Estimation of household preferences for long distance telecommunications carrier

The competitive environment in long-distance telecommunications markets changed considerably with the divestiture of AT&T in 1982. A variety of providers appeared, offering myriad services. In this environment, customer selection of preferred long-distance carrier became more complicated and more important.In this paper, we analyze and quantify the determinants of this choice. To our knowledge, this focus is distinct. By contrast, the literature to date has analyzed the behavioral determinants of calling volume (local and long-distance) and the selection of local service options.In our analysis, we allow the alternative carriers to differ in terms of tariffs, reputation, quality, access, and specialized customer services. We quantify the interactive effects of these carrier attributes and customer demographics upon the selection of carrier. Price and income elasticities are estimated. A distinguishing feature of our analysis is that it examines behavioral differences among households in equal-access and unequal-access areas. We find that households assured of the convenience of 1 + dialling for their chosen carrier in equal-access areas display more rational and sophisticated decision making. On the other hand, households in unequal-access areas display greater status quo effects in their decision making.     

“Damn with faint praise” The legal,practical, and ethical implications of providing and not providing employee references

In the past decade, there has been a multiplicity of lawsuits by employees against former employers based on defamatory references. Many of these lawsuits have proven to be successful and have caused wary employers to use great care in providing references. A number have gone so far as to refuse to provide references at all, instead adopting a “no-comment” policy, often on the advice of legal counsel. This article reviews defamation laws within the context of employee references. Recent cases and trends are analyzed, guidelines to avoid liability are suggested, and a critique of the traditional legal advice of “no-comment” is provided. Finally, business-related and socioethical aspects of the problem are considered.     

Dynamic comparative advantage and the welfare effects of trade

Developing economies may face a trade-off between specializingaccording to existing comparative advantage (in low-technologygoods), and entering sectors in which they currently lack acomparative advantage, but may acquire such an advantage inthe future as a result of the potential for productivity growth(in high-technology goods). Comparative advantage is endogenouslydetermined by past technological change, while simultaneouslyshaping current rates of innovation. Hence, specialization accordingto current comparative advantage under free trade may be welfarereducing. Selective intervention may be welfare improving, bothfor the economy undertaking it, and for its trade partner.     

Determinants of information technology investments: The case of ATM in an emerging economy

This paper examines the determinants of automatic teller machine (ATM), a kind of information technology (IT), in the Taiwanese banking industry. The lessons learned from Taiwan's banking industry can be applied to China's banking industry to facilitate the understanding of the IT adoption strategies of Chinese financial institutions. Factors that are expected to have impact on IT investment in general and on ATM investment in particular are identified from three perspectives, namely operating scale perspective, deposit service perspective, and operating cost perspective. The results of this study indicate that operating scale, banking deposit service and operating cost are all significant determinants of ATM investment in the Taiwan banking industry. The results are useful for those banks and financial institutions outside of China in deciding their ATM investment strategies in China when trying to enter and penetrate the Chinese banking market.     

FARMERS’ WILLINGNESS TO COOPERATE IN ECOSYSTEM SERVICE PROVISION: DOES TRUST MATTER?

Ecosystem service provision in agriculture may require cooperation between farmers. Trust fosters cooperation in many economic and social interactions and is important to the success of traditional agricultural cooperatives. Little is known about how trust affects farmers’ willingness to cooperate to provide an ecosystem service, what types of trust are most important, and under what conditions trust may matter. In this study, we present results of a survey of Missouri crop farmers exploring the role trust plays in farmers’ stated willingness to cooperate to control pests. We find that most farmers say they are willing to cooperate, and most farmers are willing to trust others. However, we find little evidence that trust positively influences farmers’ willingness to cooperate to control pests. Instead, we find that trust may only matter under certain conditions, such as when participants’ farms are dissimilar, and that other determinants, such as the perceived benefit of cooperation and environmental concern, are more important than trust to farmers who are contemplating cooperation to control pests.     

Services as part of modern economic process in Russia

This paper deals with reasons and circumstances of the new emerging structure of the Russian economy at the turn of the century, expressed in the substantial growth of the share of services in the GDP. Those changes have both positive and negative influences on the Russian economic conditions and domestic reproductive performance in the period of transformation and are analyzed here. Based on cross-country comparisons, the authors estimate the adequacy of upcoming structural shifts for the real condition the national economy under the hypothetical assumption that it actually functions according to free-market principles.     

Design and valuation of debt contracts

This articles studies the design and valuation of debt contractsin a general dynamic setting under uncertainty. We incorporatesome insights of the recent corporate finance literature intoa valuation framework. The basic framework is an extensive form game determined bythe terms of a debt contract and applicable bankruptcy laws.Debtholders and equityholders behave noncooperatively. The firm'sreorganization boundary is determined endogenously. Strategic debt service results in significantly higher defaultpremia at even small liquidation costs. Deviations from absolutepriority and forced liquidations occur along the equilibriumpath. The design tends to stress higher coupons and sinkingfunds when firms have a higher cash payout ratio.     

Monetary policy in interdependent economies: A game theoretic approach Matthew B. Canzoneri and Dale W. Henderson MIT Press, 1991, 133 pp.

This article reviews the recent book by Matthew Canzoneri and Dale Henderson on international monetary policy. The review discusses the basic model used by the authors to illustrate the welfare losses that arise as a result of non-cooperative behavior and the proposed solutions for moving closer to the socially optimal cooperative solutions. The proposed solutions are then examined in detail and the reviewer asks whether these solutions accurately describe the way he believes cooperation has occurred in the last two decades. Finally, this work is compared to recent research on policy cooperation that does not have game-theoretic foundations.