Firm Heterogeneity,New Investment and Acquisitions

This paper presents a model of investment in which heterogeneous firms choose between new investment and acquisitions. New investment involves purchasing a new plant for an existing variety. Acquisitions involve purchasing a plant and a variety from a selling firm. Using a variable‐elasticity demand system, I show that if varieties within a differentiated industry are imperfect substitutes, mid‐productivity firms invest. As varieties approach perfect substitutability, high‐productivity firms invest. For both cases, within the region of investing firms, the most productive choose acquisitions over new investment. In analyzing firm‐level data from Compustat, I find evidence that supports these predictions.     

Alternative Perspectives on Post-Keynesian Price Theory

We present an overview of recent developments in methodological and epistemological discussion in post-Keynesian work. We use these developments as a basis for judging various contributions to the post-Keynesian literature on pricing, in particular the arguments presented by Lee in recent issues of this journal, whilst acknowledging the positive contribution of Lee's work, we argue that his critique of post-Keynesian pricing theory is flawed and that his 'empirical pricing model' is consequently ill-founded.     

The experience of teleworking: an annotated review

The paper reviews the contemporary literature on the experience of teleworking. Particular attention is paid to the socializing aspects of work and its comparative absence when working from home; economic considerations, both for homeworkers and for the firms; work satisfaction and motivation; supervision; roles and gender issues in homeworking; the organization of time and space; and, lastly, questions of self-discipline. The evidence reviewed is based on various teleworking trials conducted mainly during the 1980s; this information is supplemented by original research conducted by the authors which investigated the pros and cons raised by British Telecom operators who were due to take part in a teleworking trial. These operators anticipated many of the issues faced by those who actually had teleworking experience.     

From the outside in: Consumer anti-choice and policy implications in the mobile gaming market

Significant growth in mobile media consumption has prompted a call to better understand the socio-cultural and policy dimensions of consumer choices. Contrary to industry and technology led analysis, this study argues that to guide consumer choice and innovation via regulatory policies requires an understanding of both ex-ante as well as in ex-post consumption conditions. This study examines mobile phone gaming to uncover how consumer anti-choice shapes decision-making as a framework for closely interrogating the ways in which policy concerns impact on consumers’ behavior. Through eleven focus groups (n=62), the study empirically identifies voluntary, intentional, and positive consumer anti-choice behaviors all of which impact policy initiatives when consumers, both gamers and non-gamers, self-regulate their behaviors. Findings point to four types of policy implication: regulating the self-regulated, understanding anti-choice, boundary-setting and including the self-excluded.     

Employer Policies and Organizational Commitment in Britain 1992–97

An important current of thinking in the last decade has emphasized the need for a shift from control to commitment as the central objective of management employment policies. This paper is concerned to assess whether there was a significant increase in British employees' commitment to their organizations in the 1990s, using comparative data from two large-scale and nationally representative surveys carried out in 1992 and 1997. It finds that there was no evidence of an increase in commitment over the period. As in the early part of the decade, employees had only a weak level of attachment to their organizations. The analysis examines a number of factors that have been seen as important determinants of such commitment: changes in the level of skill, task discretion, controls over work performance, and forms of employee involvement. While there were changes in some of these factors that encouraged higher commitment, these were largely cancelled out by a notable decline in the discretion that employees were allowed to exercise over their work.     

Stuck on gold: Real exchange rate volatility and the rise and fall of the gold standard, 1875-1939

Did the gold standard diminish macroeconomic volatility? Supporters thought so, critics thought not, and theory offers ambiguous messages. Hard regimes like the gold standard limit monetary shocks by tying policymakers' hands; but exchange-rate inflexibility compromises shock absorption in a world of real disturbances and nominal stickiness. A model shows how lack of flexibility affects the transmission of terms-of-trade shocks. Evidence from the late nineteenth and early twentieth century exposes a dramatic change. The classical gold standard did absorb shocks, but the interwar gold standard did not, supporting the view that the interwar gold standard was a poor regime choice.     

Decision parameters in global R&D management

This paper addresses the question of which variables have what kind of impact on the decision to locate new R&D facilities in countries different from the home country of a corporation. In the first section of the paper we demonstrate the complexity of this question by referring to empirical research, managerial statements and literature. We then develop a conceptual model for the location decision of international R&D activities. This is based on Porter's (1990) framework of the factors constituting the competitive advantage of nations. In the final section of this paper we show how such a model helps us to understand and also to explain a number of management issues related to global R&D activities.     

An Empirical Analysis of Hedonic Regression and Grid-Adjustment Techniques in Real Estate Appraisal

Multiple regression analysis has become increasingly popular when appraising residential properties for tax purposes. Alternatively, most fee appraisers and real estate brokers use the traditional sales comparison approach. This study combines the two techniques and uses multiple regression to generate the adjustment coefficients used in the grid adjustment method. The study compares the combined grid-regression method with ordinary regression and defines the market conditions under which each method is likely to be more effective. The grid-regression method is found to be more accurate for relatively homogeneous housing markets, and the multiplicative percentage adjustment method (MPAM) the preferred approach.     

Nutrition planning is alive and well, thank you

This article is a rejoinder to an article by John Osgood Field which discussed the failure of multisectoral nutrition planning. The author argues that, although nutrition planners may have been overly optimistic in their hopes that political systems could be made responsive to the problems, significant advances have been achieved. He outlines many of the successes of nutrition planning and the importance of multisectoral work. Malnutrition is a problem that escapes all the standard programmes, and cannot be tackled through the health and agriculture sectors alone.