Search

The ability to substitute goods and services is crucial for maintaining market stability during price fluctuations, particularly in the livestock market, where products are interchangeable. This study aimed to analyse market integration and asymmetric price transmission concerning livestock commodity prices in Thailand. Specifically, it focused on beef cattle, swine, broiler chicken, and chicken egg prices, using time-series data from January 2011 to December 2022. The analysis employed unit root tests to check if the time series data were stationary, Granger causality tests to determine the direction of relationships among livestock prices and an asymmetric price transmission model to examine short-term asymmetry and adjustment in cross-commodity prices. The findings indicate three directions of price integration in Thailand’s livestock market: from broiler chicken price to chicken egg price, from swine price to chicken egg price, and from swine price to broiler chicken price. The results suggest that price transmission in Thailand is symmetrical, demonstrating an efficient interdependent relationship. Thus, the findings indicate that chicken eggs are a substitute for broiler chickens and swine when prices fluctuate, while broiler chickens are a substitute for swine. The results reveal that chicken eggs can replace swine consumption more effectively than broiler chickens within Thailand. This study highlights that chicken eggs are the most effective substitute during livestock price fluctuations in Thailand, with broiler chickens being the second most effective. Consequently, stakeholders in the livestock supply chain, such as policymakers, entrepreneurs, and farmers, should understand the integration of different commodities and price transmission in Thailand’s livestock market. To guarantee market stability, stakeholders should manage the demand and supply of livestock commodities and acquire chicken eggs and broiler chickens during significant fluctuations in domestic livestock commodity prices

Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies are engaged in a harsh battle for market dominance. This article examines the emergence of a dominant design in terms of technology, service, and business model innovation. We conduct a theoretical synthesis of the literature on industrial organization, technology management, network economics, operations management, and strategic management—with the implications of each theory related to the dominant-design battle in AI. The findings indicate a dominant design for AI will be based on innovation concerning business models as much as on technology, and that the dominant business model will include AI as a service. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The topic of pricing non-convexities in power markets has been explored vividly in the literature and among practitioners for the past twenty years. The debate has been focused on indivisibilities in short-term auctions, the computational tractability of some pricing proposals, and the economic analysis of their behavior. In this paper, we analyse a source of non-convexities that is not discussed as broadly: the indivisibilities in investment decisions. The absence of equilibrium that we are primarily concerned about is the long-term equilibrium. We derive a capacity expansion model with indivisibilities and we highlight the issues arising from it. We discuss its relevance and address one particular argument for neglecting indivisibilities in investment, namely market size. We investigate to what extent a capacity market that clears discrete offers can mitigate the lumpiness problem. We particularly introduce the novel concept of convex hull pricing for capacity auctions. We illustrate the main findings with a numerical experiment conducted on the capacity expansion model used by ENTSO-E to assess the adequacy of the entire European system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this this article I evaluate how authorship of theatre occurred in the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods. I explore whether individual playwrights such as William Shakespeare were viewed as authors, and thus owners, of plays at this time. I analyse the role of the Stationers' Company as print monopolists, and the role of Elizabethan theatre companies, who took ownership of scripts for performance purposes. I examine the impact of the publication of the First Folio. I note that the publishing syndicate behind the First Folio, led by Shakespeare's friends John Heminges and Henry Condell, had to obtain the print rights for several plays, not from Shakespeare's estate, but from the various Stationers who had acquired publishing rights while Shakespeare was alive. Therefore, the First Folio stands as an early example, even before statutory copyright existed, of a book created via what we now describe as the 'clearing' of copyright licences. A consequence of the First Folio was not just the emergence of Shakespeare as the English author-figure par excellence; the First Folio coincided with a rising legal expectation that authors should be owners of dramatic texts under copyright law. Throughout the seventeenth century and into the early eighteenth century I mark how tensions between the market power of the Stationers' Company and emerging recognition of the author's literary property led to the first British copyright statute: the Statute of Anne in 1710. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We demonstrate a novel link between skilled immigration restrictions, corporate innovation, and industry consolidation. Binding restrictions on H1B visas are a shock to firms' R&D labor supply, leading firms to shift R&D expenditures and employees overseas. Organizationally and financially constrained firms are less able to adjust to the restrictions. They reduce basic research and patenting, are less able to acquire other firms for intellectual property, and are more likely to exit. Industry concentration and firm-level markups increase when firms are better able to adjust. This increase in market power is an unintended consequence of skilled immigration restrictions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study a large-scale Brazilian loan subsidy program to expand long-term credit. The government subsidizes banks' funding costs for lenders, who then allocate credit to firms at regulated interest rates below a maximum ceiling. We propose and test a mechanism allowing banks to circumvent the rate caps and capture part of the subsidy. We show that when issuing a subsidized loan, lenders with market power use a cross-product pricing strategy, whereby they increase the price of other products to the same client. Our results have important policy implications for the design and effectiveness of government interventions in credit markets. (JEL G21, H81, E43) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How does lending-market competitiveness shape new firms' financing? Using a unique U.S. representative panel of new firms, we document that in more concentrated local lending markets: (a) new firms