Product entry in a fast growing industry: the LAN switch market

We provide empirical evidence on market positioning by firms, in terms of market niche, distance from technological frontier and dispersion. We focus on the switch industry, a sub-market of the Local Area Network industry, in the nineties. Market positioning is a function of the type of firms (incumbents versus entrants), market size and contestability as well as firm competencies. We find that incumbents specialize in high-end segments and disperse their product in a larger spectrum of the market. Instead, entrants focus on specific market niches. Market size, market contestability and firm competencies are also important determinants of product location.     

Carcinoid of the intrahepatic ducts

Carcinoid tumors of the biliary tree are rare. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case of an intrahepatic ductal carcinoid and the thirteenth reported case of biliary carcinoid. The radiographic appearance is variable. A brief review of the previously described cases is presented.     

A note on comparative statics and dynamics of stationary states

Certain results are communicated regarding effects of parameter changes, when the stationary state is stable, on the stationary state and an optimal paths in its neighbourhood in discrete time multi-sectoral optimal growth models where period utilities are discounted.     

African Americans in southern rural regions: The importance of legacy

This analysis reassesses the importance of the combined legacies of race, class, and culture by using the concentration of African Americans in a county as a general measure of this phenomenon for thirteen Southern states. Explanatory variables associated with labor force structure, social well-being and region provide evidence that those areas of the South with the highest concentrations of African Americans continue to be the most disadvantaged. These results suggest little change for metropolitan counties with increased concentrations of African Americans. The analyses point toward the need for a focused assessment of the efficacy of existing public and private programs to provide a foundation for overcoming the negative dimensions of the regional legacy.     

INTEGRATING THE HISTORIOGRAPHY OF THE NINETEENTH-CENTURY GOLD RUSHES

In the century preceding World War I, the world experienced a series of gold rushes. The wealth derived from these was distributed widely because of reduced migration costs and low barriers to entry. While gold mining itself was generally unprofitable for diggers and mine owners, the increase in the world's gold supply stimulated global trade and investment. In this introductory article we integrate the histories of migration, trade, colonisation, and environmental history to identify endogenous factors that increased the world's gold supply and generated sustained economic growth in the regions that were affected by gold rushes.     

‘METALLIC NERVES’: SAN FRANCISCO AND ITS HINTERLAND DURING AND AFTER THE GOLD RUSH

As the gateway to the Californian goldfields, San Francisco experienced a demographic shock that had a lasting impact on its economy. Some writers see San Francisco's growth as having a parasitic influence on the city's hinterland through the anti-competitive behaviour of some corporations and the destruction of natural resources. I argue that San Francisco generated more productive external effects through the formation of human and social capital in the city itself, and by investment in further resource development elsewhere in California.     

Product Innovation and Survival in a High-Tech Industry

We investigate the relationship between product innovation and firm survival for a sample of 121 firms in a high-tech industry. We find that location near the technological frontier is an important determinant of firm survival. Firms that are located near the frontier are also more likely to be acquired than to exit by liquidation if they cannot survive as free-standing enterprises. This suggests that product location in the technology space acts as a signal of firm quality. Greater R&D efforts increase the probability of surviving; in the event that the firm does exit, however, its R&D efforts do not significantly influence whether it exits via acquisition or exits via liquidation.     

Why did he do that? Using counterfactuals to study the effect of intentions in extensive form games

We investigate the role of intentions in two-player two-stage games. For this purpose we systematically vary the set of opportunity sets the first mover can choose from and study how the second mover reacts not only to opportunities of gains but also of losses created by the choice of the first mover. We find that the possibility of gains for the second mover (generosity) and the risk of losses for the first mover (vulnerability) are important drivers for second mover behavior. On the other hand, efficiency concerns and an aversion against violating trust seem to be far less important motivations. We also find that second movers compare the actual choice of the first mover and the alternative choices that would have been available to him to allocations that involve equal material payoffs.