Herd Behaviour in Adoption of Network Technologies

In technology adoption, herd behaviour can lead to a suboptimal outcome as shown, among others, by Choi (1997). However, empirics find little support for the idea that a less efficient technology can conquer the market and lock out a more efficient one. Accordingly, we improve and generalize Choi's results, by introducing an additional source of uncertainty: the economic environment. We investigate how the economic environment can affect herding and consequently the efficiency of the technology choice. The result is a smaller adoption bias. In the limit, firms may optimally experiment with the new technology that turns out to be social welfare improving.     

Transboundary Externalities in the Environmental Transition Hypothesis

The Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) is a hypothesis which implies that it is possible to grow out of environmental degradation. Most theoretical models of the EKC relation have not accounted for transboundary and intergenerational externalities nor have empirical studies provided evidence that validates an inverted U shaped relation between environmental degradation and economic growth for pollution problems where the effects are far-displaced or are long-delayed.This paper integrates the theory of transboundary externalities into the most common theoretical framework applied to the EKC hypothesis. It shows that where a significant proportion of the environmental impacts of economic activity occurs outside the territories in which those activities take place, the de-linking of growth and environmental degradation is less likely to happen. This proposition is demonstrated by assuming that decisionmakers have a Nash-type non cooperative strategic behavior.     

Product Emulation Strategies in The Presence of Reputation Effects And Network Externalities: Some Evidence From The Minicomputer Industry

A model of firm performance in the minicomputer industry is developed and estimated. We use an hedonic price formulation to analyze product design and pricing issues and a market share model to assess the demand effects of price-performance characteristics, installed base advantages and manufacturer reputation. The results, which are based on 1976–1983 data, demonstrate the importance of network externalities, price-performance competition and reputation. We utilize the estimated models to quantify the implications of several emulation strategies and several defensive strategies of incumbent manufacturers.     

市场结构、环境税与福利效应分析

运用短期局部均衡分析方法研究完全竞争市场和垄断市场条件下环境税对社会福利的影响.结果显示:在完全竞争市场条件下,对企业征收环境税可以增进社会福利.而在垄断市场条件下,环境税的福利效应具有不确定性,这取决于垄断造成的扭曲程度.如果垄断造成的扭曲较小,环境税仍然可以提高社会福利.但无论是增进抑或降低社会福利,对垄断企业征收环境税都不可能实现最优化,因为环境税在矫正污染外部性的同时,垄断造成产量水平下降导致福利损失增加,所以只能追求一个次优的结果,次优环境税低于完全竞争条件下的标准环境税.     

Network Effects in International Migration: Education versus Gender*

In this paper, we analyze the impact that networks have on the structure of international migration flows. In particular, we investigate whether diaspora externalities are different across education levels and gender. Using new data that include both dimensions, we analyze the respective impact that networks have on the proportion of each category of migrant. Therefore, in contrast to the preceding body of literature on the macro determinants of international migration, we can identify the factors that influence the selection in terms of skills and in terms of gender. We find that network effects vary by education level, but not by gender.     

系统重要性金融机构的外部性及其宏观效应研究

系统重要性金融机构由于规模和市场关联度的优势,对整个金融体系和实体经济产生了巨大的外部效应。金融创新活动的高风险性带来的负外部效应会引发巨大的系统性风险和危机。分析了系统重要性金融机构正负两方面外部性的作用机制和宏观效应,研究发现负外部性加大了整个金融体系的边际成本、政府和纳税人的负担,而且会快速传递到宏观经济体系;进一步结合庇古和科斯的外部性政策方法对系统重要性金融机构的监管问题进行了讨论,并将监管方法从政府解和市场解两个方面进行了分析,认为现有的业务管制和资本附加等监管方法可以在一定程度上使系统重要性金融机构的负外部性内在化,但是对于银行规模和税收方面的监管措施还需改进。     

Direct Displacement Effects of Labour Market Programmes*

Using a panel of 250 Swedish municipalities over the period 1987–1996, we examine the direct displacement effects of active labour market programmes (ALMPs). Compared to earlier studies on this topic, we have more and better data. Based on our GMM estimations, we find that there are direct displacement effects from subsidised employment (in the order of approximately 65%), but that there seem to be no (significant) displacement effects from training. This result seems to be robust to several alternative specifications.     

