Markup Pricing and the Auto Industry: A Partial Explanation of Stagflation in an Oligopolistic Economy

A bstract . Price leadership firms and especially wage leadership unions frequently are not operating at points of maximization in the neoclassical sense, because contrived high level demand has brought low price consciousness or elasticity of demand for their commodities or services. Accordingly, they can get higher profits or wages anytime they choose to raise their price except during severe recession. If output falls as a consequence, goveniment and the central hank have stood ready to expand total spending. The contrived high demand has interacted with oligopolistic practices to obviate the distinction between elasticity for the firm and that of its industry, with empirical studies showing demand elasticity commonly not much above unity. The automobile industry is the focus of attention in this study. It appears that stable and high employment market capitalism no longer is possible, because at a minimum t requires generalized maximization behavior, which involves operation against constraining supply and demand parameters.     

弹性需求下可替代产品的库存模型研究

针对产品具有可替代性情况下的库存管理问题,建立了需求具有价格弹性的库存模型,最后通过一个算例,对销售商是否采取替代策略情况下期望总收益的变化进行了仿真分析。     

The profit equivalence of mill and uniform pricing policies

In this note we point out a simple fact that seems to have been overlooked in the voluminous literature on mill pricing and uniform delivered pricing in location theory — the profit maximization problems involved are mathematically equivalent when the demand functions are linear.     

The paradox of inelastic sports pricing

Rodney Fort's (2004) article in Managerial and Decision Economics attempts to explain the recurrent phenomenon of inelastic ticket pricing in professional sports. In his explanation, Fort mistakenly substitutes the marginal revenue generated by the acquisition of talent for the marginal revenue generated by lowering the gate ticket price. This article corrects the mistake, pointing out that inelastic ticket pricing is still inconsistent with profit maximization. In addition, it is demonstrated that the marginal revenue generated by additional talent cannot be negative. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

对西方经济学中厂商利润最大化理论的重新思考

西方经济学按照研究对象不同分为微观和宏观经济学,并且认为微观经济学是宏观经济学的基础。但是在具体的内容安排上又把其严格分为两部分,两部分基本保持独立,内容上基本没有关系。例如:在厂商利润最大化理论中,只研究单个厂商的利润最大化条件(资源利用问题),而没有同时联系宏观经济学考虑资源配置问题和联系消费者行为理论考虑消费者的效用最大化问题以及联系商品价格弹性问题考虑厂商的价格决策。本文拟就此问题作以探讨。     

A Theoretical Analysis of Liner Shipping Conferences and Strategic Alliances

We analyze the economic impacts of industrial organizational struggles on the international liner shipping market. Operating ratios of different markets are discussed by incorporating rate, service level, and other variables into a standard microeconomic model. If two different carriers agree on a shipping conference price and/or share a strategic alliance service level, and maximize consolidated profit, a member carrier finds it easier to make its operation profitable than the individual profit optimization case; other carriers are worse off in becoming profitable. If the carriers face inelastic demand, the price continues rising until demand becomes elastic enough for the equilibrium to be relevant. The conference is expected to play a coordination role so that the market does not become unsustainable in the adjustment process to reach equilibrium.     

非对称信息下双渠道供应链定价策略研究

针对需求信息非对称的环境下双渠道供应链中零售商和制造商的追求利益最大化的问题,研究了双渠道供应链的定价策略。通过构建数学模型求得了最优解,并且做了相应的数值分析。结果表明:同一渠道需求弹性系数对定价的影响大于交叉渠道需求弹性系数对定价的影响;双渠道供应链各参与者之间需求信息的共享更加有利于制定合理的定价,并取得更高的收益。     

THE DEMAND FOR BEER,WINE AND SPIRITS: A SURVEY OF THE LITERATURE

Abstract The demand for alcohol literature is vast and much conflicting information about the nature of the demand for alcoholic beverages has been published. This paper presents a survey of the literature, and then uses the technique of meta‐regression analysis to establish insights into the nature of the demand for beer, wine and spirits. Unlike previous meta‐studies of the demand for alcoholic beverages this study adjusts for the precision of each elasticity estimate. The analysis presented suggests reported elasticity estimates will be influenced by such factors as estimation technique, data frequency and time period under consideration. With respect to time, the findings suggest that the demand for alcoholic beverages has become less inelastic since the mid‐1950s and that the income elasticity has been falling since the mid‐1960s. The analysis also found support for the idea that alcohol as a commodity group is a necessity, and that consumers respond to price discounting with inventory behaviour rather than true substitution behaviour. Little support is found for the idea that the demand for alcoholic beverages varies fundamentally across most countries, although wine may be an exception.     