are less likely to access credit; (b) new firms have lower leverage; and (c) the best-performing firms are more severely affected by reduced debt financing. We develop a contingent-claims model with monopolistically competitive banks that rationalizes these facts and shows how credit-market conditions determine loan fees and concentration. Our findings highlight banks' market power as a channel through which the financial sector influences firms' development and, hence, economic growth. (JEL D82, G21, G32, G34, L26) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last couple years, the world has experienced the highest levels of inflation in more than four decades. This paper provides a framework for analyzing the causes and the appropriate responses. We show that it is not caused by an excess of aggregate demand, and in particular, not caused by any excess consumption arising from excessive pandemic spending, but by supply-side shocks, largely induced by the pandemic (e.g., chips), and also by the war in Ukraine, combined with sectoral demand shifts. We analyze the role played by market power and the lack of resilience. Increases in interest rates, beyond normalizing levels, will do little to address the underlying problems and may exacerbate them, impeding effective responses to supply shortages. The paper describes alternative fiscal and other measures that, while addressing current inflation, have further long-term welfare benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research revealed the factors that cause firm distress in the Chinese market. The stock exchange–listed firm samples are classified as moderate or severe distressed firms if they receive a special treatment warning from stock exchanges due to continuous negative net loss or are suffering from negative equities. By applying ordinary least square and logit regressions to the 2015–2022 data sample, the results showed that market power and internal and external monitoring significantly affect the likelihood of firm distress. Interestingly, debt only negatively affects a firm's earnings, has no impact on moderate firm distress, and reduces the likelihood of falling into severe distress. State-owned enterprises (SOEs) receive government support and are therefore less likely to be distressed, in contrast to family-owned firms. The recovery results confirmed that SOEs are easier to recover that family-owned firms. The ability to repay debt increases credibility and is a good signal of recovery. We differentiated from past discussions that focused on earning management and business failure. Our research contributes to the literature by analyzing firm distress and recovery from market power and monitoring, which are not well discussed with observable evidence. These findings could be helpful for both corporate and regulatory policy decision-making.

This paper explores the impact of firms’ ESG performance on their trade credit financing and working capital efficiency, utilizing a sample of 586 Indian firms listed on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) from 2015 to 2022. The study offers robust evidence supporting the positive connection between superior ESG disclosure and trade credit, as well as the negative link between ESG disclosure and the cash conversion cycle. These findings underscore the role of ESG disclosure in increasing suppliers’ willingness to extend trade credit and facilitating efficient working capital management practices. The result shows that improved ESG disclosure practices increase payable turnover days and reduce both inventory turnover and receivable turnover days, reflecting the enhanced operational efficiency and market power of the firm.

With the continuous deepening of electricity marketization reform and the large-scale integration of clean energy into the system, the problem of transmission congestion in the power system is frequent, and research on congestion management methods has become a major focus. Therefore, this paper studies the optimization strategy of transmission congestion management in the power spot market. Firstly, the existing congestion management mechanisms were sorted out from two aspects: dynamic management mechanisms, and market steady-state mechanisms. At the same time, the advantages and disadvantages of various mechanisms were summarized. Then, optimization strategies for congestion management were proposed from three aspects: cost optimization, surplus diversion, and risk optimization. Firstly, based on the ATC reduction method and rescheduling method, a congestion cost optimization strategy is proposed. Secondly, a congestion cost pool and multidimensional allocation indicators, are established and a congestion surplus diversion strategy is proposed. Thirdly, a two-level market for transmission rights trading has been constructed to optimize congestion risk. Finally, a case study was conducted in a certain province in eastern and western China, and the results showed that: 1) Considering the rescheduling method and ATC reduction method to optimize congestion costs can reduce congestion costs by 8.22% and 18.83%, compared to only considering the scheduling method and using ATC reduction method. 2) Establishing a congestion cost pool and multi-dimensional allocation indicators to channel congestion surplus can form price guidance signals. 3) Constructing a two-level market for transmission rights trading can increase the efficiency of system operators by 62.75%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores how expatriates deal with host country informal business practices that differ from their home country institutional frameworks. We note that expatriate business people working in emerging markets of Africa often contend with corrupt business practices rooted in local informal institutions and the lack of strong formal institutions regulating business practices. We also observe that while local people take informal institutions such as magendo, as a way of life and adjust to them, expatriates being 'outsiders' respond in different ways. The study employed a qualitative phenomenological design that involved in-depth interview of a small sample of expatriates operating in Uganda. For data analysis, NVivo 11 was used to search for and retrieve chunks of labelled data. The key findings indicate that expatriates from countries with strong formal institutions experience the most frustrations and often reject informal business practices. On the other hand, expatriates from countries with weak institutions are more pragmatic and easily adapt to existing practices in the new environments. Multinationals however, often reject informal business practices due to their market power and strict codes of conduct. The study recommends that small-medium category expatriates targeting Africa need to align with influential local people so as to navigate business informalities that characterise informal business environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the effects of market power on income disparities when firm‐specific parameters are considered to test how they shape the