Economics Commons^™

Hunting Unicorns, Aaron Edlin

Aaron Edlin

On The Optimality Of One-Size-Fits-All Contracts: The Limited Liability Case, Felipe Balmaceda Assoc Prof.

Felipe Balmaceda

Strategic Ignorance In Sequential Procurement, Silvana Krasteva, Huseyin Yildirim

Huseyin Yildirim

Toward A Theory Of Entry In Moral Markets: The Role Of Social Movements And Organizational Identity, Brandon Lee, Panikos Georgallis

Brandon Lee

Re-Imagining The Labor Movement As A Social Movement, James Patin

James Patin

Bringing Emotions Into Social Exchange Theory, Edward J. Lawler, Shane R. Thye

Edward J Lawler

We analyze and review how research on emotion and emotional phenomena can elaborate and improve contemporary social exchange theory. After identifying six approaches from the psychology and sociology of emotion, we illustrate how these ideas bear on the context, process, and outcome of exchange in networks and groups. The paper reviews the current state of the field, develops testable hypotheses for empirical study, and provides specific suggestions for developing links between theories of emotion and theories of exchange.

The Theory Of Relational Cohesion: Review Of A Research Program, Shane R. Thye, Jeongkoo Yoon, Edward J. Lawler

Edward J Lawler

In this paper we analyze and review the theory of relational cohesion and attendant program of research. Since the early 1990s, the theory has evolved to answer a number of basic questions regarding cohesion and commitment in social exchange relations. Drawing from the sociology of emotion and modem theories of social identity, the theory asserts that joint activity in the form of frequent exchange unleashes positive emotions and perceptions of relational cohesion. In turn, relational cohesion is predicted to be the primary cause of commitment behavior in a range of situations. Here we outline the theory of relational cohesion, tracing …

Activating Actavis, Aaron Edlin, C. Scott Hemphill, Herbert J. Hovenkamp, Carl Shapiro

Aaron Edlin

In Federal Trade Commission v. Actavis, Inc., the Supreme Court provided fundamental guidance about how courts should handle antitrust challenges to reverse payment patent settlements. The Court came down strongly in favor of an antitrust solution to the problem, concluding that “an antitrust action is likely to prove more feasible administratively than the Eleventh Circuit believed.” At the same time, Justice Breyer’s majority opinion acknowledged that the Court did not answer every relevant question. The opinion closed by “leav[ing] to the lower courts the structuring of the present rule-of-reason antitrust litigation.”This article is an effort to help courts and counsel …

Actavis And Error Costs: A Reply To Critics, Aaron S. Edlin, C. Scott Hemphill, Herbert J. Hovenkamp, Carl Shapiro

Aaron Edlin

The Supreme Court’s opinion in Federal Trade Commission v. Actavis, Inc. provided fundamental guidance about how courts should handle antitrust challenges to reverse payment patent settlements. In our previous article, Activating Actavis, we identified and operationalized the essential features of the Court’s analysis. Our analysis has been challenged by four economists, who argue that our approach might condemn procompetitive settlements.As we explain in this reply, such settlements are feasible, however, only under special circumstances. Moreover, even where feasible, the parties would not actually choose such a settlement in equilibrium. These considerations, and others discussed in the reply, serve to confirm …

Crop Residues: The Rest Of The Story, Douglas L. Karlen, Rattan Lal, Ronald F. Follett, John M. Kimble, Jerry L. Hatfield, John A. Miranowski, Cynthia A. Cambardella, Andrew Manale, Robert P. Anex, Charles W. Rice

Douglas L Karlen

Synopsis In the February 15, 2009 issue of ES&T Strand and Benford argued that oceanic deposition of agricultural crop residues was a viable option for net carbon sequestration (43 [4], 1000−1007). In reviewing the calculations and bringing their experience to bear, Karlen et al. argue in this Viewpoint that crop residue oceanic permanent sequestration (CROPS) as envisioned by Strand and Benford will not work. They further propose alternative possibilities in agricultural methods to achieve a net decrease of CO2 emissions.

