Product differentiation, cost‐reducing mergers, and consumer welfare

Abstract.  Cost synergies are an explicitly recognized justification for a two‐firm merger, and empirical techniques are now widely used to assess the impact of cost‐reducing mergers on prices and welfare in the post‐merger market. We show that if the merger occurs in a vertically product differentiated market, then the merger will lead to a reduction in product offerings that limits the usefulness of pre‐merger empirical estimates. Indeed, we further show that in such markets, two‐firm mergers will typically lead to higher prices regardless of the merger's cost savings. JEL classification: L10, L41     

Household migration in the Southern Cone: the case of Paraguay

This study of migration from Paraguay to Argentina focuses on urban to urban migration and uses about 1300 interviews collected during September 1983 to May 1984 for constructing a profile of the migrants. Paraguayan migration to Argentina has historical roots. The first flows were in 1936 and 1947 and were due to war. Migrants tended to settle in Formosa and Misiones provinces in the northern region. The second waves that occurred during the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s were to Buenos Aires. Most migration during the more recent years was motivated by economics. It is likely that the key factors were push factors in Paraguay. Migration policies in sending and receiving countries are lax. Half of the interviews were conducted among families in Gran Buenos Aires, and half were conducted among families in Asuncion, Paraguay. 33% of migrants in Argentina reported Asuncion as their last residence. Many migrants were from departments bordering on Argentina. Only 222 of the 543 heads of household who had been employed prior to departure reported that farm work had been their employment. Migration is precipitated by both economic and noneconomic factors. Logistic model findings indicate that urban migrant heads of households tended to be younger and less educated than nonmigrants. Migrants tended to be single heads of households with relatively few children. Rural migrants were less likely to be female and were more likely to have a larger family size than urban migrants. Heads of household with fewer continuous years of employment were more likely to migrate. Findings from data at the time of the interview suggest that higher relative wages were a pull force, when age, sex, education, marital status, size of business, and job seniority were controlled for. The recent democratization in Paraquay is like to attract return migrants, if urban employment opportunities are available.     

叶尔羌河平原绿洲耕地利用转型与粮食产量耦合关系研究

［目的］为了解叶尔羌河平原绿洲耕地利用变化与粮食产量的耦合关系,以此优化粮食生产系统的指导方式,提高叶尔羌河平原绿洲粮食产量,协调叶尔羌河平原绿洲耕地利用转型与粮食产量的耦合关系,并为叶尔羌河平原绿洲的粮食安全保护提供一定的政策启示。［方法］文章运用熵值法,以粮食生产相关的“投入”指标为评价依据,耕地利用强度由地均化肥使用强度、有效灌溉比例、复种指数及地均农业机械化水平等4个指标构成,以及利用1990—2016年叶尔羌河平原绿洲粮食产量,分析其耕地利用转型和粮食产量耦合关系时空变化。［结果］(1)1990—2016年叶尔羌河平原绿洲各县耕地利用强度不断增大,并且区域时空格局差异明显,研究初期东北部地区的耕地利用程度强于西部地区,而2016年呈现出西南—中东部强,东北部弱的态势; 从粮食产量方面来看,叶尔羌河平原绿洲粮食产量整体有所增长,空间分异特征较不明显;(2)耕地利用强度—粮食产量耦合类型时空演化特征明显,高耦合值区增加,低耦合区值逐年减少; 从空间上看,叶尔羌河平原绿洲西部地区耕地利用转型与粮食产量耦合度越来越高。(3)耕地利用转型推动粮食生产格局不断演化,叶尔羌河平原绿洲耕地利用转型与粮食产量耦合度在1990—2016年呈现耦合度逐渐增加的趋势,耕地利用转型对保障区域粮食安全具有重要作用。［结论］叶尔羌河平原绿洲粮食产量随着耕地利用转型的不断深入而不断提高,耕地利用转型对粮食安全具有有利影响。     

Valuation uncertainty,home and host market uncertainty,and cross-border seasoned equity offerings

This study examines how market timing can affect host market reaction to cross-border seasoned equity offerings (SEOs), an event generally viewed unfavorably by investors. We assume that firms engage in market timing in response to valuation uncertainty (VU), home market uncertainty (HMU) and/or host market uncertainty (HSU), and that raising capital abroad faces higher scrutiny costs and familiarity bias from host market investors. We conjecture that timing strategies provide signals that vary in strength to host market investors and that dual-timing strategies may strengthen an existing signal. Our hypotheses are tested on a sample of 190 cross-border SEOs that were issued on the U.S. stock market between 1990 and 2017 by firms from 29 countries. Using event study methodology, we find that market timing based on VU is negatively related to host market valuation and that a dual-timing strategy with HMU or HSU generally produces a stronger signal. Our results have practical relevance for stock markets that suffer from high uncertainty; we estimate that a high VU firm with a $1 billion valuation suffers a drop of $31.3 million in market valuation during a high host market uncertainty (high HSU) compared with low host market uncertainty (low HSU).     

Retail Market Power in a Shopping Basket Model of Supermarket Competition

Supermarket retailers typically operate with relatively low margins, suggesting a highly competitive retail environment. However, despite the fact that consumers purchase an entire shopping basket at a time from supermarkets, this evidence is largely based on models of retail competition with single-category purchases. In this paper, we develop and test an empirical model of retail price competition that explicitly accounts for the effect of demand complementarity among items in consumer shopping baskets. Relative to the case where consumers purchase products with independent demands, we demonstrate that equilibrium prices are higher for all items when retailers take demand-complementarity into account. Our findings indicate that non-price strategies intended to encourage complementarity, such as co-merchandising, strategic shelf-positioning, or featuring complementary goods tend to soften price competition, and lead to higher equilibrium prices.     

Economics,Ethics and Thanatology: Lessons from the Ancients

The normative presuppositions motivating rational choice decision-making based on optimizing objectives amount to a thin account of ethical economic behavior. Ancient thought offers insights that can provide a firmer basis both for personal, individual choice as well as for public policy. After a brief review of Epicurean and Stoic ethical principles, a comparison is made of modern economic and Hellenistic conceptions of rationality and rational behavior. These competing conceptions are then applied to an examination of a contemporary public policy problem, namely health care, particularly as this applies to “end-of-life” issues. The argument concludes that decision-making based on a eudaimonic conception of the good has the potential to provide us with a more efficient health care system as well as one that more satisfactorily addresses the needs of the chronically ill and dying patients who account for a highly disproportionate share of health care expenditures.