An Empirical Analysis of Mexican Merger Policy

A newly created dataset including 239 decisions made by the Mexican Federal Competition Commission on horizontal mergers is used to estimate the different factors affecting the Commission’s resolution decisions. The decision-making process has been approximated by two different discrete choice models. Our results indicate that, contrary to the Commission’s objective, the presence of efficiency gains increases the probability of a case being challenged. We also find that factors different from the ones explicitly mentioned by the Commission have a significant effect upon the Commission’s final decision. In particular, the presence of a foreign company among the would-be merger firms significantly increases the likelihood of observing an allowed merger.      

Long-term relationships as safeguards

We analyze a repeated prisoners’ dilemma game played in a community setting with heterogeneous types. The setting is such that individuals choose whether to continue interacting with their present partner, or separate and seek a new partner. Players’ types are not directly observed, but may be imperfectly inferred from observed behavior. We focus on a class of equilibria that satisfy zero tolerance and fresh start. We find that the punishment for defecting and the reward for cooperating are driven by the formation and the dissolution of long-term, high-paying relationships: an individual who defects, aborts a long-term relationship that he is in, or that he might have entered into, is thrown into short-term interactions with individuals who are likely to defect and, consequently, receives low payoffs. On the flip side, an individual who cooperates, enters into or prolongs a long-term interaction with a partner who cooperates and, consequently, receives high payoffs.     

Optimal decisions in foreign exchange bidding markets

I characterize optimal bidding decisions in bidding markets where each agent does not perceive she can significantly affect the market outcome. Using a foreign exchange bidding framework to provide a micro-foundation for the shape of a bidder's payoff function, I show that (1) in a discriminatory auction a bidder bids for a price that equals the value of the marginal product of her bid quantity, and (2) in a competitive auction a bidder bids for a price that equals the value of the average product of her bid quantity. An example illustrates the comparative properties of these solutions.     

Simultaneous Models for Contingency Tables: A Reanalysis of Heatherton et al. (1997) Data on Eating Behavior

In panel studies, where a categorical response is measured attwo points in time, we can examine two kind of hypotheses regardingthe nature of change. The first is related with change at theindividual level (gross change) through the modelling of joint distributionof responses. The second is related with aggregate change (netchange) through the modelling of marginal distributions of responses.This paper describes a general approach to the analysis of two-wavepanel data based on Lang and Agresti's work (1994) that simultaneouslypermits the modelling of marginal and joint distributions of responses.This approach is illustrated with data from Heatherton et al.(1997) about change in dieting behaviour. These data were originallyanalyzed using the ² statistic to test independenceof responses. This paper shows how it is possible toobtain a better understanding of these data using the proposedmethodological approach.     

Foreign Direct Investment and Exports with Growing Demand

We explore entry into a foreign market with uncertain demand growth. A multinational can serve the foreign demand by two modes, or by a combination thereof: it can export its products, or it can create productive capacity via foreign direct investment (FDI). The advantage of FDI is that it allows for lower marginal cost than exporting does. The disadvantage is that FDI is irreversible and, hence, entails the risk of creating under-utilized capacity in the case that the market turns out to be small. The presence of demand uncertainty and irreversibility gives rise to an interior solution, where the multinational, under certain conditions, both exports its products and does FDI.     

A cost-benefit analysis of music therapy in a home hospice

Medicare's fixed daily rates create an absolute cost constraint on hospices; consequently, the growth in hospice brings financial pressures. The patient efficacy of music therapy has been demonstrated in the literature and includes improving pain, agitation, disruptive behaviors, communication, depression, and quality of life. Music therapy is well suited to hospice as it addresses the four domains of palliative care (physiological, emotional, social, and spiritual care). In this small study, the total cost of patients in music therapy was $10,659 and $13,643 for standard care patients, resulting in a cost savings of $2984. The music therapy program cost $3615, yielding a cost benefit ratio of 0.83. When using cost per patient day, the cost benefit ratio is 0.95.     

Financial cycles and fiscal multipliers

We show that fiscal multiplier estimations may be biased by movements in asset and credit markets, as they facilitate spurious correlations of changes in cyclically adjusted revenues and spending with output growth via an identification bias and an omitted variable bias, thus overstating episodes of expansionary consolidations and downplaying contractionary consolidations. When controlling for asset and credit market movements in otherwise standard approaches to identification, we find multipliers to increase on average by 0.3–1 units. Fiscal consolidations are thus more likely to be contractionary and more harmful to growth than expected by some strands of the existing literature.     

Trademarks in branding: Legal issues and commercial practices

Abstract

The call for a special symposium on ‘The Brand and Its History’ has led to two journal issues that focus on trademarks and brands, respectively. This issue is devoted to trademarks, the more concrete, well-documented, and measurable aspect of brands. This editorial introduces trademark studies; summarises previous contributions from economic, legal, business, and historical literature; provides a short overview of the topics and findings of the seven articles included in this issue; and reflects on further research.     

A design-led conceptual framework for developing school integrated STEM programs: the Australian context

International Journal of Technology and Design Education - Integrated Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education is recognised as the latest development stage on the pathway...