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on Heterodox Microeconomics |
| By: | Bellino, Enrico; Nerozzi, Sebastiano |
| Abstract: | The formal representation of economic theories normally takes the form of a model, that is, a system of equations which connect the endogenous variables with the values of the parameters which are taken as given. Sometimes, it is possible to identify one or more equations which are able to determine a subset of endogenous variables priorly and independently of the other equations and of the value taken by the remaining variables of the system. The first group of equations and variables are thus said to determine causally the remaining variables. In Pasinetti’s works this notion of causality has often been emphasized as a formal property having the burden to convey some deep economic meaning. In this work, we will go through those Pasinetti’s works where this notion of causality plays a central role, with the purpose to contextualize it within the econometric debate of the Sixties, to enucleate its economic meaning and to show its connections with other fields of the modern classical approach. |
| Keywords: | causality, interdependence, modern classical approach, Ricardo theory distribution, Keynes’ analysis, ‘given quantities’, surplus approach, structural dynamics, vertical integration |
| JEL: | B00 B24 B51 C50 E12 |
| Date: | 2013–12–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:52179&r=hme |
| By: | Mariana Mazzucato (SPRU, University of Sussex, UK); Stuart Parris (Faculty of Economics, Open University, UK) |
| Keywords: | R&D, Growth, Venture capitalist, quantile regression, pharmaceutical industry |
| Date: | 2013–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sru:ssewps:2013-16&r=hme |
| By: | Bergantino, Angela Stefania; Capozza, Claudia |
| Abstract: | This paper empirically analyses airline pricing for short-haul flights in contexts with no credible threat of inter-modal competition. To this end, we explore the southern Italian market since it is less accessible by other transport modes and thus fares are the direct outcome of air-related competition. We show, in fact, that market power matters, depending on the level of intra-modal competition, and that airlines apply differentiated mark-ups. Besides, consistent with the implementation of inter-temporal price discrimination (IPD), we find a non-monotonic inter-temporal profile of fares with a turning point included in the interval of the 43th to 45th days before departure. Finally, we provide evidence that in more competitive markets, airlines are more likely to engage in IPD. |
| Keywords: | airfares, market structure, intertemporal price discrimination |
| JEL: | L11 L13 L9 L93 |
| Date: | 2013–11–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:48892&r=hme |
| By: | Miguel Á. Pérez de Perceval Verde (Universidad de Murcia, Murcia, Spain); Ángel Pascual Martínez Soto (Universidad de Murcia, Murcia, Spain); Andrés Sánchez Picón (Universidad de Almería, Almería, Spain) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses the employment of children in the Spanish mining sector at the highest point of its history (golden age). The main source used is Spain’s official Mining Statistics that show that child labour was widely used throughout the Spanish peninsula: an average of 14-17% of total workers between 1860 and 1920. Subsequently, the incidence of child labour reduced steadily and by 1930 had fallen to below 9%. The changes were not a direct result of the legislation that had become increasingly restrictive since 1900, but were brought about by factors related to the organisation of the different activities involved in mining. Furthermore, there was a significant territorial bias whereby south-eastern areas (particularly the provinces of Murcia and Almeria) were characterised by very high levels of child labour (an average of 30% in the second half of the nineteenth century). The paper examines the factors that determine this different distribution, analysing both the specific aspects of child labour and the reasons for using this type of workforce. In addition, the accounts of some of the mines in these two provinces have been used in order to study the evolution of child wages which provides further information to help us understand the mining organisation models. Finally, a case study from the 1870s is presented which measures the contribution that the mining children made to the family economy, with results remarkably similar to those of studies of English and American industrial districts in the nineteenth century. |
| Keywords: | Child labour, Spanish mining, labour legislation, mining wages |
| JEL: | N3 L71 J30 |
| Date: | 2013–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ahe:dtaehe:1310&r=hme |
| By: | Dieter Pennerstorfer (WIFO); Franz Sinabell (WIFO) |
