Pairwise comparison of concessions in negotiation processes

Starting off with a pairwise-comparison method to evaluate the possible deals between two parties in conflict, we generalize the approach and we consider the case of three parties in conflict. The basic step is the subjective evaluation of a deal where each party offers exactly one concession. The trade-off of benefits and costs is judged in verbal terms which are subsequently converted into numerical values on a discrete geometric scale. Although the number of plausible geometric scales is large, the information to be used by a mediator is scale-independent. The approach is illustrated by the results of an exploratory project aiming at a balanced CO₂ emission reduction in Poland, Brazil, and the netherlands. The success of the method depends largely on the information-processing support. Given the limitations of human imagination and human judgement, the method is not likely to be effective in a conflict among four or more parties, although it can easily be generalized.Paper presented at the IFAC Workshop on Support Systems for Decision and Negotiation Processes, Warsaw, Poland, June 24–26, 1992.     

Comparing international consumption patterns

When attempting to identify empirical regularities in consumption patterns, their tremendous diversity across countries represents both a major opportunity and challenge. For example, consumers in rich countries devote less than 20% of their budget to food, while this rises to more than 50% in the poorest countries. This paper uses a major new database released in Selvanathan and Selvanathan (Selvanathan EA, Selvanathan S (2003) International Consumption Comparisons: OECD versus LDC. World Scientific, Singapore) to explore several related issues, including the extent to which the consumption basket is diversified and how this changes with income, whether a simple utility-maximising model is capable of explaining the diversity of consumption patterns internationally, the measurement of the extent to which tastes differ across countries, and how the world can be partitioned into groups of countries with minimal within-group heterogeneity of tastes on the basis of the revealed preference of consumers.

Housing supply price elasticities revisited: Evidence from international, national, local and company data

This paper re-examines one of the key parameters in housing economics – the price elasticity of housing supply. In the international literature, there is little agreement on its value or even on the appropriate methodology for its measurement. The paper argues that different spatial scales capture different aspects of the problem and, therefore, there is merit from comparing results at international, national, local and firm level. Using standardised models, there is evidence that the responsiveness of housing supply to market conditions is lower in Britain than in the US or Australia. However, supply is more responsive to the change in house prices than their level. With exceptions, most past research on supply in Britain concentrates on the national or regional dimensions. The paper finds that there are also insights to be obtained from examining local and firm level data. Local estimation across the Thames Gateway shows the importance of planning constraints on supply elasticities, but historical patterns of land use and geography are also important. Firm level data indicate that supply elasticities are greater for large firms than for small firms.     

The technological capabilities of nations: The state of the art of synthetic indicators

Composite synthetic indicators of the technological capabilities of nations have been used more frequently over the last years becoming a sort of Olympic medal table of the innovation race. The European Commission, specialised United Nations Agencies, the World Bank, the World Economic Forum, and individual scholars have developed several of these measurement tools at macroeconomic level. All these indicators are based on a variety of statistical sources in order to capture the multidimensional nature of technological change. This paper reviews these various exercises and: i) it brings into light the explicit and implicit assumptions on the nature of technological change; ii) it discusses their pros and cons; and iii) it explores the consistency among the results achieved. Most of the final rankings at the country level are fairly consistent, but significant discrepancies for some nations emerge. The value of synthetic indicators of technological capabilities for public policy, company strategies and economic studies is finally discussed.     

Cross-country catch-up in the manufacturing sector: Impacts of heterogeneity on convergence and technology adoption

We analyze how technology transfer from a leading economy affects followers productivity growth in manufacturing sectors and Gross Domestic Product. Allowing for heterogeneous technology levels we explore how this impacts rates of catch-up in labor productivity across manufacturing sectors and GDP for 16 OECD nations. Our results indicate that aggregate studies bias downward the estimated rates of catch-up. These rates of catch-up, as well as efficiency levels, also differ across countries. We find that institutional factors such as bureaucratic efficiency are important determinants of the estimated catch-up rates.First version received:October 2001/Final version received:September 2003Earlier versions of this paper have been presented under the titles of Cross-Country Catch-up in Manufacturing and Heterogeneous Rates of Catch-up in Manufacturing Industries. The authors would like to thank participants of the North American Productivity Conference, June 2000, at Union College, N, Y., and the Associate Editor for helpful comments and criticisms.     

A Method for Transitive and Additive Multilateral Comparisons: A Transitive Bennet Indicator

It is shown how the Bennet indicator (or ``index') can be made transitive. This is particular useful for making consistent (profit, cost, price, quantity) comparisons between firms when there are more than two firms and/or more than two periods. The method is given both statistical and economic justifications.     

The pay parity matrix − a tool for analysing the structure of pay

This article introduces a new tool for measuring relative pay within organizations. We call this innovation the ‘Pay Parity (PP) matrix’, and discuss its advantages and useful properties. The PP matrix allows us to conveniently measure, and draw inferences about, the nature of the whole remuneration schedule, such as its gradient and smoothness. We illustrate the application of the PP matrix by using data on the remuneration of academic executives in universities.     

Can PIGLOG preferences identify equivalence scales?

This paper clarifies the conditions under which PIGLOG and extended PIGLOG preferences can identify household equivalence scales. The results are of interest to practitioners who have to elect preferences suitable for welfare analysis. It also shows that independent of the base utility equivalence scales are the same whether the budget shares of the demand systems are linear or quadratic in log income. (JEL: D11, D13) The author is grateful to an anonymous referee for several helpful suggestions.     

中国开展银行业务外包的研究

银行业务外包是指银行通过契约将原内部工作交由他人完成,是银行应对日益激烈的市场竞争的重要工具,也是银行主动调整战略、实现核心价值的有效手段.银行业务外包研究在国外比较热门,研究较为深入,而随着中国对WTO承诺的到来,中国银行业面临着与国外实力银行竞争,银行业务外包也越来越引起国内理论界的关注.在对国际国内银行业务外包进行比较分析的基础上,指出了我国目前银行业务外包存在的问题,并提出了改进的建议.     

North-South trade and directed technical change

In a world where poor countries provide weak protection for intellectual property rights (IPRs), market integration shifts technical change in favor of rich nations. Through this channel, free-trade may amplify international wage differences. At the same time, integration with countries where IPRs are weakly protected can slow down the world growth rate. An important implication of these results is that protection of intellectual property is most beneficial in open countries. This prediction, which is novel in the literature, is consistent with evidence from a panel of 53 countries observed in the years 1965-1990. The paper also provides empirical support for the mechanism linking North-South trade to the direction of technical change: an increase in import penetration from low-wage, low-IPRs countries is followed by a sharp fall in R&D investment in a panel of US manufacturing sectors.