Existence of equilibria in economies with externalities and non-convexities in an infinite-dimensional commodity space

We prove an equilibrium existence theorem for economies with externalities, general types of non-convexities in the production sector, and infinitely many commodities. The consumption sets, the preferences of the consumers, and the production possibilities are represented by set-valued mappings to take into account the external effects. The firms set their prices according to general pricing rules which are supposed to have bounded losses and may depend upon the actions of the other economic agents. The commodity space is L_∞(M,M,μ), the space of all μ-essentially bounded M-measurable functions on M.As for our existence result, we consider the framework of Bewley (1972). However, there are four major problems in using this technique. To overcome two of these difficulties, we impose strong lower hemi-continuity assumptions upon the economies. The remaining problems are removed when the finite economies are large enough.Our model encompasses previous works on the existence of general equilibria when there are externalities and non-convexities but the commodity space is finite dimensional and those on general equilibria in non-convex economies with infinitely many commodities when no external effect is taken into account.     

Dispersive ordering of fail-safe systems with heterogeneous exponential components

Let X ₁, . . . , X _n be independent exponential random variables with respective hazard rates λ₁, . . . , λ _n , and Y ₁, . . . , Y _n be independent and identically distributed random variables from an exponential distribution with hazard rate λ. Then, we prove that X _2:n , the second order statistic from X ₁, . . . , X _n , is larger than Y _2:n , the second order statistic from Y ₁, . . . , Y _n , in terms of the dispersive order if and only if

$\lambda\geq \sqrt{\frac{1}{{n\choose 2}}\sum_{1\leq i < j\leq n}\lambda_i\lambda_j}.$

We also show that X _2:n is smaller than Y _2:n in terms of the dispersive order if and only if

$ \lambda\le\frac{\sum^{n}_{i=1} \lambda_i-{\rm max}_{1\leq i\leq n} \lambda_i}{n-1}. $

Moreover, we extend the above two results to the proportional hazard rates model. These two results established here form nice extensions of the corresponding results on hazard rate, likelihood ratio, and MRL orderings established recently by Pǎltǎnea (J Stat Plan Inference 138:1993–1997, 2008), Zhao et al. (J Multivar Anal 100:952–962, 2009), and Zhao and Balakrishnan (J Stat Plan Inference 139:3027–3037, 2009), respectively.

     

Vacaciones y licencias en países desarrollados: los Estados Unidos a la zaga en cuanto a equilibrio entre vida profesional y vida familiar

Los autores comparan las normativas sobre vacaciones y licencias susceptibles de facilitar el equilibrio entre vida profesional y familiar de Australia, Canadá, República de Corea, Estados Unidos, Europa occidental y Japón utilizando un índice compuesto para clasificarlas. Los Estados Unidos figuran en último lugar: la concesión de vacaciones anuales al trabajador no es obligatoria y las licencias por motivos familiares se limitan a 12 semanas al año. Este bajo nivel de reglamentación podría deberse, según los autores, a una concepción mercantilista del empleo sumada a la creencia de que empleador y trabajadores tienen idéntica capacidad de negociación, visión no compartida por las demás democracias industrializadas.     

The timing of final charitable bequest decisions

• Understanding the timing of final charitable bequest decisions permits nonprofits to co‐ordinate their marketing efforts to correspond with donor decision‐making. Using probate data from Australia and longitudinal survey data from the USA, this paper seeks to identify the timing of decisions that resulted in realized charitable bequests. We find evidence that charitable transfers result mostly from decisions that occur during the last 5 years of life and at the oldest ages. Charitable plans made earlier in life are often discarded.

Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Regional integration: an empirical assessment of Russia

Using a statistical model of commodity trade, we quantify the evolution of regional economic integration within Russia during 1995–1999, and explore potential determinants of this evolution. Our integration measure exhibits rich regional variation that, when aggregated to the national level, fluctuates substantially over time. In accounting for this behavior, we draw in part on theoretical models that emphasize the potential role of openness to international trade and regional disparities in income in threatening economic integration. Controlling for a host of additional regional- and national-level variables, we find a strong negative correspondence between openness to international trade and internal economic integration.     

The joint influence of technology uncertainty and interorganizational interaction on external technology integration success

This paper empirically examines the acquisition of a technology from a source outside the firm and its incorporation into a new or existing operational process. We refer to this key activity in process innovation as external technology integration. This paper develops a conceptual framework of external technology integration based on organizational information processing theory and technology management literature. The primary hypothesis underlying the conceptual framework is that external technology integration will be most successful when the level of interaction between the source of the technology and recipient of the technology is appropriately matched, or fit, to the characteristics of the technology to be integrated. The conceptual framework also develops other hypotheses relating to contextual factors that may also influence the success of external technology integration. A cross-sectional survey methodology is employed to test the four hypotheses of the conceptual framework, with the results indicating strong support for the fit hypothesis and general support for the contextual hypotheses. The paper closes with a discussion of the implications of this study for both theory and practice.     

Psychological safety climate and workplace bullying in Vietnam’s public sector

The bureaucratic and impersonal nature of public management can fertilize workplace bullying and risks for psychological health and safety. Psychological safety climate (PSC) is an important indicator to reduce psychological hazards. Yet, there have been few studies conducted to examine the existence of PSC in the public sector in non-Western economies. This study examined the implementation of PSC and its effects on 274 employees from six branches of a Vietnamese public sector organization. The results suggest that senior management in organizations should consider positive work conditions and an effective system of policies, procedures, and practices for the prevention of psychosocial hazards.     

Analysis of Visitor Decision Making System When Visiting Natural Recreation Sites by Multinomial Logit Model

Multinomial Logit Model has analyzed the relationship between the frequency of visits to recreation areas and the motivational factors affecting the visits. Kastro Environment Preserving Site that is located in the Black Sea coast of Marmara region in Turkey, has been chosen as the site for this study. Kastro bay is a natural park that is visited only for recreational visits. The study has been conducted on a photogenic study group due to the proximity factor of Kastro bay close to Istanbul. Kastro bay is a popular recreational park due to its characteristic advantages such as a 200 m wide and approximately 2.5 km long beach and with its high quality vegetation. The vegetation type includes ash tree, oak tree, black pine, sand lily etc. Kastro bay is also the site for the Mediterranean seals (Monachus-monachus) which are at the level of extinction. Approximately 50,000 visitors visit the region during the months of July and August. It has been concluded that there is high direct correlation between the frequency of visits and the motivational factors. It has been determined that the visits are mostly based on the sea and the ecological tourism.Jel: O13, Q20, Q26, Q51, Q56, Q57