gap between capital and labor earnings through their pricing decisions. The dataset consists of 2895 UK manufacturing and services firms over 2010–2019. The results provide the following insights: (a) There is a strong positive association between market power and income disparities across the market, (b) liquidity constraints exert a positive effect on the asset‐based disparities ratio, but a negative effect on the profit‐based ratio. The robustness of the results is also checked when market‐specific characteristics are included in the process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: There is widespread belief that intermediaries in African agri-food value chains have disproportionate market power. In this paper, the authors examine this belief by uncovering the purchasing and selling prices, costs and profit margins by farmers, intermediaries and retailers in the matooke (cooking banana) value chain in Uganda, and by analysing the prevailing value chain and market structures, seasonal entry and exit dynamics and the trading relationships in the chain. Design/methodology/approach: Data for this study were collected along the trading routes from the main matooke producing districts in South-West Uganda (Kabarole, Bunyangabo, Bushenyi, Isingiro and Mbarara) to the main urban markets around the capital Kampala. A structured survey was administered with 383 producers, 172 collectors and wholesalers and 71 retailers. In addition, key informant interviews and focus group discussions were held. Findings: The authors find that price mark-ups by intermediaries (selling prices minus purchasing prices) vary with the type of intermediary, season and location but generally reflect the costs of moving matooke down the value chain to the urban consumer. The authors do not find evidence for disproportionate market power among the intermediaries in the chain. Intermediaries enter and exit the market in peak and off-peak season, such that profits are kept in check. This seasonality does imply a small shift in market power in favour of farmers in off-peak season and in favour of intermediaries in the peak season. Research limitations/implications: The investigation concentrated on an important and relatively homogenous staple crop along its main trade route. More remote areas, where there is less of an abundance of matooke, might still be characterised by local monopsonies where intermediaries have more market power due to high search and transport costs. Similarly, (local) monopsonies might exist for products for which there is a smaller market (segment), for products with a stronger seasonal variation in supply and for more perishable products. Originality/value: While there is an important literature on the role of intermediaries in African agri-food value chains, the evidence on intermediary market power is scant. Beliefs on intermediary market power are largely based on anecdotal evidence from farmers or inferred from observed prices or market structures. The paper contributes in addressing this important knowledge gap by studying the matooke value chain in Uganda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article is dedicated to the study of the issue of compensation for damages caused by violations of competition law within the European Union. The author analyzes the main provisions of Directive 2014/104/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 November 2014 on certain rules governing actions for damages under national law for infringements of the competition law provisions of the Member States and of the European Union, as well as the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union concerning compensation for damages caused by an undertaking in a dominant position. The article addresses problematic issues that were either not sufficiently covered or only fragmentarily outlined in the provisions of Directive 2014/104/EU, but which were clarified in the preliminary rulings of the Court of Justice of the European Union. The author pays particular attention to issues related to the implementation of Directive 2014/104/EU by the Member States of the European Union and evaluates the progress of its implementation. Additionally, based on the analysis of the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union, the article reflects the key positions of the Court of Justice of the European Union regarding clauses on the choice of court/jurisdiction in the context of claims for damages caused by abuse of a dominant position. Specifically, the article highlights the approaches of the Court of Justice of the European Union concerning the determination of the place related to the occurrence of consequences of illegal behavior in the form of abuse of a dominant position. Furthermore, given that claims for damages caused, in particular, by the abuse of a dominant position can be filed both without a prior decision of the competition authority establishing a violation of competition law and after the adoption of the relevant decision by the competition authority, the author reveals problematic issues regarding the disclosure of evidence contained in the materials of the competition authority's case and analyzes the main levels of protection of evidence contained in the materials of the competition authority's case as reflected in Directive 2014/104/EU. The author finds that the provisions of directive in question are not aimed at resolving all issues that may arise in private enforcement, but considering the positions of the Court of Justice of the European Union during the reform of domestic competition law will allow for the full implementation of the provisions of the aforementioned directive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines market concentration's influence on popular music. The data cover popular music from weekly Billboard Hot 100 songs from 1952 to 1989, for which song characteristic data including tempo and duration is available from the Million Song Dataset (MSD). Greater market concentration of the top four artists is found to impact song length, with longer #1 songs and shorter songs in the #2 through #10 spots on the Billboard charts. However, tests for alterations in song construction by top artists that might indicate a form of "sell‐out" behavior do not reveal evidence of it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines recent court decisions in South Africa regarding merger control and competition law interpretation. Two mergers were blocked due to concerns about potential price increases, even though they would not have impacted competition before the mergers. The Constitutional Court and the Competition Tribunal both determined that price increases alone can constitute a significant reduction or prevention of competition. The article raises questions about the rationale behind these decisions and their potential consequences. It discusses specific cases involving a private hospital merger and a merger involving an industrial chemical used in gold mining. The article also analyzes the Sasol/Draslovka merger and its impact on the pricing of liquid NaCN. The Tribunal concluded that the price increase resulting from the merger could be considered a substantial reduction or prevention of competition, but the article challenges this conclusion and its implications for future mergers. [Extracted from the article]

