Econometric issues related to identification of the market power parameter

This study demonstrates the crucial role the specification of the cost function plays in identifying the market power parameter in autarky models. For constant marginal cost or marginal cost with quantity interacting with input prices, the market power parameter in autarky models in identified without a rotation of the demand curve. If a comodity is sold in both domestic and foreign markets, the market power parameters are identified regardless of the specific form of the marginal cost and demand specifications.     

From a Fall in the Mall to a Run in the Sun: One Journey to Ironman Triathlon

This autoethnographic account describes my personal leisure journey through an Ironman triathlon. The purpose of this paper is to highlight three themes that shed light on events like the Ironman as a leisure experience. The first theme reveals personal predispositions and the roles they play in deciding what constitutes leisure. The second theme discusses social or support networks within and around the Ironman experience. Third, the roles of key encounters are discussed as a way to make sense of what I was doing and how I was feeling. My Ironman experience represents an effort to escape the ordinary within defined, but extreme, limits. It is part of a larger search for complexity and, most of all, balance.     

Estimating class‐specific parametric models under class uncertainty: local polynomial regression clustering in an hedonic analysis of wine markets

We introduce a method for estimating multiple class regression models when class membership is uncertain. The procedure—local polynomial regression clustering—first estimates a nonparametric model via local polynomial regression, and then identifies the underlying classes by aggregating sample observations into data clusters with similar estimates of the (local) functional relationships between dependent and independent variables. Finally, parametric functions specific to each class are estimated. The technique is applied to the estimation of a multiple‐class hedonic model for wine, resulting in the identification of four distinct wine classes based on differences in implicit prices of the attributes. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Texas Roundtable on: The Future of Graduate Business School Education

A small group of academics and practitioners discuss the challenges now facing today's business schools. First and foremost is the challenge now being mounted by “online” courses to the traditional methods of classroom lecture and discussion, supplemented in some cases by apprenticeships and other kinds of “experiential” learning. How will traditional universities burdened with high and rising fixed costs for buildings and faculty compete with very low‐cost competitors—programs that reportedly have enabled star lecturers to reach audiences that, in some cases, have exceeded 100,000 students? In assessing the seriousness of the challenge, the panelists start by attempting to articulate what is valuable in current business school education—valuable enough to enable the best business schools to command as much as $175,000 for two‐year (or shorter) programs that confer MBAs. Much of the discussion focuses on establishing the relative importance of the disciplines, or body of knowledge, that are taught in business schools, as compared to the development of “collaborative” habits and interpersonal skills aimed at enabling students to make more effective use of their knowledge within large organizations. Some of the panelists, notably Jeff Sandefer, founder of the (now ten‐year old) Acton School of Business, argue that far too much of today's business school curriculum is devoted to the classroom and conventional learning. And many of the changes in the top business schools during the past decade appear to reflect Sandefer's charges. But, to the extent there is a consensus among the other panelists, it is that the best business schools will continue to try to accomplish both of these goals, though with varying degrees of effectiveness, while most schools attempt to maintain their specialized capabilities, and carve out distinctive niches based on them. For some schools, such specialization is likely to mean continued emphasis on theory and classroom learning—though almost certainly with more attention to practical application and collaborative decision‐making. For other schools, the main focus will continue to be the development of general management and leadership skills.     

Reporting PFI in Annual Accounts: A User's Perspective

Deciding how to account for public sector financing provided under Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contracts has engendered considerable debate which revolves around whether they should be 'on balance sheet' or 'off balance sheet'. The Accounting Standards Board (ASB) provides the underpinning in FRS 5, interpreted through an ASB Application Note 'Private Finance Initiative and Similar Contracts' and the Treasury Technical Note 'How to Account for PFI Transactions'. This article illustrates the impact of the alternative accountings. It provides an analysis of the annual accounts of two NHS trusts whose assets are financed through PFI contracts, but which use different accounting approaches. There are considerable difficulties for the user of the accounts when attempting to interpret the comparative financial results of the two trusts in the light of these reporting differences and the financing of public services is less than adequately reflected in these resource accounting based financial statements.     

压缩级别 知难而上!

让组织变得更灵活起来，是很多CEO的大难题，问题究竟出在哪儿？往往人们回避做的事，不是认为这事不该做，而是不知道如何把事做正确。     

Does e‐Business Matter to SMEs? A Comparison of the Financial Impacts of Internet Business Solutions on European and North American SMEs

Small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) are adopting Internet Business Solutions (IBS) internationally to improve their performance. What is the net impact of these solutions for SMEs? This paper presents the results of survey research involving 1,666 organizations in Europe and North America. The research found that IBS adoption mattered resulting in tangible financial benefits for SMEs in all the nations studied. However, these benefits were not evenly distributed across regions, industries, technologies, or size categories. The results suggest that SME managers should adopt a staged approach to IBS adoption in order to maximize performance gains.     

适应角色转型，塑造新型领导力

对于那些失败的经理人而言，他们再也不能拿彼得原理来做借口了。通过更加仔细的评估、分析和理解人与岗位的匹配度，领导者和他们的公司都能选择，开发、管理和提升正确的优秀人才。无论从哪个方面来讲，John都是一颗冉冉升起的明星。作为一个全球消费品公司的首席财务官，他极富才气，并很有可能成为企业下一任首席运营官。     

Executive Agencies, Performance Targets and External Reporting

Since 1988, the role of Next Steps executive agencies has been crucial in delivering central government services. Agencies were established to improve service delivery, with changes being supported by an increasing focus on quantification. The Government argued that performance measures and targets are vital in supporting management in planning and controlling the operation of an agency, and that they are also important in providing a basis for reporting to those outside its immediate management—an aspect of discharging accountability. This article discusses the connections between targeting and reporting performance in agencies and, through an empirical study of business plans, corporate plans and annual reports, shows the extent of such linkages. The article provides evidence that key targets in planning documents of agencies provide a useful platform for external reporting, although improvements can still be made.