Evolutionary macroeconomic assessment of employment and innovation impacts of climate policy packages

Climate policy has been mainly studied with economic models that assume representative, rational agents. Such policy aims, though, at changing carbon-intensive consumption and production patterns driven by bounded rationality and other-regarding preferences, such as status and imitation. To examine climate policy under such alternative behavioral assumptions, we develop a model tool by adapting an existing general-purpose macroeconomic multi-agent model. The resulting tool allows testing various climate policies in terms of combined climate and economic performance. The model is particularly suitable to address the distributional impacts of climate policies, not only because populations of many agents are included, but also as these are composed of different classes of households. The approach accounts for two types of innovations, which improve either the carbon or labor intensity of production. We simulate policy scenarios with distinct combinations of carbon taxation, a reduction of labor taxes, subsidies for green innovation, a price subsidy to consumers for less carbon-intensive products, and green government procurement. The results show pronounced differences with those obtained by rational-agent model studies. It turns out that a supply-oriented subsidy for green innovation, funded by the revenues of a carbon tax, results in a significant reduction of carbon emissions without causing negative effects on em ployment. On the contrary, demand-oriented subsidies for adopting greener technologies, funded in the same manner, result in either none or considerably less re- duction of carbon emissions and may even lead to higher unemployment. Our study also contributes insight on a potential double dividend of shifting taxes from labor to carbon

Buying commercial law: Choice of law, choice of forum, and network externalities

Copyright @ 2009 Bryan DruzinThis paper applies network effect theory to transnational commercial law, arguing that commercial parties selecting law through choice of law and choice of forum clauses can be likened to consumers selecting a product, and thus equally susceptible to the effects of network externalities. The number of “consumers” who subscribe to the same legal norms is analogous to the number of consumers who use a product. As the number of “consumers” increases, so too does the inherent value of selecting that jurisdiction, inducing even more parties to “purchase” that body of law. This is a network effect. I argue that transnational commercial law is ideally calibrated so as to generate a network effect. This stems from the inherent nature of commerce. The discussion distinguishes between two kinds of externalities, direct and indirect network externalities, concluding that network systems that possess both kinds of network externalities (as is the case with law-selection decisions in commercial contracts), are the best candidates to produce a robust network effect. I then examine how the twin ingredients of fluid interaction and frequent choice present in commerce precipitate a network effect; expansive interaction places a higher premium on the need for synchronization, and frequent opportunities to select law in the contracts of fresh commercial relationships allow for an incremental drift towards a specific jurisdiction. The paper ultimately concludes that, as a result, network externalities indeed play an influential role in the ascension of particular jurisdictions over others in law-selection decisions, an important conclusion as it points to an unrecognized influence underpinning the current development of transnational commercial law

Male and Female Labour Force Participation: The Role of Dynamic Adjustments to Changes in Labour Demand, Government Policies and Autonomous Trends

This study investigates the extent and speed of dynamic adjustment of labour supply to changes in labour demand, government policies and autonomous trends. We estimate error-correction models (ECMs) for male and female participation rates in the Netherlands between 1969 and 2004. The results show significant short and long-run effects of labour demand as well as a negative autonomous trend for male participation. In contrast, we find no significant long-run labour-demand effects and a very strong positive autonomous trend for female participation. Including female and male participation as additional explanatory variables in the male and female ECMs, respectively, reveals significant substitution effects between female and male participation. For male participation the substitution effects from female participation account for the negative trend in the basic ECM, while for female participation the substitution effects from male participation counterbalance labour demand effects that are now significant. In addition, we find very significant breakpoints in male and female participation at 1994, which indicate the effects of exogenous participation-promoting policies by the Dutch governments after 1994. The adjustments of the participation rates to changes in labour demand, government policies and autonomous trends are moderately fast.labour force participation, discouraged worker effect, business cycle effects, persistence, substitution effect, error-correction model

The hidden moderator – Exploring the roles of tuo’er in intra-firm R&D online communities

