The Strategic Implications of EMU for European Banking

This paper reviews the broad impact of the European SMP (Single Market Programme) and approach of EMU (European Monetary Union) on European bank strategies.

Select but key aspects of the competitive strategies that banks might pursue in this ‘New Europe’ are then considered. Within this review; the key strategic question is explored whether banks necessarily have to be bigger in order to be more efficient and even ultimately to survive in a post-EMU world. It is argued thut efficiency considerations should dominnte over size per se. The strategic perspective that will be developed is to

view EMU as the next stage on from the present SMF! This perspective avoids the mistake of visuulising any kind of EMU as likely to precipitate dramatic ‘breaks’ in the present

strategic development of European banking. Since the SMP is well advanced, we already have some experience of the

strategic reactions of banks towards a single European banking market; this provides a useful indicator of at least some of the broader bank strategic reactions that might be expected to EMU.     

The Salmon-Agreement Between Norway and the European Union—A Welfare Economic Analysis

The relationship between tariff policy and anti-dumping use is empirically examined. Using a panel dataset of 56 countries over the period of 1995–2007, the effects of tariff liberalization on anti-dumping use are found to vary across world regions. For European countries, as well as developed North American and Latin American countries, a lower tariff rate appears to induce more use of anti-dumping measures, which emerge as a protection tool among trade liberalization regimes. In contrast, a reduction in a tariff rate leads to lower anti-dumping use in developing North American and Latin American countries and in developed Asian, African, and Middle Eastern countries. In terms of initiating anti-dumping action, developed countries are likely to be more sensitive than developing countries to tariff policy change in most regions of the world.     

Consumer Welfare Implications of Changes in Interstate Telephone Pricing

Past practice in regulating telephone prices has encouraged telephone companies to incur excessive costs. The Federal Communications Commission has recently changed some of these practices. In this paper the consumer welfare implications of some of these changes are examined, primarily the institution of interstate subscriber line charges and changes in the procedures for allocating costs among jurisdictions. The conclusion is that these changes serve consumer interests.     

Unequal Pricing in the Information Economy: Implications for Consumer Welfare

This article presents an economic analysis of information good pricing and consumer welfare, and discusses the implications of price discrimination in the information economy. It argues that network externalities, coupled with information asymmetry, enable a dominant marketer to price unequally, extracting late adopters surplus to compensate for the loss from early adopters. In the short term, the minority early adopters benefit by paying less, but in the long term, the majority late adopters suffer by paying more. Considering that late adopters are likely to be at a disadvantage in resources, this discriminatory pricing amounts to the poor subsidizing the rich. Based on this analysis, implications for consumer welfare are discussed.     

Protectionism in the European Union: Implications for Latin America

In the course of the 1990s EU exports to Latin American countries have grown considerably. At the same time, however, EU imports have increasingly favoured eastern Europe and the emerging Asian markets. Latin America continues to lose presence in European markets. What are the reasons for this? Is European protectionism the root of the problem?     

Market Structures with Multi-product Firms: Welfare Analysis and Policy Implications

In the real world firms operate in more than one market and consequently can exploit scope economies and/or demand complementarities. Introducing multi-product firms in the picture makes the standard assumption that more competition is always beneficial for social welfare less clear-cut. In this paper we show that a concentrated structure can be socially preferable in the presence of scope economies, whereas a fragmented structure has to be preferred when products are close substitutes. We also identify either analytically or numerically the socially optimal market structure when aggregate output (and then consumer surplus) or total welfare are used as ranking criteria. The analysis is useful for discussing which market structure should be favored by policy makers aimed at introducing competition in sectors which were previously monopolized by state-owned firms. To that respect, our findings point out that not only the level (number of firms) but also the form (type of firms) of competition matters.     

International Cartel Enforcement: Lessons from the 1990s

The enforcement record of the 1990s has demonstrated that international private cartels are neither relics of the past nor do they always fall quickly under the weight of their own incentive problems. Of a sample of forty cartels prosecuted by the United States and European Inion in the 1990s, twenty‐four cartels lasted at least four years. And for the twenty of the cartels in this sample where sales data are available, the annual worldwide sales in the affected products exceeded US$30 billion. Prevailing national competition policies are oriented towards addressing harm done in domestic markets, and in some cases merely prohibit cartels without taking strong enforcement measures. In this paper we propose a sequence of reforms to national policies and to international cooperation that will strengthen the deterrents against international cartels. Furthermore, aggressive prosecution of cartels must be complemented by vigilance in other areas of competition policy. If not, firms will respond to the enhanced deterrents to cartelisation by merging or by taking other measures that lessen competitive pressures.     

