Global and political strategies in deregulated industries: the asymmetric behaviors of former monopolies

In deregulated industries former monopolies often adopt asymmetric behaviors: these firms impede the entry of foreign competitors in their home market, especially using defensive political strategies, and, at the same time, aggressively develop international strategies in foreign markets. To account for this behavior, I develop a game theoretic model involving three players: the former monopoly, its home government, and the host government of the country into which the firm wants to enter. I show first that there are in fact different asymmetric strategies that former monopolies can use in such a setting, and that a global strategy cannot always be implemented by those firms because of cooperation issues between the two governments. I also study the conditions under which these issues can be solved and show that this can happen only when the firm develops a political strategy that integrates both defensive and offensive activities. Overall, this paper therefore argues that asymmetric strategies are not always adopted to maintain monopoly rents but are also dictated by the nature of the international relationships between the governments involved. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Vertical distribution of fauna in the bed sediment of three running water sites: Influence of physical and trophic factors

Relationships between invertebrates, substrate characteristics and trophic factors were investigated, with special emphasis on the hyporheic habitat, in order to characterize the functioning of different running waters ecosystems. Three contrasting study sites were chosen in catchments exhibiting different features: (1) a meandering reach of the Loire River in its alluvial floodplain, upstream of the ‘Bec d'Allier’; (2) a reach of the Galaure with a fairly developed riparian corridor, a small sinuous foothill river; and (3) a braided reach of the Drac, an alpine torrential stream. Each site was sampled once using the freezing-core technique with previous electro-positioning of the invertebrates. In each site, four 60 cm cores were extracted, each one from different morphodynamic units. In the Loire and Galaure rivers, most invertebrates are found in the first 15 cm of the sediment, with the exception of some particular taxa or morphodynamic units (riffle head). Conversely, in the Drac lotic units, maximum density of invertebrates occurs between 15 and 30 cm and more than 75 per cent of all organisms are found at a depth > 15 cm. The vertical distribution of organisms does not follow a uniform pattern in different streams. In the substrate, the vertical distribution of macroinvertebrates is very closely related to porosity in contrast with trophic parameters that always decrease with depth. The porosity is negatively correlated with the percentage of sand in the sediment and seems to be important in determining the vertical distribution of fauna, and should be integrated in a functional typology of running waters. The trophic parameters and the structure of invertebrate community with its dominant feeding groups allow discrimination of the different sites.     

Coping with drought with innovative pricing systems: the case of two irrigation water management companies in France

In recent years, France has been facing particularly severe drought periods especially in summer. In a country where agriculture is the largest water user, some irrigation management companies have implemented innovative pricing systems to handle this situation. The objective of this article is to analyze the impact of these new management systems on farmers’ incomes, the revenue of the management companies, and the amount of water used. To do that, we develop a methodology using a stochastic model that simulates the representative farmer's optimal behavior in a context of climatic variability. An empirical application is made with a crop growth model and data collected from the Midi‐Pyrenees region. The results show that using these specific nonlinear pricing systems allow irrigation water managers to reduce the impact of drought on production. Moreover, the type of pricing implemented depends on the characteristics and capabilities of the water company. More particularly, these pricing systems can be used to anticipate agricultural water demand in order to avoid imbalance with water availability.     

The term structure of inflation expectations

We use information in the term structure of survey-based forecasts of inflation to estimate a factor hidden in the nominal yield curve. We construct a model that accommodates forecasts over multiple horizons from multiple surveys and Treasury real and nominal yields by allowing for differences between risk-neutral, subjective, and objective probability measures. We establish that model-based inflation expectations are driven by inflation, output, and one latent factor. We find that this factor affects inflation expectations at all horizons but has almost no effect on the nominal yields; that is, the latent factor is hidden. We show that this hidden factor is not related to either current and past inflation or the standard set of macro variables studied in the literature. Consistent with the theoretical property of a hidden factor, our model outperforms a standard macro-finance model in its forecasting of inflation and yields.     

Gender and Promotions: Evidence from Academic Economists in France*

The promotion system for French academic economists provides an interesting environment to examine the promotion gap between men and women. Promotions occur through national competitions for which we have information both on candidates and on those eligible to be candidates. Thus, we can examine the two stages of the process: application and success. Women are less likely to seek promotion, and this accounts for up to 76 percent of the promotion gap. Being a woman also reduces the probability of promotion conditional on applying, although the gender difference is not statistically significant. Our results highlight the importance of the decision to apply.     

The spatial and temporal distribution of metals in an urban stream: A case study of the Don River in Toronto,Canada

Widespread growth of cities, the association of trace metals with urban runoff, and the potentially deleterious effect of metals on aquatic ecology have made it important to understand the distribution and transport of metals through surface water channel networks. The Don River in Toronto, Canada has been identified as an Area of Concern for pollution to Lake Ontario, with historically high levels of metal contamination. Sampling programs are sparse, therefore a model is needed to understand the spatial and temporal variability of metals in the river network. The objectives of the current study are to: i) describe the sampled spatial and temporal variability of metals in the Don River and ii) develop a modelling strategy to describe within flood metal transport dynamics. A model setup tool is developed that links Storm Water Management Model (SWMM) with the Environmental Fluid Dynamics Code (EFDC) to allow a seamless transition from catchment hydrology to in-stream hydraulic and chemical processes. Results show that lead pollution in the Don River is decreasing, likely as a result of policy changes and sediment dredging in the mouth of the river. However, zinc and copper pollution are increasingly problematic, with copper exceeding recommended lower guidelines, particularly during floods. Model results confirm that most of the sediment and metals are transported in relatively short bursts within longer flood durations and are stored in depositional hotspots within the Lower Don River. A better monitoring strategy is needed to understand and more accurately parametrize these processes in an urban river system.     

A New Strategy Against Hostile Takeovers: A Model of Defense in Participations

This article examines the efficacy of a ‘defense in participations’ policy consisting of competitors acquiring cross‐equity participations within the same industry to prevent hostile takeovers. This defense in participations strategy provides disincentive for raiders as partial ownerships increase market power of competitors and then reinforce the ‘outsider effect’. Also, we find conditions for a general result, which state that takeovers are less profitable in an industry with participations rather than in an industry without any capital links. We provide information to regulators about the positive social impact of cross participations in the context of mergers and expose an economic dilemma between a ‘laissez‐faire’ and an interventionist approach. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Academic freedom,private‐sector focus,and the process of innovation

We develop a model that clarifies the respective advantages and disadvantages of academic and private‐sector research. Rather than relying on lack of appropriability or spillovers to generate a rationale for academic research, we emphasize control‐rights considerations, and argue that the fundamental tradeoff between academia and the private sector is one of creative control versus focus. By serving as a precommitment mechanism that allows scientists to freely pursue their own interests, academia can be indispensable for early‐stage research. At the same time, the private sector's ability to direct scientists toward higher‐payoff activities makes it more attractive for later‐stage research.