Economic restructuring and emerging patterns of industrial relations

The Review of Black Political Economy -     

Sustainable development,the Hartwick rule and optimal growth

Defining sustainable development as non-declining utility, the consistency of this concept with the Hartwick rule and optimal growth is explored when resources are exhaustible. A simple proof that a generalized Hartwick rule is necessary and sufficient for constant consumption is derived. The existence of a maximal constant consumption path is shown to depend critically on the elasticity of substitution; if this is less than 1, consumption declines; if it is greater than 1 then consumption is not maximal; if it is equal to 1 (the Cobb-Douglas case) then existence is proved. Consumption can increase along an optimal path if the pure rate of time preference is 0; if it is non-zero then consumption declines.     

Drivers of context-specific ICT use across work and nonwork domains: A boundary theory perspective

Most theories predicting technology use were conceived when information and communication technology (ICT) devices were less portable, had less functionality, and individuals experienced less permeability between work and nonwork domains. Thus, while individuals today widely use ICT for both professional and personal needs, there is limited knowledge about the validity of traditional models predicting ICT use within and across work and nonwork domains. Using a model based on boundary theory, border theory, and human agency perspective, this study empirically examines the predictors of ICT use across four contexts, namely work use on work and nonwork days, and nonwork use on work and nonwork days. The results, based on data collected from managers and professionals from different Canadian industries, suggest that different drivers may be affecting the four contexts of ICT use. While perceived usefulness of ICT is a significant predictor for both within-domain and across-domain ICT use, there are specific work and individual characteristics that drive across-domain ICT use. Using theories from work/nonwork literature, this paper presents a renewed view to predict context-specific ICT use beyond the traditional models.     

The observable implications of self-fulfilling expectations

Under a modest generalization of the dynamics permitted for variables which are seen by agents but not the econometrician, many of the existing tests for the presence of speculative bubbles are not statistically valid. Less restrictive tests lead us to concur with Flood and Garber that speculative bubbles were not part of the German hyperinflation, but dispute Shiller's conclusion that stock prices are excessively volatile. Moreover, all such tests are subject to the admonition that what appears to be a speculative bubble could instead have arisen from rational agents responding solely to economic fundamentals not observed by the econometrician.     

The Medicare hospice benefit: the effectiveness of price incentives in health care policy

This article examines the implications of fixed-price reimbursement of providers for access to hospice care by Medicare beneficiaries. Hospices that are offered higher reimbursement rates by Medicare are found to be more likely to become certified to provide care under the Medicare Hospice Benefit program. Each $1.00 increase in the daily routine home care rate raises the probability of certification by 1.7%. In turn, the Hospice Benefit increases access to hospice care by enabling Medicare-certified facilities to serve more patients than they would if they were noncertified. However, care must be taken to set reimbursement rates appropriately. Failure to correctly adjust reimbursement rates for the real costs of certification across different parts of the country leads to disparities in hospice certification and differential access to hospice care for Medicare beneficiaries.     

Choosing options for products: the effects of mixed bundling on consumers’ inferences and choices

For product categories such as cars, computers, vacation packages, and new homes, consumers usually choose not only the product itself, but also various options for the product. Sellers decide how to present these options to consumers, and they often sell options both individually and in bundles (mixed bundling). In this research, we examine how mixed bundling affects consumers’ inferences about the options and choices among the options. We demonstrate that as long as the seller’s motives for bundling options are not perceived to be negative by consumers, options offered both individually and in bundles are perceived to be more important and are more likely to be chosen than options offered only individually.     

Is the audit services market competitive following Arthur Andersen's collapse?

This study investigates whether audit markets remain competitive in the wake of Arthur Andersen's demise and merger with Ernst & Young to create the Big Four. We conduct the study estimating audit fee models using Australian audit market data from both 2000 and 2003 to determine whether there is any evidence of cartel pricing either before, or subsequent to, the merger. In both years, we find evidence of a Big N price premium when estimating an audit fee model across all clients, and when we estimate the model separately across large and small client market segments. This evidence is consistent with product differentiation by Big N auditors and competitive markets.     

Problems in the choice of a system for costing and pricing of in-house computer services

The problem of pricing computer services has been discussed in the literature since the early days of computing. Costing and pricing have often been interchanged in the discussions. After a discussion of the problems of measurement of resource usage, pricing for cost recovery and for resource allocation are discussed. The paper concludes with suggestions for further research and a brief summary.