Environmental and Economic Effects of a Fall in Cereal Prices in the EU Internal Market: the Case of Denmark

Reform of the EuropeanCommon Agricultural Policy (the CAP) willreduce cereal prices in the Internal Marketwhile simultaneously increasing direct supportto farmers (Agenda 2000). This paper examinesthe possible effects of liberalisation of theCAP by modelling the effects of a 10 per centreduction in cereal prices combined withcompensation to farmers. We applied anintegrated modelling system suitable forestimating both the economic and environmentalconsequences of agricultural and environmentalpolicy measures and calculated the effects of a10 per cent fall in cereal prices on nitrogenloading of the Danish marine waters, on privateconsumption, GDP, the balance of payments, andemployment. The results indicate that pricereductions do not have significant effects onnitrogen loading relative to the 50 per centreduction target, since a 10 per cent reductionin cereal prices only leads to a 2.4 per centreduction in loading.     

跨国公司的市场行为:从垄断到竞争--以汽车工业为例

20世纪90年代中期前,一些外商投资企业垄断了中国同行业市场。之后由于国内同类竞争者的形成、多家跨国公司进入、进口商品大量增加等因素的影响,跨国公司对中国市场结构的影响开始向竞争性转变。这种转变给我们的启示是:跨国公司对东道国市场结构的影响不能纯粹的界定为垄断性或竞争性;引进外资时,不必担忧跨国公司在市场上会长期处于优势地位,他们对国内企业具有带动作用。     

Displacement Effects of Active Labour Market Policy: The Youth Labour Market in Finland

In 1994 the number of workers participating in active labour market programmes in Finland was 299,000. On average there where 125,000 workers in these programmes at any one time, the average length of participation in a programme being about 5 months. In relation to the 2.5 million-strong Finnish labour force, these figures are proportionally large. In 1994 the total expenditure on unemployment amounted to 6.7 per cent of GNP of which the share spent on active labour market programmes was about 25 per cent. The study investigates the displacement effects of active labour market programmes in the youth labour market in Finland. The two age groups analysed are 15-19-year-olds and 20-24-year-olds. The results, based on a VAR analysis of quarterly data from the period 1981.1-1995.2, suggest that the displacement effects of job-creation programmes may be substantial. The study cannot, however, provide any robust estimates of the likely size of such displacement effects on youth employment in Finland. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Farmers’ Adoption of Irrigation Technologies: Experimental Evidence from a Coordination Game with Positive Network Externalities in India

Electric irrigation contributes to food security in rural India, but deteriorating electrical infrastructures threaten the functioning of farmers’ pump sets. This problem could be solved through investments in energy‐efficient technologies. However, network externalities create a coordination problem for farmers. We develop a framed field experiment to study the effects of group size, leading by example, and payoff structures on the ability to coordinate technology adoption investments. The experiment is based on a game that combines features of a step‐level public goods game and a critical mass game. Our findings show that smaller groups more frequently coordinate on payoff‐superior equilibria and that higher payoffs lead to more investments. Contrary to previous studies, leading by example reduces investments but has no effect on efficiency. Building on this analysis, we discuss possible bottom‐up solutions to the energy crisis in rural India.     

Enforcing Transferable Permit Systems in the Presence of Market Power

We derive an enforcementstrategy for a transferable permit system inthe presence of market power that achievescomplete compliance in a cost-effective manner.We show that the presence of a firm with marketinfluence makes designing an enforcementstrategy more difficult than enforcing aperfectly competitive system. We alsore-consider Hahn's (1984) suggestion that afirm with market influence should be allocatedpermits so that it chooses to not participatein the permit market. When enforcement and itscosts are taken into account, Hahn's suggestiondoes not hold except in a very special case.     

Optimal Differentiation of International Environmental Taxes in the Presence of National Labor Market Distortions

We explore the implication of the `doubledividend' debate for international environmentaltaxes. In our scenario, small open economies withdifferent labor market distortions follow a commonenvironmental policy and use national environmentaltax revenues to finance labor tax cuts. Since thedouble dividend hypothesis does not hold, a high labortax implies a low environmental tax relative to othercountries. The optimal differentiation ofinternational environmental taxes is proven to be afunction of the national labor tax rates and theuncompensated elasticities of labor supply.     