Conservatism And Switcher's Curse, Aaron Edlin

Aaron Edlin

Workplace Deviance And Recession, Aniruddha Bagchi, Siddhartha Bandyopadhyay

Aniruddha Bagchi

An Empirical Analysis Of Manufacturing Overhead Cost Drivers, Rajiv D. Banker, Gordon S. Potter, Roger G. Schroeder

Gordon Potter

Empirical validity of the claim that overhead costs are driven not by production volume but by transactions resulting from production complexity is examined using data from 32 manufacturing plants from the electronics, machinery, and automobile components industries. Transactions are measured using number of engineering change orders, number of purchasing and production planning personnel, shop- floor area per part, and number of quality control and improvement personnel. Results indicate a strong positive relation between manufacturing overhead costs and both manufacturing transactions and production volume. Most of the variation in overhead costs, however, is explained by measures of manufacturing transactions, not volume.

Manufacturing Performance Reporting For Continuous Quality Improvement, Rajiv D. Banker, Gordon S. Potter, Roger G. Schroeder

Gordon Potter

Recently many plants have implemented the new manufacturing strategy of continuous quality improvement. The central hypothesis in this paper is that the implementation of a policy of continuous quality improvement results in a shift in the management control system. This article tests this hypothesis by examining the shop floor reporting policies of forty-two plants located in the United States. The paper documents that the extent of information concerning the current status of manufacturing, such as charts on defect rates or schedule compliance and productivity information, provided to workers on the shop floor is positively related to the implementation of continuous …

The Structural Transformation Of The Agricultural Sector, Neil E. Harl

Neil E. Harl

A major concern as we move into the Twenty-first Century is the structure of the agricultural sector. By structure, is meant considerations of size and scale as well as who is to manage, control and finance farming and agribusiness operations.

An Evaluation Of Competitive Industrial Structure And Regional Manufacturing Employment Change., Joshua Drucker

Joshua Drucker

Ports And Ladders: The Nature And Relevance Of Internal Labor Markets In A Changing World, Paul Osterman, M. Diane Burton

M. Diane Burton

[Excerpt] Many believe that the nature of careers has changed dramatically in the past twenty years. One scholar writes that internal labor markets have been 'demolished', while a human resources manager at Intel comments that, in contrast to the past, today, 'You own your own employability. You are responsible' (Knoke 2001: 31). The idea of the 'boundaryless career' seems increasingly popular (Arthur and Rousseau 1996). If it is in fact true that the old rules for organizing work have disappeared, this would represent a fundamental change for employees. It would also have major implications for how scholars think about the …

Where Have All The Michigan Auto Jobs Gone?, Randall W. Eberts, George A. Erickcek

George A. Erickcek

No abstract provided.

The Debate Over The State Of U.S. Manufacturing: How The Computer Industry Affects The Numbers And Perceptions, Susan N. Houseman

Susan N. Houseman

No abstract provided.

That Used To Be Us: Through The Eyes Of The Aviation Industry, Kelly A. Whealan-George

Kelly Whealan George

The U.S. economic success was rooted in an industrial policy which had five pillars of a prosperity formula that served as a catalyst for development and growth: 1) public/private cooperation on education, 2) immigration policy, 3) infrastructure, 4) risk/capital management, and 5) government-funded scientific research. In this paper, the development and growth of the aviation industry is viewed in the framework of such a prosperity formula in order to face the four areas that the entire economy will need to face in the current market in order to be competitive in the global market in the 21st century. Since the …

Where Have All The Michigan Auto Jobs Gone?, Randall W. Eberts, George A. Erickcek

Randall W. Eberts

No abstract provided.

