Showing papers on "Managerial economics published in 2003"
Book•
01 Nov 2003
TL;DR: For example, the authors defines a transdiscipline that incorporates insights from the biological, physical, and social sciences, and offers a pedagogically complete examination of this exciting new field.
Abstract: Conventional economics is increasingly criticized for failing to reflect the value of clean air and water, species diversity, and social and generational equity. By excluding biophysical and social reality from its analyses and equations, conventional economics seems ill-suited to address problems in a world characterized by increasing human impacts and decreasing natural resources. Ecological Economics is an introductory-level textbook for an emerging paradigm that addresses this fundamental flaw in conventional economics. The book defines a revolutionary "transdiscipline" that incorporates insights from the biological, physical, and social sciences, and it offers a pedagogically complete examination of this exciting new field. The book provides students with a foundation in traditional neoclassical economic thought, but places that foundation within a new interdisciplinary framework that embraces the linkages among economic growth, environmental degradation, and social inequity. Introducing the three core issues that are the focus of the new transdiscipline -- scale, distribution, and efficiency -- the book is guided by the fundamental question, often assumed but rarely spoken in traditional texts: What is really important to us? After explaining the key roles played by the earth's biotic and abiotic resources in sustaining life, the text is then organized around the main fields in traditional economics: microeconomics, macroeconomics, and international economics. The book also takes an additional step of considering the policy implications of this line of thinking. Ecological Economics includes numerous features that make it accessible to a wide range of students: more than thirty text boxes that highlight issues of special importance to students; lists of key terms that help students organize the main points in each chapter; concise definitions of new terms that are highlighted in the text for easy reference; study questions that encourage student exploration beyond the text; glossary and list of further readings; An accompanying workbook presents an innovative, applied problem-based learning approach to teaching economics. While many books have been written on ecological economics, and several textbooks describe basic concepts of the field, this is the only stand-alone textbook that offers a complete explanation of both theory and practice. It will serve an important role in educating a new generation of economists and is an invaluable new text for undergraduate and graduate courses in ecological economics, environmental economics, development economics, human ecology, environmental studies, sustainability science, and community development.
1,157 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors propose a consumer choice theory for sustainable forest management, which incorporates heterogeneity of agents, context specific and dynamics of preferences, distinction between needs and wants, and the subordination of needs.
97 citations
Posted Content•
TL;DR: The growth in importance of intangible assets is changing our perceptions of economics and challenging ingrained managerial and organisational wisdom as discussed by the authors, and it is changing the way we look at the world.
Abstract: The growth in importance of intangible assets is changing our perceptions of economics and challenging ingrained managerial and organisational wisdom.
80 citations
TL;DR: A critical response to the special issue of Economy and Society devoted to Michel Callon's economics is given in this article, where the continuing weaknesses of his approach as adopted and adapted from actor-network theory and the study of science and technology are highlighted, together with the weaknesses of the economics itself.
Abstract: A critical response is offered to the special issue of Economy and Society devoted to Michel Callon's economics. The continuing weaknesses of his approach, as adopted and adapted from actor-network theory and the study of science and technology, are highlighted, together with the weaknesses of the economics itself. In addition, the latter is shown to conform heavily with recent developments within and around mainstream economics. The conclusion that capitalism does not exist, and so does not need a political economy, is argued both to disarm social theory in face of the current, virulent assault from economics imperialism and to waste the opportunity to offer an alternative economics of its own.
76 citations
01 Jan 2003
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that economics should become a systems profession, such as management, engineering, and medicine, to answer questions about business cycles, causes of major depressions, inflation, monetary policy, and the validity of descriptive economic theories.
