The decline of the marginal utility of the guilder, 1952–1977

Summary The annual change in the marginal utility of the guilder is numerically specified, together with its two components: the real-income and the price level components. Research supported in part by the McKethan-Matherly Eminent Scholar Chair, University of Florida, and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation).     

The maximum entropy median in the presence of an outlier

When a random sample of size n from a standard normal population is contaminated by a normal outlier with either a different mean or a different variance, the maximum entropy median outperforms the sample median in terms of squared-error loss. The only exception is when n=3 and the outlier mean or variance is sufficiently different.     

The effect of measurement errors on the estimation of demand systems

Statistical inference in complete demand systems is usually based on imperfect data. This letter explores some of the implications of these imperfections, in particular for the estimates of income elasticities.     

A differential approach to U.S. import demand

We apply the differential production theory approach to U.S. import data (1921-70) without imposing restrictions on Divisia elasticities. The estimates of these elasticities are 0.58 for the imports of foods, 0.95 for those of crude materials, 1.34 for semi-manufactures, and 1.16 for finished manufactures.     

The symmetric maximum entropy distribution

The symmetric maximum entropy (ME) distribution is introduced based on symmetrized order statistics. Its properties (including higher-order moments) are compared with those of the non-symmetric ME distribution.     

New results on the preference independence transformation

A preference independence transformation of U.S. consumption data, including leisure, shows that affordable free time is the transformed good with the largest share in the semidurables/ durables/leisure group. Other results concern the effect of the transformation on the group structure under weak separability.     

The construction of the risky individual and vigilant organization: A genealogy of the fraud triangle

This article examines how a vision of organizational fraud has been constructed around a particular technology, the fraud triangle, which was initially developed in the aftermath of the creation of the fraud examination discipline. We examine the genealogy of the fraud triangle and follow various chains of translations underlying its construction. One of the main translation trajectories we uncover presents individuals as vectors of moral riskiness needing to be vigilantly monitored and controlled by the organization. The organization is conceived of as a prime site in which fraud is to be addressed – not annihilated but significantly reduced as long as sufficient care is devoted to establishing layers of vigilance. As such, the fraud triangle redefines social, political and economic relations through a web of translations that both celebrate and normalize the use of organizational surveillance systems to control risk ensuing from the individual’s (alleged) frail morality. In the process, other visions of fraud, focused on the broader role of society, political agendas and powerful economic institutions in engendering and preventing fraud, escape from view.     

Strategic capability architecture: The role of network capability

A firm's network capability refers to its ability to build, handle and exploit relationships. These capabilities are interwoven in a complex configuration with the other capabilities and competencies of the firm and in practice, are very difficult to separate from them. Rather than assuming that firms inherently possess network capability, our aim is to discover if the shared managerial logic of top management teams confirms its presence. In order to understand how managers perceive, process and interpret network capability, we guided the management teams of five industrial suppliers through a novel five-step process of introducing, identifying, critically screening, challenging and verifying the capabilities of the firm. The paper introduces a framework for strategic capability architecture and investigates how network capability emerges from among the configuration of other capabilities in industrial firms. We found that network capabilities are central to the formation of customer capabilities. Network capabilities also play an important role as assets contributing to the formation of other capability sets. Furthermore, we found that the networking capabilities act in unison with other capabilities through three different strategic logics termed partnering, value streaming, and horizontal allying.