On price competition with complementary goods

We consider a duopoly industry with two separate firms each selling an indivisible product. The joint consumption of these goods has a specific value for the consumers which exceeds the mere addition of utilities when products are consumed in isolation: the higher this excess, the larger the complementarity between the goods. We analyse price equilibria in this market as related to the degree of complementarity existing between the two products.     

Birds of a feather flock together…definition,role and measure of congruence: An application to sponsorship

Congruence has long been discussed in the context of brand extensions and advertising, particularly in terms of celebrity endorsement. Although just as relevant for sponsorship, the examination of this concept in that context is more recent, despite evidence that it plays a significant role in determining the effectiveness of this particular communication technique. In this paper, the authors argue in favor of conceptualizing congruence as a bidimensional construct, consistent with previous research. A scale to capture this important construct is subsequently developed and validated in two separate countries. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The political economy of exchange rates: The case of the Japanese yen

This paper sets out a political economy model of strategic exchange rates, focusing on the importance of external pressures. In our approach, an exchange rate depreciation is shown to be analytically equivalent to an export subsidy and an import tax. Thus lobbying for exchange rate policy is akin to lobbying for trade policies. Applying our model to the recent history of the Japanese yen, we show that pressures from the US government can theoretically contribute to an appreciation of the Japanese yen. In addition, the yen will still appreciate even if we assume that the Japanese international firms are Aoki-type J-firms.     

Epidemiology of unintentional drowning in a metropolis of the French Mediterranean coast: a retrospective analysis (2000–2011)

Drowning affects more than 500,000 people worldwide and is responsible for at least 350,000 deaths each year. In France, 1235 drowning resulting in 496 deaths were recorded in the summer 2012. This retrospective study has investigated the epidemiology of drowning in the city of Marseille (South of France) between 2000 and 2011. We identified 449 cases of unintentional drowning. The highest incidence was found among males with a median age of 36 years. The incidence was 5.3 victims per 10,000 inhabitants with a mortality rate of 1.2 per 10,000. These accidents occurred mainly at sea (89%) and during the summer season. A majority of drowning victims (69%) were admitted in a hospital. This is the only study in France to analyse data on drowning throughout the year and over a long period. Drowning is a serious condition burdened by 22% of victims who die.     

Conceptualizing leadership across cultures

In this article, we summarize research on how the meaning of leadership varies systematically across cultures, and describe the conflict in the literature between the quest for universals and the identification of cultural contingencies in leadership theory. We review the literature on the relationships between cultural dimensions and leadership, and discuss implications of this range of research for management practice.     

Green is the New White: How Virtue Motivates Green Product Purchase

Journal of Business Ethics - The name of the second author was incorrect in the initial online publication. The original article has been corrected.     

A Lévy HJM multiple-curve model with application to CVA computation

We consider the problem of valuation of interest rate derivatives in the post-crisis set-up. We develop a multiple-curve model, set in the HJM framework and driven by a Lévy process. We proceed with joint calibration to OTM swaptions and co-terminal ATM swaptions of different tenors, the calibration to OTM swaptions guaranteeing that the model correctly captures volatility smile effects and the calibration to co-terminal ATM swaptions ensuring an appropriate term structure of the volatility in the model. To account for counterparty risk and funding issues, we use the calibrated multiple-curve model as an underlying model for CVA computation. We follow a reduced-form methodology through which the problem of pricing the counterparty risk and funding costs can be reduced to a pre-default Markovian BSDE, or an equivalent semi-linear PDE. As an illustration, we study the case of a basis swap and a related swaption, for which we compute the counterparty risk and funding adjustments.     

Summits,Riots and Media Attention: The Political Economy of Information on Trade and Globalisation

Supply of information has increased rapidly through the growth of commercial media and technological innovations. Yet economists still blame anti‐globalists’ demonstrations and public opposition to trade liberalisation on poor information. This paper analyses how the structure of the media industry affects the distribution of information on trade policy and globalisation. We present an empirical analysis of Belgian media reporting on trade policy and globalisation over the 1999–2002 period, supports these hypotheses and finds strong negative bias in media coverage. Moreover, we find that media coverage of trade policy and globalisation is highly concentrated around summit meetings of political leaders. Media attention in the popular press is heavily influenced by riots and demonstrations at summits. The paper points at important implications for public information on trade policy and globalisation and for economists.     

Commodification of Volunteer Tourism: a Comparative Study of Volunteer Tourists in Vietnam and in Thailand

Volunteer tourism (VT) has often been depicted as a means of avoiding the commodification of tourism (and even ecotourism) by ensuring that local communities benefit from VT, both environmentally and economically, and that there is authentic engagement by the tourists with indigent people and their cultures. However, critics have questioned this claim, arguing that VT has become little different from tourism and ecotourism, entailing commodification by providing profit for VT organizations rather than for local communities and consuming rather than respecting local environments and cultures. This study tests these claims and counterclaims by a comparative analysis of two VT experiences, one in Vietnam and the other in Thailand. The findings of the study are that although each cohort of volunteer tourists (VTs) exhibited elements of both decommodification and commodification, on a continuum of decommodification and commodification, the Vietnam VTs were closer to the decommodification node, whereas the Thailand VTs were closer to the commodification node. In part, this was because the Vietnam VT project was pitched more towards conservation research, whereas the Thailand VT project was pitched more towards vacation conservation. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Information technology and efficiency in trucking

Abstract .  We develop an econometric model to estimate the impact of Electronic Vehicle Management Systems ( EVMS ) on the load factor ( LF ) of heavy trucks. This technology is supposed to improve capacity utilization. The model is estimated on the Quebec subsample of the 1999  National Roadside Survey . The  LF  is explained as a function of truck, trip, and carrier characteristics. We show that the use of  EVMS  results in an increase of 16 percentage points of  LF  on backhaul trips. However, we also find that there is a rebound effect on fronthaul movements, with a reduction of  LF  by about 7.6 percentage points.