Abstract: Traditional mainstream academic economics, by trying to be a science, has failed to answer major questions about real-life economic behavior. Economics should become a systems profession, such as management, engineering, and medicine. By closely observing the structures and policies in business and government, simulation models can be constructed to answer questions about business cycles, causes of major depressions, inflation, monetary policy, and the validity of descriptive economic theories. A system dynamics model, as a general theory of economic behavior, now endogenously generates business cycles, Kuznets cycles, the economic long wave, and growth. A model is a theory of the behavior that it generates. The economic model provides the theory, thus far missing from economics, for the Great Depression of the 1930s and how such episodes can recur 50 to 70 years apart. Simpler system dynamics models can become the vehicle for a relevant and exciting pre-college economics education. Today I will discuss an alternative to the methods that now dominate the field of academic economics. As seen by most people outside the profession, economics has failed to adequately explain what happens in the real world. A new way to examine economic behavior can grow out of the principles and practices that have been emerging from the field of system dynamics. The usual economic literature presents economics as a science, with economists trying to emulate the hard sciences such as physics. Those attempts to force economics into the mold of a science have not been satisfying. As a result of trying to pose as a science, the field of economics has become substantially detached from real-world behavior, and has tended toward a closed theoretical discipline disconnected from the world it tries to explain. Instead of being a science, I suggest that economics should become a systems profession. As a systems profession, economics would be parallel to management, engineering, and medicine, each of which is based on underlying sciences. An economics systems profession would be based on underlying sciences such as psychology, decision-making, and nonlinear feedback dynamics. As a systems profession, economics would then reach beyond its basic sciences to understand and redesign economic systems.
42 citations
41 citations
Book•
30 Jul 2003
TL;DR: In this paper, the Essentials of Demand and Supply are presented, along with a discussion of market structure: perfect competition and Monopoly, and market failure, government intervention, and game theory.
Abstract: Introduction. Introduction to Mathematical Economics. The Essentials of Demand and Supply. Additional Topics in Demand Theory. Production. Cost. Profit and Revenue Maximization. Market Structure: Perfect Competition and Monopoly. Market Structure: Monopolistic Competition. Market Structure: Duopoly and Oligopoly. Pricing Practices. Capital Budgeting. Introduction to Game Theory. Risk and Uncertainty. Market Failure and Government Intervention.
31 citations
Posted Content•
TL;DR: These essays tackle standard problems in mathematical economics, macroeconomics, methodology and a particular aspect of Popperian Philosophy of Science from the point of view of classical recursion theory and constructive mathematics.
Abstract: These essays tackle standard problems in mathematical economics, macroeconomics, methodology and a particular aspect of Popperian Philosophy of Science from the point of view of classical recursion theory and constructive mathematics.
21 citations
Posted Content•
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors used a particular management practice -the building of budgetary slack during the budget setting process -to distinguish between different approaches adopted by managers from different cultures, and concluded that despite cultural differences, management practices tend to converge in the face of globalization and advancement in information technology.
Abstract: Globalization, advancement in information technology, and gyrations of national economies has required managers to pursue the appropriate management practices as to ensure the survival of their corporations. Although national cultures have formed the backbones of management practices, cultural diversity has taken a backseat to managers' ambition to advance in an organization (Fish, 1999). Studies see convergence in business approach, organization design, and management norms (Adler, 1997; Vertinsky et al., 1990). This is an empirical study that utilizes a particular management practice - the building of budgetary slack during the budget setting process - to discern between different approaches adopted by managers from different cultures. It is proposed that despite cultural differences, management practices tend to converge in the face of globalization and advancement in information technology. The study is made up of two parts: the first compares the different managerial behaviors of the US and the Japanese managers during the budget setting process. It is suggested that the cultural differences between these countries prompted managers to adopt different business approaches (Franke, et al., 1991 and Dunk & Perera, 1997). The second part of the study suggests that with the passage of time and the changes in the business environments, management practices in different cultures would converge.
19 citations
TL;DR: For example, the authors argues that strategy and economics differ along one critical dimension: strategy is concerned descriptively with firms and normatively with the tasks of managers, whereas economics is more concerned with the entire economic system and the efficiency of that system.
