Task assignment under agent loss aversion

We analyze a task-assignment model in which a principal assigns a task to one of two agents depending on future states. If the agents have concave utility, the principal assigns the task to them contingent on the state. We show that if the agents are loss averse, a state-independent assignment–assigning the task to a single agent in all states–can be optimal even when the principal can write a contingent contract at no cost.     

Partially generalized least squares and two-stage least squares estimators

A class of partially generalized least squares estimators and a class of partially generalized two-stage least squares estimators in regression models with heteroscedastic errors are proposed. By using these estimators a researcher can attain higher efficiency than that attained by the least squares or the two-stage least squares estimators without explicitly estimating each component of the heteroscedastic variances. However, the efficiency is not as high as that of the generalized least squares or the generalized two-stage least squares estimator calculated using the knowledge of the true variances. Hence the use of the term partial.     

The effect of exchange rate volatility on international trade in East Asia

In this paper, we empirically investigate the relationship between exchange rate volatility and international trade, focusing on East Asia. Our findings are summarized as follows: first, intra-East Asian trade is discouraged by exchange rate volatility more seriously than trade in other regions. Second, one important source of the discouragement is that intermediate goods trade in international production networks, which is quite sensitive to exchange rate volatility compared with other types of trade, occupies a significant fraction of East Asian trade. Third, the negative effect of the volatility is greater than that of tariffs and smaller than that of distance-related costs in East Asia.     

Tariff Rate as a Public Good

If domestic firms lobby for protection, the tariff rate is a public good to all domestic firms, whether they engage in lobbying or not. This paper analyzes how the endogenous tariff rate as a public good depends on the group size in two‐stage lobbying models. The result depends not only on whether domestic firms lobby cooperatively or not, but also on whether domestic firms incur indirect lobbying costs or not. This paper shows that if free riding is not very serious and if the number of domestic firms is small compared to the number of foreign firms, entry of a domestic firm is likely to increase the equilibrium tariff rate.     

On a two-step estimation of a multivariate logit model

In this article the author studies the properties of the two-step estimation method proposed by Domencich and McFadden (Urban Travel Demand, North-Holland, 1975) for a multivariate logit model and shows that it is consistent but asymptotically less efficient than the maximum likelihood estimator. Its computation, however, can be considerably simpler than that of the maximum likelihood estimator, especially in models involving several dependent variables.     

Leverage-reducing exchange offers and bondholder–stockholder wealth transfers: A re-evaluation

This paper re-examines the intersecurity wealth effects of leverage-reducing exchange offer (LREO) announcements. We show that previous studies may have been confounded by not distinguishing between two types of LREOs – swaps and exchange offers – and by the limited availability of bond data to properly test the wealth transfer effect. Contrary to extant research, we find evidence supportive of the wealth transfer hypothesis in the case of exchange offers but not swap offers. More detailed analysis of LREO exchange offers reveals a systematic relationship between bond returns and certain attributes that capture managerial inclination to accede to bondholder interests, consistent with a wealth transfer effect.     

The Galor–Weil gender-gap model revisited: from home to market

This paper develops an overlapping generations model that incorporates two-sector (market and non-market) production, gender heterogeneity, and fertility choice. We extend the gender-gap model of Galor and Weil (Am Econ Rev 86(3):374–387, 1996) by adding a third use of time, non-market work, into household time allocation. Our model can explain the joint evolution of production structure, household time allocation, and fertility broadly observed in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in the Western world as part of a single process of economic development: (i) production shifted out of households and into the market, (ii) there was first an increase in the supply of male labor to the market, followed by an increase in the female labor supply; married-female participation in paid work outside the home dramatically increased in the latter half of the twentieth century, and (iii) there has been a two-century long secular decline in fertility, interrupted by a temporary rise in the mid-twentieth century (a baby boom). We also provide a quantitative analysis and examine how well our model replicates the patterns observed in U.S. data.     

From fascism to communism: continuity and development of collectivist economic policy in North Korea

On the basis of new archival evidence and a reading of other materials, this article demonstrates that economic policies in North Korea after 1945 very closely resembled those implemented by the Japanese towards the end of their colonial rule. This resemblance was a natural consequence of the collectivist spirit dominating both regimes. This conclusion challenges the standard interpretation of formation of the North Korean regime, which asserts discontinuity of the regime with the colonial one.     

Evaluation of a Multi-robot Cafe Based on Service Quality Dimensions

While AI applications are popular in many domains, they should work harmoniously with domain exerts and end users. Furthermore, to develop such harmonious AI applications, we need agile AI platforms for not only developers, but also domain experts. Currently, we have developed PRactical INTElligent aPplicationS (PRINTEPS), which is a user-centric platform to develop integrated intelligent applications. This paper reports on a multi-robot cafe as a practical application of PRINTEPS and evaluates its service quality at a university festival. It is not clear if robotic services are perceived as attractive and/or valuable, and how the concept of robotic services could lead to customer satisfaction. Therefore, the evaluation of the quality of such services is necessary to identify the key factors that could contribute to improving customer satisfaction. The purpose of this research is to identify key factors in improving customer satisfaction in robotic services by evaluating the service quality of the multi-robot cafe. We designed questionnaire items based on SERVQUAL which is one of the service quality evaluation measurement methods and conducted a questionnaire survey at a multi-robot cafe held at a university festival. From the collected data, we modeled and evaluated the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction to identify key factors in robotic services using a Bayesian network. In addition, the experiment confirms the usefulness of PRINTEPS.     

Intellectual capital and value creation in the production and assembly of vehicles and auto-parts sector in Brazil： A panel data analysis

This work investigates the relationship between intellectual capital and value creation in the sector of production and assembly of vehicles and auto-parts in Brazil. Through the access of the database from the annual industrial research conducted by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, we gathered 865 observations, from 2000 to 2006, of public and private Brazilian companies with more than 100 employees. The database allows the estimate of relevant aggregated variables such as national accounts, gross domestic product, intermediate consumption, as well as propitiates a sectorial study of business strategies and performance, including value added by individual companies. In particular, in this study we use data on variables associated to intellectual capital. To achieve the goal of the study, we consider intellectual capital as defined by Pulic （2000, 2002）, including human capital and structural capital. For the analysis of business performance, we used Pulic＇s VAIC （Value Added Intellectual Cofficient） index as a measure of efficiency of the employed financial and intellectual capital. Regression models were run to verify the relationship among the efficiency in the use of intellectual capital and the profitability of Brazilian companies. The gross income, calculated as before selling, general and administrative expenses, depreciation expenses, amortization and interest expenses, was used as measure of the flows of value creation and the profitability was measured by the gross income to the total assets of the companies. Considering the constructs defined by Pulic （2000, 2002）, we tested, for the Brazilian sector of Production and Assembly of Vehicles and Auto-parts, the following hypotheses： （l） there is a positive relationship between value creation and intellectual capital, （2） there is a positive relationship between value creation and stock of intellectual capital, （3） there is a positive relationship between value creation and efficiency of the employed capital, （4） there is a positive relationship between value creation and efficiency of the human capital, （5） there is a positive relationship between value creation and efficiency of the structural capital. The results of the study, obtained through panel data analysis and through the use static and dynamic models, support the hypotheses that the intellectual capital of the companies, in its flow and stock dimensions, is positively and significantly related to value creation.