The empirical determination of technology and expectations: A simplified procedure

This paper makes three principal contributions to the growing body of empirically oriented research on dynamic factor demand systems that are based on the adjustment cost model of the firm. First, a simplified procedure is described for deriving demand and supply functions which are amenable to empirical estimation and which are consistent with intertemporal expected profit maximization and a general expectations formation process for future prices. Second, it is pointed out that estimation of a complete system of demand and supply functions permits the empirical identification of both the firm's technology and its expectations formation process. Finally, the procedure is applied to aggregate annual U.S. manufacturing data for the 1947-1977 period and the consistency of the data with the theoretical framework is investigated.     

The response of prices,sales, and output to temporary changes in demand

We determine empirically how automakers accommodate shocks to demand. Using data on production, sales, and transaction prices, we estimate a dynamic profit maximization model of the firm. We demonstrate that when an automaker is hit with a vehicle‐specific demand shock, sales respond immediately and prices respond very modestly. Further, when accounting for non‐convexities in the cost function, production responds with a delay. Over time, shocks are absorbed almost entirely through adjustments in sales and production rather than prices. We examine two recent demand shocks: the Ford Explorer/Firestone tire recall of 2000, and the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

经济函数在经济案例中的应用分析

经济函数是联系经济和数学的纽带,建立相应的数学模型,找出经济变量之间的函数关系。本文主要介绍了几种常用的经济函数,结合经济案例讨论了最大利润问题、最低成本问题、需求弹性问题和价格弹性问题。     

Profit maximizing communities and the theory of local public expenditure

This paper examines profit maximization as a normative criterion for communities in a large metropolitan area. We develop a Tiebout-like model of residential location, define the “profits” of a community, and show that profit maximization leads to the efficient provision of public services and optimal community size. Communities do not in general act as profit maximizers, however, because individual property owners may not all share in a community's profits. Two institutional reforms are therefore suggested that would alter the distribution of profits in a way that makes the self-interested actions of property owners consonant with community profit maximization.     

基于Extendsim的多级库存系统仿真

针对多级库存难以控制的问题,利用Extendsim软件对需求和提前期均随机的多级库存系统进行建模和仿真,以供应链的利润最大化为目标,结合该软件的Optimizer模块,对多级库存各节点的订货点、订货量进行遗传算法计算。从而有效地解决了多级库存难以管理的问题。     

Retail pricing: Does channel length matter?

The number of intermediary levels between a manufacturer and the final market in a distribution channel varies from industry to industry. In some cases, none are used (i.e. the distribution function is vertically integrated), while several middleman levels are used in other cases (e.g. the use of a wholesaler, a jobber, and a retailer in the distribution of meat). In this paper we examine the effect of competition on the profit-maximizing length of the distribution channel. We find that the optimal number of middleman levels increases with the substitutability of products in the market, but that there are institutional limits on the maximum number of levels in a channel. The analysis also suggests that differences in the objectives of channel members (e.g. the maximization of total channel profit versus the maximization of each member's individual profit) affect optimal channel length: a goal of total channel profit maximization produces a channel at least as long as one of individual (non-co-operative) member profit maximization. The work thus complements existing research focusing on intra-channel (e.g. cost-based) explanations of channel length, using a framework similar to those investigating competitive incentives for vertical integration in distribution.     

A model of vertical integration and investment in generation capacity in electricity markets: The case of the bidding game

The aim of this work is to assess the impact of (partial) vertical integration between generators and retailers on generation capacity choice and its subsequent welfare consequences. We present a framework in which final demand is perfectly inelastic and stochastic. Nevertheless, wholesale demand is elastic because of the existence of outside opportunities (mainly international transmission capacity). The model is a three-stage game. Neither transmission nor retail costs are taken into account.