Abstract: Clearly, strategy and economics differ along one critical dimension: strategy is concerned descriptively with firms and normatively with the tasks of managers, whereas economics is concerned descriptively with the entire economic system and normatively with the efficiency of that system. Nonetheless, the overlap is considerable, and both management scholars and economists have ransacked economic thought for inspirations to strategic theory and managerial practice. This essay will examine and evaluate that enterprise. More interestingly, perhaps, it will suggest that perhaps the process ought to be reversed. Economics as it is now practiced would do well to learn from strategy. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
01 Jan 2003
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors describe integration of recent economics concepts into engineering and describe how such integration can be done both in general and with an example: a recycling economy model. But they do not consider the impact of new technology on its users and society.
Book•
28 May 2003
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explore the extent to which economic theory is able to provide the theoretical foundations of strategic management and argue that these propositions should be made open to empirical testing and that a unified theory of strategy should be developed.
Abstract: This book explores the extent to which economic theory is able to provide the theoretical foundations of strategic management. To this end it draws on the philosophy of science; microeconomic theory; and different approaches to strategic management. The work shows that many of the propositions of strategic management are deducible from the economic theories considered. It argues that these propositions should be made open to empirical testing and that a unified theory of strategic management should be developed. Thus the book addresses a current major concern of theorists - that strategy remains ’atheoretical’ and that this reduces the predictive power of the subject and hampers further theory development. The essential contribution made is that economic theory should be systematically explored in order to establish the foundations of business strategy.
DOI•
01 Jan 2003
TL;DR: In Lopez, R., Toman, M. A. as discussed by the authors, economic development and environmental sustainability: New policy options. Oxford, UK: OUP 2015, Section 5.
Abstract: In Lopez, R.; Toman, M. A. (Eds.), Economic development and environmental sustainability: New policy options. Oxford, UK: OUP
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine recent developments in empirical methods and applied simulation in evolutionary economics using examples of innovation and technology in industry, and address the following questions in a systematic manner: Can evolutionary economics use the same empirical methods as other research traditions in economics?; Is there a need for empirical methods appropriate to the subject matter chosen? What is the relationship between appreciative theorising, case studies and more structured empirical methods?
Abstract: The expert contributors to this book examine recent developments in empirical methods and applied simulation in evolutionary economics. Using examples of innovation and technology in industry, it is the first book to address the following questions in a systematic manner: Can evolutionary economics use the same empirical methods as other research traditions in economics?; Is there a need for empirical methods appropriate to the subject matter chosen?; What is the relationship between appreciative theorising, case studies and more structured empirical methods?; and What is the relationship of modelling and simulation to empirical analysis?
19 Dec 2003
TL;DR: Li et al. as discussed by the authors presented a general equilibrium model with impersonal networking decisions and Bundling sale for e-commerce in China, including the division of labour and the allocation of time.
Abstract: PART I: KEYNOTE SPEECHES Inframarginal Versus Marginal Analysis of Networking Decisions and E-Commerce Y-K.Ng A Review of the Literature of Inframarginal Analysis of Network of Division of Labour X.Yang PART II: E-COMMERCE E-Commerce, Transaction Cost and the Network of Division of Labour: A Business Perspective H.Shi & H.Mathysen An Equilibrium Model of Hierarchy X.Yang A General Equilibrium Model with Impersonal Networking Decisions and Bundling Sale K.Li Legislation, Electronic Commerce and the Common Law A.Field E-Commerce in China: Problems and Potential J.Wong &W.Chee Kong Networking Decisions and Bundling Sale Ke Li PART III: IMPERSONAL NETWORKING AND ENDOGENOUS SPECIALIZATION: THEORY AND APPLICATIONS Toward a Theory of Impersonal Networking Decisions and Endogenous Structure of the Division of Labour G-Z.Sun, X.Yang & S.Yao Identification of Equilibrium Structures of Endogenous Specialization: A Unified Approach Exemplified G-Z.Sun Transaction Efficiency, Division of Labour and Foreign Direct Investment: A Unified Model D.Yang The Division of Labour and the Allocation of Time M.Lio PART IV: TRANSACTION COSTS AND THE DIVISION OF LABOUR MEASUREMENT AND EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS An Indirect Approach to the Identification and Measurement of Transaction Costs G.Rivers An Empirical Study on the Division of Labour and Economic Structural Changes M.Lio & M.Liu Endogenous Transaction Costs and Division of Labour X.Yang & Y.Zhao
TL;DR: A review on the economics literature on co-operatives from the point of view of economic methodology can be found in this article, where the authors compare two different approaches, the neoclassical approach and the new institutional approach.
