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on Heterodox Microeconomics |
| By: | Ejermo, Olof (CIRCLE, Lund University); Jung, Taehyun (CIRCLE, Lund University) |
| Abstract: | This paper uses register-linked patent records covering an extended period 1985-2007 to analyze detailed demographic profiles of inventors. The analysis covers about 80 percent of all inventors with Swedish addresses listed on European Patent Office records. Examining temporal trends of gender, age, and education shows that the body of inventors is becoming more balanced in gender, younger, and more educated. However, the rate at which female inventors are entering into patenting has slowed down since the early 2000’s compared to the mid-1990s. Moreover, comparing the inventor sample with the entire population of Sweden reveals that 1) the closing of the gender gap in inventing is not taking place at the same rate as among Ph.D. holders and that 2) the dependence of inventing on the highly educated (especially, Ph.D. holders) is being intensified over time, but the number of highly educated is growing faster among the general population than among inventors. Finally, the analysis shows that there is significant heterogeneity in the composition and tendency of gender, age, and education of inventors across technology fields. |
| Keywords: | inventor; patent; gender; age; education |
| JEL: | I23 J16 O31 O34 |
| Date: | 2012–04–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:lucirc:2012_005&r=hme |
| By: | Abdulkader Cassim Mahomedy |
| Abstract: | The last few decades have seen a phenomenal growth of the emerging discipline of Islamic Economics and Finance. In this paper I trace the origins and birth of this nascent science examining the various factors that gave impetus to its emergence and development. I contrast the different characterisations of the discipline as it has developed within the broader socio-political context and the reasons thereof. Despite the concerted efforts of the proponents of Islamic economics to shape for their discipline a distinctive paradigm they have had little success in doing so beyond arguing that it is underpinned by a strong moral ethic. By and large its epistemological roots have remained firmly within the framework of Rationalism and methodological individualism and consequently it has not been able to shed itself of its neoclassical moorings, the very paradigm it originally set out to replace. I illustrate several of the contradictions apparent in the discipline as hitherto enunciated and I critically analyse the reasons for some of these shortcomings. Finally, I conclude by arguing that if Islamic economics is to fulfil its raison d'être its proponents must resolve its theoretical and practical difficulties by clearly expounding on its weltanschauung and develop its content and form appropriate to this worldview |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rza:wpaper:283&r=hme |
| By: | Dachs, Bernhard; Biege, Sabine; Borowiecki, Marcin; Lay, Gunther; Jäger, Angela; Schartinger, Doris |
| Abstract: | This paper provides new evidence for the servitization of European manufacturing – the trend that manufacturing firms increasingly offer services along with their physical products. We employ input-output data as well as data from a company survey to give a comprehensive picture of servitization across countries and industries. The share of services in the output of manufacturing industries increased in the large majority of European countries between 1995 and 2005 and between 2000 and 2005. Service output of manu-facturing, however, is still small compared to the output of physical products. The highest service shares are found in small countries with a high degree of openness and R&D intensity. EU-12 Member States have lower shares of service output compared to the EU-15. There is a strong link between servitization and technological innovation at different levels. Countries with the highest shares of services on manufacturing output have also the highest R&D intensities at the aggregate level. The service output of these countries consists predominantly of knowledge-intensive services. Highly innovative sectors reveal also the highest share of firms that offer services and the highest turnover generated with services. Examples are electrical and optical equipment, machinery, or the chemical and pharmaceutical industry. At the firm level, we find a U-shaped relationship between firm size and service output, which indicates that small, but also large manufacturing firms have advantages in servitization. Producers of complex, customized products tend to have a higher share of services in output than producers of simple, mass-produced goods. Moreover, firms which have launched products new to the market during the last two years are more likely to realize higher shares of turnover from services compared to companies which launched no products new to the market. |
| Keywords: | Servitization; structural change; manufacturing; input-output tables; innovation; knowledge-intensive services |