论“核心卡特尔”——世贸组织全球竞争政策的主要议题之一

竞争政策是世贸组织“新加坡议题”中的一个议题,核心卡特尔是竞争政策的一个议题。卡特尔本质上不利于竞争.是市场经济的一大障碍。20世纪90年代以来,国际社会广泛关注核心卡特尔,有关国家已成功起诉并处罚了多起卡特尔。本文就核心卡特尔的概念,它对经济造成的损害以及国际社会如何抵制卡特尔活动等内容作介绍。这对正在与世界经济融为一体、全面建设市场经济体制的中国具有现实意义,也从国际背景的角度,理解中国在加入世贸组织后实施竞争的意义所在。     

企业公益的误区

<正>2009年一季度,零点研究咨询集团与友成企业家扶贫基金会合作,对全国203家大中型企业以及1285个北京、上海、广州、武汉、成都、西安6个城市的居民进行了调查。调查发现,企业在企业公益方面存在一些误区,下     

关于我国社会保障制度的思考与探索

社会保障是人类社会发展进程中的伴随物 ,它是一个历史的范畴 ,它的外延和内涵要随着社会的发展而不断更新。我国社会保障制度从无到有 ,保障范围由小到大 ,保障项目由少到多不断发展 ,但也存在一些问题。针对这些问题 ,我们应做好哪些工作 ,值得有关部门和人员深思。     

The Welfare Loss from the New Sugar Program

In May 1982, sugar import quotas were imposed after they had been discontinued for eight years. This paper examines the absolute and relative costs of the new sugar program and compares it to alternative systems of producer protection. The results indicate that the existing system is both inefficient and inequitable. The use of deficiency payments would transfer the burden of producer protection from sugar consumers to taxpayers. In addition, foreign aid should be provided directly (through taxes), rather than indirectly by means of quotas. The fact that political feasibility appears to have dominated efficiency or equity considerations means that low income consumers will continue to bear a disproportionate share of the costs of protecting domestic sugar producers and providing foreign aid.     

The Merger between Volvo-Renault VI-Mack Trucks: The Keys to A Successful Marriage

Three brands, one group The merger of Volvo Trucks with Renault Ⅵ and Mack created a new heavy goods vehicles group comprised of the Mack, Renault and Volvo brands. The three companies, which were initially merged into Volvo Global Trucks (VGT),kept their own brand identities and their distribution networks.     

Research note: Implications of differing perceptions in emerging European management styles

Discrepancies between Eastern and Western perceptions remain the first challenge Western managers are faced with when seeking to invest in Eastern Europe. Brushing aside local cultures and erasing differences might foster misunderstandings and prevent genuine economic cooperation. Factors such as exaggerated centralization, insufficient motivation towards profit, unsuitable internal organization, risk aversion, unrecognized Human Resource Management (HRM), and lack of conflict management are at the root of the differences in Eastern and Western perceptions. In emerging European markets, management as a whole is influenced widely by foreign styles, but imposed models are rejected and a specific managerial culture blending local features is developing. Through this development, which will remain country specific, emerging Eastern values will shape the political, social, industrial, and cultural environment underlying economic institutions. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Price Discrimination and the Cruise Line Industry: Implications for Market Definition,Competition, and Consumer Welfare

This article extends the price discrimination literature and applies it to market definition and competitive effects analysis in recent mergers in the cruise line industry. In that industry, short run output is fixed. If firms want to increase price and restrict output to price‐insensitive customers, they have to increase the output and lower price to the price‐sensitive customers. We show that with fixed output (1) it is in firms’ interest to engage in price discrimination, (2) firms have increased ability to engage profitably in price discrimination as the intensity of competition decreases, and (3) the average price of price‐sensitive and ‐insensitive consumers increase with reduced competition. Unlike the economists at the Federal Trade Commission, our analysis suggests that cruise lines engage in third‐degree price discrimination. Moreover, the cruise industry could be a separate market and a reduction in the number of competitors might raise average prices.     

长途货运汽车经济载量的实证研究--一项抽样调查在经济分析中的应用

一、背景和问题 2003年,中国货运量达114亿吨,公路运量占73％,即使按最保守的估计,超载运量在50亿吨以上,换言之,GDP的1／4的交易的运输由超载来完成,超载与经济发展的关系可见一斑。与此同时,2003年12月,由华北开始声势浩大的整理超载活动席卷全国,事实上,这类整治在中国已不是第一次(一般年年如此,三两年一大次),但收效甚微。拉锯式的循环,被人称为“管制的陷阱”。