Abstract: This article presents a review on the economics literature on co-operatives from the point of view of economic methodology. I compare two different approaches, the neoclassical approach and the new institutional approach. The former approach is exemplified by Jaroslav Vanek's (1970) The General Theory of Labor-Managed Market Economies, and the latter approach by Henry Hansmann's (1996) The Ownership of Enterprise. I also pay attention to some more recent literature, like the contract-theoretic approach and Gregory Dow's (2003) recent book on workers' control. I try to answer the following questions: 1) How has the development of economics influenced the study of co-operatives in economics? 2) How can the co-operative studies benefit from the economics approaches to co-operatives? 3) What is the future of the study of co-operatives in economics?
Book•
01 Apr 2003
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a case review, a summary, key terms, exercises, and chapter notes of successful firms management and economics, including the Enron Caper Value Measuring Economic Profit The Relationship Between Economic Profit and Shareholder Value The Practical Effect of a Focus on Economic Profit
Abstract: Note: Each chapter concludes with a Case Review, a Summary, Key Terms, Exercises, and Chapter Notes. I. Introduction and Foundation 1. Economics and Management Case: Lincoln Electric The Successful Firm Management and Economics 2. Exchange, Efficiency, and Markets Case: Procter & Gamble: New Product Launch Choices Market System Markets and the Law of One Price Chapter 2 Appendix: Optimization 3. Performance Case: The Enron Caper Value Measuring Economic Profit The Relationship Between Economic Profit and Shareholder Value The Practical Effect of a Focus on Economic Profit Chapter 3 Appendix: Calculating Economic Profit II. Seeking Competitive Advantage 4. Demand Case: Knowing the Customer Know Your Customer Elasticity Other Demand Elasticities Chapter 4 Appendix A: Consumer Behavior Chapter 4 Appendix B: Market Research 5. Costs Case: Mrs. Fields' Cookies Costs and Output The Planning Horizon: The Long Run Interpreting Some Business Buzzwords Chapter 5 Appendix: Costs and Production 6. Profit Maximization: Seeking Competitive Advantage Case: Kmart Seeking Competitive Advantage Selling Environments: Market Structures Profit Maximization over Time: Present Value Chapter 6 Appendix: Profit Maximization III. Sustaining Competitive Advantage 7. Creating Barriers to Entry Case: Wal-Mart Sustaining Profit with Size Differentiation Other Strategies to Deter Entry 8. Price Strategies Case: Pricing Chips What Price? More Complexities Interdependencies Among Firms Chapter 8 Appendix: Pricing Problems 9. The New Economy: Technological Change and Innovation Case: Winner-Takes-All What Is the New Economy? Technological Change The Old Versus the New Economy 10. The Firm's Architecture: Organization and Corporate Culture Case: Culture Clashes Organizational Change Vertical Boundaries Horizontal Boundaries Internal Structure Culture 11. Personnel and Compensation Case: Executive Compensation Incentives Matter The Principal-Agent Relationship Relationships Between the Firm and Its Employees Employee Compensation Executive Compensation Chapter 11 Appendix: Productivity and Employee Compensation IV. Analytic Problem-Solving Tools 12. Capital Allocation: Real Options Case: Merck and Medco Intertemporal Decision Making 13. Strategic Behavior: The Theory of Games Case: Unilever and P&G Games Components of the Game Prisoner's Dilemma Revisited V. Looking Outside the Firm 14. Globalization Case: The Automakers and the Yen Exchange-Rate Fluctuations Exchange-Rate Exposure The Global Capital Market 15. Government and Business Case: Microsoft Government Intervention in Business Antitrust Policy Government Regulation VI. Putting It All Together 16. Strategy and Management: The Strategic Audit Case: Edward Jones Brokerage Strategy The Strategic Audit Illustration of a Strategic Audit: Southwest Airlines Summary of the Strategic Audit
Book•
14 Jun 2003