| Abstract: | A small number of firms have a large market share in the Austrian food retailing market. Market concentration has been growing over the last years which has raised concerns about market power. Previous studies on price setting behaviour in the food retailing market were at the national level and regional price setting has not yet been analysed. We use a panel data set of over 2,000 households with monthly food purchasing data and the number of outlets of the nine biggest food retailers in 120 districts to explore regional price setting behaviour. The analysis shows that only a small number of retailers seem to regionally differentiate prices extensively. It cannot be confirmed that spatial price differentiation is a way to exert market power in the Austrian food retailing market. |
| Keywords: | Market power, Food retailing, Spatial price differentiation, Austria |
| Date: | 2013–12–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wfo:wpaper:y:2013:i:458&r=hme |
| By: | Volpe, Richard; Leibtag, Ephraim; Roeger, Edward |
| Abstract: | This report examines the ways that fuel prices are transmitted to wholesale produce prices via transportation costs. Specifically, it focuses on marketing costs for asparagus,cantaloupes, table grapes, oranges, bell peppers, and tomatoes. Results of the study indicate that transportation costs significantly increase the costs of marketing these produce items and therefore their wholesale price. The impact of fuel prices on produce prices depends on a number of factors, including the distance between wholesale markets and the source of the produce, the method of transportation, the importance and timing of imports, and commodity-specific factors such as perishability. Overall, as fuel prices rise, so do wholesale produce prices and the margins between farm and wholesale prices. |
| Keywords: | Price determination, transportation costs, wholesale price margins, fruits and vegetables, trade, Agribusiness, Crop Production/Industries, Demand and Price Analysis, Industrial Organization, |
| Date: | 2013–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:uersrr:161355&r=hme |
| By: | Oriana Bandiera; Andrea Prat; Raffaella Sadun |
| Abstract: | CEOs affect the performance of the firms they manage, and family CEOs seem to weaken it. Yet little is known about what top executives actually do, and whether it differs by firm ownership. We study CEOs in the Indian manufacturing sector, where family ownership is widespread and the productivity dispersion across firms is substantial. Time use analysis of 356 CEOs of listed firms yields three sets of findings. First, there is substantial variation in the number of hours CEOs devote to work activities, and longer working hours are associated with higher firm productivity, growth, profitability and CEO pay. Second, family CEOs record 8% fewer working hours relative to professional CEOs. The difference in hours worked is more pronounced in low-competition environments and does not seem to be explained by measurement error. Third, difference in differences estimates with respect to the cost of effort, due to weather shocks and popular sport events, reveal that the observed difference between family and professional CEOs is consistent with heterogeneous preferences for work versus leisure. Evidence from six other countries reveals similar findings in economies at different stages of development. |
| Keywords: | CEO, Time, Family firms, Competition, Productivity |
| JEL: | M12 L2 D24 |
| Date: | 2013–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp1250&r=hme |
| By: | Hirsch, Boris; Zwick, Thomas |
| Abstract: | Using linked employer-employee panel data for Germany, this paper investigates whether firms implement real wage reductions in a selective manner. In line with insider-outsider and several strands of efficiency wage theory, we find strong evidence for selective wage cuts with high-productivity workers being spared even when controlling for permanent differences in firms' wage policies. In contrast to some recent contributions stressing fairness considerations, we also find that wage cuts increase wage dispersion among peers rather than narrowing it. Notably, the same selectivity pattern shows up when restricting our analysis to firms covered by collective agreements or having a works council. -- Unter Verwendung verknüpfter Arbeitgeber-Arbeitnehmer-Paneldaten für Deutschland untersucht diese Studie, ob Reallohnkürzungen selektiv vorgenommen werden. Im Einklang mit der Insider-Outsider-Theorie und mehreren Varianten der Effizienzlohntheorie finden wir deutliche Hinweise auf selektive Lohnreduktionen zugunsten hochproduktiver Arbeitnehmer, selbst wenn für unbeobachtete permanente Unterschiede in den Lohnpolitiken der Firmen kontrolliert wird. Im Widerspruch zu jüngeren Arbeiten, die Fairnessüberlegungen ins Zentrum stellen, finden wir zudem, dass selektive Lohnkürzungen die Lohndispersion innerhalb von Peergruppen erhöhen. Bemerkenswerterweise zeigen sich die gleichen Selektivitätsmuster auch für die Subgruppen tarifgebundener Firmen und solcher mit einem Betriebsrat. |
| Keywords: | real wage rigidity,real wage cuts,selectivity,Germany |
| JEL: | J30 J31 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:faulre:88&r=hme |