Coordination Costs and the Geography of Production

In a model à la Venables of 1996 Venables, A. J. (1996) Equilibrium locations of vertically linked industries, International Economic review, 37, 341–359. doi: 10.2307/2527327[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], we distinguish two kinds of intermediate goods: complex goods that entail endogenous coordination costs, and simple goods that do not. Coordination costs depend on geographical distance and the number of intermediate goods used in the production process. In the final stage of integration, there are two possible spatial configurations: (1) a symmetric configuration and (2) a partial core–periphery equilibrium, comprised of a core region that produces the final and complex intermediate goods, and a periphery that produces simple intermediate goods. We discuss some policy implications of this multiple-equilibria outcome.

Les coûts de coordination et la géographie de la production     

Scientist and public responses to BSE‐related risk: A comparative study

Social studies of risk repeatedly have found substantial divergences in the way that experts/scientists and members of the general public appraise risks associated with health and environmental hazards. However, empirical evidence for these differences remains controversial. A recent review of literature suggests in particular that divergences between experts and lay people may potentially result from confounding socio‐demographic factors. The purpose of the present article is to investigate and to compare how medical scientists and members of the general population reacted to BSE (“mad cow disease”) in France. A sample of 401 scientists belonging to the French Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM) and a representative sample of 902 French citizens were asked about their cognitive, affective and behavioural responses to BSE. Results show that non‐scientists tended to express much more concern about BSE‐related risk than scientists, even when socio‐demographic variables were controlled. However, (1) no significant differences were found between these two groups concerning subjective epidemiological predictions, and (2) scientists manifested greater avoidance of beef or beef by‐products avoidance following the BSE epidemic than lay respondents did. The implications of these paradoxical results are discussed.     

KNOWLEDGE ACCUMULATION WITHIN AN ORGANIZATION

In this article, we consider a knowledge accumulation problem within an organization that cannot prevent the worker from quitting and using the knowledge outside the organization. We show that knowledge accumulation is delayed: The fraction of working time allocated to knowledge creation is highest at the early career stage, falls gradually, then rises again, before falling finally toward zero. We determine the effect of a change in the severity of the enforcement problem (or the specificity of knowledge). We also discuss the form of the optimal life‐cycle wage profiles, the role of the initial knowledge level, and the role of discounting.     

Consumers’ willingness to pay for eco-friendly apples under different labels: Evidences from a lab experiment

An experiment was conducted in France to evaluate the impact of health and environmental information on consumers’ choices between conventional and organic apples. Results show that additional and precise messages about both pesticides use and pesticides residues significantly impact consumers’ choices between both products. The experiment also studied the effect of a new label signaling apples that only use few pesticides compared to conventional apples. With elicited willingness-to-pay, we show that the introduction of this new label increases the average participants’ surplus whatever the information context for participants, because of a higher quality compared to conventional apples and a lower price compared to organic products. In order to complement this label, a minimum-quality standard imposing the use of few pesticides is socially optimal when initial participants’ knowledge is limited.     

Novel versus familiar brands: An analysis of neurophysiology, response latency, and choice

Two experiments were conducted to analyze neurophysiological activation, response latency, and actual brand choice concerning novel and familiar brands. The results show that (1) the choice of novel brands (compared to the choice of familiar brands) is preceded by increased activation of both the cingulate gyrus and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, as measured by a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study; (2) novel brands are associated with longer choice response latency than familiar brands; and (3) positive mood enhances response latency of choosing novel brands compared to familiar brands.     

Relaciones laborales y medidas de ajuste frente a la crisis. Análisis microestadístico comparativo de Francia y Gran Bretaña

En este estudio comparativo, los autores analizan los vínculos entre las relaciones laborales y los ajustes salariales o de plantilla tras la crisis de 2007–2008, a partir de dos encuestas comparables sobre empresas de Gran Bretaña (WERS) y de Francia (REPONSE) en 2010–2012. Pese a las diferencias contextuales (composición del tejido productivo, circunstancias temporales e intensidad de la crisis), los vínculos entre las relaciones laborales y las estrategias de ajuste son parecidos (la presencia sindical no logra evitar los ajustes). Por lo tanto, la diferenciación de los sistemas de relaciones laborales no permite explicar las divergencias entre las modalidades de ajuste a nivel macroeconómico.     

Product quality and firm heterogeneity in international trade

This paper quantifies the separate contributions of product quality and technical efficiency in explaining variation in export outcomes across US manufacturing plants. Unlike previous studies that rely on unit values, I estimate idiosyncratic demand from price and quantity information. I find substantial across‐plant heterogeneity in demand, and consistent with the quality interpretation, demand is positively correlated with advertising expenditures, wage rates and material costs. I use this variation to explain across‐plant heterogeneity in export outcomes. The results show that, in addition to productivity, idiosyncratic demand is an important determinant of selection into exporting and the levels of foreign sales.     

Large Deviations for the Extended Heston Model: The Large-Time Case

We study here the large-time behaviour of all continuous affine stochastic volatility models [in the sense of Keller-Ressel (Math Finan 21(1):73–98, 2011)] and deduce a closed-form formula for the large-maturity implied volatility smile. We concentrate on (rescaled) strikes around the money, which are the most common in practice, and extend the results in Forde and Jacquier (Finan Stoch 15(4):755–780, 2011) and Gatheral and Jacquier (Quant Finan 11(8):1129–1132, 2011).     

How does Internationalisation affect the productivity of R&D activities in large innovative firms? A conditional nonparametric investigation

Quality & Quantity - This work explores the relationship between multinational R&D and innovation productivity among top corporate knowledge and R&D producers by adopting a...     

A dynamic theory of the declining aggregated labor income share: Intangible capital vs. tangible capital

Reports of the literature documenting the declining labor share of income have increased greatly in the past few years, which is opposed to one of the famous “Kaldor's stylized facts” of growth. The declining labor income share has been observed since the 1980s in a number of countries, and especially in the United States. Recent studies have revealed the following five major driving forces of the declining labor share: (i) supercycles and boom-busts, (ii) rising and faster depreciation, (iii) superstar effects and consolidation, (iv) capital substitution and automation, and (v) globalization and labor bargaining power. We set up a two-sector optimal growth model with the R&D intermediate sectors producing intangible capital. By integrating driving factors (ii) through (iv) above into the model, we demonstrate the long-run decline of the aggregated labor income share.