Corporate Failure, Supply Shocks and Government Bailouts: A Case Study of Aloha Airlines

This paper investigates the bankruptcy of Aloha Airlines and its exit from Hawaii’s interisland passenger market in order to examine whether government intervention is warranted based on the presumed benefits to the general public. A regression analysis of interisland traffic volume does not identify any substantial decline in interisland passengers immediately following Aloha’s closure. A government’s decision to bailout a firm should incorporate information on market structure, as the presence of excess capacity can alleviate damage to consumers.bankruptcy; exit; excess capacity; bailout; airline

Self-Serving Mayors and Local Government Consolidations in Japan

This paper investigates local government consolidations with a focus on public choice aspects in the decision-making. Politicians could lose future payoffs if their locality merges with a larger counterpart, and they may sabotage the merger process. The analysis with data from 3,212 Japanese municipalities reveals that a long-serving mayor would present an obstacle to consolidation.local government; mayor; incentives; merger; public choice

Policy-based finance, financial regulation, and financial sector development in Japan

The authors state the Japanese government's role in creating a macroeconomic and financial environment conducive to rapid industrialization went beyond maintaining price stability. The government created a stable but segmented and tightly regulated financial system that favored the financing of industry over other sectors of economic activity. Lending practices, the direction of policy based finnance, and the structure of Japan's financial system changed over time, but one thing stayed constant: the authorities'vision. Some observers maintain that Japanese policies - emphasizing the development of internationally competitive industries - retarded economic growth. And government policies were not the only or even the most important factor in Japan's success. One key to success was government agencies'close cooperation with the private sector, and the government's reliance on privately owned and managed corporations to achieve government-favored industrial goals. Japan's financial system was quite different from Anglo-American and continental European financial systems. The authors discuss some characteristics of the Japanese system in the high growth era: 1) the preponderent role of indirect finance; 2) the"overloan"position of large commercial banks; 3) the"overborrowing"of industrial companies; 4) artificially low interest rates; 5) the segmentation and fragmentation of the financial system; 6) the underdevelopment of securities markets and institutional investors; 7) the key role played by the main bank system; 8) the relations between banks and industry; 9) the different roles debt and equity played in the Japanese system; 10) the role large conglomerate groups, especially general trading companies, played in channeling funds to small firms at the industrial periphery; and 11) the role of policy-based financial institutions. These features evolved in the context of high savings rates and an accumulation of assets, mobilized mostly through deposit institutions, including the postal savings system, and transformed into short- and long-term and risky loans through commercial and long-term credit banks as well as specialized government financial institutions. Are hard work and good management the secrets of Japan's success? Hard work may be as much a symptom as a cause of economic success. But good management has unquestionably been a key to Japan's economic success. Whether Japan's approach is better than others is more difficult to answer. Japan may have overtaken several European countries butwas still lagging behind the US and a few European countries in per capita income expressed in purchasing power parity terms. And although the Japanese approach played a significant part in promoting industrialization and accelerating economic growth during the period of reconstruction and high growth, it also entailed significant long-term costs - in terms of poor-quality housing and other urban infrastructure. And the excesses of the 1980s and Japan's current economic recession undermine claims about its ability to continuously outperform other countries.Banks&Banking Reform,Payment Systems&Infrastructure,Financial Intermediation,Financial Crisis Management&Restructuring,Decentralization,Financial Crisis Management&Restructuring,Environmental Economics&Policies,Economic Theory&Research,Banks&Banking Reform,Financial Intermediation

The Designated Hitter Rule in Baseball as a Natural Experiment

All but two professional baseball leagues have adopted the “designated hitter” (DH) rule, which allows a team’s manager to designate a player to bat at the plate and run the bases in place of another player, usually the team’s pitcher. Unlike the team’s other players, the designated hitter does not take the field to play defense. This paper provides a survey of a large literature investigating the DH rule’s effect on the incentives of pitchers to hit batters and on changes in the number of hit batsmen. We also consider whether the DH rule provides a good example of a natural experiment, as some professional baseball leagues were “treated” with the DH rule and others were not treated.baseball, designated hitter, moral hazard, natural experiment, Japan

Integration of North and South American Players in Japan's Professional Baseball Leagues

Teams in Japan’s two professional baseball leagues began to add foreign players to their rosters in the early 1950s, with the average number of foreign players per team reaching 5.79 in 2004. One reason for their increased use of foreign players was that foreign hitters substantially outperformed Japanese hitters. We show that the pace of team integration with African-American, Latino, and Caucasian players varied substantially across teams, a pattern also observed in North American professional baseball leagues. Using team data for the 1958-2004 seasons, econometric analysis shows that good teams that experienced a poor season played foreign players more frequently in the next season’s games.Baseball, Japan, integration, NPB, sports, team

The Designated Hitter Rule and Team Defensive Strategy in Japan’s Professional Baseball Leagues

Economists have debated whether and why the designated hitter (DH) rule in North American major league baseball led to an increase in hit-batsmen. We use data from Japan's professional baseball leagues, the Pacific League (DH rule) and the Central League (no DH rule), to re-examine this question. Initial empirical findings reveal increases in hit-batsmen in the Pacific League after we control for the DH’s effect on team batting performance. After controlling for interactions between pitcher quality and the DH rule, we find that the DH rule induced changes in team defensive strategies and, consequently, an increase in hit-batsmen. Subsequent rule changes reduced the effectiveness of these strategies.

The Designated Hitter Rule and Team Defensive Strategy in Japan's Professional Baseball Leagues

Economists have debated whether and why the designated hitter (DH) rule in North American major league baseball led to an increase in hit-batsmen. We use data from Japan's professional baseball leagues, the Pacific League (DH rule) and the Central League (no DH rule), to re-examine this question. Our empirical findings reveal increases in hit-batsmen in the Pacific League after we control for the DH's effect on team batting performance. We argue that the DH rule induced changes in managerial defensive strategies that led to more hit-batsmen. Subsequent rule changes reduced the effectiveness of these strategies.

Microarray analysis of salt-responsive genes in common wheat

Dissertação apresentada à Faculdade de Direito da Universidade de Coimbra no âmbito do 2º Ciclo de Estudos em Direito, área de especialização em Ciências Jurídico-Políticas, Direito Internacional Público e Europeu