TL;DR: In this paper, the economic environment demand Estimation and forecasting cost concepts and cost estimation techniques Pricing in Theory and Practice Non-Price Competition Investment Decisions and Capital Constraints Traditional versus DCF Method of Investment Appraisal Risk and Uncertainty in Investment AppRAisal investment Decisions in the Public Sector Case Study Siting a Processing Plant Managerial Decisions, and the Firm's Competitive Strategy
Abstract: Business Objectives The Economic Environment Demand Estimation and Forecasting Cost Concepts and Cost Estimation Techniques Pricing in Theory and Practice Non-Price Competition Investment Decisions and Capital Constraints Traditional versus DCF Method of Investment Appraisal Risk and Uncertainty in Investment Appraisal Investment Decisions in the Public Sector Case Study Siting a Processing Plant Managerial Decisions and the Firm's Competitive Strategy
01 Nov 2003
TL;DR: The theory of second best as discussed by the authors states that if all of the distortions in the economy cannot be eliminated, all bets are off, and that eliminating or reducing another distortion might raise welfare, but can just as easily reduce welfare.
Abstract: The theory of the second best states that if all of the distortions in the economy cannot be eliminated, all bets are off. Eliminating or reducing another distortion might raise welfare, but can just as easily reduce welfare. For example, Samuelson recognized that the optimal quantity of a public good would not be characterized by the Samuelson condition if the public good were financed through distortionary taxation. This condition assumes that expanded provision of public goods is costly to consumers only in that it requires scarce resources to be transferred from the production of other goods. However, if the production of public goods is financed through distortionary taxation, providing more public goods is also costly because it increases the amount of revenue that the government must raise, and hence increases the deadweight loss of the tax system. The optimal quantity of a public good when taxes are distortionary is generally (but not always) smaller than that dictated by the Samuelson condition. This chapter looks at two important illustrations of the theory of the second best: the design of the tax system, and the pricing of goods produced by a regulated or government-owned monopoly. OPTIMAL TAXATION Every tax system that raises a significant amount of revenue will impose a deadweight loss upon the economy. The system that raises the required revenue with the smallest deadweight loss is said to be “optimal.”
TL;DR: The special issue on personnel economics as mentioned in this paper introduces the themes discussed in the papers contained within and outlines the themes of the papers discussed in this special issue, as well as the topics discussed in previous papers.
Abstract: Introduces the special issue on personnel economics and outlines the themes discussed in the papers contained within.
Book•
01 Jan 2003
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a taxonomy of taxonomic foundations, taxonomic methods, and application of taxonomy in the context of non-profits and societies, and conclude with a summary and conclusion.
Abstract: Contents: Preface Part I: Theory 1. Scope 2. Method 3. Foundations 4. Taxonomy 5. Theory Part II: Applications 6. Individuals 7. Interactions 8. Organizations 9. Non-profits 10. Processes 11. Sectors 12. Societies 13. Planets Part III: Summary and Conclusion 14. Summary and Conclusion Bibliography Index
Posted Content•
TL;DR: The authors pointed out several problems in making theory accessible to business managers and made recommendations for new directions in the curriculum of managerial economics, which can be seen as an attempt to draw the business manager into the world of the empirical economist rather than the other way around.
Abstract: Managerial economics, which seeks to merge microeconomic theory with quantitative tools to solve managerial problems, have become firmly established in business curricula, particularly at the MBA level. This paper points out several problems in making theory accessible to business managers. The common limitation of managerial economics texts lies in their attempt to draw the business manager into the world of the empirical economist rather than the other way around. This paper makes recommendations for new directions in the curriculum.