成本的主要因素:兼并者与被兼并者的相对规模,相对绩效和相对市场竞争力,各自所属产业或行业及产业或行业关系,兼并前的业务与人员往来,兼并方式及政府在兼并中的作用,兼并后对被兼并者管理人员的安排,以及兼并后兼并者对被兼并者实行控制的方式.本文还比较了东亚与西方企业的兼并,在其他情况相同的条件下,东亚企业兼并中的人际关系磨合成本较高,磨合期较长,并在实际上减少了兼并,介于企业与市场之间的组织形式更为发达.     

TRADE IMPACTS ON SKILL ACQUISITION VIA VARIETY EXPANSION*

We show that trade enhances skill formation through gains from trade via variety expansion à la Krugman. Although workers are identical as unskilled labour, they differ in productivity as skilled labour. Workers become skilled by incurring training costs. By introducing these settings into a trade model with monopolistic competition, we show that, although trade makes all agents better off, its effect is stronger for skilled than unskilled workers, which stimulates skill acquisition. As a result of less productive workers becoming skilled, the wage dispersion among skilled workers increases.     

跨国公司对外直接投资规模均衡分析

在内部化理论的基础上,通过研究有关变量之间的内在联系及其变化规律,建立了跨国公司国际直接投资二元成本均衡分析理论模型。据此模型直观而定量地分析、解释了跨国公司跨国经营方式的选择、国际直接投资规模与国际市场交易规模的均衡条件。结论如下:利用母公司拥有的无形中间产品的国际垄断优势在国际市场充分获利、借助外国资源禀赋优势为国内母公司供给大量的有形中间产品,是企业跨国经营的原因和方向;权衡两类相关成本以最大限度地节约总相关成本、追求最大相关利润,是企业进行跨国经营方式选择、国际直接投资均衡的动力和依据。     

Estimation of scale and scope economies in multiproduct banking: evidence from the Fourier flexible functional form with panel data

An empirical study is conducted on scale and scope economies for Taiwan's banking industry with panel data using a Fourier flexible cost function developed by Gallant and a translog cost function, both of which take economic efficiency into account. It is found that the Fourier form is more appropriate than the traditional translog form in fitting the data, and that various efficiency measures computed using the Fourier function are compatible with each other, while those computed using the translog function are not. The Fourier evidence shows that sample banks continue to enjoy economies of scale, and exhibit scope diseconomies, which indicates that greater product diversification can reduce banking costs through product-mix economies. Banks may benefit from further diversifying their line of financial services.     

MONOPOLY INSURANCE AND ENDOGENOUS INFORMATION

We study a monopoly insurance model with endogenous information acquisition. Through a continuous effort choice, consumers can determine the precision of a privately observed signal that is informative about their accident risk. The equilibrium effort is, depending on parameter values, either zero (implying symmetric information) or positive (implying privately informed consumers). Regardless of the nature of the equilibrium, all offered contracts, also at the top, involve underinsurance, which discourages information gathering. We identify a missorting effect that explains why the insurer wants to discourage information acquisition. Moreover, lower information gathering costs can hurt both consumer and insurer.     

Managerial capital,occupational choice and inequality in a global economy

This study proposes a simple theory of trade with endogenous firm productivity, occupational choice and income inequality. Individuals with different managerial talent choose to become entrepreneurs or workers. Entrepreneurs enhance firm productivity by investing in managerial capital. The model generates three income classes: low‐income workers facing the prospect of unemployment, middle‐income entrepreneurs managing domestic firms and high‐income entrepreneurs managing global firms. Trade liberalization policies raise unemployment and improve welfare. A reduction in per‐unit trade costs raises top incomes and generates labour‐market polarization. A reduction in fixed exporting costs has an ambiguous effect on top incomes and personal income distribution. Policies reducing labour‐market frictions or the costs of managerial‐capital acquisition create more jobs and improve welfare. The income distributional effects of labour‐market policies depend on which policy is implemented.     

农村非正规金融正规化的模式比较与政策选择

中国农村非正规金融的正规化不仅有助于降低交易费用与信贷风险,还有益于提高资金的配置效率。中国农村非正规金融向正规金融转化主要有四种经典模式:即农村互助合作金融模式、"农村非正规金融组织+小额贷款公司+民营中小银行模式"、"农村非正规金融组织+村镇银行+地区性中小银行"模式、"农村合作银行或农村商业银行"模式。这四种模式为农村非正规金融正规化的途径选择提供理论依据。当然,要想农村非正规金融正规化,还需从法律壁垒、财税政策、运作成本、外部环境等方面多加谋划。