消费品行业的新战场

“我回来了!”就如阿诺德·施瓦辛格在电影《终结者》里面的具有自我修复功能的机器人角色,消费品公司也必须具有新的自我修复功能,才能在这个竞争激烈的市场中生存。波士顿咨询公司的研究发现,消费品公司要想获胜,就必须在三大新的战场里取得胜利。     

EQUILIBRIUM AND THE CORE IN ALONSO'S DISCRETE POPULATION MODEL OF LAND USE*

Conventional wisdom tells us that with no market failure and local nonsatiation of preferences, the core is at least as large as the collection of competitive equilibrium allocations. We confirm this for a standard model featuring private ownership of land. Next we consider the public land ownership version of the model. If the role of land ownership and rent distribution is assumed by a government that ploughs back rent (at least in excess of its agricultural value) to its citizens, the equilibrium allocation remains efficient, but no longer need be in the core.     

New light on Veblen's Work and Influence

A bstract . An important recent publication of writings by and about Thorstein Veblen , entitled Essays, Reviews, and Reports; Previously Uncollected Writings (1973), sheds new light on the social critic's work and influence. It was edited by Joseph Dorfman and includes a book by him entitled New Light on Veblen. Veblen's reviews are examined and evaluated. Dorfman's collection of material is surveyed, and it is seen that Veblen influenced an extremely wide range of important people besides the economists known as "institutionalists." The book will be an essential source for anyone who tries to assess the impact of Veblen on our culture , and it is also a monument to Dorfman's dedication to its subject.     

Staffing accommodations to hospital unit admissions

This study of the flow of patients through five general medical units in a 750-bed medical center described the relentless and unpredictable demand for nursing services (with 80% of the admissions coming from the emergency department) and the resulting costs in terms of supplementary staffing and overtime usage.     

“Buying status” by choosing or rejecting luxury brands and their counterfeits

Even in difficult economic times, many consumers consider the social implications of the goods they select and therefore take into account whether those goods carry a luxury brand label—which for some will be authentic, for some counterfeit. While previous research has investigated influences on the authentic vs. counterfeit choice, this study adds a third possibility: rejecting both types of luxury brands to show that one has better claims to status than “buying the label.” This study tests a model of three alternative brand type choice processes and finds support for the importance of status considerations in the selection or rejection of luxury brands.     

Payout taxes and the allocation of investment

When corporate payout is taxed, internal equity (retained earnings) is cheaper than external equity (share issues). If there are no perfect substitutes for equity finance, payout taxes may therefore have an effect on the investment of firms. High taxes will favor investment by firms who can finance internally. Using an international panel with many changes in payout taxes, we show that this prediction holds well. Payout taxes have a large impact on the dynamics of corporate investment and growth. Investment is “locked in” in profitable firms when payout is heavily taxed. Thus, apart from any level effects, payout taxes change the allocation of capital.     

MUTUAL FUND PERFORMANCE IN THE CONTEXT OF MODELS OF EQUILIBRIUM CAPITAL ASSET PRICING

This paper examines the question of mutual fund performance within an equilibrium asset pricing framework, and in particular gives attention to the reinterpretation of tests of fund performance provided by Peasnell, Skerratt and Taylor ( JBFA 1979). The paper concludes that the reinterpretation provided by Peasnell et. al is flawed, and moreover, that prospects for some new interpretation are bleak.