Rules of Origin in North–South Preferential Trading Arrangements with an Application to NAFTA

All preferential trading agreements (PTAs) short of a customs union use rules of origin (ROO) to prevent trade deflection. ROO raise production costs and create administrative costs. This paper argues that in the case of the recent wave of North–South PTAs, the presence of ROO virtually limits the market access that these PTAs confer to the Southern partners. In the case of NAFTA, we find average compliance costs around 6% in ad valorem equivalent, undoing the tariff preference (4% on average) for a large number of tariff lines. Administrative costs amount to 47% of the preference margin. These findings are coherent with the view that North–South PTAs could well be viewed like a principal–agent problem in which the Southern partners are just about left on their participation constraint.     

Voting on Pensions: A Survey

Abstract. The paper presents a nonexhaustive survey of the literature designed to explain emergence, size and political sustainability of pay‐as‐you‐go pension systems. It proposes a simple framework of analysis (a small, open, two overlapping generation economy model), around which some variants are displayed. Dictatorship of the median voter is assumed. The text is organized to answer the following questions: (i) Do political equilibria with PAYG pension schemes exist? (ii) Why do they emerge? (iii) What are the conditions for the participation constraint of the pension game to be verified?, and finally, (iv) What is the size of the pension system chosen by the median voter and how is this size influenced by an exogenous (e.g. demographic) shock?     

'Design-led' Urban Regeneration: a Critical Perspective

This paper develops a critical perspective on 'design-led' urban regeneration, which is a fuzzy term used to describe a diverse raft of economic development strategies. A definition of design is outlined and then utilised in an assessment of a number of local and regional design-led urban regeneration schemes. A more detailed critique of one such project, the North Staffordshire Design Initiative, is then undertaken. We argue that there is a lack of best practice models and empirical research to guide policy makers.     

The Impact of European Works Councils on Management Decision-Making in UK and US-based Multinationals: A Case Study Comparison

The operation of European Works Councils (EWCs) is taking management and employee representatives in MNCs into uncharted territory. In particular, for companies headquartered in Anglo‐Saxon economies there is little domestic tradition of statutory employee consultation. Drawing on comparative case studies, this article investigates the impact of EWCs on the process and outcomes of corporate‐level management decision‐making in UK and US‐based MNCs. Variation in EWC impact arises from the interaction of structural factors, such as business focus, management organisation and pre‐existing industrial relations arrangements, and agency factors, including management policy and the cohesion of employee representatives.     

剑桥大学商学院：剑桥赛艇队的启示

牛津、剑桥，这两所世界上最古老的大学之间的赛艇传统已延续了180年，这项比赛对于日后形成出色的商业团队有什么帮助？我与剑桥大学赛艇俱乐部相处了7个月——从训练的第一天起直到比赛结束，我发现赛艇队教练的团队选择技术对于商业世界也同样有用。     

An assessment of value creation in mobile service delivery and the moderating role of time consciousness

This study focuses on the perceived utilitarian value of a new service delivery mode, the mobile channel. The authors develop a framework that incorporates three mode-specific benefits - time convenience, user control, and service compatibility - as well as two costs - perceived risk and cognitive effort - as antecedents of perceived value. Because of the pervasiveness of time criticality as a value-added characteristic of the mobile channel, they also investigate the moderating influence of consumers’ time consciousness. They empirically investigate the model using mobile brokerage services as an illustrative application. The results reveal that the identified antecedents, with the exception of service compatibility, have a strong impact on mobile channel value perceptions, which in turn influence behavioral intentions. The authors also find that time consciousness moderates the aforementioned relationships.     

European Air Transport — Uncabin the Consumer

The deregulation of air routes between London and Dublin has brought travellers the benefits of competition; and, hardly surprisingly, as prices have fallen the numbers making the journey have increased. Sean Barrett, Lecturer in Economics, and Mark Purdy of Trinity College, Dublin, compare the effects of liberalisation with those of the restricted entry to the European air transport market. How long, they ask, will the European consumer be denied similar benefits?