| JEL: | L16 O30 |
| Date: | 2012–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:38873&r=hme |
| By: | Charles J. Whalen |
| Abstract: | This paper surveys the context and contours of contemporary Post-Keynesian Institutionalism (PKI). It begins by reviewing recent criticism of conventional economics by prominent economists as well as examining, within the current context, important research that paved the way for PKI. It then sketches essential elements of PKI--drawing heavily on the contributions of Hyman Minsky--and identifies directions for future research. Although there is much room for further development, PKI offers a promising starting point for economics after the Great Recession. |
| Keywords: | Post-Keynesian Institutionalism; Institutional Economics; Post-Keynesian Economics; Financial Instability; Money-Manager Capitalism; Hyman Minsky |
| JEL: | B25 B52 E12 E32 |
| Date: | 2012–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lev:wrkpap:wp_724&r=hme |
| By: | Lee, Henry; Grant, Lovellette |
| Abstract: | For the past forty years, United States Presidents have repeatedly called for a reduction in the country's dependence on fossil fuels in general and foreign oil specifically. Stronger efficiency standards and higher taxes on motor fuels are a step in this direction, but achieving even greater reductions in oil consumption will require changing the way Americans power their transportation system. Some officials advocate the electrification of the passenger vehicle fleet as a path to meeting this goal. The Obama administration has, for example, embraced a goal of having one million electric-powered vehicles on U.S. roads by 2015, while others proposed a medium-term goal where electric vehicles would consist of 20% of the passenger vehicle fleet by 2030—approximately 30 million electric vehicles. The technology itself is not in question—many of the global automobile companies are planning to sell plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and/or battery electric vehicles (BEVs) by 2012. The key question is, will Americans buy them? The answer depends on four additional questions: 1. Is the cost of purchasing and operating an electric vehicle more or less expensive than the cost of a comparable conventional gasoline-powered vehicle? 2. Are the comparative costs likely to change over the next twenty years? 3. Do electric vehicles provide the same attributes as conventional cars, and if not, do the differences matter? 4. Will electric car owners be able to access the electricity needed to power their vehicles? This paper attempts to answer these four questions. |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hrv:hksfac:5116458&r=hme |
| By: | Courty, Pascal; Pagliero, Mario |
| Abstract: | We document the existence of pricing styles in the concert industry. Artists differ in the extent to which they rely on second- and third-degree price discrimination and in how likely they are to sell out concerts. Most strikingly, artists who use multiple seating categories are more likely to vary prices across markets and less likely to sell out concerts. These patterns are difficult to explain under a standard profit maximization paradigm. The hypothesis that artists differ in their willingness to exploit market power provides a plausible framework for explaining these patterns in artist pricing style. |
| Keywords: | Behavioral pricing; exploitation of market power; Fair pricing; Price discrimination; Pricing style; Rationing |
| JEL: | D42 D45 L21 L82 Z11 |
| Date: | 2012–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:8967&r=hme |
| By: | Mazumdar, Surajit |
| Abstract: | Through a critical review of some of the literature and making use of information relating to Indian groups, the case is made for a more bottom-up, and more historical, approach to the study of the developing country business group. The lack of clarity and unanimity in the conceptualization of the business group, the mismatch between many conceptions and the reality of Indian groups and how avoidable ignorance has led to mistaken conclusions are highlighted. Arguing that these problems stem from an excessive bias towards a top-down method of analyzing business groups, a shift in emphasis towards the concrete investigation of these groups, of their structures and working, and of their evolution over time, is urged. |
| Keywords: | business groups; developing countries; India |
| JEL: | L2 |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:38906&r=hme |
| By: | Scherer, Frederic Michael |
| Abstract: | A century ago, in 1911, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its path-breaking decision in the monopolization case against the Standard Oil Companies. Standard pleaded inter alia that its near-monopoly position was the result of superior innovation, citing in particular the Frasch-Burton process for refining the high-sulphur oil found around Lima, Ohio. This paper examines the role of Hermann Frasch in inventing and developing the desulphurization process, showing that Standard failed to recognize his inventive genius when he was its employee and purchased his rights and services only after he had applied the technique in his own Canadian company. |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hrv:hksfac:4686409&r=hme |
