The FTC in the 1980s

This paper reviews the antitrust activities of Federal Trade Commission during the 1980s with special emphasis on the role of economics and economists. We contrast the FTC during the 1980s to its record in the 1970s and conclude that the agency was more active during the 1980s than is popularly believed. Perhaps more significant than changes in the level of enforcement activity was the agency's move to a more economics-oriented approach to antitrust enforcement and an increased role for Commission economists. The paper also comments on what FTC economists learned about American industry during the 1980s.     

The Effects of Delays on the Stability and Rate of Convergence to Equilibrium of Oligopolies*

The stability of oligopolies is investigated using the Cournot strategy and a general output adjustment procedure. Information delays are incorporated in the adjustment procedure and their specific effects upon the dynamic stability of oligopolies is investigated. The stability of equilibrium for discrete models is unaffected by information delays and remoteness of planning horizons; however the rate of convergence to equilibrium may be slowed. For continuous models with delays, some restraints are required for stability.     

Living with the Curse of Dimensionality: Closed-Loop Optimization in a Large-Scale Fisheries Simulation Model

Facilitated by remarkable increases in computational speed, simulation models are becoming more and more complex and are being increasingly used in applied economic analysis. However, computational limitations remain a major barrier to the study of dynamically optimal policies. We study the problem of carrying out dynamic optimization in conjunction with large simulation models and propose a method for working around the computational difficulties that arise in such problems. Our methods are applied to a model of the Gulf of Mexico's red snapper fishery to study the dynamically optimal total allowable catch.     

The Bundesbank's Communications Strategy and Policy Conflicts with the Federal Government

In this paper we provide an estimate of the likelihood of conflict between the federal government and the Bundesbank for the 1989-1998 period. We rely on a novel proxy for the impact of public communication by Bundesbank officials on the probability of conflict, in addition to interest rate, exchange rate, money supply behavior, as well as electoral influences. The empirical evidence is consistent with the view that speeches by the Bundesbank president dealing with inflation and economic policy are a positive source of conflict in a probabilistic sense. Conflict was not a constant but flared up at times of economic stress and could be exacerbated by the “talking” of Bundesbank officials.     

International transmission of monthly changes in equity values

Our purpose is to answer two questions pertinent to the international transmission of changes in equity values. First, do lead-lag relationships documented in short-horizon (daily) studies continue to hold in longer time (monthly) horizons? Second, does the lead-lag structure remain stable over time? The questions are answered by examining monthly equity returns for nine countries during the 1980s. We find evidence that is somewhat surprising—significant lead-lag relationships among some countries persist in monthly horizons, particularly during the first half of the 1980s. During the second half, the lead-lag relationships are substantially weaker. During the same period, we find that contemporaneous correlations across countries have largely increased, implying greater influence of worldwide factors in determining equity prices.     

Do New Product Development Managers in Large or High-Market-Share Firms Perceive Marketing-R&D Interface Principles Differently?

In the quest for successful innovation, the importance of the R&Dlmarketing interface is virtually unquestioned. For many organizations, however, effective integration of technical and marketing functions is difficult, if not impossible. Despite seemingly widespread understanding of fundamental new product principles, some companies still manage to gain a larger share of the market than their competitors. This raises the question of whether managers in more successful companies have special insights into R&D'/'marketing interface principles that give them an edge over their competitors. To gain a better understanding of managers' perceptions of new product principles defined in the academic literature, Ted Haggblom, Roger J. Calantone, and C. Anthony Di Benedetto conducted a survey of 687 nonacademic members of the Product Development and Management Association. The basis for the survey was a set of 78 product management principles compiled from a search of more than 500 books and articles from various disciplines. From this survey, 14 of the 78 principles were selected as relevant to the study reported in this article. The principles discussed in this article involve such issues as resistance to change, short-term orientation, communication and trust between marketing and technical people, the effect of centralized decision-making on innovation, the importance of open communication flows, senior management's role in the R&D I marketing interface, and the necessity of a product champion. The primary quesstion addressed in this study is whether managers from successful companies perceive these principles differently from managers of less successful firms. The study provides partial support for the proposition that managers' perceptions of these new product principles depend on their company's success. In other words, the survey results suggest that managers in companies with higher market shares tend to agree more strongly with these principles than their counterparts in less successful firms. The study also explores the relationship between firm size and agreement with these principles of new product success. Specifically, the study assesses whether the perceptions of managers from smaller, more entrepreneurial companies differ from those of managers in larger companies. Although managers from small and large firms may view these principles from different perspectives, there were no statistically significant differences in the perceptions of managers from small and large firms.     

Factors affecting low fruit and vegetable consumption in Scotland: a review of factors affecting fruit and vegetable consumption

The recently published ‘Scottish Diet’¹ emphasizes the importance of diet in Scotland's poor health record, and sets dietary targets for the year 2000. Fruit and vegetable intake is considerably lower in Scotland than in the rest of the U.K. This paper gives details of the low levels of fruit and vegetable consumption in Scotland in relation to the rest of the U.K., and then goes on to review the factors affecting consumption of these foods, and in particular to discuss them in terms of the Scottish situation. Finally, an agenda for research in this area is outlined, emphasizing the need for further information on the interrelationships between the different factors affecting fruit and vegetable consumption, in order to inform future strategies for increasing fruit and vegetable consumption in Scotland.