Regulating prices in two-sided markets: The waterbed experience in mobile telephony

The distinguishing feature of two-sided markets is that the pricing structure, that is, the relative prices charged to each side, matters. Regulators need to understand and account for the interdependence of prices in both sides. Some interventions that lower the prices on one side can result in higher prices on the other side of such markets. This article reviews the recent literature analyzing this waterbed phenomenon in mobile telephony and draws some more general lessons for policy interventions in two-sided markets.     

A high-frequency analysis of price resolution and pricing barriers in equities on the adoption of a new currency

We use ultra high frequency (trade by trade) data to demonstrate that equity price clustering and pricing predictability around psychologically important prices in Greece switches away from drachma-focused with the introduction of the euro, but does not immediately switch to euro-clustering. The change in trader price focus around the euro introduction addresses an open debate in the clustering literature on whether the presence of clustering is a bias related to the current prices or anchoring to past prices. Our findings of a decline in drachma clustering, but lack of switch to euro effects supports the case for clustering being a trading feature that is slow to transfer to new pricing regimes. A key advantage of the ultra high frequency dataset is we are also able to demonstrate the presence of psychological pricing barriers related to each currency that are not detectable in daily data.     

The Impact of Structural Reforms on Telecommunications Performance

The paper investigates to what extent regulation, competition and privatization affect Telecommunications performance for 30 OECD countries over the period 1975–2013. This study explores the difference between separate and joint effects among these structural reform variables, in the concept of a dynamic model, taking also into account the difference between short run and long run effects. We argue that regulation has a more aggressive effect on performance when it is combined with the other two structural reform variables in both models.     

Forecasting with limited data: Combining ARIMA and diffusion models

Forecasting diffusion of new technologies is usually performed by the means of aggregate diffusion models, which tend to monopolize this area of research and practice, making the alternative approaches, like the Box-Jenkins, less favourable choices due to their lack of providing accurate long-term predictions. This paper presents a new methodology focusing on the improvement of the short-term prediction that combines the advantages of both approaches and that can be applied in the early stages of a diffusion process. An application of the methodology is also illustrated, providing short-term forecasts for the world broadband and mobile telecommunications' penetration. The results reveal that the methodology is capable of producing improved one-year-ahead predictions, after a certain level of penetration, as compared to the results of both methods individually. This methodology can find applications to all cases of the high-technology market, where a diffusion model is usually used for obtaining future forecasts. The paper concludes with the limitations of the methodology, the discussion on the application's results and the proposals for further research.     

Is Moderate Market Performance in the U.S. a Sufficient Condition for Abnormal Returns on CEFs?

In this project, our topic pertains to examination of market efficiency, employing data from closed-end funds (CEFs) trading in the American stock market. Employing both aggregate and individual data, we examine whether or not moderate market performance is a sufficient condition in order to achieve abnormal returns, in the short-run, through exploitation of discount deviations from its mean value. The main hypothesis tested is that market performance affects the mean-reverting properties of CEFs’ discount. Moderate market performance ensures the mean-reversion of CEFs’ discount and points to cointegration between the share prices of CEFs and their net asset value (NAV). Furthermore, when NAV is identified as the common stochastic trend of the system then, market inefficiency is detected.     

The dynamics of crop sectors in regional development: The case of tobacco

The importance of specific crop sectors can be better cast in a broader framework to account for intersectoral effects. Input-output analysis can provide this framework to assess the importance of the controversial crop, tobacco. In this respect, employment, income, and output multipliers were estimated to demonstrate the dynamics of the sector at the regional and national levels. Furthermore, the impact of totally eliminating tobacco cultivation was computed. Results clearly demonstrate the significance of the tobacco sector and its interrelation with the rest of the economic sectors.This study was partially financed by the Portuguese Association of Tobacco Producers.     

Price Adjustment Policies in Procurement Contracting: An Analysis of Bidding Behavior

The fluctuations in fuel prices over the past decade led a number of government agencies to introduce price adjustment clauses in procurement contracting. Those clauses were primarily designed to reduce contractors’ uncertainty without considering the impact of such initiatives on bidding and the budget. We analyze a newly constructed, detailed panel of observations on bids for construction contracts and compare bidding behavior across periods and projects, and across items within projects. Estimates from a difference‐in‐differences approach, indicate that bidding becomes more aggressive and less dispersed after the implementation of this policy. The difference is more pronounced when we consider itemized bids than overall project bids. Alternative techniques of regression discontinuity and nonparametric estimation are applied and yield consistent results.     

Unit Root Investigation of Greek Real Money Supply and GDP

In this article, the time series of Greek real GDP and real money supply are investigated for the presence of a unit root, allowing for maximum two breaks which take place at an unknown point in time. This methodology is preferred to conventional Dickey & Fuller tests because the covered time horizon, namely from 1858 to 1938, is characterized by a number of very important events, the nature of which is either economic or historical. In addition, time series stationarity is checked through a Kwiatkowski, Phillips, Schmidt, and Shin (KPSS) test.University of Macedonia—Greece. The article was presented at the Fifty-Ninth International Atlantic Economic Conference, London, England, March 9–13, 2005