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Introduction The Coase Theorem posits that frictionless markets efficiently allocate scarce resources as long as property rights are fully specified. Our empirical study investigates how the initial allocation of labor-related property rights influences the allocative efficiency in labor markets for skilled workers within a highly competitive environment—professional basketball. Specifically, we compare two regimes: one where employers can trade workers to other employers without the worker's consent, and another where workers are free agents, able to negotiate and move freely without their employer's consent. Methods We utilize the NBA as a “laboratory” to conduct our analysis, constructing a unique panel dataset that includes 3,132 player-season observations spanning 17 regular seasons from 2003/04 to 2019/20. To address our research question, we employ linear panel regression models to analyze the data. Results and discussion The findings reveal a decline in productivity among workers who transition to new employers as free agents, a phenomenon not observed among non-free agents. This observation suggests that allocative efficiency might be higher when workers are traded without their consent compared to when they exercise their autonomy as free agents. These findings highlight the significant impact that the initial distribution of labor-related property rights has on labor market efficiency, potentially challenging the assumptions of the Coase Theorem. However, the lack of a statistically significant difference in productivity changes between free agents and non-free agents moving to new employers prevents us from definitively rejecting the predictions of the Coase Theorem.

We conduct an empirical study to examine the impact of the initial distribution of labor-related property rights on the allocative efficiency of labor markets for skilled workers in a highly competitive labor market (professional basketball). Specifically, we compare a regime where employers can trade workers to other employers without the worker's consent to one where workers have the right to negotiate freely with other employers and move without their employer's consent. Our results indicate that contrary to the predictions of the Coase Theorem, allocative efficiency decreases when workers have the initial right to negotiate freely and move to another employer.

From a short-term (e.g. daily) perspective, visitor numbers to an outdoor recreation destination are strongly influenced by good or bad weather conditions. However, to date, a large body of literature has focused on tourists' responses to climate change or weather conditions over a longer temporal scale, such as a year. Using data for Mount Rigi, a Swiss outdoor recreation destination, we specify a regression model to explain the variation in daily visitor numbers. Our findings confirm the strong weather and seasonal sensitivity that are often found in previous studies. However, we also found that the effect of the weather on daily visitors is not homogeneous but decreases with the number of previous sunny days within a given tourist season. Our finding is that, contrary to popular belief, the impact of weather on tourist service providers and destinations is less pronounced when viewed seasonally. We provide some possible explanations for these observations based on the destination's characteristics, its visitor segment(s) and the theory of planned behaviour in tourism., + ID der Publikation: hslu_94318 + Art des Beitrages: Wissenschaftliche Medien + Sprache: Englisch + Letzte Aktualisierung: 2023-02-01 11:00:55 + "This article has been accepted for publication in "Tourism Recreation Research", published by Taylor & Francis."

In recent years, concerns over effective consumer representation of public transport users have increased considerably, as public transport has undergone substantial regulatory reforms. The ultimate goal of deregulation is to protect and benefit the public at large. Hence, this paper explores how this goal is being pursued by examining the roles of statutory, independent passenger watchdogs and their relationships with authorities and operators in regulated and deregulated bus regimes. Drawing on a case study of London TravelWatch and Transport Focus in Great Britain, our findings show that statutory passenger watchdogs are effective in representing passenger interests due to four factors in particular: the organizational setting, research-based evidence, accommodating relationships, and public outreach. The paper also documents the differences in how these passenger watchdogs build their relationships with key stakeholders and work with them within the strategic-tactical-operational framework., + ID der Publikation: hslu_47380 + Art des Beitrages: Wissenschaftliche Medien + Sprache: Englisch + Letzte Aktualisierung: 2017-05-10 10:51:36