Private Tutoring,Wealth Constraint and Higher Education

We show that when the effectiveness of private tutoring (PT) exceeds a PT‐effectiveness threshold, poor families become disadvantaged in sending their children to college and, thus, inequity arises. At the same time, the average spending on PT of the poor families is smaller than that of the wealthy families. Tax and transfer policies are able to amend the inequity, but student loans for college tuition and more establishments of colleges may have limited effects on reducing inequity.     

The impact of the ACFTA on ASEAN–PRC trade: estimates based on an extended gravity model for component trade

This article uses an extended gravity model to examine the impact of the free trade agreement between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) on their trade flows and patterns. New determinants are utilized to capture the growing importance of global production sharing and intraregional trade in parts and components in East Asia. We show that the free trade agreement leads to substantially higher and more pronounced bilateral trade flows between ASEAN and the PRC than what a conventional gravity model predicts and the increase is concentrated in ASEAN countries that have stronger industrial linkages with the PRC.     

Comparing ad valorem and specific taxes with corporate social responsibility

This paper examines the welfare ranking of indirect tax systems with corporate social responsibility (CSR) in a duopoly. Findings show that the two firms' cost and CSR asymmetries both play important roles. If the cost-efficient firm has a higher CSR level, the standard result in traditional tax theory is sustainable. Namely, ad valorem tax (specific subsidy) policies are considered superior to specific tax (ad valorem subsidy) policies. However, if the cost-inefficient firm has a significantly higher CSR level, the standard result is reversed. This result remains robust in an oligopoly model or under a tax revenue constraint.     

Evaluating the effectiveness of Washington state repeated job search services on the employment rate of prime-age female welfare recipients

This paper uses an unbalanced panel dataset to evaluate how repeated job search services (JSS) and personal characteristics affect the employment rate of the prime-age female welfare recipients in the State of Washington. We propose a transition probability model to take into account issues of sample attrition, sample refreshment and duration dependence. We also generalize Honoré and Kyriazidou’s [Honoré, B.E., Kyriazidou, E., 2000. Panel data discrete choice models with lagged dependent variables. Econometrica 68 (4), 839–874] conditional maximum likelihood estimator to allow for the presence of individual-specific effects. A limited information test is suggested to test for selection issues in non-experimental data. The specification tests indicate that the (conditional on the set of the confounding variables considered) assumptions of no selection due to unobservables and/or no unobserved individual-specific effects are not violated. Our findings indicate that the first job search service does have positive and significant impacts on the employment rate. However, providing repeated JSS to the same client has no significant impact. Further, we find that there are significant experience-enhancing effects. These findings suggest that providing one job search services training to individuals may have a lasting impact on raising their employment rates.     

The perils of selling online: Manufacturer competition, channel conflict, and consumer preferences

Internet channels have grown rapidly in recent years due to advances in information technology. However, many leading manufacturers opt not to sell online. In this paper, we construct a theoretical model with competing manufacturers and an active retailer to explain this market phenomenon. We document the possibility of asymmetric channel structure despite the ex ante symmetry between the manufacturers. Moreover, the increasing prominence of online shopping behaviors does not necessarily lead to the increased adoption of Internet channels. The prevalence of dual-channel strategies can be regarded as a form of prisoners’ dilemma, and the manufacturers may intentionally intensify the product or channel substitution to escape from this undesirable outcome. We explain how demand expansion and competition mitigation drive these unintended consequences and provide some general guidelines for the managerial choice of channel structures.     

Spillover effects of innovation: Taiwanese evidence

This article evaluates spillover effects of innovation of Taiwan's industries by using the input–output (IO) analysis framework. On the basis of IO tables for the years 1981, 1986 1991 and 1996, the structure, magnitude and ranking list of the spillover effect of innovation are revealed. Additionally, several findings are also achieved from the empirical results. First, the spillover effect of process innovation is stronger and about more than twice the spillover effect of product innovation in Taiwan. Furthermore, Taiwan's industries manifest a dispersive technological distribution structure and the spillover effect of the process innovation is more dispersive than that of product innovation. Moreover, Taiwanese industries are rather dependent on foreign technologies, particularly in terms of product innovation.     

Collaboration in the Shadow of the Technology Frontier: Evidence from the Flat Panel Display Industry

The literature on competition through innovation tends to emphasize the benefits of technological leadership. However, we explain why a capable firm might prefer to shadow the technology leader—remaining slightly behind rather than competing directly at the frontier. On the basis of a formal model and the competitive dynamics literature, we propose that the more benefits a firm gains from collaboration with a technological leader through licensing and supply agreements, the more likely the firm is to take a shadowing position. Our hypotheses, particularly regarding licensing from a technological leader, receive support from a large sample in the flat panel display industry. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.