A comparative analysis of hedonic models of nutrition information and health claims on food products: An application to soup products

Over time, the quality of data on food purchases and label information has improved such that hedonic analyses to determine the implicit prices of product attributes can be conducted using more detailed data than in the past. With the availability of more extensive data, it is important to understand the characteristics of the data and implications of using different data sources on results of analyses. The purpose of this study was twofold: (1) compare results between two sources of label information and (2) develop a better understanding of the effects of product claims and nutrition information on the value of products to consumers. Trans fat claims, organic claims, private label, package size, and several nutrients were found to influence implicit prices for soup products, and the results between the two data sources are comparable.     

Symmetric bidding in second-price, common-value auctions

That second-price, common-value auctions have a unique symmetric equilibrium is shown by demonstrating a useful property: the equilibrium bid dominates any local common bias.     

Prosperity without industrial democracy? Developments in industrial relations in Hong Kong since 1968

Hong Kong is often viewed as having achieved an advanced level of economic development without substantial movement towards industrial democracy. We argue that some progress towards democratisation of employment relations has been taking place although unevenly and attempt to explain why this is the case.     

Mastering the value chain. An interview with Mark Levin of Millennium Pharmaceuticals. Interview by David Champion.

As today's business leaders are all too aware, a new scientific or technological break-through can quickly transform an industry's competitive landscape. The upheaval is often traumatic for the companies involved, forcing them to rethink their strategies and redefine their boundaries. But an industry in flux also creates vast opportunities. To seize them, companies must see how the current upheavals will affect the future distribution of profits--and then reinvent themselves to capitalize on the new sources of value. In this interview with HBR senior editor David Champion, Mark Levin, the founder and CEO of Millennium Pharmaceuticals, describes his vision of the future of the pharmaceutical industry in the wake of the genetics revolution and new technologies that have altered the economics of drug development. No company, he argues, will create serious long-term value by staying in just one or two stages of the value of chain. That's why Millennium, which started out doing basis research into genes and proteins and selling its findings to pharmaceutical giants, has moved downstream - toward the patients who actually use and pay for the drugs. He explains why the research end has become less lucrative than the more mechanical tasks of identifying, testing, and manufacturing molecules. Levin talks about the changes Millennium has undergone since its inception in 1993-from 30 workers to more than 1,000, and from one end of the value chain to the other. He discusses the company's cultural transformations as well as the partnerships and acquisitions that have helped millennium become involved in every stage of the chain-from gene to patient. Levin's vigorous approach to balancing long-term strategy with short-term tactics offers important lessons to any executive facing an industry upheaval.     

Terrorism and the Invisible Hook

This article investigates and compares the root causes of transnational terrorism and piracy. In order to accomplish this, we construct a novel data set that catalogues terrorist activity and piracy over the years 1992–2008, paying particular attention to the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean since 1991. These data are then merged with other information detailing the economic, political, and security posture of each organization during the same period so that we can examine the relationship between economic prosperity, security, terrorism, and piracy. The main conclusion is that terrorism is mostly unrelated to economic conditions, while piracy responds to both economic payoffs and military deterrents.     

An Optimal Auction for Complements

This paper considers the optimal selling mechanism for complementary items. When buyers are perfectly symmetric, the optimal procedure is to bundle the items and run a standard auction. In general, however, bundling the items is not necessarily desirable, and the standard auctions do not maximize revenue. Moreover, the optimal auction allocation may not be socially efficient since the auction must discriminate against bidders who have strong incentives to misrepresent their true preferences.Journal of Economic LiteratureClassification Number: D44.