Dynamic limit pricing

I study a multiperiod model of limit pricing under one‐sided incomplete information. I characterize pooling and separating equilibria and their existence and determine when these involve limit pricing. For some parameter constellations, the unique equilibrium surviving a D1 type refinement involves immediate separation on monopoly prices. For others, there are limit price equilibria surviving the refinement in which different types may initially pool and then (possibly) separate. Separation involves setting prices such that the inefficient incumbent's profits from mimicking are negative. As the horizon increases or as firms become more patient, limit pricing becomes increasingly difficult to sustain in equilibrium.     

Airport regulation in Europe: Is there need for a European Observatory?

This paper provides an overview of how the major airports are regulated in Europe. In order to eliminate the potential of airports to exercise market power and protect the public interest, it has become increasingly necessary to set a common regulatory framework. We intend to discuss the need for a single regulator in Europe to monitor or establish the quality of service and the charges practiced by the airports, to ensure cost-relatedness, transparency and non-discrimination. The existing regulatory approaches regarding aeronautical charges and their economic implications are also analyzed. We propose the creation of a European Observatory for this sector.     

Emissions abatement R&D: Dynamic competition in supply schedules

This paper investigates the optimal environmental policy (the mix of emissions tax and research and development [R&D] subsidy) in a dynamic setting when two firms, producing differentiated products, compete in the output market over time. Firms compete in a differential game setting over supply schedules, which encompasses a continuum of imperfect competition equilibria from Bertrand to Cournot. Although production generates environmentally damaging emissions, firms can undertake R&D that has the sole purpose of reducing emissions. In addition to characterizing the optimal policy, we examine how the optimal tax and subsidy, and the optimal level of abatement, change as competition intensifies, as the dynamic parameters change, and as the investment in abatement technology changes. In this setting, competition increases welfare through its impact on the final goods price. However, lower prices result in larger quantities and more pollution. Our key contribution is to show how the impact of increased competition on welfare depends on the extent of the market and the nature of preferences and technology.     

Team Management： A Reflection on Leadership to Achieve Success

This study aims at rethinking the posture and attitude of professionals in, managerial and leadership positions, regarding the organizational management, showing that it is possible to motivate a team, valuing the human and maintaining a good working environment, with respect and collective participation towards a common good by focusing on problem solving regardless the resources that the company can offer to encourage and satisfy its employees. In order to prepare this study, survey was conducted from empirical studies, literature surveys, and qualitative and quantitative approaches were used in a company linked to the tobacco sector. The results show that companies are still adapting to new paradigms of the market and seek to achieve greater productivity with the accomplishment of teamwork, considering aspects such as leadership, motivation, and interpersonal relationships.     

Obedience and Evil: From Milgram and Kampuchea to Normal Organizations

Obedience: a simple term. Stanley Milgram, the famous experimental social psychologist, shocked the world with theory about it. Another man, Pol Pot, the infamous leader of the Khmer Rouge, showed how far the desire for obedience could go in human societies. Milgram conducted his experiments in the controlled environment of the US psychology laboratory of the 1960s. Pol Pot experimented with Utopia in the totalitarian Kampuchea of the 1970s. In this article, we discuss the process through which the Khmer Rouge regime created an army of unquestioningly obedient soldiers – including child soldiers. Based on these two cases, we advance a framework on how obedience can be grown or countered.     

Estimating Size and Scope Economies in the Portuguese Water Sector Using the Most Appropriate Functional Form

Contrary to the usual method of most studies that apply parametric methodologies, the current study does not assume a priori a functional form to represent the cost function. Instead, a large number of functional forms are tested in order to find the most appropriate functional form for the true cost structure of utilities. The sample focuses on water utilities operating in Portugal during the period 2002–2008. The results show that there are substantial economies of output density, economies of size, and economies of scope (in the joint supply of water supply and wastewater services) and, therefore, there are huge advantages in utilities merging.     

Association of financial or professional conflict of interest to research outcomes on health risks or nutritional assessment studies of genetically modified products

Since the first commercial cultivation of genetically modified crops in 1994, the rapidly expanding market of genetically modified seeds has given rise to a multibillion dollar industry. This fast growth, fueled by high expectations towards this new commercial technology and shareholder trust in the involved industry, has provided strong incentives for further research and development of new genetically modified plant varieties. Considering, however, the high financial stakes involved, concerns are raised over the influence that conflicts of interest may place upon articles published in peer-reviewed journals that report on health risks or nutritional value of genetically modified food products. In a study involving 94 articles selected through objective criteria, it was found that the existence of either financial or professional conflict of interest was associated to study outcomes that cast genetically modified products in a favorable light (p = 0.005). While financial conflict of interest alone did not correlate with research results (p = 0.631), a strong association was found between author affiliation to industry (professional conflict of interest) and study outcome (p < 0.001). We discuss these results by comparing them to similar studies on conflicts of interest in other areas, such as biomedical sciences, and hypothesize on dynamics that may help explain such connections.     

Operational efficiency vs clinical safety,care appropriateness,timeliness, and access to health care

Journal of Productivity Analysis - Health care systems face resource scarcity that may jeopardise their financial sustainability as well as the quality of delivered health care. In view of that,...