Economists have widely endorsed pricing CO 2 emissions to internalize climate change-related externalities. Doing so would significantly affect coal, the most carbon-intensive energy source. However, U.S. coal markets exhibit an additional distortion: the railroads that transport coal to power plants can exert market power. This article estimates how coal-by-rail markups respond to changes in coal demand. I identify markups in a major intermediate goods market using both reduced-form and structural methods. I find that rail carriers reduce coal markups when downstream power plant demand changes due to a drop in the price of natural gas (a competing fuel). My results imply that decreases in coal markups have increased recent U.S. climate damages by $11.9 billion, compared to a counterfactual where markups did not change. Incomplete pass-through would likely erode the environmental benefits of an incremental carbon tax, shifting the tax burden towards upstream railroads. Still, a non-trivial tax would likely increase welfare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural cooperatives are often promoted as a way to give farmers countervailing market power and greater income stability. This paper investigates to what extent cooperatives in food supply chains achieve these objectives. We estimate firm-level markups and markup volatility in the Italian fruits and vegetable (F&V) and dairy sectors at both the farming and processing stages for the period 2007–2014. We find mixed results: compared to non-cooperatives, F&V processor cooperatives have higher markups, while F&V farmer cooperatives and dairy processor cooperatives have lower markups. We do not find strong evidence of their role on markup volatility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the case of Meta v Bundeskartellamt, where the German competition agency found Facebook's data collection policy to be in violation of German competition law. The agency argued that Facebook abused its dominant position by imposing unfair terms on users, and that the terms also violated the GDPR and infringed on users' right to informational self-determination. The European Court of Justice ruled that competition agencies can consider whether an undertaking's data collection terms comply with the GDPR when assessing conduct under competition law. The ruling establishes that data protection laws are relevant in determining if conduct qualifies as fair competition, and may extend to other regulatory tools in the future. However, there are still unanswered questions about the interpretation of Article 102 TFEU in cases involving data-based conduct. [Extracted from the article]

The authors present a Web application they designed in the R programming language as an experiential learning tool for teaching production theory. The app simulates production decisions where a manager is tasked to find the optimal mixture of inputs through experimentation. Users of the application are instructed to use calculations and intuitions from production theory to improve profitability quickly. The underlying parameters and starting points are randomized to allow for additional practice. Variations of the exercise correspond to cost-minimization and profit-maximization problems with and without market power in the output market. Also, the app provides dynamic, interactive visualizations in 3D in order to assist in a better understanding of standard production theory graphs. The app is located at . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the power grid undergoes transformation and the Internet's influence grows, the electricity market is evolving towards informatization. The expanding scale of the power grid and the increasing complexity of operating conditions have generated a substantial amount of data in the power market. The traditional power marketing model is no longer suitable for the modern power market's development trend. To tackle this challenge, this study employs random forest and RBF models for processing electricity market data. Additionally, it explores the synergy of graph convolutional network and spectral clustering algorithms to enhance the accuracy and efficiency of data mining, enabling a comprehensive analysis of data features. The experimental results successfully extracted various electricity consumption features. This approach contributes to the informatization efforts of power grid enterprises, enhances power data perception capabilities, and offers reliable support for decision makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The requirement of sustainable development has led to challenges for DTF (i.e., digital transformation of firms). Extensive studies have been conducted on how the personality traits of executives influence the behavior of firms. However, the effect of military experience on DTF has yet to be determined. This concern is addressed in this study from the imprinting theory (IT) and upper echelons theory (UET) perspectives. We aim to investigate whether and how military executives impact DTF. Analysis of data from listed firms in China between 2010 and 2020 indicates that military executives positively enhance DTF. This research also evaluates the moderating effects of symbiosis orientation and the market power of firms on the above relationship. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that the impact of executives' military experience on DTF is only significant in non-regulated, high-technology, and low-pollution industries. Our findings expand the literature on leadership and DTF. We introduce the concept of symbiosis orientation and examine the moderating roles of symbiosis orientation and market power in the above effect, which elucidates the interplay between organizations and the external environment. Our findings provide insights into enhancing digital transformation efforts by strategically selecting suitable military leadership for firms and further promoting the sustainable development of firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The macroeconomic implications of movements in labour income share across several economies are of serious concern. This study examines the relationship between labour income share and its key drivers: market power, capital intensity and automation. The study uses data on Indian firms from 2013 to 2021. The relationship is analysed by employing panel fixed effects and method of moments panel quantile estimators. The results indicate that market power is significantly and negatively associated with the labour share of income. Similarly, capital intensity and automation have a positive impact on the labour income share. Estimates of quantile regression reveal that the influence of market power and automation becomes more pronounced at higher quantiles of the labour share. In general, the relationship is consistent even after accounting for firm size and ownership type. The study also indicate complementary nature of labour and capital. • Examines the significance of market power, capital intensity, and automation on labour income share using firm-level data. • Finds a significant inverse relationship between market power and labour income share. • Capital and labour are found to be complementary as capital intensity has a positive effect on labour income share. • Positive and significant coefficient for automation indicates the prevalence of productivity effect in the Indian context. • Market power and automation have a greater impact on firms with higher labour share. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine the evolution of productivity and markups in US food and beverage manufacturing from 1959 through 2018. We account for non‐Hicks‐neutral (labour‐augmenting) productivity changes and compare markups with those in general manufacturing using the same dataset and model. We also compare our results with those of the increasingly popular De Loecker and Warzynski (2012, American Economic Review, 102, 2437) method, which does not account for non‐Hicks‐neutral productivity growth. Empirical results show that productivity growth in the food and beverage sector has been relatively slow and driven with equal intensity by Hicks‐neutral and labour‐augmenting productivity gains. General manufacturing shows higher productivity growth that is mostly labour‐augmenting, with markups comparable to those of food manufacturing. We find that accounting for labour‐augmenting productivity produces more moderate markup estimates than the De Loecker and Warzynski (2012) method. We also find no evidence of markups rising in either food manufacturing or general manufacturing in the last 20 years, in contrast to much of the recent economic literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 15 studies highlighted in this special issue collectively underscore the significant impacts of market participation on farmers' well-being, income, poverty reduction, dietary diversity, and rural economic growth. They also delve into the importance of marketing channel choice and the role of e-commerce in enhancing farmers' market linkages. In addition, they address farmers' preferences for market access interventions and the examination of market power within the agricultural industry, especially in low-income countries. The key findings include: (1) Market participation is critical for improving farmers' subjective and objective well-being, with studies demonstrating positive impacts on income, poverty reduction, and dietary diversity; (2) The choice of marketing channels significantly influences income, with evidence suggesting online sales can substantially increase farmers' earnings; (3) E-commerce plays a pivotal role in connecting farmers to broader markets, leading to income growth and enhanced market visibility; (4) Understanding and addressing farmers' preferences for market access through interventions like systematization policies and joint ventures can facilitate better market integration and support inclusive business models; (5) Analysis of market power within the primary foods industry reveals rising markups, particularly affecting low-income countries. These findings suggest that policies and interventions aiming to improve market access, promote e-commerce, and consider farmers' preferences and market power dynamics can significantly impact farmers' incomes, poverty levels, and overall rural economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Chinese government aims to balance employment stabilization and emissions reduction when it initiates an emissions trading scheme (ETS) to control carbon emissions. However, the policymakers should not neglect the role of imperfectly competitive market structure and market power from incumbent firms. In view of this, classical framework of Berman and Bui's (2001) is extended in this paper to clarify the theoretical mechanism of employment effect of the ETS considering firm-level market power. In addition, based on the firm-level panel data from 2008 to 2019 of China, the employment effect of each pilot ETS is measured with the method of difference-in-difference-in-differences. Then a moderating effect model is established to verify the role of firm-level market power on the heterogeneous employment effect among the pilot ETSs. Moreover, the employment effect is further decomposed to evaluate the influential mechanism from the perspective of firms' strategic behavior. It is found that there is negative employment effect of China's ETS policy, due to the significant moderating role of firm-level market power. This decrease in labor demand is mainly dominated by a negative output effect rather than a positive substitution effect because strategic allowance sellers with stronger market power tend to hire fewer employees to reduce carbon emissions by controlling production scale. However, the heterogeneity of policy effects resulted by market structure is also identified in different pilot regions. Employment dividend has been found in Beijing and Tianjin where strategic allowance buyers manipulate the carbon market and hire more employees to consolidate their market power. Therefore, policymakers should improve the design of the ETS to overcome the adverse employment effect duo to the region-specific market structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a comprehensive quantitative approach to electricity market monitoring through the development of an effective system. The proposed system consists of three stages: operational monitoring of market participants' behavior, analysis of collective behavior and economic parameters, and midterm assessment of market competition indices. By leveraging quantitative analysis techniques, such as statistical methods, the system aims to identify patterns signaling significant changes in participants' behavior. Additionally, the system reduces the number of labor-intensive studies leading to false results, automates monitoring partially, and provides long-term analysis capabilities. Ultimately, this quantitative-based system enhances transparency, reliability, and responsiveness to unforeseen shocks in the electricity market, ensuring effective policy assessment and decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study estimates market power in the sugar industry of Pakistan using data from 2005 (Q1) to 2014 (Q2). The empirical estimates indicate that the demand for sugar is inelastic and that the consumption of sugar peaks during the winter season but declines in the summer. Furthermore, the results of conduct parameter suggested that the sugar mill prices exceeded the marginal cost of sugar by twelve percent, while the Lerner index sugar mill fixed prices were found to be seventy percent higher than the marginal cost. Overall, the present findings identify market power as the main factor behind the unfair consumer exploitation, in terms of regulating the high cost price margins and enabling the sugar mills to charge premium prices (above marginal