Potential Economic Effects of TTIP for the Netherlands

The transatlantic trade and investment partnership (TTIP) is a comprehensive preferential trade agreement that is expected to significantly increase EU–US bilateral trade and investments. Negotiations are ongoing, so we use a scenario analysis to estimate the potential effects of TTIP under likely negotiated outcomes. In our main scenario, we assume a final trade deal where current tariffs are eliminated and non-tariff barriers are significantly reduced. We simulate the potential economic effects of TTIP using a CGE model. We find that US-Dutch bilateral trade doubles and this is translated into a positive but moderate effect on Dutch income of 1.7%.     

Dynamic Multi‐Activity Contests*

We develop a model of dynamic multi‐activity contests. Players simultaneously choose efforts in long‐run activities, observe each other's efforts in these activities, and then simultaneously choose efforts in short‐run activities. A player's long‐run and short‐run efforts complement each other in determining the player's probability of winning. We compare the outcomes of this two‐stage model to those of the corresponding model in which players choose efforts in all activities simultaneously. Interestingly, effort expenditures are always lower in the sequential multi‐activity contest than in the simultaneous multi‐activity contest. The implications of this result for the organization of military, litigation, innovation, academic, and sporting contests are highlighted.     

EU-GCC free trade agreement: Adjustments in a factors proportion model for the UAE

The EU-GCC Free Trade Agreement would likely cause price changes across industries with subsequent effect on output and factor price adjustments. With higher levels of trade, the rising income will be redistributed among winner and loser industries and factors of production. This paper simulates the magnitude of these adjustments with a factors proportion model of production and trade for six different labor categories and capital in four sectors of the UAE economy. Results show a large impact on sector specific factors but for mobile factors, the shocks would be smaller suggesting a policy to increase factor mobility in the UAE.     

‘A shelter is not a home’: Voices of homeless women in the City of Tshwane

ABSTRACT

In response to a request from the City of Tshwane that homelessness in the city be explored, a research team was established in 2014. The research was divided into four pillars: conceptual/theoretical perspectives of homelessness; narratives and experiences of homeless and former homeless people, particularly women; documentation of current practices to curb homelessness in the city; and policies that address homelessness in City of Tshwane. This article focuses on the second pillar. Individual interviews and one focus group interview with eight women were conducted. The results revealed four storylines: a shelter was halfway home; shelters had restrictive and protective regulations; reconnection programmes with families were required; and hope – as a matter of survival. Improving people’s economic status (not providing shelters) was the permanent solution to homelessness. Emphasis was on women’s right to equal status in housing issues which are guided by well-founded policies that are women friendly.     

Institutional legitimacy and equity: The case of blacks in the South African public service

Apartheid Ideology and practice In the Republic of South Africa has been at Its most unyielding in matters pertaining to Black participation in state institutions. Black exclusion from the legislative branch of Government has long been the subject of detailed dissection and prognosis, and It continues to be a topic of Intense national and International attention In the debate on ‘change’. The equivalent exclusion of Blacks from the public service executive organs of state has largely been Ignored In this debate. This article examines some of the historical and contemporary dimensions of this latter situation and. utilizing a broadly conceived affirmative action perspective. It advances a number of possible remedial strategies. The Intention Is to launch debate on the Inclusion of a pressing but neglected Item on the nation's business agenda en route to a post‐apartheid future.     

Integration planning for technology intensive acquisitions

Rapid technological change, growing technological complexity and shortening product life cycles increasingly force companies to source technologies externally. One means of building up competencies and fostering innovation based on external resources such as knowledge is through the acquisition of technology-based companies. However as literature and practice have shown, technologically motivated and intensive acquisitions are highly vulnerable to failure. One of the main reasons for this value destruction lies in the miscarried and inappropriate integration of the technology-based company after the acquisition.
Based on eight in-depth case studies on technology intensive acquisitions in multi-national technology-based companies this paper aims to identify the main causes of failure in internalizing external knowledge during the integration of technology intensive acquisitions. It was derived that a lack of integrative decision-making, of systemic processes and of a holistic change of both companies during the integration hinders successful knowledge sourcing through acquisitions. Based on these findings, a concept for integration planning which is tailored towards the specific characteristics of technology intensive acquisitions is proposed. This concept is embedded in the acquisition process and encompasses the development of an appropriate integration strategy and the determination, assessment and planning of the required integration projects thus fostering successful knowledge sourcing.     

Exit, selection, and the value of firms

This paper studies a competitive dynamic model with firm level uncertainty and derives implications for the distribution of firm values and Tobin's q. Allowing for entry and exit, the model determines endogenously the degree of selection. A consequence of this selection is that average industry q values are biased above one. As parameters describing the technology and firm level uncertainty are changed, the equilibrium distribution for q values changes. This comparative statics is developed in the paper.     

Tacit collusion in repeated auctions

This paper considers the question of tacit collusion in repeated auctions with independent private values and with limited public monitoring. McAfee and McMillan show that the extent of collusion is tied to the availability of transfers. Monetary transfers allow cartels to extract full surplus. A folk theorem proved by Fudenberg et al. (Econometrica 62 (1994) 997-1039) shows that transfers of future payoffs are almost as good if players are patient and communicate before auctions. We ask how the scope of collusion is affected if players dispense with explicit communication and their monitoring is limited. Collusion better than bid rotation is still feasible, but full surplus cannot be extracted. This constraint becomes less severe with more players and large cartels can become asymptotically efficient even with very limited monitoring.