Toward a consumer economy in China: implications of changing wage policies for U.S. cotton exports

The effect of a Chinese minimum wage increase on China's textile market as well as on the world cotton market is evaluated. Based on a Nonlinear Quadratic Almost Ideal Demand System (NQAIDS) model of China's textile demand, the results suggest that the income elasticity for textiles is around 0.6 in China, and that apparel is less price responsive than home textiles and other textile products. Simulation results suggest that a minimum wage increase would raise Chinese domestic textile consumption and lower Chinese textile exports. Most of the decline in textile exports by China is offset by expansion in other countries’ domestic textile production and results in a slight increase in world cotton mill utilization and higher clothing prices.     

European Parliament elections in times of crisis

In May 2014, EU citizens will vote in the most important European Parliament elections to date. With the new powers allocated to it by the Lisbon Treaty, the new European Parliament will shape EU policies in many important areas and will elect the President of the Commission. However, public confi dence in the EU has fallen to historically low levels — to a great extent due to the fi nancial crisis and its aftermath — and the participation rate in European Parliament elections has dropped steadily since the fi rst call for a direct vote in 1979. This raises fundamental questions about its political and democratic legitimacy. This Forum examines the economic agendas of the main political parties vying for power and the potential outcome of the May elections, including the role that radical and anti-euro parties are likely to play in the campaign and in the next Parliament.     

Optimal vessel size and output in the Australian northern prawn fishery: a restricted profit function approach*

Individual transferable quotas (ITQs) are to be introduced into Australia’s Northern Prawn fishery in the near future. Total allowable catches (TACs) are to be set with the objective of maximising economic efficiency in the fishery. Under ITQs, vessel owners have the ability to adjust their fishing activities to maximise profits and changes in fleet structure resulting from management changes need to be considered when determining TACs. A restricted profit function for the fishery was estimated to determine the optimal vessel characteristics and output levels as a guide to how the fleet may adjust under an ITQ system. Vessels were found to be currently close to their optimal size given average historic prices and current stock conditions. However, higher tiger prawn stocks are expected to result in the average size of vessels increasing, with rising fuel prices also likely to result in capital being substituted for fishing days. Optimal average vessel‐level catches of the main species are lower than current average vessel catches for a wide range of input and output prices. These changes in vessel characteristics and behaviour need to be incorporated in the derivation of the optimal TACs if economic efficiency objectives are to be achieved.     

Is Dual Agency in Real Estate a Cause for Concern?

We examine the effects of the regulation of dual agency in residential real estate transactions, for 10,888 transactions in Long Island, New York in 2004–2007. We find that dual agency has an overall null effect on sale price, but includes two opposing forces where buyer and seller interests might be compromised. The link between dual agency and timing of sales is less clear. These findings are robust to endogeneity bias. Although it appears dual agency does cause some market distortions, our analysis yields little evidence that prohibiting dual agency in real estate will increase welfare.     

Market structure and the competitive effects of vertical integration

We analyze the competitive effects of backward vertical integration when firms exert market power upstream and compete in quantities downstream. Contrasting with previous literature, a small degree of vertical integration is always procompetitive because efficiency gains dominate foreclosure effects, and vertical integration even to full foreclosure can be procompetitive. Interestingly, vertical integration is more likely to be procompetitive if the industry is otherwise more concentrated. Extensions analyze welfare effects of integration and the incentives to integrate. Our analysis suggests that antitrust authorities should be wary of vertical integration when the integrating firm faces many competitors and should be permissive otherwise.     

Versteigerungserlöse aus CO<Subscript>2</Subscript>-Zertifikaten im Spannungsfeld zwischen Bund und Ländern

Die Co₂-Emissionsrechte im Europ?ischen Emissionshandelssystem werden, nachdem sie zun?chst vorwiegend kostenlos verteilt wurden, ab 2013 zunehmend versteigert. Dies führt auch unter Berücksichtigung von Steuerausf?llen durch sinkende Gewinne der Unternehmen zu Einnahmen, die sinnvoll verteilt werden sollten. Klimaschutz- und Anpassungsma?nahmen sind auf verschiedenen Ebenen anzusiedeln.     

Speculating on presidential success: exploring the link between the price–earnings ratio and approval ratings

Stock markets and politics are enduring staples of dinner party conversations but surprisingly little is known about the interaction between the two. Here we present evidence for a robust relationship between a key financial measure—the aggregate Price–Earnings ratio—and surveyed approval of the incumbent president. We argue, following the finance literature, that the price–earnings ratio is a composite measure of investors’ hopes and fears. The partially prospective nature of this ratio enables us to shed new light upon the controversy surrounding how the electorate attends to economic circumstances in judging its presidents.     

Organizational political climate: Shared perceptions about the building and use of power bases

Organizational politics continues to be acknowledged as a real and important dimension of organizational functioning. Most research has focused on ‘perceptions of organizational politics’ where organizational politics is conceptualized negatively and its relationship with detrimental individual and organizational outcomes is demonstrated. We argue that organizational politics can be conceptualized as a multi-dimensional climate level construct and that ‘organizational political climate’ can be both functional and dysfunctional. We propose and explain a four dimensional model of organizational political climate informed by existing theoretical perspectives on power bases. The four key dimensions are represented by the building and use of personal power, positional power, connection power and informational power. We also highlight the need for a comprehensive measure of organizational political climate which is underpinned by the four dimensions and which enables an assessment of the extent to which the organizational political climate is functional and/or dysfunctional. In summary, we recommend that HR practitioners seek to understand the functional and dysfunctional dimensions of organizational political climate and implement practices to foster a positive political climate. We overview practical implications for HR managers and suggest a future research agenda.