cost) in Pakistan. Current findings assert the need for government to protect the local consumer by taking prudent measures against customer exploitation. In this regard, the Competition Commission of Pakistan is expected to establish an environment for fair competition through new permits for import of sugar from other countries to dismantle the monopoly of sugar mill owners in Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper extends the monopsony literature by taking a task-based approach and estimating the causal effect of concentration on labour market outcomes. Using detailed employer–employee data from Norway, we find that our job task-based measure shows lower degrees of concentration than conventional industry- and occupation-based measures. Exploiting mass lay-offs as exogenous shocks to local labour demand, we show that workers who experience mass separations in more concentrated markets have substantially worse subsequent labour market outcomes than workers in less concentrated markets. Our results point to the existence of employer market power that is driven by the concentration of skill demand across firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We use a real‐option model to study the effect of input supplier's market power on a firm's capital structure, and identify the Nash equilibrium outcome (firm's investment and financing policies and its supplier's pricing policy). When its supplier has market power, the firm will reduce leverage ratio and delay investment. This can help explain why observed leverage ratios are lower than in traditional capital‐structure models (without supplier market power). Firm value can be increased by the vertical acquisition of the supplier, which would also result in a higher leverage ratio. This helps explain the observed increase in leverage ratios after acquisitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We contribute to the previous offline spatial price discrimination by adding an online entrant that results in partially equalized prices, and the urban (rural) segments are served by the offline (online) firms. The presence of online competition prompts offline firms to relocate nearer to the market center. The online firm's advantage in servicing remote areas grants it market power, enabling it to mark up its prices. This leads to a shift in the equilibrium locations of firms, causing them to diverge from socially optimal positions. The magnitude of this online advantage directly influences market dynamics: a greater advantage correlates with higher online prices, a reduced dispersion of offline firm locations, and decreased offline prices in urban regions. Finally, zoning policies and two extensions of online price discrimination and multiple offline firms with free entry are offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditionally, accountability was primarily designed to hold public bodies accountable to citizens. However, as global corporations continue to shape policy and society, these organizations must be accountable to citizens in a proactive manner as well. Therefore, this article proposes an expansion of accountability to include both public and private organizations. Drawing from political and economic studies, we propose holistic principles to increase social legitimacy in both procedural (regular) and substantive (deep) forms: responsibility, transparency, answerability, and participation. To illustrate those principles, we examine two case studies, Google and Meta, and two crucial fronts, data transfers and data market power. Through qualitative and empirical analyses, we evaluate how big tech companies are being held accountable by public authorities and society, highlighting both current developments and key limitations. The article paves the road to accountability studies and new economic theories that focus on deepening social orientation and increasing citizens' participation in business management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As of 7 March 2024, the EU Commission began to enforce its controversial Digital Markets Act (DMA). This article sheds light on the recent debate. It lists the dos and don'ts of the DMA as well as stakeholder reactions to them before tracing some of the underlying motivations and reasoning that emerge from the EU's current policy reversal with reference to dealing with abuse of dominant positions in line with Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Following this, the paper reviews economic aspects of digital platforms, concerns about market foreclosure and essential facility as well as appropriate remedies before closing with a discussion of the challenges in stipulating and enforcing efficient rules to govern digital platforms. It is argued that the DMA ought to be rewritten to stipulate clear and cogent legal standards, return to a strengthened system of ex post control and provide platforms with the opportunity to deliver efficiency defenses as part of corporate self-regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to analyze variations in the parameters of the market share–rank power law across consumer packaged goods (CPG) categories. Design/methodology/approach: The authors use a two-level hierarchical linear model to examine the relationships between category-level variables and the parameters of the market share–rank power law in 790 CPG categories. Findings: The slope of the market share–rank power law is shallower – indicating more equal market shares – in categories of high importance to retailers and those with high levels of promotional activity or high-volume purchases. Higher levels of market share inequality are associated with categories with high overall prices. Research limitations/implications: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first research to show the systematic influence of category characteristics on the relationship between brands' market shares and their ranks, thus, identifying a key moderator for this important empirical generalization in marketing. Practical implications: While market leadership may be a desirable goal for many brands, the corresponding market share at the top brand does vary. Moreover, the share premium for being number one in the category (gap between the top and other highly ranked brands) can be greatly affected by retailers' strategies. In addition, the slope of the power law has desirable qualities as a measure of market concentration. However, the empirical study shows that category characteristics must be considered when analyzing differences in concentration across categories or time. Originality/value: While other studies document variations in the market share–rank power law relationship, to the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first that models these variations as a function of observable category characteristics. The comprehensive nature of the data demonstrates the universality of the market share–rank power law relationship across CPG categories in the USA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supplier market power—such as the ability of branded goods