Bubbles: Some Perspectives (and Loose Talk) from History

Bubbles are a topic of great importance and great controversy.This paper discusses alternative perspectives on the economicmeaning and origin of bubbles. Drawing on historical approachesto bubbles, this article sets out a taxonomy of approaches usedto explain the nature of bubbles. The paper also considers issuesconnected with the scientific thinking surrounding bubbles.     

Presidential Address: Liquidity and Price Discovery

This paper examines the implications of market microstructure for asset pricing. I argue that asset pricing ignores the central fact that asset prices evolve in markets. Markets provide liquidity and price discovery, and I argue that asset pricing models need to be recast in broader terms to incorporate the transactions costs of liquidity and the risks of price discovery. I argue that symmetric information‐based asset pricing models do not work because they assume that the underlying problems of liquidity and price discovery have been solved. I develop an asymmetric information asset pricing model that incorporates these effects.     

Internet‐enabled Tourism Entrepreneurs. International Entrepreneurial Values Elicited through Repertory Test and Laddering Analysis

Although the tourism industry has been dramatically altered due to the Internet, there has been limited research published about international entrepreneurial values and Internet use in tourism firms. The findings of this study point to a relationship between the values of Internet‐enabled international entrepreneurs in small‐sized to medium‐sized enterprises and the inclination of the firm to develop and initiate international activity. The findings of this study suggest that Internet‐enabled tourism entrepreneurs share similar construct values. Two effective but underutilized qualitative methods were used in this study. The first method, repertory test, is an efficient technique for exploring constructs in decision making; the second method, laddering analysis, facilitates understanding of the perceived consequences and personal values guiding behaviour. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A simultaneous probit model of crime and employment for black and white teenage males

This study examines the relationships between the employability and criminality of white and black male teenagers. A disequilibrium model of employment and crime is formulated and estimated as a simultaneous probit equation system. Our results show that black teenagers who are employed engage in fewer criminal activities. Thus, it appears that blacks view employment and crime as alternative income-generating activities. On the other hand, the criminal behavior of white male teenagers is unaffected by their employment status. The evidence that we provide indicates that whites tend to use employment as a cover for crime or to moonlight in crime. The differences in the behaviors of whites and blacks can be explained, in part, by different legitimate opportunity structures for whites and blacks. One of the more important policy implications is that job opportunities targeted to high risk, black teenage populations will have the additional beneficial effect of reducing crime rates.     

Rational expectations for large CGE models: A practical algorithm and a policy application

We describe a simple iterative method for solving large dynamic CGE models under rational expectations. Details are given for Australia's MONASH model but the approach applies to a wide range of CGE models. The method is automated in the RunMONASH Windows software, putting CGE modelling under rational expectations within the reach of non-specialist modellers. We provide an illustrative application in which MONASH results under rational expectations are compared with results under static expectations. The application and supporting software can be downloaded. Results from the application are interpreted in terms of elementary economic mechanisms.     

Conceptualising the dynamics of employee information and consultation: evidence from the Republic of Ireland

The debate concerning the emerging regulatory environment for employee voice continues apace, in particular the requirements to inform and consult employees as a result of the European Employee Information and Consultation Directive. This article examines the processes used to inform and consult employees across 15 case studies in the Republic of Ireland. It evaluates different voice arrangements using a conceptual framework that seeks to capture the dynamics of different employee voice schemes across union and non‐union companies. The findings suggest that participation is more robust when the channels for information and consultation accommodate both conflictual and cooperative processes. It is shown that robust forms of participation are more likely through processes that facilitate independent representation. The evidence also shows that some employers may devise their own counterbalancing forms of (pseudo) consultation, in an attempt to minimise the impact of regulatory rights for employee voice.     

Dynamic capabilities,social capital,and rent appropriation: ties that split pies

Who reaps the fruits of a dynamic capability? We argue that while social capital is essential for the acquisition, integration, and release of resources at the core of a dynamic capability, actors can also use social capital for personal gain. Thus, social capital may be a key to understanding both rent generation and rent appropriation. Even when causal ambiguity obscures individual contributions, they may use their social capital to establish credible claims on the rent. Specifically, employees who occupy structural holes, span organizational boundaries, or who are highly central may be most able to appropriate rent because their social capital grants credibility to their claims. Rent that is appropriated in this way may be unobservable in performance measures that fail to distinguish normal compensation from rent. We contribute by identifying the specific role of social capital in a dynamic capability and linking social capital to rent appropriation patterns. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Valuing unlisted shares: A dual approach to the major information determinants

Little is known about how professional valuation experts actually form judgements on the value of unlisted shares. This study examines the valuation process among Canadian valuators and the relative importance of each of the main information variables used in that process. A dual approach to the problem is adopted: (1) a major survey of 231 valuation experts and (2) a conjoint analysis experiment on 82 valuators using fabricated cases representative of realistic relationships. Both approaches conclude that while earnings prospects is the single most important factor in determining unlisted share values, the determination of value in the absence of a capital market is a highly complex process involving a host of information variables, many of which do not easily lend themselves to objective judgement.