“Tuo’er” in a market place are those who are hired by a seller and attempt to push the sales by exaggerating the advantages of a product in a direct and persistent approach. More recently, it is to our observation that some large firms start deploying tuo’er on their intranet to facilitate knowledge sharing and innovation within intra-firm online R&D communities. Just like those in a market place, tuo’er in online knowledge shari ng communities also have a mandate to mislead other regular community members by creating a bandwagon effect. However, their intention to facilitate online knowledge sharing an d innovation within a firm might serve a good purpose and their practice stands in a gray area of management ethics. This study explores the special roles of tuo’er as a hidden moderator between a company and its employees, investigates under which conditions they work, and the implications for the effective use of online knowledge sharing communiti es by firms. An in-depth case study with multiple data sources is conducted in China in a longitudinal fashion

The role of online social capital in luxury brand consumption in Saudi Arabia

The focus of this research is to examine the links of social capital that rooted in social network interactions and relationships. This leads to addressing peer communication, which will contribute to the exchange of information about luxury products through online interactions that can lead indirectly to luxury brand consumption. This idea of using Social Capital Theory and linking it to luxury consumption has not been examined in recent research. Moreover, this relationship has been moderated by demographic variables (age, gender, and income) and psychological variables (materialism and susceptibility to normative influence). Previous literature found these variables to be the driving factors behind luxury consumption, but in this research, their impact on the relationship between online social capital and luxury consumption is examined. The conceptual model in this study is tested in a Saudi Arabian context, while all other research was carried out in a Western context. There has not been much research on luxury brand consumption in a Saudi context, and there is even less research on Saudi Arabia. Therefore, this study aims to fill the gap in the literature on luxury brand consumption in terms of social interactions and relationships, including psychological and demographic factors. This research followed an explorative strategy to explore the impact of social capital on luxury brands consumption in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). This strategy involved surveys with a deductive approach to answer research questions. Quantitative data have been collected through the use of an online questionnaire with 407 Saudi Arabian participants who are luxury brand consumers and who also use social media. AMOS software was used for statistical analysis and to facilitate structural equation modelling (SEM) to test the model and the hypotheses. The primary research findings are that online social capital has a significant impact on luxury brand consumption. However, this positive relationship is mitigated when a peer communication mediator is applied. As a result, peer communication mediates the relationship between online social capital and luxury consumption. On the other hand, the moderation effects of age, income, and materialism on the relationship between online social capital and luxury consumption were rendered insignificant. However, moderation effects like gender and susceptibility to normative influence were found to have a significant influence on luxury brand consumption. This research contributes to the theoretical dimensions of purchasing and consumption, as it proves the applicability of using Social Capital Theory in the marketing context especially luxury consumption. Therefore, Social capital can be intangible asset for the luxury brands which can improve their marketing strategies on social network sites. On a practical level, results show that luxury brand companies operating in Saudi Arabia should consider how to market their products to individuals across all income and age groups to maximise profits. There is also evidence that Saudi Arabian consumers are prone to higher levels of normative influence. This means that luxury brands should consider how to increase their influence with consumers, perhaps by using social media influencers, in order to appeal widely to Saudi consumers