| By: | Cilem Selin Hazir (GATE Lyon Saint-Etienne - Groupe d'analyse et de théorie économique - CNRS : UMR5824 - Université Lumière - Lyon II - École Normale Supérieure - Lyon); Corinne Autant-Bernard (GATE Lyon Saint-Etienne - Groupe d'analyse et de théorie économique - CNRS : UMR5824 - Université Lumière - Lyon II - École Normale Supérieure - Lyon) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies multilateral cooperation networks among organizations and work on a two-mode representation to study the decision to participate in a consortium. Our objective is to explain the underlying processes that give rise to multilateral collaboration networks. Particularly, we are interested in how heterogeneity in organizations' attributes plays a part and in the geographical dimension of this formation process. We use the data on project proposals submitted to the 7th Framework Program (FP) in the area of Life sciences, Biotechnology and Biochemistry for Sustainable Non-Food. We employ exponential random graph models (p* models) (Frank and Strauss, 1986 ; Wasserman and Pattison, 1996) with node attributes (Agneessens et al., 2004), and we make use of extensions for affiliation networks (Wang et al., 2009). These models do not only enable handling variability in consortium sizes but also relax the assumption on tie/triad independence. We obtained some preliminary results indicating institutional types as a source of heterogeneity affecting participation decisions. Also, these initial results point out that organizations take their potential partners' participations in other projects into account in giving their decision ; organizations located in the core European countries tend to participate in the same project ; the tendency to preserve the composition of a consortium across projects and the tendency of organizations with the same institutional type to co-participate are not significant. |
| Keywords: | Multilateral R&D collaboration; affiliation networks; exponential random graph models; geographical dimension of networks; biotechnology |
| Date: | 2012–05–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-00697556&r=hme |
| By: | Comanor, William S.; Scherer, Frederic Michael |
| Abstract: | The U.S. pharmaceutical industry has experienced in recent years two dramatic changes: stagnation in the growth of new molecular entities approved for marketing, and a wave of mergers linking inter alia some of the largest companies. This paper explores possible links between these two phenomena and proposes alternative approach to merger policy. It points to the high degree of uncertainty encountered in the discovery and development of new pharmaceutical entities and shows how optimal strategies entail the pursue of parallel research and development paths. Uncertainties afflict both success rates and financial gains contingent upon success. A new model simulating optimal strategies given prevalent market uncertainties is presented. Parallelism can be sustained both within individual companies’ R&D programs and across competing companies. The paper points to data showing little parallelism of programs within companies and argues that inter-company mergers jeopardize desirable parallelism across companies. |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hrv:hksfac:5347067&r=hme |
| By: | Cédric Durand (CEMI - Centre d'étude des modes d'industrialisation - Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS), CEPN - Centre d'Economie de l'Université Paris Nord - Université Paris XIII - Paris Nord - CNRS : UMR7234); Antonia Lòpez-Villavicencio (CEPN - Centre d'Economie de l'Université Paris Nord - Université Paris XIII - Paris Nord - CNRS : UMR7234) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we analyze the differences in the sensibility of the distribution and transportation margin to exchange rate variations among different sectors in several European countries between 1995 and 2007. On the one hand, we provide new evidence that the margin reacts to exchange rate movements, a fact that may help to explain the still unresolved puzzle concerning the incomplete pass-through of the exchange rate to consumer prices. On the other hand, we look for indications of the characteristics of global value chains governance through the evolution of distributional margins. In addition, in order to draw more subtle conclusions, one original feature of this work is that we empirically allow for asymmetrical reactions of distributional margins to depreciations or appreciation, an effect that was previously ignored in the literature. |
| Keywords: | Distribution's margin, globalization, asymmetries, exchange rate |
| Date: | 2011–05–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-00611862&r=hme |
