Subgame perfection and the ethics of competition

This paper integrates economics and business ethics through the use of the subgame perfection/backward induction decision rule. It is shown that textbook examples of subgame perfection differ in their ethical complexity. Specifically, predatory pricing is difficult to justify on both game‐theoretic and ethical grounds, whereas ‘poison pill’ takeover defenses have complex economic and ethical ramifications. Further, I employ backward induction to examine two additional areas of ethics and management decision‐making: product recall (the Ford Explorer and Firestone tires), and price versus advertising competition. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The future of the uplands

Upland areas provide UK society with many important functions, goods and services, but have experienced a number of disturbing trends and face an uncertain future. This paper outlines historic, current and future drivers of environmental, economic, socio-cultural and policy change in UK uplands, and assesses how these have affected or are likely to affect ways in which land is used and the provision of ecosystem services. Information is synthesised into scenarios summarising a range of possible futures anticipated for UK uplands to 2060 and beyond. Finally, innovations in science, technology, governance and policy are evaluated that could enable uplands to continue providing key ecosystem services under a range of scenarios. The paper concludes that many upland areas will need to be prepared for significant reductions in grazing and prescribed burning. Conversely, other areas could experience agricultural intensification, for example significant increases in grazing or an expansion of arable or bioenergy crops into upland valleys, due to anticipated increases in global demand for food and energy. These scenarios will take place in the context of climate change. Many may take place together and may interact with each other, with complex and unpredictable implications for the upland environment, economy and society. In this context, a number of advances are needed in science, technology and policy to maintain viable upland communities and the future provision of ecosystem services. These may include funding for ecological and hydrological restoration via carbon offsetting or other means. It may also involve advances in ecosystem service modelling, mapping and valuation, which through stakeholder participation could facilitate more integrated rural planning. New forms of environmental governance need to be explored that can empower those interested in developing upland economies to maintain thriving upland communities, while managing the ecosystem services they provide as efficiently as possible.     

Research returns redux: a meta-analysis of the returns to agricultural R&D

A total of 289 studies of returns to agricultural R&D were compiled and these provide 1821 estimates of rates of return. After removing statistical outliers and incomplete observations, across the remaining 1128 observations the estimated annual rates of return averaged 65 per cent overall — 80 per cent for research only, 80 per cent for extension only, and 47 per cent for research and extension combined. These averages reveal little meaningful information from a large body of literature, which provides rate-of-return estimates that are often not directly comparable. This study was aimed at trying to account for the differences. Several features of the methods used by research evaluators matter, in particular assumptions about lag lengths and the nature of the research-induced supply shift.     

The impact of tourism: A case from the Bahama Islands

LaFlamme, Alan G., “The Impact of Tourism: A Case from the Bahama Islands,” Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. VI, No. 2, April/June 1979, pp. 137–148. The socio-cultural impact of increased tourism on a small, once isolated island community in the Bahama Islands is discussed. The community's traditions have, for the most part, been maintained. However, material living standards, occupational specializations, and race relations have been significantly altered. For a number of reasons, the local people have not taken on the role of “professional natives.”