Upstream Competition between Vertically Integrated Firms

We propose a model of two‐tier competition between vertically integrated firms and unintegrated downstream firms. We show that, even when integrated firms compete in prices to offer a homogeneous input, the Bertrand logic may collapse, and the input may be priced above marginal cost in equilibrium. These partial foreclosure equilibria are more likely to exist when downstream competition is fierce or when unintegrated downstream competitors are relatively inefficient. We discuss the impact of several regulatory tools on the competitiveness of the wholesale market.     

Perceptions of restaurant employees in Asia Pacific on sexual harassment in the hospitality industry

A major issue facing all of the hospitality industry is that of sexual harassment and the explosion of the number of sexual harassment lawsuits being filed. According to the National Restaurant Industry (U.S.) in 1998, in certain states there are more sexual harassment lawsuits than slip and fall cases filed within the restaurant industry. With the cost of litigation and the dollar amount of settlements both increasing substantially, it is with a pro‐active view to look at the perspective of sexual harassment by restaurant employees. The purpose of this study was to measure the perceptions and attitudes of service personnel, specifically restaurant employees in Hawaii on sexual harassment.     

Risk management and governance:: a post-normal science approach

In this essay we consider the problems of risks and governance in the light of three well-known examples: the ‘Seveso' accident involving dioxin; the BSE epidemic; and the licensing of genetically modified maize. These form a natural progression, from hazards that are ‘classical', manageable mainly by ‘applied science', to those that are totally post-normal. The new hazards typified by genetically modified maize, but including many others such as untested toxic chemicals, pose serious challenges to governance. The erosion of trust in the established institutions could lead to paralysis of innovation and also of government.     

Russian commodity exchanges: A case study of organized markets in the transition process, 1990-96

Few developments are more significant in transitional economics than the development of organized commodity and financial markets. Working from a transaction costs framework, this paper analyses a set of these markets, the Russian commodity exchanges, and their attempts to order trade in commodities in the period 1990-96. These exchanges have incurred high transaction costs both in defining the property rights involved in trading and in overcoming the problems of agent search and 'immediacy'. Parallels between Russian commodity exchanges and other organized markets in Eastern Europe are drawn and remedies for the problems encountered are suggested.     

It is merely a matter of time: A meta‐analysis of the causality between environmental performance and financial performance

Research on the relationship between corporate environmental performance (CEP) and financial performance (CFP) continuously receives high attention in both general media and academic publications. One central issue concerns the causal effects between the two constructs. Because existing primary literature is characterized by its heterogeneous study designs and mixed empirical evidence, the aim of this paper is to explicitly shed light on the causality effects between CEP and CFP by means of a meta‐analysis of 893 empirical estimates from 142 CEP–CFP studies. Our findings suggest that in the short run (1 year), financial resources can increase a firm's environmental performance as proposed by the slack resources hypothesis; however, the effects disappear in the long run (after more than 1 year). Conversely, increasing environmental performance has no short‐term effect on a corporate financial performance, whereas a firm significantly benefits in the long term, which is in accordance with the Porter hypothesis. Overall, our results show that the causality between environmental performance and financial performance depends on the time horizon.     

An infinite depth dam with Poisson input and Poisson release

Abstract

In this paper the content Z(t) of a dam where Z(t) ε( - ∞, h], h an arbitrary constant, is studied. Inputs to the dam form a sequence of i.i.d. r.v.'s and occur according to a Poisson process with parameter λ > 0 while releases from the dam form a sequence of i.i.d. r.v.'s and occur according to a Poisson process with parameter μ > 0. The Laplace transform of the process Z(t) is derived and expressions for the moments are given. It is shown that Z(t) has a nondegenerate limiting distribution, as t -- ∞, if average inputs per unit time exceed average releases per unit time.     

Millennium Project's draft scenarios for the next 1000 years

In cooperation with The Foundation For the Future, The Millennium Project of the American Council for the United Nations University has collected and rated factors that may influence the long-term (1000 years) future of humanity via the “Millennium 3000 Panel” of 100 advanced thinkers around the world. Their judgements have been organized into six first draft scenario sketches, of which three are presented in this paper.