North-South interdependence: An economic-physical interpretation

Summary The article gives a physical-economic interpretation to a number of economic North-South interdependent relations. Basic research evidence at the man-machine level was an inspiration; the output could only be expressed in physical specification terms. The corresponding generalizations are in product complexity, speciality terms also. This terminology is conducive to far-ranging extrapolations and generalizations. It eliminates the problem of pricing at the product level for all aggregation levels; therefore the fundamental economic relations are better expressed. The article concludes with a mega extrapolation in graphical terms, which relates the product and implied technological capability in the world, expressed in physical terms, for country groups ordered by three development levels. Correspondingly the comparative advantage and inter-industry trade areas at the world product level are shown.The author acknowledges valid comments of two anonymous referees and financial support by DGIS to the Technology Scientific Foundation for the research of which this paper reports certain aspects only. This paper came out as a working paper TSF 84-1. An earlier version was presented at the International Economic Association Meeting in Madrid, Sept. 1983. Clearly, only the author bears responsibility for the ideas and interpretations presented in the following text.     

Market Failures in Real-Time Metering

Policies to promote real-time metering (RTM) require more than showing benefits from more timely responses to variations in cost. They require positive externalities to imply that too few meters would be installed through private transactions. RTM presents no systematic externalities when utilities must serve peak period users, and may present negative externalities under some conditions. Positive externalities are likely when electricity is rationed through blackouts. RTM may or may not increase welfare when peak period wholesale markets are not competitive; a prohibition on RTM might be appropriate in such situations even if metering itself were costless.     

An Empirical Test of Cognitive Style and Strategic Decision Outcomes*

abstract We examine how cognitive style, as measured by the MBTI, affects strategic decision outcomes. Executives participated in a simulated strategic decision making environment that allowed controlled collection of decision outcomes, including manager decisiveness, decision quality, and perceived effectiveness. We found that iNtuiting/Thinking managers used their intuition to make cognitive leaps based on objective information to craft more decisions of higher quality than other managers. In contrast, Sensing/Feeling types used time to seek socially acceptable decisions, which led to the lowest number of decisions and the lowest perceived effectiveness of all. We found no effect on decisiveness or perceived effectiveness based on a manager's preference for Perceiving or Judging. However, we found that others perceived Extraverted managers as being more effective than Introverted managers when, in fact, the Extraverts were no more decisive than Introverts. Thus, cognitive style influences actual decision outcomes as well as how others perceive one's decision performance.     

Auditing in the Presence of Outside Sources of Information

We examine how an auditor's ability to terminate a multi-period client relationship provides the auditor with a real option whose value depends on the nature of informational asymmetry between the incumbent and other potential auditors. In particular, we isolate conditions under which the auditor's private and public sources of information behave as complements rather than substitutes. In such circumstances, increasing the likelihood of publicly provided information induces the auditor to expend more (rather than less)resources in private information gathering activities.     

Form, function, and finance: architecture and finance theory

At least at first glance, a bank’s customers ought to be concerned with only one thing—the price they must pay for the services they receive. Architecture beyond the merely functional ought to have no role, especially not in the modern global economy in which increasingly automated financial intermediation of all sorts appears to be approaching the ideals of pure competition and perfect efficiency. Even in these financially sophisticated times, however, symbols matter, and the message communicated by these symbols is one which cannot be communicated in any other way. It is necessary for a financial institution, and perhaps even the financial system itself, to have a strong visual presence. There is a visceral appeal of an architecturally distinguished building to the senses that speaks to us in a way that the cerebral appeal of pure information cannot.