| By: | Edwards-Schachter, Mónica; Anlló, Guillermo; Castro-Martínez, Elena; Sánchez-Barrioluengo, Mabel & Fernández De Lucio, Ignacio |
| Abstract: | Motives and determinants supporting inter-firm technological cooperation have been extensively investigated in developed countries but scarcely addressed in developing countries. This paper addresses these issues, investigating empirically several factors influencing the likelihood to cooperate on R&D and innovation between Argentine and Spanish firms, their strategic motives and firms characteristics which influence cooperation. We draw upon data collected through a survey of 104 firms and complementary information gathered from 19 in-depth interviews, combining both qualitative and quantitative methodology. Results of a multinomial regression and the interviews show that the probability to cooperate increases with the firm size and exportation activities and decrease with the firm age whereas, opposite to literature findings, technological intensity of the firm is a non-significant variable. While for Argentine firms the principal motives are cost reduction and the possibilities for improving learning and capabilities, access to new knowledge for technological development and the search for market opportunities are the principal motives for firms located in Spain. Results of interviews also indicates that firm-specific motives and expectations may differ considerably according the activity sector, with relevant implication for norms and regulation policies in each country. |
| Keywords: | innovation R&D, inter-firm cooperation, motives for cooperation, funding program |
| JEL: | O31 O32 L22 |
| Date: | 2012–05–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ing:wpaper:201204&r=hme |
| By: | Manganelli, Anton-Giulio |
| Abstract: | This paper gives an unified explanation of some of the most widely known facts of the cartel literature: prices gradually rise, then remain constant, there can be price wars and some cartels break down. In this model consumers are loss averse and efficiency of a competitive fringe is not publicly observable. In the best collusive equilibrium, the price expectation can be so low that loss aversion makes consumers not buy at the maximal collusive price: firms then set a lower price that rises in time with consumers’ expectations. This increasing price path is bounded from above by the presence of the fringe. If the fringe sets a low price during a sufficient number of periods, there can be price wars and collusion can eventually break down. |
| Date: | 2012–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tse:wpaper:25843&r=hme |
| By: | Ansgar Belke; Christian Dreger; Richard Ochmann |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the relationship between wealth, ageing and saving behaviour of private households by using pooled cross sections of German consumption survey data. Different components of wealth are distinguished, as their impact on the savings rate is not homogeneous. On average, the effect attributed to real estate dominates the other components of wealth. In addition, the savings rate strongly responds to demographic trends. Besides the direct impact of the age structure, an indirect effect arises through the accumulation of wealth. The savings rate does not decrease with age in a monotonic way, as the permanent income hypothesis suggests. Most prominently, older households tend to increase their savings in the second half of their retirement period, probably due to bequest motives and increasing immobility. Given the ongoing demographic trend, an increase of 1.4 percentage points in the aggregated savings rate should be expected over the next two decades. |
| Keywords: | Savings, wealth, demographic change |
| JEL: | G10 G11 |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp1211&r=hme |
| By: | Sunel Grimbeek; Steven F. Koch; Richard J. Grimbeek |
| Abstract: | The South African Competition Commission's merger decisions for FY2002 through FY2009 are analyzed to empirically identify the factors historically influencing prohibition, conditional approval and unconditional approval. The key explanatory variables are linked to provisions of the 1998 Competition Act, such that the analysis provides insight into the consistency of merger decisions with respect to the legal requirements specified in the Act. Although the legislation includes standard economic concerns, it also includes a provision for advancing public interests and development concerns. Initial results point to differing behaviour over the time period, which suggests that the Commission is inconsistent; however, those inconsistencies are removed, once additional measures of market contestibility are included in the analysis. The final results suggest that the Commission is less likely to approve mergers that they link to markets that are less contestable. In addition to protecting competition, the Commission is simultaneously protecting other public interests. Therefore, our research supports the hypothesis that the Commission consistently applies its legislative remit. |
