Business Commons^™

Collusive Bidding In The Fcc Spectrum Auctions, Peter Cramton, Jesse Schwartz

Jesse A. Schwartz

This paper describes the bid signaling that occurred in many of the FCC spectrum auctions. Bidders in these auctions bid on numerous spectrum licenses simultaneously, with bidding remaining open on all licenses until no bidder is willing to raise the bid on any license. Simultaneous open bidding allows bidders to send messages to their rivals, telling them on which licenses to bid and which to avoid. This “code bidding” occurs when one bidder tags the last few digits of its bid with the market number of a related license. We examine how extensively bidders signaled each other with retaliating bids …

The Existence Of Gender-Specific Promotion Standards In The U.S., Kathy Paulson Gjerde

Kathy A. Paulson Gjerde

This paper is motivated by the claim that promotion probabilities are lower for women than men. Using data from the 1984 and 1989 National Longitudinal Youth Surveys, this paper tests this claim and two related hypotheses concerning training and ability. It is found that females are less likely to be promoted than males, and females receive less training than males. The relationship between promotion and gender varies across occupations, however, suggesting that the alleged glass ceiling faced by women and other minorities in the workplace is not uniform across all labor markets.

Note: Link is to the article in a …

Innovation And The Economy, Mario Pianta, J. Michie, C. Oughton

Mario Pianta

Unemployment has remained at relatively high levels across most European countries for a generation now. There have been a number of suggested explanations for this, with correspondingly different policy implications. Two of the major hypotheses relate, first, to the impact on the European economies from increased international competition, and `globalisation’ more generally, and, secondly, to the effects of new technology and innovation. The effects of both globalisation and technology on growth and employment in Europe have been researched over the past two years through an EU-funded project, the results of which, relating in particular to innovation, are reported in this …

Toward A Total-Cost Approach To Environmental Instrument Choice, Peter Grossman, Daniel Cole

Peter Z. Grossman

Note: full-text not available due to publisher restrictions. Link takes you to an external site where you can locate the article at your local library.

How Good Is The Market At Assessing Bank Fragility? A Horse Race Between Different Indicators, Paola Bongini, Luc Laeven, Giovanni Majononi

Paola Bongini

For a sample of individual banks, active in the East Asian countries during the years 1995-1998, we explore the performance of three sets of indicators of bank fragility computed on the basis of publicly available information. We compare the behavior of traditional “early warning” indicators, based on balance sheet information, with that of implicit deposit insurance premia, based on the stock prices dynamics, and with the behavior of credit rating agencies’ assessments. We find significantly different patterns among the three groups of indicators in their ability of forecasting financial distress at both a specific point in time and through time. …

The Meaning Of Property Rights: Law Versus Economics?, D. Cole, Peter Grossman

Peter Z. Grossman

Entrepreneurship And The Defense Of Capitalism: An Examination Of The Work Of Israel Kirzner, Peter Lewin

Peter Lewin

Israel Kirzner has spent a career in articulating and refining concept of entrepreneurship; His work is indispensable for anyone seeking an understanding of the role of the entrepreneur in the economy. This paper provides a critical appreciation of this work, and considers how Kirzner’s insights might feature in a defense of Capitalism in the post- Socialist world.

Employment Effects Of Product And Process Innovations In Europe, Mario Pianta, Tommaso Antonucci

Mario Pianta

This paper develops a model of the employment impact of innovation considering, on the one hand, the interactions with demand and labour costs and, on the other, the variety of patterns of technological change. Different technological strategies are considered. First, a search for technological competitiveness is based on product innovation and productivity rooted in quality advantages; second a strategy of active price competitiveness has productivity growth rooted in process innovation-based restructuring; third a passive price competitiveness strategy is pursued by noninnovators relying on cost-cutting. The new European innovation database drawn from the Community Innovation Survey 1994-96, merged with structural and …