In the first stage of the game, generators choose capacity only knowing distribution of demand and thus maximizing their expected profit. The second stage of the game represents the competition for market share between retailers in a market where consumers have switching costs. The former face unknown demand and maximize their utility based on two factors: the expected profit and a risk element. Finally, generators submit bid functions to the system operator given known demand and maximizing their profit during the last stage of the game. Retailers and generators interact in the wholesale market, which is cleared by the system operator whose function is to match supply (represented by the bids of the generators) and demand through a system of single price auctions. The wholesale market is the only means to buy and sell energy; there are no bilateral contracts between firms, except if they are vertically integrated.

We compare fully disintegrated and partially vertically integrated structures using a comparative statics approach. In this paper, the analysis will focus on the last stage of the game: the bidding game. We find that partial vertical integration between generators and retailers tends to lower wholesale prices but not unambiguously. Depending on which firm (vertically integrated or disintegrated generator) has installed the higher capacity and depending on level of demand, prices can stay unchanged or even rise.     

Pricing goods for retailers: A new approach

In the retail sector, pricing goods is usually based on practitioner's experiences. Most of the time, the selling price is obtained by multiplying the buying price by an exogenous multiplier. However, There is no particular scientific procedure to determine such a multiplier except from the Lerner index, which is applicable only if the price elasticity of demand is inferior to −1. This paper generalizes the Lerner index to both elastic and inelastic goods by proposing an original model to determine the optimal markup for both static and intertemporal markets no matter what the price elasticity is. Finally, the paper considers the case of the social planner.     

基于价值创造的本量利分析模型的拓展

传统的本量利分析模型是基于经营利润,没有考虑资本成本。因此,利用它得到的保本点一定是损害股东财富,利用它得到的保利点并不能保证增加股东财富。遵从企业价值最大化的目标,根据本量利分析的原理,以经济增加值(EVA)作为函数得到的拓展模型,对企业的预测、决策和规划更有价值。     

Structural Analysis of Electricity Demand and Supply Interactions*

We specify a structural asymmetric vector error‐correction model to identify and estimate the demand and supply functions in hourly day‐ahead wholesale electricity markets. In doing so, we provide, inter alia, new insights into a well‐established but unresolved issue concerning the extent of the demand elasticity to price in these markets. We show that whilst demand appears to be inelastic in the short‐run, the quantity traded on the market is significantly influenced by the price level and responds to previous disequilibria in the supply curve through an asymmetric error‐correction mechanism, reacting to a positive disequilibrium but not to a negative one.     

A Time Series Analysis of U.K. Lottery Sales: Long and Short Run Price Elasticities

This paper estimates the long- and short-run elasticities for Lotto. It is particularly concerned with the dynamic response to price variations since, for some goods, this has sometimes been used to infer the presence of addiction. The price elasticity is identified through variation in the expected value of a Lotto ticket induced by rollovers whose high frequency results in surprisingly high variation in the expected value of holding a ticket. Unit root tests are applied to the series in order to identify their time series properties and to avoid a spurious regression problem. The series are found to be stationary. We apply instrumental variables to account for the endogeneity which arises due to correlation between the expected value and the dependent sales variable. The estimated long-run elasticity exceeds the short-run elasticity and this supports the hypothesis that there is an element of addictive behaviour in sales. The Lottery is regulated and the regulator's objective is to maximize sales. Our estimated long-run price elasticity of demand is inconsistent with revenue maximization and we find that greater revenue for the 'good causes' could be raised from the game if a smaller proportion of sales revenue were allocated to them.     

Production risk and the estimation of ex-ante cost functions

Cost function estimation under production uncertainty is problematic because the relevant cost is conditional on unobservable expected output. If input demand functions are also stochastic, then a nonlinear errors-in-variables model is obtained and standard estimation procedures typically fail to attain consistency. But by exploiting the full implications of the expected profit maximization hypothesis that gives rise to ex-ante cost functions, it is shown that the errors-in-variables problem can be effectively removed, and consistent estimation of the parameters of interest achieved. A Monte Carlo experiment illustrates the advantages of the proposed procedure as well as the pitfalls of other existing estimators.