ESSAYS ON SOURCING DECISIONS: A BEHAVIORAL PERSPECTIVE

This dissertation examines how managers make and perceive supply chain governance decisions. A plethora of supply chain management literature suggests that managers will a priori choose a governance form that will manage risks while pursuing benefits. A number of theories have been used to inform this view: agency, resource-based view and transaction cost economics. Agency theory, the resource-based view and transaction cost economics all share the common assumption that a manager is considering both the risks and benefits of their decisions. In addition each of these perspectives assumes managers are boundedly rational. Taken together these two assumptions suggest managers have imperfect information, the inability to explicate the perfect contract, or limits on their ability to process relevant information when they consider risks and benefits. Yet, other than suggesting that managers have limited cognitive ability (bounded rationality), these perspectives are silent about the influence of cognitive processes on managers consideration of risks, benefits, and ultimately their decision-making. Thus there is a gap in the extant supply chain management literature of our understanding of how cognitive processes such as attention, emotions, feeling, memory or social context may result in a cognitive or decision-making bias. Specifically, evidence from psychology suggests that managers may inadvertently overlook or misperceive risks and benefits because of biased attention and memory (i.e., availability and salience), emotions and feelings, and social considerations (e.g., bandwagon pressure). As a result of a gap in our understanding, supply chains may be overly risky (costly), while not receiving offsetting benefits (value creation). This dissertation addresses this gap

Vertical Integration and Dis-integration of Computer Firms: A History Friendly Model of the Co-evolution of the Computer and Semiconductor Industries

In this paper we present a history-friendly model of the changing vertical scope of computer firms during the evolution of the computer and semiconductor industries. The model is "history friendly", in that it attempts at replicating some basic, stylized qualitative features of the evolution of vertical integration on the basis of the causal mechanisms and processes which we believe can explain the history. The specific question addressed in the model is set in the context of dynamic and uncertain technological and market environments, characterized by periods of technological revolutions punctuating periods of relative technological stability and smooth technical progress. The model illustrates how the patterns of vertical integration and specialization in the computer industry change as a function of the evolving levels and distribution of firms' capabilities over time and how they depend on the co-evolution of the upstream and downstream sectors. Specific conditions in each of these markets - the size of the external market, the magnitude of the technological discontinuities, the lock-in effects in demand - exert critical effects and feedbacks on market structure and on the vertical scope of firms as time goes by

Discrete Choices under Social Influence: Generic Properties

We consider a model of socially interacting individuals that make a binary choice in a context of positive additive endogenous externalities. It encompasses as particular cases several models from the sociology and economics literature. We extend previous results to the case of a general distribution of idiosyncratic preferences, called here Idiosyncratic Willingnesses to Pay (IWP). Positive additive externalities yield a family of inverse demand curves that include the classical downward sloping ones but also new ones with non constant convexity. When j, the ratio of the social influence strength to the standard deviation of the IWP distribution, is small enough, the inverse demand is a classical monotonic (decreasing) function of the adoption rate. Even if the IWP distribution is mono-modal, there is a critical value of j above which the inverse demand is non monotonic, decreasing for small and high adoption rates, but increasing within some intermediate range. Depending on the price there are thus either one or two equilibria. Beyond this first result, we exhibit the generic properties of the boundaries limiting the regions where the system presents different types of equilibria (unique or multiple). These properties are shown to depend only on qualitative features of the IWP distribution: modality (number of maxima), smoothness and type of support (compact or infinite). The main results are summarized as phase diagrams in the space of the model parameters, on which the regions of multiple equilibria are precisely delimited.Comment: 42 pages, 15 figure

Social Media And Credibility Indicator: The Effects Of Bandwagon And Identity Cues Within Online Health And Risk Contexts

Three studies were conducted to investigate how social media affordances influence individuals’ source credibility perceptions in risk situations. The MAIN model (Sundar, 2008), warranting theory (Walther & Parks, 2002), and signaling theory (Donath, 1999) served as the theoretical framework to examine the effects of bandwagon cues and identity cues embedded in retweets and users’ profile pages for health and risk online information processing. Study One examines whether bandwagon heuristics triggered by retweets would influence individuals’ source credibility judgments. Study Two investigates how bandwagon heuristics interact with different identity heuristics in credibility heuristics on an individual level. Study Three explores bandwagon heuristics at the organizational level. Three post-test only experiments with self-report online surveys were conducted to investigate the hypothesis and research questions. Results indicate that different online heuristic cues impact the judgments of competence, goodwill, and trustworthiness at different levels. Authority strongly influenced source credibility perceptions. A reverse-bandwagon effect was observed in influencing source credibility judgments. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed