创新是什么？

前些日子,我读了一篇文章,里面谈的是为发展中国家提供廉价药品如何困难的问题。当时,我立马想到了一个国际药品游说集团领袖所说的一段话:"如果没有了知识产权,就不会有创新的存在。"我的思路也由此被打断,对这个问题思考的也越来越多。当然了,从某种程度上来看,他的话是正确的。大部分商业组织只是把研发当成是榨取更多利润的手段来惠     

The implications of a third-order translog demand system and some empirical results

In this paper a homogeneity and symmetry unconstrained variant of the “third-order translog”, representing a third-order approximation to an indirect utility function, is derived. Using Christensen, Jorgenson and Lau's (1975) data, and subsequent observations to 1986, we estimate this third-order translog, and show that it dominates the homogeneity and symmetry unconstrained translog. The restrictions implied by homogeneity and symmetry, conditional on our third-order translog are also rejected. These results are of interest since they demonstrate that standard restrictions implied by the theory of consumer behaviour can be rejected even in the context of a fairly general model which has been estimated using aggregate, time-series data. However, it has been found that the inclusion of dynamic effects sometimes leads to non-rejection of theoretical restrictions (Anderson and Blundell 1983). Unfortunately, the use of aggregate, time-series data to estimate a dynamic, third-order translog would be problematic, since exact aggregation restrictions are imposeda priori and observations are limited. This suggests that it would be more appropriate to estimate the third-order translog using cross-sectional micro-data sets with many observations. This type of data is now available, and can be used to estimate systems of consumer demands. Furthermore, these data sets contain extensive information on demographic characteristics which, having recently been found to be important determinants of demand (Barnes and Gillingham 1984) can be included in general demand systems of the third-order translog type.     

The Chilean Anti-cartel Experience: Accomplishments and Challenges

Review of Industrial Organization - We evaluate the Chilean law and enforcement record in the area of cartels. We identify the high probability of cartel detection, severe sanctions for detected...     

天空还会变蓝吗

英国广播公司(BBC)有时将自己描述为"世界领先的公共新闻服务",其喜欢给人的印象是,拥有训练有素的记者,用进步的观点报道这个地球村上正在发生的所有事情。然而,伴随着这些日子英国大部分的"服务",BBC面临着严重的资金短缺,那些拥有遍布全球的专业记者的日子早已不复存在。通常是,一旦一条消息出现,他们会立即在网上询问周围认识的人:"你在X吗?看到什么冲突了没有?能发照片吗?"这样得到消息会更快捷和更便宜。当然,这样的方式也会有不     

Bitcoin and entrepreneurship: breaking the network effect

This paper explores the question of whether the market process is capable of bringing about a spontaneous monetary switch to a new currency in the presence of strong network effects of the incumbent currency as well as the absence of contingencies such as extreme inflation or political instability. It does so by examining current happenings around Bitcoin. It finds that two mechanisms stand out: the coordinating efforts of the profit-maximizing entrepreneur as well as the ability to use the old and the new currency simultaneously. Specifically, it finds that marginal decisions made by rational agents merely seeking to maximize net private benefit irrespective of the network effect, be it entrepreneurs or users of the new currency, are capable of setting in motion a switch to a new currency. Whether or not these mechanisms play out fully in the case of Bitcoin still remains to be seen.     

Trust,acceptance and knowledge of technological and environmental hazards in Chile

Studies over the past decade have found empirical links between trust in risk management institutions and the risk perceptions and acceptability of various individual hazards. Mostly addressing food technologies, no study to date has explored wider possible relationships among all four core variables (risk, benefit, trust and acceptability) covering a heterogeneous group of hazards. Our prime objective was to ascertain effects among social trust in regulatory entities, and the public's perceived risk, perceived benefit and the degree of acceptability towards both technological and environmental hazards. We also assess whether trust in regulatory authorities is the cause (causal model) or a consequence (associationist model) of a hazard's acceptability for a wide and heterogeneous range of hazards on all four core variables. Using a web‐based survey, 539 undergraduates in Chile rated the five variables across 30 hazards. Implications for technology and environmental risk management organizations are discussed. Independent of the magnitude of the perceived risk or benefit surrounding a given hazard, or how knowledgeable the public claim to be of it, the trust sustained in regulatory institutions will either generate or be the consequence of public attitudes towards the hazard.     

An empirical application of the EVA® framework to business cycles

Following financial concepts like duration and economic value added (EVA®) we estimate the impact of interest rate movements on firms that are more and less roundabout. We find that firms that are more roundabout, that is, work with expected cash-flows with higher duration, are more sensitive to interest rate movements. To the extent that monetary policy is able to move the discount rate used by investors, monetary policy changes the relative present value of any investment project and therefore affects resource allocation. We show evidence that this effect is present in the U.S. in the years prior to the subprime crisis.     

尼泊尔的“中国风”

前些天去中国的近邻尼泊尔旅行,当大巴车行驶在蜿蜒的山路中时,我想起几年前丰田汽车的一条广告语,"车到山前必有路,有路必有丰田车"。山路上充斥着我从来都没见过的最古老和装饰得最繁琐的卡车,这些卡车都是由尼泊尔的另外一个近邻——印度的塔塔汽车公司制造的。不单单是这些卡车,我在加德满都的街道上看到的很大一部分车都是塔塔公司     

这山望着那山高

有很多好话形容体力劳动带来的快乐，这些好话通常是由那些很少从事体力劳动的人说的。看上去好像人性并没有改变多少，我们常常想象着别人的工作比我们自己的更有趣、更让人兴奋和挣钱更多。