Critical import supply elasticities and the ‘imports-as-market-discipline’ hypothesis

This paper formally examines the factors underlying how responsive imports must be to domestic prices (the ‘import supply elasticity’) in order to thwart an anticompetitive domestic price increase stemming from a merger––an issue that frequently arises in many antitrust reviews. Domestic firms face a fringe comprised of foreign firms who import their products into the domestic market. In the eyes of domestic consumers, these imports are viewed as imperfect substitutes in demand to the output produced by the domestic firms. The model is solved in terms of the ‘critical’ import supply elasticity that can then be used evaluate the ability of imports to constrain an anticompetitive price increase post-merger. Both general and linear demand specifications are considered. Numerical simulations are conducted to consider the magnitude of perturbations in the model’s exogenous parameters. Potential empirical extensions of the model are also considered.

Critical import supply elasticities and the ‘imports-as-market-discipline’ hypothesis

This paper formally examines the factors underlying how responsive imports must be to domestic prices (the ‘import supply elasticity’) in order to thwart an anticompetitive domestic price increase stemming from a merger––an issue that frequently arises in many antitrust reviews. Domestic firms face a fringe comprised of foreign firms who import their products into the domestic market. In the eyes of domestic consumers, these imports are viewed as imperfect substitutes in demand to the output produced by the domestic firms. The model is solved in terms of the ‘critical’ import supply elasticity that can then be used evaluate the ability of imports to constrain an anticompetitive price increase post-merger. Both general and linear demand specifications are considered. Numerical simulations are conducted to consider the magnitude of perturbations in the model’s exogenous parameters. Potential empirical extensions of the model are also considered.Competitive effects; Critical loss; Market definition; Import supply elasticity

Competition and cost pass-through in differentiated oligopolies

The impact that competition exerts on the incentives of firms to pass through reductions in their marginal costs is an important consideration in assessing the performance of alternate market structures. This paper examines the role of product differentiation on firm-specific and industry-wide pass-through rates. Relying on Shubik’s (1980) model of differentiated Cournot competition with linear demand, we show that there exists an initial critical range over which the firm-specific cost pass-through rate decreases in the number of firms. Beyond this range the rate continually increases – approaching 50 percent as the number of firms goes to infinity. This contrasts with a model of differentiated Bertrand competition in which cost pass through monotonically decreases in the number of firms. The disparate effects across the Cournot and Bertrand models are shown to stem from the influence of competition and product differentiation on the respective firm reaction functions. Suggestions for future empirical work based upon the models’ predictions and implications for antitrust policy are also discussed.Competitive effects; Oligopoly; Merger; Pass-through; Product differentiation

Avoiding Traps in Member Checking

Due to the variations of design and protocol in qualitative inquiry, researchers may inadvertently create problems for themselves in terms of the trustworthiness of their research. Miscommunication between participants and researchers can especially arise from the unique and unpredictable nature of human dynamics. In this paper I contend that such problems, or traps, can easily and at times unknowingly be set during the qualitative process known as member checking, threatening the researcher/participant relationship and possibly the stability of the study. In this paper, I examine member checking through five vignettes personally experienced. These vignettes are preceded by a presentation of common procedures for increasing trustworthiness, and are followed by several recommendations for avoiding the setting and triggering of member checking traps

Leadership and L.B. Sharp: Narratives Shared of a Revered Outdoor Educator

This article reviews the contributions to the field of outdoor education made by Dr. Lloyd Burgess Sharp

Chapter 2 - Publications in Journals, Books, Reports

Chapter 2 of the book The Collective Works of Lloyd Burgess Sharp: Pioneer of the Outdoor Education Movement contains publications of L.B. Sharp found in journals, books, and reports.https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/books-carlson-sharp/1002/thumbnail.jp

Chapter 6 - Films

Chapter 6 of the book The Collective Works of Lloyd Burgess Sharp: Pioneer of the Outdoor Education Movement contains films on L.B. Sharp.https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/books-carlson-sharp/1006/thumbnail.jp

Chapter 4 - Broadcasts and Interviews

Chapter 4 of the book The Collective Works of Lloyd Burgess Sharp: Pioneer of the Outdoor Education Movement contains broadcasts and interviews of L.B. Sharp.https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/books-carlson-sharp/1004/thumbnail.jp

Front Matter

Cover and dedication for the book The Collective Works of Lloyd Burgess Sharp: Pioneer of the Outdoor Education Movement in the United States.https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/books-carlson-sharp/1000/thumbnail.jp

Chapter 5 - Speeches and Lectures

Chapter 5 of the book The Collective Works of Lloyd Burgess Sharp: Pioneer of the Outdoor Education Movement contains speeches and lectures by L.B. Sharp.https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/books-carlson-sharp/1005/thumbnail.jp