Business Commons^™

The Secretary Problem With A Call Option, John S. Rose

Robins School of Business White Paper Series, 1980-2022

In addition to accepting or rejecting a candidate arrive at time r, we may consider purchasing an option at a cost cx to recall the candidate at time r+x, but this privilege may be invoked only once. For large sample size, using the best-choice criterion and deducting option costs, the optimal strategy and return are obtained.

Collective Bargaining And Public Education: A Public Choice Approach, Robert W. Cook Jr.

Robins School of Business White Paper Series, 1980-2022

This paper applies the theory of bureaucracy to a collective bargaining arrangement in the public education labor market. A cyclical voting model is used to explain homogeneous wage demands by education associations. The bilateral monopoly problem is explored under the assumption that educators bargain as "Niskanen-type" bureaus when local school boards lack the ability to quantity adjust between bargaining periods. Increased appropriations to educators are shown to accrue only to existing organization members with no new teachers hired to share in the gains. The results imply that arguments for lower student-teacher ratios are spurious, while the appropriation gains from collective …

Can The Free Enterprise System Survive In An Ethically Schizophrenic Culture?, Richard C. Chewning

Robins School of Business White Paper Series, 1980-2022

The stock market remained on a virtual plateau from 1968 until 1983—hardly a sign of vigorous national health. Our long-term decline in productivity indicates economic anemia. The national debt continues to soar even when a President espouses fiscal conservatism and Congress passes the largest single tax increase in its history. There are also many social and political problems: decay in our inner cities; rising crime; environmental concerns; and many international crises. Under these pressures the culture is beginning to manifest some neurotic characteristics as it develops many negative attitudes. There is a growing sense of nonspecific guilt. We seem uneasy. …

Economic Foundations For The Competition Policy Implemented By The Eec, J. Patrick Raines

Robins School of Business White Paper Series, 1980-2022

The purpose of this study is to provide a theoretical economic framework for the analysis of the competition policy implemented by the European Economic Community (EEC). The fundamental objective is to demonstrate that the EEC's actual approach to regulating restrictive business practices can be related to a concept of competition that is relevant and adequate for the analysis and explanation of competition policy in the EEC. The thesis is that a strong theoretical relationship can be shown to exist between EEC business regulation and the conceptual parallels in the theories on competition of J.A. Schumpeter and J.M. Clark.

Evaluating Educational Inputs In Undergraduate Education, Robert C. Dolan, Clarence R. Jung Jr., Robert M. Schmidt

Robins School of Business White Paper Series, 1980-2022

This paper examines the input-output relationship for private undergraduate education. The motivation for such a study stems from a long-standing concern within academe for a better understanding of the relationships between student quality, faculty effort, campus environment, and the end result of an “educated” person. Though precise and objective measures of education output are difficult to formulate, we would argue that alumni achievement is an important and measurable output. Specifically we focus on the number of baccalaureate alumni who went on to earn a Ph.D. But even with an acceptable output measure, research assessments of the educational process are not …

Assessing The Competitive Effects Of Major League Baseball's Reentry Draft, Robert C. Dolan, Robert M. Schmidt

Robins School of Business White Paper Series, 1980-2022

Major League Baseball’s reentry draft was instituted under the Basic Agreement of 1976. This contract marked the end of a rough ten-year period of increasing dispute between baseball owners and players, and the beginning of a significant modification in the labor market arrangements that governed the sport. Prior to the 1977 season, the reserve clause left players' mobility, and thus bargaining strength, entirely to the discretion of the team with which they had signed as rookies. Revision of the reserve clause under the 1976 Agreement created a competitive auction market for the services of veteran players. To the public eye, …

The Theoretical Rationale For A Common European Currency Revisted, J. Patrick Raines

Robins School of Business White Paper Series, 1980-2022

At the outset of a discussion of monetary integration, the characteristics that are essential for a monetary union as well as those necessary for the continued and successful existence of the monetary union must be considered.