| Keywords: | South African Competition Commission, Merger Decisions |
| JEL: | K21 L40 D78 |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rza:wpaper:286&r=hme |
| By: | Lu, Yi; Tao, Zhigang; Yu, Linhui |
| Abstract: | Agglomeration brings costs (e.g., intensified local competition) as well as benefits (e.g., knowledge spillover). It is important to examine the net impact of agglomeration to understand the geographic distribution of economic activities. In this study, we use firm markup (defined as the ratio of price over marginal cost) to capture the net impact of agglomeration. Using data from Chinese manufacturing firms in the 1998-2005 period, we first recover the markup ratio for each firm following De Locker and Warzynski (2012), and then use changes in industrial affiliation as a quasi-experiment to identify the impact of agglomeration on firm markup. Our difference-in-differences (DID) estimation shows that agglomeration has a negative impact on firm markup, suggesting that the devastating competition effect dominates the beneficial spillover effect in Chinese context. Moreover, we find that the impact of agglomeration on firm markup varies across different industries and types of firms. |
| Keywords: | Agglomeration; Firm Markup; Difference-in-Differences Estimation; Spillover effect; Competition effect |
| JEL: | L25 D21 R11 |
| Date: | 2011–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:38974&r=hme |
| By: | Lemeilleur, S. |
| Abstract: | The prevalence of food quality standards in international trade is constantly increasing and has a growing influence on developing countries. A wide range of literature in development economics focused on the determinants of the standard adoption and on the debate of whether international standards exclude small-scale farmers from high-value food markets. Otherwise, when exclusion is pointed out, very little is said on how problematic such forms of exclusion are. In this paper, we use the Hirschman’s (1970) conceptual framework to examine which behaviors small-scale farmers adopt face to the incontrovertible standards, what happens to the farmers that are excluded from a specific certified market, and to what extent small farmers are affected to not be certified. Based on an analysis of primary data collected to examine the implication of GlobalGAP on the mango sector in Peru, we consider three main options for the small-scale farmers: “loyalty” (implementation of the standard under specific conditions), “switch” of market segment, and “exit” from the market. The last option leads farmers to sell all their production to small and volatile exporters, called golondrinos (swallows). We show empirically that some small-scale farmers (8% of the sample) comply with GlobalGAP standard thanks to the support from exporters (farming contracts which include the certification cost), while others switch of market segment by complying with the organic certification (12,5%). Organic certification substitutes for the GlobalGAP requirement in the EU market. Finally, we find a significant level of exit option (24%), especially among smaller farms, less specialized, and furthest from exporter plants. The latter seem very affected by the changes related to the GlobalGAP standard requirements: price risk on their production has increased and their bargaining power and agricultural income have decreased. They are particularly vulnerable because their level of investment (mango trees) impedes to radically change of farm activity. ...French Abstract : L’importance grandissante des standards durables pour les produits agricoles dans le commerce international a un impact de plus en plus important dans les pays en développement. Dans ce papier, nous nous intéressons aux implications de la mise en place du standard Globalgap dans la filière mangue au Pérou pour les petits producteurs locaux. |
| Keywords: | STANDARDS; CERTIFICATION; SMALL-SCALE FARMER BEHAVIORS; MANGO; PERU |
| JEL: | L22 O12 Q13 |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:umr:wpaper:201204&r=hme |
| By: | YoungGak KIM; Hyeog Ug KWON |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we investigate the volatility of sales at the firm and the aggregate level using the longitudinal dataset of the <i>Financial Statements Statistics of Corporations</i> (FSSC). The main findings are as follows: (1) Firm-level volatility decreased until the mid-1990s but then increased again. (2) Aggregate-level volatility steadily decreased until the mid-1990s and has remained low since. (3) Decomposing the total variance of the growth rate of aggregated sales, we find that the divergence between firm-level and aggregate-level volatility is caused by the drastic decline and subsequent low level of the covariance of sales growth between different firms and the increase in individual firms' volatility. |
| Date: | 2012–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:dpaper:12030&r=hme |