Business Commons^™

An Appraisal Of Local Exchange And Trading Systems In The United Kingdom, Colin C. Williams

Colin C Williams

Technological Specialization And Economic Performance In Oecd Countries, Mario Pianta, Valentina Meliciani

Mario Pianta

The paper investigates the growing sectoral specialization in technological activities of OECD countries (measured using patent data) and its impact on countries' innovative and economic performance in the 1975-1990 period. Aggregate indicators of sectoral specialization are introduced, showing the extent to which countries concentrate their innovations in few fields, or spread them across several sectors. A general positive relationship is found between the degree of specialization in technology and higher rates of growth, while specialization in electronics-related fields is not associated to better economic or technological performances. The position of individual countries in these patterns is also examined, showing that …

Measuring Technological Change Through Patents And Innovation Surveys, Mario Pianta, Daniele Archibugi

Mario Pianta

This article provides an overview of recent research using innovation surveys and patent data as indicators of technological activity. The conceptual and methodological problems of 'measuring' technology are discussed, with a classification of the types of information which can be drawn from patent databases and from surveys of both innovations and the innovative efforts of firms. The findings and the methodological strengths and weaknesses of such studies are reviewed, considering first the evidence at the firm level, second the analysis of the industrial structure and finally the evidence at the country level and the process of globalization. The overview shows …

Aggregate Convergence And Sectoral Specialization In Innovation, Mario Pianta, Daniele Archibugi

Mario Pianta

Over the last 20 years OECD countries have converged in terms of their innovation, in parallel to the process of economic convergence and catching-up in technology. However, this has not led to a similarity in the sectoral strenghts of the majority of countries. Applying a measure of "technological distance" between pairs of countries based on patents, it is shown that nations have increased their technological specialization (i.e their sectoral differences) over the 1980s. An apparent paradox is pointed out, as countries converge by becoming more different and grow by becoming more specialized.

Purification And Characterization Of Porin From Corn (Zea Mays L.) Mitochondria, Philadelphia University

Philadelphia University, Jordan

No abstract provided.

Specialization And Size Of Technological Activities In Industrial Countries: The Analysis Of Patent Data, Mario Pianta, Daniele Archibugi

Mario Pianta

The determinants and directton of the technological specialization of advanced countries are investtgated in thus paper using patent counts and citations as technology indicators.

Using Auction Theory To Inform Takeover Regulation, Peter Cramton, Alan Schwartz

Peter Cramton

This paper focuses on certain mechanisms that govern the sale of corporate assets. Under Delaware law, when a potential acquirer makes a serious bid for a target, the target’s Board of Directors is required to act as would "auctioneers charged with getting the best price for the stock-holders at a sale of the company.’’ The Delaware courts’ preference for auctions follows from two premises. First, a firm’s managers should maximize the value of their shareholders’ investment in the company. Second, auctions maximize shareholder returns. The two premises together imply that a target’s board should conduct an auction when at least …

Positive Residues Involved In The Voltage-Gating Of The Mitochondrial Porin-Channel Are Localized In The External Moiety Of The Pore, Philadelphia University

Philadelphia University, Jordan

No abstract provided.

Nonrandom Mixing Models Of Hiv Transmission, Peter Cramton, Edward H. Kaplan, A. David Paltiel

Peter Cramton

Models of HIV transmission and the AIDS epidemic generally assume random mixing among those infected with HIV and those who are not. For sexually transmitted HIV, this implies that individuals select sex partners without regard to attributes such as familiarity, attractiveness, or risk of infection. This paper formulates a model for examining the impact of nonrandom mixing on HIV transmission. We present threshold conditions that determine when HIV epidemics can occur within the framework of this model. Nonrandom mixing is introduced by assuming that sexually active individuals select sex partners to minimize the risk of infection. In addition to variability …

The Leverage Problem In The Valuation Of Privately Held Firms, Thomas D. Berry, John Houston

Thomas D Berry

No abstract provided.

Post-Tefra Holding Company Strategies, David Randall Jenkins

David Randall Jenkins, Ph.D.