suppliers to dictate terms to retailers—is an important feature of many markets. We show that supplier power can counteract the effects of downstream mergers on consumer prices where there are two-part contracts. This is because greater market power allows suppliers to set contracts that internalise partially the impact of the merger on downstream prices. Post-merger, the supplier reduces the per-unit price at which it supplies the merged downstream firms, with the aim of maintaining total industry profitability—and then recoups the profits via a larger fixed fee. We modify the standard upward pricing pressure (UPP) formula to account for the supplier's response to a horizontal merger in the downstream market, while preserving much of the simplicity of the standard approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine the impact of product market competition on firms' systematic risk. Using a measure of total product market similarity, we document a strong negative relationship between market power and market betas. The effect more than triples in the most recent period of low competition. Anticompetitive mergers result in a significant reduction in market betas. Firms facing less competition seem to be partially insulated from systematic discount‐rate shocks. Lower equity costs therefore imply that market power is partly self‐perpetuating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The literature on the effects of bank market power on access to credit has produced many results that are sometimes contradictory. Yet, all of these studies are based on unconsolidated data that ignore the national market power of banking groups. This results in an underestimation bias that this paper proposes to correct. Using a panel of more than 55,000 French firms covering the period 2006–2017, I consider a set of structural and non-structural measures of bank market power both at the unconsolidated and consolidated levels. My results strongly support the market power hypothesis which emphasizes the virtues of competition on interest rate setting. I find that bank market power increases the interest rate charged, but only when using my consolidated measures. This effect is stronger for small and risky firms and is concentrated on long-term loans. My findings highlight the need to take into account the capital linkages of subsidiaries within the same banking group in order to fully assess the implications of bank market power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasingly dynamic and uncertain environment in which firms operate has strengthened the need to understand how firms react to changing conditions and unpredicted events. Using the information on business model innovation collected through a unique survey on Italian manufacturing companies, we study if and how variations in the firm's competitive position in the product market, proxied by the corporate markup, prompt proactive or reactive changes in the firms' business model. Drawing upon the performance feedback approach, we find that markup variations foster business model innovation, and that the degree of family involvement shapes this influence. In particular, family firms turn out to be significantly more proactive (they react proactively to both negative and positive performance feedback) than family firms with lower family involvement and non-family firms. Interestingly, positive performance feedback encourages family firms to invest and strengthen those areas of the business model that are often considered weak in this type of company. Plain English Summary: In recent years, firms have been faced with unprecedented challenges, prompted, for instance, by increasing competition end globalization, but also by particularly adverse and unpredicted events, including the well-known COVID-19 pandemic. This strengthened the importance of understanding how companies react to unexpected changes. To tackle this issue, in this study, we assess whether firms reduce or increase the extent of innovation in their business models as a response to both positive and negative variations in their market power (proxied by their price–cost margin, or markup). Using a sample of Italian manufacturing companies and unique survey data, we show that markup variations foster business model innovation, but that this link significantly changes with the degree of family involvement. In particular, family firms stand out for their proactive response to both increases and decreases in their market power, and seem to view the improvement in their competitive position in the product market as an incentive to strengthen those areas of the business model that are often considered weak in this type of company. Hence, our study portraits a favourable account of (virtuous) family businesses which should prompt policymakers to provide adequate support to these companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Nachhaltigkeitsrecht is the property of Verlag Oesterreich GmbH and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is widely used to boost the total market power of businesses. The wrong selection is one of the key reasons why ERP installations fail. Due to the complexity of the business environment and the range of ERP systems, choosing an ERP system is a complex and time-consuming procedure. ERP alternatives may be assessed using several criteria, so the ERP selection process may be considered a multicriteria decision-making (MCDM) problem. In this study, the rough best worst method (BWM) was used to determine criteria weights, while the newly developed rough integrated simple weighted sum product (WISP) was used to rank ERP alternatives. Results suggest that the SFT-4 coded software is regarded as the best option, followed by SFT-5, SFT-6, SFT-2, SFT-3, and SFT-1. Results of the newly developed rough WISP method are compared to those of existing rough techniques in the sensitivity analysis. The differences between them have been found to be negligible. The outcomes show how effectively developed rough BWM and WISP integrated method performs in terms of ERP selection with usability, accuracy, ease of use, and consistency. This study will help decision-makers in a context where ERP is implemented choose the best ERP software for different sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focusses on key provisions of the Cyber Resilience Act adopted by the European Parliament in March and after a brief introduction (I.) addresses the scope (II.), the categories of products with digital elements (III.) and the obligations of their economic operators (IV.) as well as the tasks and powers of market surveillance authorities (V.) and administrative fines (VI.) before concluding in view of the remaining timeline (VII.). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