产业网络的复杂性研究——基于沈阳汽车产业的实证分析

从复杂性和系统论的角度对产业网络进行研究已经成为产业经济学领域的一个新视角和新热点.从本质上看,"产业网络"即是产业组织的网络化发展模式,同时又是一个具备复杂性的网络系统,基于这种"双重性",本文在传统产业组织SCP范式的基础上,结合网络三要素理论,构建了产业网络"AARS"分析框架,并从"节点复杂性"、"结构复杂性"和"进化复杂性"三个层面对沈阳汽车产业进行了实证研究.     

External Effects of Agricultural Production in Italy and Environmental Accounting

This paper deals with the valuation of some negative external effects arising from agricultural production in Italy. External effects are treated in a transformation function as a bad output additional to the normal output of a production activity. In this case we can distinguish a price component or shadow price of the external effect and a quantity component and estimate them separately. In order to calculate the price component of the external effects we first estimate one point on the marginal external costs curve and then try to obtain the whole curve, i.e. external costs associated to different levels of emissions in different years. As to the quantity component, net emissions of Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium have been estimated. The aggregate value of external effects is then calculated for thirty years from 1961 to 1991 and deducted from the value added of the agricultural sector, as a first step towards the correction of national accounting aggregates to take environmental degradation into account.     

网络经济与市场结构变迁--新经济条件下垄断与竞争关系的检验分析

垄断和竞争的关系是市场结构的中心内容。作为一种新的经济形态,网络经济具有一些背离传统经济规律的经济特性,它导致在网络经济条件下的市场结构呈现出区别于传统经济的新特征,并促成其市场结构双重性的形成,进而带来垄断趋势的加强和竞争属性的变迁。因此,对其市场结构的探讨,有助于更好地理解在新的经济条件下垄断与竞争之间的关系。     

环境税经济效应的扩展分析及其政策启示

本文从环境税的理论基础入手,回顾了环境税经济效应分析的几个有代表性的基本观点,认真分析了环境税经济效应传统分析中存在的局限性,并在此基础上将"经济结构优化效应"和"国际贸易受益效应"引入到环境税经济效应分析当中,大大拓宽了环境税经济效应分析的研究视角,最后在环境税经济效应创新性分析的基础上提出了相应的环境税政策启示。     

Auction Design for the Allocation of Emission Permits in the Presence of Market Power

To the extent that emission permits have been allocated using market mechanisms, this has been done using a sealed-bid auction design, typically with discriminatory prices. However, several authors have recommended the ascending auction format. Basically, two competing ascending auction designs have been suggested, the standard ascending auction (with clock or demand schedules), or an alternative ascending-clock implementation of Vickrey-pricing. The latter design was introduced as a response to problems of bid shading under the sealed-bid and the standard ascending auction format. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the allocation of permits under these two alternative mechanisms. The auction process and the resulting market outcome in the presence of oligopolistic competition are simulated. In this setting, it is not obvious that bid shading is the optimal strategy under the standard design, nor is it obvious that sincere bidding is the optimal strategy under the alternative ascending auction design. The alternative auction format makes it less costly to pursue a strategy to increase market shares through the acquisition of emission permits, thus increasing the competitor's costs, leading to overbidding as the optimal strategy.     

Co-operation and Unilateral Commitment in the Presence of Global Environmental Problems

This paper focuses on the link between group co-operation and unilateral commitment of some countries in the presence of global environmental problems. We show that in case of a failure of negotiation, some countries can decide to commit unilaterally and reduce their emissions. We call this behaviour precautionary commitment. Absence of international agreement does not mean global defection from the environmental issue.We also show that the emergence of a non-co-ordinatedglobal co-operation can result from a strategic actionfrom the members of the coalition. The insiders of the coalition create an incentive for the non-members to reduce without co-ordinating their emissions.     

加速农业市场化进程是增加农民收入的根本途径

在中国经济市场化的进程中，农民收入的提高主要取决于农业结构的调整，而农业结构的调整又与农村市场的发育程度密切相关，因此，市场化进程是决定农民收入的重要因素，本文利用截面数据对该点进行了检验，证明了市场化进程不仅对农民收入具有决定性的作用，而且我国经济市场化进程对农民收入的影响处于收益递增阶段，政府农业政策的主要任务应当是培育市场并帮助和引导农民进入市场，提高他们驾双市场的能力，逐步缩小地区间市场化水平的差距，加快城乡经济的一体化步伐。