An explanation of intra-industry trade in identical commodities

A model of international trade under conditions of spatial price discrimination is developed in order to demonstrate that intra-industry trade is identical commodities can occur between two countries over a wide range of market structures. The geographic extent of intra-industry trade is shown to be inversely related to the degree of competition affecting imports in each country in the sale of the homogeneous commodity. Furthermore, the degree of intra-industry trade is directly related to the incidence of spatial price discrimination in favor of distant customers.     

A comment on gasoline prices and urban structure

The effect of higher gasoline prices on urban concentration and aggregate work travel is investigated with a simple closed-city general equilibrium model used by Robson and Scheffman. Their approximate solution is shown to be invalid at reasonable parameter values; for the case of a Cobb-Douglas utility function, numerical solution indicates a long-run reduction in average trip length of 1.4% to 2.9% from an increase in transportation cost of 0.5 cents per mile. It is noted that this is still much larger than estimates obtained by other means.     

A longitudinal analysis of the young self-employed in Australia and the United States

This paper examines the pattern of self-employment in Australia and the United States. We particularly focus on the movement of young people in and out of self-employment using comparable longitudinal data from the two countries. We find that the forces that influence whether a person becomes self-employed are broadly similar: in both countries skilled manual workers, males and older workers were particularly likely to move to self-employment. We also find that previous firm size, previous union status and previous earnings are important determinants of transitions to self-employment. The main difference we observe is that additional years of schooling had a positive impact on the probability of being self-employed in the US but were not a significant influence in Australia. However, the factors influencing the probability of leaving self-employment are different across the two countries.     

The Passion of Self-interest: The Development of the Idea and Its Changing Status

Abstract . Contemporaries who evoke the passion of self-interest and cite Adam Smith as its most prominent defender have exhibited little appreciation for the speckled history of this passion. Moreover, they have demonstrated little awareness of how Smith did not view this passion as a virtue. Some of the major reasons are explained for the changes in our attitude toward self interest. A philosophical refutation of the thesis that self-interest is our only motive for acting as we do is offered and the record is set straight on how Smith viewed the State's role in imposing limits on, and giving direction to, self-interest as a testimony to man's failure at self-legislation. Today the contenders for power—the special interests—are pitted against the guardians of public order.     

Using linear and goal programming to immunize bond portfolios

Bierwag and Khang's (1979) model of immunizing a portfolio of default-free government bonds is expanded here to include default-grade corporate bonds. The immunizing equation is found to be slightly different. Both linear and goal programming are shown to be alternative techniques for identifying an investor's optimal immunizing portfolio.