Efficiency Wages, Unio-Firm Bargaining, and Strikes

We consider efficiency wage effects in a union-firm bargaining model with private information. We show that efficiency wage effects do not necessarily increase the wage level at equilibrium. However, if it is commonly known that the union is stronger than the firm and the productivity enhancing effects of paying higher wages are sufficiently large, then efficiency wage effects still increase the wage of equilibrium. More surprisingly, we show that efficiency wage effects increase the strike activity.Wages; Bargaining; Strikes; Efficiency wages

Product Market Integration, Wage Bargaining and Strike Activity

We develop a spatial two-country model of wage determination with private information in unionized imperfectly competitive industries. We investigage the effects of separated product markets opening up for competition as well as of further market integration on the negotiated wage and the strike activity. We show that, when product markets are separated, the wage level and the strike activity are decreasing with the transportation cost and the home market size. However, when markets are integrated, wages and strikes are now increasing with the transportation cost. Finally, we find that the opening of markets for competition has an ambiguous impact on both the negotiated wage and the strike activity.economic integration;horizontal differentiation;product market competition;wage bargaining;strike activity

Union Delegation and Incentives for Merger

We analyze a unionized duopoly model to examine how unions affect the incentives for merger. We find that, once the union has the option to delegate, an increase in the union bargaining power can create incentives for the firms to merge.Union delegation;Wage bargaining;Mergers

Strategic Union Delegation and Strike Activity

We develop a model of wage determination with private information, in which te union has the option to delegate the wage bargaining to either surplus-maximizing delegates or to wage-maximizing delegates (such as senior union members). We show that the strike activity is greater whenever the union chooses wage-maximizing delegates instead of surplus-maximizing delegates. We also provide the necessary and sufficient condition such that it is always optimal for the union to choose wage-maximizing delegates and we we find that the efficiency loss due to strategic delegation may be quite important.Union delegation;Wage bargaining;Private information;Strike activity

Market Integration and Strike Activity

We consider a two-country model of wage determination with private information in unionized imperfectly competitive industries. We investigate the effects of separated product markets opening up for competition as well as of further market integration on the negociated wage and the maximum delay in reaching an agreement. From an initial situation of reciprocal intra-industry trade, an increase in product market integration will decrease the maximal delay in reaching an agreement. However, markets opening up for competition have an ambiguous effect on both the wage outcome and the maximum real delay time in reaching an agreement.economic integration; product market competition; wage bargaining; strike activity

Von Neuman-Morgenstern farsightedly stable sets in two-sided matching

We adopt the notion of von Neumann-Morgenstern farsightedly stable sets to predict with matchings are possibly stable when agents are farsighted in one-to-one matching problems. We provide the characterization of von Neumann-Morgenstern farsightedly stable sets : a set of matchings is a von Neumann-Morgenstern farsightedly stable set if and only if it is a singleton set and its element is a corewise stable matching. Thus, contrary to the von Neumann-Morgenstern (myopically) stable sets, von Neumann-Morgenstern farsightedly stable sets cannot include matchings thar are not corewise stable ones. Moreover, we show that our main result is robust to many-to-one matching problems with responsive preferences.matching problem, von Neumann-Morgenstern stable sets, farsightedly stability

Prospective payment system : consequences for hospital-physician interactions in the private sector

In 2004, French health authorities plan to introduce a prospective payment system for hospitals delivering acute care based on the DRG classification system. In this paper, we analyze the consequences of this switch from a retrospective to a prospective payment system on the ability of physicians and hospital managers to coordinate their activity in the production of hospital stays. Our analysis follows those of Dor and Watson (1995) and Custer et al. (1990) but is adapted to the context of the French hospital private sector. Different types of interactions are considered : non-cooperative, dominant-reactive, and cooperative. The main result of this analysis is that, in a context in which average per-patient fees are maintained, the change of payment system is potentially gainful for both partners. Although their fees are not concerned by the reform, physicians are even in a better position than hospitals tot ake advantage of the change of payment system. A minimum level of coordination is nevertheless required, i.e. either cooperative or dominant-reactive interactions. Furthermore, two elements limits the importance of these potential gains : these are only one-shot gains and hence depend on the ability to reduce the length of hospital stays. Finally, some extensions regarding competition between public and private hospitals and negotiation issues are discussed.prospective payment system; retrospective payment system; physician behabivour, for-profit hospitals

Connections among farsighted agents

farsighted players, stability, efficiency, connections model, buyer-seller networks

Von Neumann-Morgenstern farsightedly stable sets in two-sided matching.

We adopt the notion of von Neumann-Morgenstern farsightedly stable sets to predict which matchings are possibly stable when agents are farsighted in one-to-one matching problems. We provide the characterization of von Neumann-Morgenstern farsightedly stable sets: a set of matchings is a von Neumann-Morgenstern farsightedly stable set if and only if it is a singleton set and its element is a corewise stable matching. Thus, contrary to the von Neumann-Morgenstern (myopically) stable sets, von Neumann-Morgenstern farsightedly stable sets cannot include matchings that are not corewise stable ones. Moreover, we show that our main result is robust to many-to-one matching problems with responsive preferences.matching problem, von Neumann-Morgenstern stable sets, farsighted stability

Market integration and network industries

What is the effect of product market integration on the market equilibrium in the presence of international externalities in consumption ? To address this question, we set up a spatial two-country model and we find that the economic forces at work may have an ambiguous effect on prices.compatibility; horizontal differentiation; network effect