More people are listening to more recorded music than any other time in history. While record labels have largely rebounded from the lean 'Napster years' of the early 2000s, remuneration for artists remain low. This article moves beyond an investigation of label-artist contracts – largely blamed for low recording royalties – and considers the broader array of consequences brought by the institutional structure of the streaming economy. Three factors explain dynamics within the music economy: music as a non-rival, non-excludable good; digital service providers (DSPs) as interchangeable market substitutes; and the concentration of Major Label market power due to their discretion to grant or withhold catalog access to DSPs. The ultimate consequence of this market structure is to depress prices in the music economy; value that can be captured largely rests with rights holders. With the DSPs as nearly perfect substitutes, the music industry is constrained in its ability to increase its revenues. Due to market power asymmetries, the burden of this contracted market size is borne by musicians, and to a lesser extent, by DSPs. To illustrate the problematic dynamics of the music streaming economy, music is compared to another non-rival, non-excludable good with a divergent market structure and outcomes: video streaming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To date, orthodox marketing has regarded markets and marketing systems as static and mechanistic rather than dynamic and emergent under the aegis of neoclassical economics. Nevertheless, today, as we transition to a post-industrial era, multiple marketing systems coexist to create consumer satisfaction. This paper, synthesizing Follett's power dichotomy with Alderson's systems approach, aims to typologize marketing systems from a political economic paradigm, which stresses the importance of power phenomena in developing an alternative marketing theory. The present paper also aims to contribute to theory from a higher-order perspective by integrating various phenomena (i.e., marketing systems and power), which have previously been addressed in a piecemeal fashion across diverse domains. The author proposes the "power-with oriented marketing system" as the ideal marketing system, which aims to facilitate resource transfers and the fair distribution of co-created value in a prosumption disposed, post-capitalist marketing era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a novel decomposition approach for measuring deterrence motives in dynamic oligopoly games. Our approach yields a formalized, scale-free, and interpretable measure of deterrence motives that informs researchers about the proportion for which deterrence motives account of all entry motives. In addition, the decomposition leads to a set of conditions for counterfactual analysis where hypothetical scenarios with deterrence motives eliminated can be explored. We illustrate the use of our measure and counterfactual by conducting an empirical case study about the dynamics of coffee chain stores in Toronto, Canada. The inferred deterrence motives suggest that a noticeable proportion of entry motives can be attributed to deterrence; it can be as high as 43% for the increasingly dominant coffee chain, Starbucks, in certain types of markets. Finally, counterfactual analysis confirms that deterrence motives are indeed associated with Starbucks' aggressive presence as the number of its outlets and its market share are markedly lower once these motives are eliminated. This paper was accepted by Matthew Shum, marketing. Supplemental Material: The data files and online appendix are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2023.4864. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The investment decisions of energy-intensive consumers can alter the balance of supply and demand in an electricity market. In particular, they can increase the market power of incumbent generators such that prices may increase as a consequence of their investments. Whilst it is therefore intuitive that such investors will wish to consider their effects on the market, it is a challenging problem analytically and one that has been under-researched. In general, the problem can be manifest in any supply chain where demand-side investments influence endogenous price formation in the intermediate product markets. Theoretically, we show how the presence of producer market power decreases demand-side investments and then, computationally we formulate a quad-level program to model the operational implications for a demand-side investor in more detail. With an innovative reduction in complexity to a bilevel model, an efficient solution algorithm for the optimal investment by a demand-side investor is facilitated. We demonstrate computability on a small scale electricity system and the results confirm the theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A major economic rationale for trade agreements is limiting mutually harmful terms-of-trade externalities. We analyse the impact of market power on tariff commitments of original and acceded WTO members. As countries grow, their market power in different sectors can change in unforeseen ways. To quantify the economic significance of our estimates, we compare actual and predicted tariff commitments under current market power. We find that tariff cuts required to reflect current economic conditions would amount to up to $26.4 billion – nearly 10% of global tariff costs. In the past, the GATT/WTO system has updated tariff commitments through periodic 'rounds', and our findings support the long-overdue revival of the WTO's negotiation function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We apply a static oligopolistic general equilibrium model to investigate the effects of an environmental tax on labor incomes, capital incomes, profits, and the distribution of income. The study is motivated by the fact that environmental taxation is one main political tool to realize environmental sustainability and support sustainable development. However, to ensure social and economic sustainability, the taxes applied must be perceived as fair by the majority of the civil society. Moreover, efforts to determine a fair taxation policy would ensure, inter alia, responsible consumption and production, and lower inequality in the economy, which are one of the two priorities of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 10 and 12). Therefore, it is necessary to determine the tax incidence to inform policymakers regarding the distribution of the tax burden. To examine environmental policy, we assume the government applies a policy objective to realize strong environmental sustainability, as proposed by the Dutch economist Rofie Hueting. The main result is that oligopolistic firms can shift the whole tax burden resulting from environmental taxes to workers and capital owners. Consequently, we show that environmental taxes can lead to more income inequality, and the more concentrated the markets, the bigger the social and economic inequality. Noting that addressing environmental problems is a priority of the UN SDGs, our analysis shows that approaching the issue using just environmental tax propositions is not advisable. These results of the analysis also provide a justification of why many members of the society tend to oppose environmental taxes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]