Economics Commons^™

The Dynamics Of Firm Behavior Under Alternative Cost Structures, George A. Hay

George A. Hay

A large and growing number of studies attempt to determine the important factors affecting firms' decisions with respect to price, output, and inventories. A striking feature of this literature is the embarrassingly large number of alternative models—all allegedly consistent with the principles of profit maximization—which are used to justify various reduced form or behavioral equations to be estimated with the appropriate firm or industry data. It is rare, however, that the equations to be estimated are derived rigorously from the underlying model. Because of this, the restrictions placed on the equations to be estimated are often limited at worst to …

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 …

Adjustment Costs And The Flexible Accelerator, George A. Hay

George A. Hay

The flexible accelerator concept has provided the rationale for the regression equations used in several recent econometric studies of inventory behavior. In such a model a desired (or equilibrium) level of inventories is defined, but because of costs involved in changing the level of stocks only a partial adjustment of inventories to their desired level is achieved in any time period. This leads to the familiar decision rule in which current inventory is a linear function of the previous period's stock plus a variable or set of variables representing current demand. The purpose of this note is to question whether …

External Diseconomies In Competitive Supply: Comment, George A. Hay, John J. Mcgowan

George A. Hay

In a recent article in this Review, Charles Goetz and James Buchanan (G-B) assert that " . . . the standard description of misallocation in the presence of external production diseconomies is misleading . . . " because these externalities produce a ". . . combination of exchange-inefficiency with production-inefficiency [which ] renders the construction of correction devices much more difficult" (p. 889). Stated otherwise their contention is that with external diseconomies that are internal to an industry, i.e., those that each firm in an industry inflicts on other firms in the same industry, a competitive regime in the presence …

A General Solution For Linear Decision Rules: An Optimal Dynamic Strategy Applicable Under Uncertainty, George A. Hay, Charles C. Holt

George A. Hay

Linear decision rules for controlling complex systems are often obtained by matrix inversion, but transform methods offer an alternative approach that yields insights into the structure of the decision problem of maximizing expected payoffs under constraints.

Social Accounts For Cge In A Multi-Software Environment: Implan, Gams And Excel, Amir Borges Ferreira Neto, Randall Jackson

Regional Research Institute Resource Documents

No abstract provided.

The Nexus Between Infrastructure Investment And Economic Growth In The Mexican Urban Areas, Vicente German-Soto, Héctor A. Barajas Bustillos

Vicente German-Soto

Infant Mortality: Cross Section Study Of The United State, With Emphasis On Education, Daniel C. Sheets-Poling

Stevenson Center for Community and Economic Development—Student Research

On the surface infant mortality is usually thought of as just a unfortunate part of life in what can happen to an individual family, but infant mortality is part of the factors that affect social capital, which can lead back to overall trust in a community. When that trust starts to wither within a community, economic activity will be affected as community members will not behave as they usually do within their given economic boundaries. While social capital is not solely affected by infant mortality, it does show what type of health status an area has. As a community, state, …

Why A Liberal Arts Education Really Is The Finest Undergraduate Experience, Michael Hemesath

Administration Publications

No abstract provided.

Task-Specific Human Capital Accumulation And Wage Outcomes Among Young Men: An Empirical Analysis, Morgan Holland

Theses and Dissertations

Existing literature suggests that investment in different kinds of task-specific human capital may have significant effects on wage outcomes and overall economic wellbeing of individuals. To examine this claim, the accumulation of task-specific human capital in young male workers with no college education and its effects on wages is measured. Using National Longitudinal Survey of Youth panel data merged with six task-specific human capital measures derived from the Dictionary of Occupational Titles task contents data, fixed effects regression was utilized to measure how workers’ taskspecific human capital develops over time. This process shows that among the task measures used, accumulation …

Determinants Of Cross-Country Differences In The Equity Risk Premium: A Cross-Sectional Analysis, William John Arant