First, in any monetary union, either there must be a single currency, or if there are several currencies, these currencies must be fully convertible, in one another, at immutably fixed exchange rates thus effectively creating a single currency.

Second, the immutability of fixed exchange rates depends upon mutually consistent monetary policies within the union. Thus, there must be an arrangement whereby monetary policy for …

A Study Of Nonferrous Casting Surface Finish Using Statistical Theory And Computer Technology, D. C. Ekey

Robins School of Business White Paper Series, 1980-2022

This research is based on statistical research methodology to evaluate variation in casting surface finish in nonfer­rous production operations.

The Data Base of 82 cast surface finish measurements were produced in three U.S. foundries. The data base is comprised of two sub-groups. One data sub-group has a sample size of 58 aluminum cast surfaces. The second data sub-group consists of 24 cast bronze surface finishes.

Existence of research evidence correlating sand-grain finish with cast surface finish is compatible with the range of 60 to 300 AFS grain-finish sand mixtures used in the experiment. Further research evidence correlating alloy-hydraulic pressure with …

Price Behavior In Tight Oligopoly, Robert C. Dolan

Robins School of Business White Paper Series, 1980-2022

The study examines price behavior in tight oligopoly. The investigation proceeds from the premise that tacit collusion is the only rational response of firms comprising tight oligopoly. The study's thesis is that collusive conduct in tight oligopoly will reflect one of two general pricing patterns: (1) shared monopoly pricing, or (2) mark-up pricing. A unique empirical test of this dual price hypotheses is developed. The test focuses on the nature of price responses to cost and demand changes as reflected in a price equation that is estimated for each of forty-two four-digit SIC industries. The study's results indicate infrequent, but …

A Test Of The International Term Structure Of Interest Rates: The United States-Canadian Experience, 1973-80, John B. Guerard, Robert Berry

Robins School of Business White Paper Series, 1980-2022

A new theory of the term structure of interest rates for small open economies has been developed in which a small country with internationally integrated capital markets will have its domestic financial markets dominated by international influences. the international theory of the term structure of interest rates demonstrates how a foreign financial disturbance will directly affect domestic real and nominal interest rates and exchange rates which then affect the price and output channels. We employ univariate and multivariate time series analysis to Canada and the United States to test the imported term structure of interest rates hypothesis. We do not …

The Influence Of Representation In Intrastate Grant Disbursement, Robert W. Cook Jr., Robert C. Dolan

Robins School of Business White Paper Series, 1980-2022

A common rationale in allocating government grants and aid is income redistribution. Consider receipts by individuals for example. Under a host of programs, economic hardship is a necessary and often sufficient condition for receiving benefits. A second major beneficiary category for federal and state aid is municipalities and localities. There again equity considerations frequently affect grant receipts, although purely demographic factors such as population can also influence the level of assistance. Considered together, one would expect disbursements across these two broad aid categories to be explained by varying economic and demographic factors consistent with the intended equity rationale. Recently, however, …

An Experimental Investigation Of A New Priority Index For Jobs With Due Dates, Lewis A. Litteral, J. Frank Rudisill

Robins School of Business White Paper Series, 1980-2022

This paper describes an extension of the critical ratio procedure that is used to assign priorities to jobs that are waiting to be processed on a set of machines. The extended procedure is compared to the conventional procedure in a flow shop setting using a set of test problems. Several measures of schedule performance that are related to job due dates are considered.

Viability Of Ethanol Motor Fuel In Brazil: Cost-Benefit Considerations, Jonathan B. Wight

Robins School of Business White Paper Series, 1980-2022

The study assesses the viability of ethanol fuel considering both private and social costs and benefits. Ethanol costs are calculated for different production scales, locations, and government subsidies. The results show that without government financing subsidies, ethanol fuel would be privately economical (at May 1981 prices) only in Southeast distilleries of appropriate scale. Northeast distilleries are uneconomical even with a shadow wage for labor. Foreign exchange savings from ethanol production are calculated, with the fining that relatively small savings are achieved. However, Brazil gains greater flexibility in sugar export earnings by being able to alter the production mix of ethanol …