The Value Capture Model: A Strategic Management Review, Michael D. Ryall, Joshua Gans

Michael D Ryall

This paper provides the first review of recent work that uses cooperative game theory to deepen our understanding of persistent performance heterogeneity among firms. Since its initiation in 1996, this stream has grown considerably. The work it contains is notable on several dimensions, including its mathematical foundation, its aggregate cohesion, its interplay between theory and empirical work, the subtlety of its insights, and its potential for idea migration from strategy to other disciplines. Here, we: provide a careful discussion of the theory; review the key theoretical findings; highlight a number of insights that both challenge and clarify the conventional wisdom; …

Lo Stato Innovatore: Come Funziona E Perché Ci Serve. Recensione A “Lo Stato Innovatore” Di Mariana Mazzucato, Matteo Lucchese, Mario Pianta

Mario Pianta

No abstract provided.

The Virtuous Circle Of Innovation In Italian Firms, Francesco Bogliacino, Matteo Lucchese, Leopoldo Nascia, Mario Pianta

Mario Pianta

The “virtuous circle” between innovative inputs, outputs and economic performance is investigated in this article with a three equation model highlighting feedback loops and simultaneous relations. An empirical test is carried out considering innovative expenditure, innovative turnover and economic results in a sample of Italian manufacturing firms which are ‘serial innovators’. We use data for the period 2000-2008 from a rich panel of Italian firms over 50 employees drawn from ISTAT, the National Institute of Statistics, including data from three waves of Community Innovation Surveys. The model we use extends the one developed at the industry level by Bogliacino and …

Production, Price, And Inventory Theory, George A. Hay

George A. Hay

This paper is an attempt to derive empirically testable hypotheses regarding the principal determinants of firms' decisions on production, price, and finished goods inventory. The general approach to the problem is that many of the same factors which affect the optimal value for one variable will also influence decisions on the other two, and that a "proper" model must take into account the interdependence of these variables and the simultaneous nature of the decisions involving them. This is in contrast to literature on the theory of inventories (see Paul Darling and Michael Lovell) in which the firm is assumed to …

External Economies And Competitive Equilibrium, George A. Hay, John J. Mcgowan

George A. Hay

In an article published in 1955, Murray Kemp analyzed the case for interference with the competitive allocation of resources when external economies of production are present. In the specific model we are interested in—where the costs of any one producer's operations are affected by the total output of all producers of the same product—Kemp attempted to show that where entry into the industry is closed (although the industry is otherwise perfectly competitive), "there can always be found a subsidy, either on the product or on a particular factor, which will be a sufficient incentive to firms to produce an optimal …

Buyer Alliances As Countervailing Power In Wic Infant-Formula Auctions, David E. Davis

David E. Davis

Buyer Alliances As Countervailing Power In Wic Infant-Formula Auctions, David E. Davis

David E. Davis

Green Technology And Optimal Emissions Taxation, Stuart Mcdonald, Joanna Poyago-Theotoky

Joanna Poyago-Theotoky

We examine the impact of an optimal emissions tax on research and development of emission reducing green technology (E-R&D) in the presence of R\&D spillovers. We show that the size and effectiveness of the optimal emissions tax depends on the type of the R&D spillover: input or output spillover. In the case of R&D input spillovers (where only knowledge spillovers are accounted for), the optimal emissions tax required to stimulate R&D is always higher than when there is an R&D output spillover (where abatement and knowledge spillovers exist simultaneously). We also find that optimal emissions taxation and cooperative R&D complement …

The Hidden Costs Of Free Goods: Implications For Antitrust Enforcement, Michal Gal, Daniel Rubinfeld

Michal Gal

Today a growing number of goods and services are provided in the marketplace free of charge; indeed, free or the appearance of free, have become part of our ecosystem. More often than not, free goods and services provide real benefits to consumers and are clearly pro-competitive. Yet free goods may also create significant costs. We show that despite the fact that the consumer does not pay a direct price, there are indirect prices that reflect the opportunity cost associated with the consumption of free goods. These indirect costs can be overt or covert, in the same market in which the …