Theses and Dissertations

The equity risk premium (ERP) is a critical factor in financial decision-making and allocating capital for the future. The ERP can indicate the aggregate risk in an economy and thereby the price agents attach to that risk. Understanding the factors that determine ERPs across countries is important for understanding investors’ actions in a globalized environment. This study will focus on long-run measures of the ERP across countries while applying four common measures. Variations in the size of the ERP across countries and across measures will be examined. Then, country-specific determinants of the long-run ERP will be investigated. These determinants include …

Determinants Of Product Upgrading In The Argentine Wine Industry, Lucas Marc Cyr

Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, I examine the impact that a firm's connections and internal resources has on the firm's ability to develop new products. The capability to make improvements to products is crucial to the long term success and growth of a firm. By using structural equation modeling, I take a different approach to network analysis to analyze data from the Argentine wine industry. While I did not find strong evidence to support the hypothesis that the combination of external networks and internal knowledge are key drivers to product upgrading, there was strong evidence to support each individual determinant’s impact on …

St. Cloud Area Quarterly Business Report, Vol. 16, No. 4, King Banaian, Richard A. Macdonald

St. Cloud Area Quarterly Business Report

No abstract provided.

Forget ‘Freakonomics.’ Three (Plus) Books For The Econ Buff On Your List, Louis D. Johnston

Economics Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Kocherlakota To Step Down: Three Ways He Changed The Minneapolis Fed, Louis D. Johnston

Economics Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

U.S. Migration Of A Family Member: Impacts On The Activities Of Adolescent Boys And Girls Left Behind In Mexico, Elizabeth T. Powers, Qing Wang

Elizabeth T Powers

We use the Mexican Family Life Study to estimate the effect of a household member’s migration to the U.S. on the time use of family members left behind in Mexico. We show that the effects of migration on adolescents vary with both the migrant’s former household role and with the sex of the left-behind adolescent. Adolescent boys spend less time in paid and agricultural work when males migrate from the household to the U.S., while their mothers correspondingly increase their time in market work and reduce their housework time. We find no significant effects of U.S. migration on adolescent girls’ …

Into The Red: A Look Into The Reasons Why Refugees Decide To Flee, Settle Or Migrate To And From Morocco, Fadeelah E. Holivay

Master's Theses

This research paper explores some of the main reasons why refugees and asylum seekers, particularly from sub-Saharan African countries, embark on a journey and decide to settle, flee or migrate to and from Morocco. Because of this phenomenon, Morocco has seen a 96% increase of refugees migrating to the borders of Morocco each year for the past three years. Many say that this astonishing increase of migrants choosing Morocco is due to such factors as: wars breaking out regionally across central African and Middle Eastern countries causing them to flee; Morocco being a culturaly diverse francophone country whose laws and …

Combating Hiv/Aids In Marginalized Communities: Papua And West Papua Provinces, Indonesia, Bani Cheema

Master's Theses

My study focuses on foreign aid and local initiatives for HIV/AIDS prevention in eastern Indonesia using the provinces of Papua and West Papua as a case study. The two provinces are home to indigenous tribal groups that are socioeconomically marginalized and most affected by the epidemic. My research investigates behavior change communication as a principal strategy undertaken by multiple organizations for HIV/AIDS prevention in this region. I take a qualitative approach by examining the effectiveness of this strategy in local communities and by revealing social and cultural barriers that impede success. Obstacles that negatively impact prevention efforts include structural violence, …

A Comparison Of Clinical Trial And Model-Based Cost Estimates In Glaucoma – The Case Of Repeat Laser Trabeculoplasty In Ontario, Omar Akhtar

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Background and objective: For cost-effectiveness analyses (CEA) of glaucoma interventions to be of use they require valid and accurate cost and effectiveness data. Costs remain understudied relative to effectiveness. The impact of cost estimation methods on resultant estimates is unknown in glaucoma. Direct measurement of costs is labour-intensive and expensive. Decision-analytic modelling of costs using literature sources, expert opinion, institutional experience and assumptions provides a quicker, less laborious alternative to empirical costing. A lack of long-term effectiveness data in chronic diseases like glaucoma means that modelling is widespread and inevitable, both for CEAs and budget impact projections. The same problem …