Robust asset prices with bubbles

We generally establish equilibrium asset prices than can include price bubbles yet (a) be robust to truncations of the economy and (b) exclude trade in non-consumables, like money, stock certificates, or land deeds.     

Might randomization in queue discipline be useful when waiting cost is a concave function of waiting time?

This paper suggests that introducing randomization in queue discipline might be welfare enhancing in certain queues for which the cost of waiting is a concave function of waiting time. Concavity can make increased variability in waiting times good not bad for aggregate customer welfare. Such concavity may occur if the costs of waiting asymptotically approach some maximum or if the customer incurs a fixed cost if there is any wait at all. As examples, cost might asymptotically approach a maximum for patients seeking organ transplants who will not live beyond a certain threshold time, and fixed costs could pertain for knowledge workers seeking a piece of information that is required to proceed with their current task, so any delay creates a “set up charge” associated with switching tasks.     

Agricultural Leadership Education: Past History,Present Reality,and Future Directions

The article explores the past, present, and projected future of agricultural leadership education. Beginning with roots in youth leadership development and grounded in land‐grant universities, agricultural leadership education has undergone a shift from working primarily with rural youth to a new focus on also educating undergraduate and graduate students to empower community members and create change. The renewed focus has encouraged recent growth and in the last 10 years, the profession has added three leadership majors, six leadership minors, seven leadership focus areas, seven undergraduate leadership programs, and four graduate leadership programs. Research exploring the student impact of agricultural leadership education revealed that nationwide a total of 7,904 students are exposed to 208 agricultural leadership education courses. As the discipline continues to mature, recommendations are made for continued program development. Discussion highlights prior research examining potential courses to include types of experiences, program objectives, and career connectedness relating to agricultural leadership education. Programs have ample opportunity for future growth and recommendations are made to continue the development of innovative leadership opportunities and consistent pedagogical practices across institutions.     

CONVERTIBLE BOND PRICING MODELS

Convertible bonds are an important segment of the corporate bond market, with worldwide outstandings approaching US$235 billion. Simple pricing models value a convertible bond as being equivalent to a straight bond with an embedded option that enables the bond holder to convert to a specific amount of common stock. The straight bond is subject to both interest rate and credit risk, whereas the option to convert is dependent on the underlying stock price, which exposes the convertible bond holder to equity risk. The complexity of these features means that convertible bonds tend to be treated casually in major derivatives and corporate finance textbooks. This paper presents a survey of the theoretical and empirical aspects of convertible bond pricing. The limitations of these studies are highlighted to identify those areas of research that may improve the valuation process and facilitate the application of these securities for corporate financing.     

Two state capital accumulation with heterogenous products: Disruptive vs. non-disruptive goods

The paper considers the problem of a firm that, while producing a standard product, has the option to introduce an innovative product. The innovative product competes with the standard product and will therefore reduce revenues of the standard product. A distinction is made between innovative products that do or do not become even more relatively appealing as their market share grows (e.g., because of network externalities). It is shown that in the former case, which we call a “disruptive” good, history dependent long run equilibria can occur, which are in line with recent real life economic examples.     

Beyond survival: the implementation of new forms of work organization in the UK and German steel industries

This paper outlines and analyses the major changes in work-force organization that have been introduced by British and German steel producers in the past decade, against a backcloth of retrenchment in the industry, new product development and technological change. Including multiskilling, a reduction in demarcation and team–working, these changes have had a major effect upon the composition of the work–force and the nature of work undertaken at the shopfloor level.

While these changes have had a common broad trajectory, they have been introduced at a different pace and in different forms. The contrasts are provided not only at the international level, but between plants in the same countries. The paper further outlines the response of trade unions to these changes and the implications for industrial relations at the shopfloor level.