Download or read book The Value of Signals in Hidden Action Models written by Wendelin Schnedler and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since the fundamental work of Walras (1874), markets have received particular attention by economists because they lead to an efficient allocation of goods and services. However, the proper functioning of markets rests on certain assumptions. For instance, the good or ser vice which is to be traded must be clearly defined. This elementary requirement is often violated in reality, in particular when services are concerned. Consider the example of railway workers who are hired to lay tracks. A labour contract which stipulates a fixed wage and defines the workers' task as "laying tracks" is rather unspecific. Workers may profit from this vagueness by reducing effort to a comfortable amount -as long as tracks are laid, they do not violate contract conditions. Thus, an im precise definition of the service can result in inefficiently low efforts. An obvious solution to this problem is a clearer definition of the ser vice, but often this way is barred: To specify, for instance, all actions which are involved in laying tracks and which may vary with weather, surface and other conditions is far too complicated and too costly. In deed, labour contracts seldom give a detailed account of the task of a worker. Alternatively to a more precise task description, the wage of the worker could be conditioned on information about the worker's performance. For example, the railway workers might be paid by the length of tracks laid so that they are motivated to exert more effort.

Download or read book The Value of Signals in Hidden Action Models written by Wendelin Schnedler and published by . This book was released on 2004-02-09 with total page 172 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Agent Based Computational Modelling written by Francesco C. Billari and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2006-06-14 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The present book describes the methodology to set up agent-based models and to study emerging patterns in complex adaptive systems resulting from multi-agent interaction. It offers the application of agent-based models in demography, social and economic sciences and environmental sciences. Examples include population dynamics, evolution of social norms, communication structures, patterns in eco-systems and socio-biology, natural resource management, spread of diseases and development processes. It presents and combines different approaches how to implement agent-based computational models and tools in an integrative manner that can be extended to other cases.

Download or read book Population Ageing and Economic Growth written by Sandra Gruescu and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2007-05-26 with total page 206 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book reviews standard economic growth models concentrating on the relationship between population ageing and economic growth and develops a growth model with endogenous human capital and endogenous fertility. This model is used to analyse the effects of education policy and family policy on economic growth. The author presents results both for economic policy, and for economic growth theory.

Download or read book Empirical Finance written by Sardar M. N. Islam and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book makes two key contributions to empirical finance. First it provides a comprehensive analysis of the Thai stock market. Second it presents an excellent exposition ofhow modem econometric techniques can be utilised to understand a market. The increasing globalisation of the world's financial markets has made our un derstanding of the risk-return relationship in a broader range of markets critical. This is particularly so in emerging markets where market depth and liquidity are major issues. One such emerging market is Thailand. The Thai capital market isof particular interest given that it was the market in which the Asian financial crises commenced. As such an understanding ofthe Thai capital market via study of the pre and post-crisis periods enables one to shed light on one of the major financial markets events of recent times. This book provides a quantitative analysis of the Thai capital market using some very useful and recent econometric techniques. The book provides an over view of the Thai stock market in chapter 2. Descriptive statistics and time series models (moving average, exponential smoothing, ARIMA) are presented in chap ter 3 followed by market efficiency tests based on autocorrelations in chapter 4. A richer set of models is then considered in chapters 5 through 8. Chapter 5 finds a cointegrating relationship between macroeconomic factors and stock returns.

Download or read book Evolution of Italian Enterprises in the 20th Century written by Renato Giannetti and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2009-06-10 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the first two-thirds of the 20th century the themes of sectorial structure and compared performance prevail in Italian economic historiography. In contrast, in the last part of the century attention is focused on the behavior of single economic actors and their micro-economic strategies. This book intends to act as a bridge between the two approaches, and reconstructs the secular journey of Italian industrial enterprise through an original study.

Download or read book Project Governance written by Patrick S. Renz and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2007-07-19 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book unveils a gap in the governance of development projects that ultimately hinders effective, transparent and accountable usage of resources. Illustrated with entertaining examples, the book develops a Project Governance model. The models six modules build an integrated, strategically oriented and ethically reflected platform for a more truthful and efficient cooperation in difficult projects or programs such as in development.

Download or read book Multinational Enterprises Foreign Direct Investment and Growth in Africa written by Bernard Michael Gilroy and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2004-10-20 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How can Africa, the world’s most lagging region, benefit from globalisation and achieve sustained economic growth? Africa needs greater investment by Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) to improve competitiveness and generate more growth through positive spill-over effects. Despite the fact that Africa’s returns on investment averaged 29% since 1990, Africa has gained merely 1% of global Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flows. The challenge for African countries is how to be a more desirable destination for FDI. The study integrates three currents of economic research, namely from the literature on (endogenous) economic growth, convergence and regional integration, the explanations for Africa’s poor growth and the growing understanding of the role of MNEs in a global economy. The empirical side of the book is based on an econometric study of the determinants of FDI in Africa as well as a detailed firm-level survey conducted in 2000.

Download or read book Locational Preferences of Entrepreneurs written by W.J. Meester and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this book, locational preferences of firms in The Netherlands and Germany are studied from a behavioural point of view. Stated preferences of entrepreneurs in each country are examined, using various types of statistical analysis. The influence of both firm and place characteristics is analysed. Special attention is given to the relation between distance and rating. Other topics mentioned are changes in the rating patterns in time, the relation of locational preferences with other types of spatial preferences and with locational behaviour. The results of the analyses may be regarded as relevant to behavioural theory as well as to the practice of government policies.

