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.     

Application of the Capital Asset Pricing Model to Multi-period Investments

This paper presents a method for evaluating a multi-period asset that is consistent with the valuations implied by the capital asset pricing model, and shows how the results of the valuation processes can be expressed in terms of a number of commonly used valuation formulas.
Ce papier expose tout d'abord une méthode permettant d'estimer une valeur immobilisée à multiples périodes qui soit compatible avec les évaluations fournies par le modéle d'bvaluation de l'actif immobilisé. II montre ensuite comment les résultats des opérations d'haluation peuvent être exprimés au moyen d'un nombre de formules d'estimation couramment utilisées.
Dieser Beitrag stellt eine Methode für die Bewertung einer mehrperiodischen Investition dar, die mit den Bewertungen, die das 'Capital Asset Pricing' Modell impliziert, übereinstimmt. Er zeigt, wie die Ergebnisse des Bewertungsprozesses mittels einer Anzahl gebrluchlicher Formeln ausgedruckt werden konnen.     

Contemporary Discourses and Contestations around Pro‐Poor Land Policies and Land Governance

The meaning of land and land policies is diverse and contested across and within local and (inter)national settings. The phrase ‘land policy’, used to refer to all policies that have anything to do with land, may be convenient, but it masks the actual complexity of issues. Meanwhile, concern for ‘pro‐poor’ land policy has coincided with the mainstream promotion of efficient administration of land policies, leading to the concept of ‘land governance’. Such concepts have enriched discussion on land issues, but they also complicate further an already complex terrain. In response, this paper offers possible analytical signposts, rather than an actual in‐depth and elaborated analytical exploration of this terrain. It hopes to be a modest step forward and towards a better understanding of contemporary policy discourses and political contestations around land and land governance.     

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.     

Toward greater understanding of market orientation and the resource‐based view

Connor's commentary offers a series of thoughtful comments on the ideas presented in Hult, Ketchen, and Slater (2005). We focus on two of his contentions in our response. First, we argue that the theory underlying our study—the resource‐based view—is not tautological. This is because resources and performance are not directly related. Instead, realizing the potential value of resources depends on those resources being exploited through a firm's strategic actions. Second, we disagree with Connor's contention that market‐oriented and customer‐led firms lie along a continuum. We propose a richer conceptualization centered on a two‐by‐two matrix that contains market‐oriented firms, customer‐led firms, and two additional types. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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.