Download or read book Financial Market Imperfections and Corporate Decisions written by Emilio Colombo and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2005-09-16 with total page 188 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We would like to thank Akos Valentinyi and Mark Schaffer for their advice on various stages of this research project. We also would like to thank our col leagues at the Department of Economics of the University of Milan - Bicocca for their advice and support. This book is the result of a long term project financed by various research grants: in particular the Phare-Ace programme (Project P-96-6151-R) and a research grant from the Italian Ministry of Education under the young researchers scheme. Milan, March 2005 Emilio Colombo Luca Stanca Contents Introduction 1 Financial market imperfections and corporate decisions: theory and evidence 7 2. 1 Introduction 7 2. 2 Financial market imperfections, investment and cycles 9 2. 2. 1 The Stiglitz view 9 2. 2. 2 Agency costs and macroeconomic fluctuations 15 2. 2. 3 Assessing the differences 18 2. 2. 4 Further developments 20 2. 2. 5 Empirical evidence 22 2. 3 Financial market imperfections and corporate capital structure 24 2. 3. 1 Asymmetric information and capital structure choice . . 25 2. 3. 2 Agency costs and capital structure choice 30 2. 3. 3 Empirical evidence 32 The transformation of the Hungarian financial system 35 3. 1 Introduction 35 3. 2 Macroeconomic background 36 3. 3 Liberalisation, privatisation and financial development 44 3. 3. 1 Banking and credit 45 3. 3. 2 Equity market 48 3. 3. 3 Foreign direct investment 49 3. 4 Financial sector reform 50 3. 4.

Download or read book Effective and Efficient Organisations written by Iris A. Hauswirth and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2007-05-22 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book develops a conceptual framework for the relationship between organisation and output, and applies it to the analysis of German and British export support services. These findings help to explain why one organisation may be different from another, but equally effective and efficient, and why no panacea for effective and efficient organisation has been found. They also suggest angles from which existing organisations and blueprints of ‘better’ organisations can be examined.

Download or read book Negotiations with Asymmetrical Distribution of Power written by Klaus Winkler and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2006-10-12 with total page 206 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Negotiations are of increasing importance in highly regulated sectors, particularly in network industries such as telecommunications and transport. Negotiating partners in these markets are often not equal with regard to their various sources and instruments of power. This analysis shows that negotiations are possible and can be efficient for all actors, even when power is distributed asymmetrically. Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanisms are discussed as an alternative to conventional negotiations.

Download or read book Pension Systems written by Birgit Mattil and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2006-03-08 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recently, policy debate and comparative research on old-age pensions have focused on the financial sustainability of pension systems in the face of demographic change. This study, however, also takes into account distributional effects involved in pension system structures. Theoretical, institutional and empirical analyses are combined to form a comprehensive framework for evaluating financial sustainability and distributional effects of the pension systems implemented in Germany and the United Kingdom. Along with projections of demographic trends and future public pension expenditure, the empirical results on old-age incomes and their distribution allow for identifying a number of reform options for each pension system to improve their financial or distributional results.

Download or read book Trade Specialization in the Enlarged European Union written by Dora Borbély and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2006-09-21 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study analyzes trade specialization patterns in the enlarged European Union with a special focus on the new EU member states and the cohesion countries. Empirical findings on revealed comparative advantage and a broader picture of competitiveness on the single market are presented from a sectoral trade point of view. Further, the author analyzes whether trade specialization patterns converge within the enlarged EU.

Download or read book A Life Cycle for Clusters written by Kerstin Press and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2006-09-05 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book studies the determinants of cluster survival by analyzing their adaptability to change in the economic environment. Linking theoretic knowledge with empirical observations, a simulation model (based in the N/K method) is developed, which explains when and why the cluster's architecture assists or hampers adaptability. It is found that architectures with intermediate degrees of division of labor and more collective governance forms foster adaptability.

Download or read book Governance of Communication Networks written by Brigitte Preissl and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2007-01-30 with total page 473 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Few would doubt the potential of information technology to connect individuals, firms and organisations. Whether this will actually lead to the integration of markets and societies is a different issue. The articles collected in this book shed light on crucial considerations for the success of global communication networks. These include frameworks for regulation, inclusion of customers in defining product and service strategies, access to advanced technology and networks for all groups, and more.

Download or read book WTO and World Trade written by Günter S. Heiduk and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2006-03-30 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Giinter S. Heiduk* and Kar-yiu Wong** * Institute of International and Regional Economic Relations, University of Du- burg-Essen, Campus Duisburg, Germany ** Department of Economics, University of Washington, Seattle, USA The rapid growth of world trade has become one of the most phenomenal features of the international order after the World War. While different countries were - periencing various growth rates of their economies, most of them found out that foreign trade grew much faster than their economies. As a matter of fact, for most economies, foreign trade has been determined to be one of the biggest and the most consistent contributors to economic growth. Nowadays world trade is a very complicated phenomenon because it is not just an economic but also a social, political, environmental, labour, and legal matter. Economists care about world trade because economies are getting more and more open and world trade is related to the properties of open economies. Government planners care about world trade because it is related to many issues that the economies are facing: Resource allocation, income distribution, employment, p- duction, consumption, government revenue, economic growth, and economic w- fare. A right trade policy will enhance the economic welfare and growth of the economy in a more harmonious and equitable way. A wrong policy, however, could spell disaster.