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The end of the past decade meant a new beginning tothe European Union. The signature of the Treaty ofLisbon, on the 13th of December 2007, put indeed anend to the crisis that the European Union had beenexperiencing since the failure of the EuropeanConstitution on 2006. However, there was a change that passed almostunnoticed but that could have an importantconsequence for the future of the Union: the removalof the reference to "a system ensuring thatcompetition is not distorted in the internalmarket", which appeared in the old article 3 (g) ofthe European Community Treaty, and its subsequentreplacement by a protocol. Which consequence will have this removal on thecurrent European competition policy? Does it open anew era for competition in Europe or was it only amere political concession made in order to end thecrisis?The aim of this book is to find an answer to thesequestions. The author, after having recalled thehistory of what we call the competition principle,envisages different possibilities with objectivityand critical regard. ... Read more

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In 1859, Charles Darwin published his historic work "On the Origin of Species". Here we have taken the liberty of republishing this excellent work under the pseudonym Stejn Bakker. The sole purpose of doing so has been to test the editorial process and quality control of the publisher whom we know have contacted thousands of researchers with the offer to publish their theses or dissertations in book form. ... Read more

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The decreasing number of women who are graduating in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields continues to be a major concern. Despite national support in the form of grants provided by National Science Foundation, National Center for Information and Technology and legislation passed such as the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 that encourages women to enter the STEM fields, the number of women actually graduating in these fields is surprisingly low. For many years it was thought competition was a deterrent for female adolescents in the STEM fields. Research is now demonstrating the opposite. Data have been collected to help explain why young women are reticent to take technology or engineering type courses in high school and college. Often these courses were thought to have masculine and ?nerdy? overtones. The courses were usually majority male enrollments and appeared to be very competitive. With more female adolescents engaging in this type of competitive atmosphere, this study gathered information focusing on a robotics competition and its appeal to young women. ... Read more

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Tax competition at the level of the Federal States is an issue of greatconcern in Brazil to the extent that there is no effective control nor an efficient framework of rules as the European Community has andimposes to its Members States. On the other hand, tax competitioncould be used so as to promote and develop certain Brazilian areas/sectors which lack economic and financial support. This work is acomparative study which highlights the harmful effects of taxcompetition in Brazil and offers as a solution the adoption of anspecific regulation inspired in the state aid regime implemented by theEuropean Community. ... Read more

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Renewable energy sources have become increasinglyimportant in the efforts to provide energy security and to fight global warming. In thelast decade environmental policy has increased the support for renewable electricity. Atthe same time the electricity sector was often subject of antitrust investigation because ofrelevant market concentration, and market power. This book looks at the renewable electricitymarket to analyze the effect of environmental policy on competition. The firstchapter provides a short introduction into theregulatory schemes of electricity markets. The second chapter analyzes the demand sideof the electricity market. The third chapter derivesa theoretical model where the different supportregimes can be analyzed under oligopolistic marketstructure. Finally, in the last chapter a simulationmodel of the UK electricity market is used to test the effect of mergers and acquisitions under theenvironmental support scheme. The analysis of thisbook can help policy makers and national authoritiesto better understand and plan environmental policytaking into account the market structure of theelectricity market. ... Read more

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There have been many researches in order to demonstrate the relationship between banking competition, financial stability and performance structure.Literature reviews of these researches were used in this dissertation.The Mauritian banking sector is a highly oligopolistic one, controlled by only some major banks.Panel data analysis is being used to analyze the effects the explanatory variables on the dependent variable net income. Net income is the best variable to analyze competitiveness as the performance of a bank is measured through the amount of income it has earned from its activities ... Read more

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Sponsored search has grown to be an important share of the advertisement market and a major income source for large Internet companies. Its success relies not only on the explosive Internet use but also on successful implementation that made it a highly efficient and profitable concept for advertisers and search engines, in particular, through the use of keyword auctions. Up until now, most of the research relies on the simplest game-theoretic models to extract useful results. We extend the most common models to encapsulate an aspect of the system that only recently has begun to draw attention; the effect of competing advertisements on the user's actions and subsequently on the advertisers' campaign efficiency. We present models that take these effects into account while remaining simple enough for us to answer the most basic game-theoretic questions about them such as the presence of equilibria and their efficiency. We also compare our models to the most common model and show their significant advantages. Finally, we discuss a proposed new mechanism that incorporates externalities and evaluate its performance. ... Read more

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Flexible capacity strategy (FCS) has been adoptedby numerous firms in different industries in thepast two decades. This strategy reflects differentabilities of firms in adjusting their throughputsto respond to different demands. As this strategyis prevailing, there is an increasing need toevaluate of FCS under different businessenvironments. Very little academic literature hasinvestigated FCS considering influential factors ofbusiness complexity. This book, therefore, providesa series of systematic evaluation of FCS underdifferent considerations. Long term FCS evaluation,asymmetrical oligopoly competition model,endogenous adoptability of FCS among multiple firmsand flexible degrees of FCS are formulated andanalyzed. The analysis and research results shouldhelp shed some light on successful implementationof FCS, and should be particularly useful forprofessionals in capacity flexibility field andoperation strategy determiners, or anyone else whomay consider utilizing FCS for business benefit. ... Read more

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During the last decade there has been serious changein the global constellations of the economy and hence chances and possibilities of capital concentration and merging opportunities. Will the markets regulate the competition issue i.e. keep the equilibrium or there is need for intervention through Competition Policy? Or maybe, the dynamism of tomorrow?s economy gives sudden/automatic solution to the competition problems?The high profile merger cases have boosted the debate which will tend to expand its reach in the fields of economics andeconometrics versus political interests. Threecrucial cases were analyzed. In the first case,WorldCom/MCI, both the US Department of Justice andthe European Commission concluded that there has tobe a divesture. The second case, Boeing/McDonnell Douglas raised the tensions over the two Atlantic antitrust axes. Nonetheless, it was resolved after strong political pressures undertaken by both sides.The third case, General Electric/Honeywell set thefoundations of firm disagreement and urged for muchneeded reform of the EU legislation and the MergerRegulation, which was introduced after all. ... Read more

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This monograph examines how the construction and implementation of the Dande Irrigation Project in the Zambezi Valley, Zimbabwe,has and is perceived to affect the local people. The results show that the local valley people do not speak with one voice as ethnic affiliations,institutional dynamics and group interests appear to determine the success or failure of the proposed project. The findings also show that traditional institutions of authority especially the spirit mediums maintain a heavy presents and attain a lot of respect from the long-term valley residents, the Kore Kore, while at the same time, immigrants to the valley accord more respect to administrative and politico-legal institutions.The contention throughout the case study, as I hope to have shown, is that the project structure and organisation have not only to be feasible from the technical point of view but also must be sustainable in socio-economic and institutional terms. I conclude that smallholder irrigation development intervention that integrates the technical with the socio-economic and institutional dynamics, from planning to implementation, will be more effective and offer great potential for sustainability ... Read more

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Tax competition models show taxation as a key variable in investment location decisions. Countries reduce taxation to attract firms. Firms locate their investments where the net return on capital is higher due to a lower tax burden. But tax competition is not optimal because the lowering of the tax burden causes an inefficient allocation of capital and provision of public goods. Thus, tax policies in an economic area such as the European Union should be coordinated. This book presents a behavioural approach where both uncertainty and the cognitive characteristics of managers have a central role. Investment location decisions are shown to be significantly explained by heuristics arising from the uncertainty faced by managers, while the role of taxation appears to be less significant than it is usually assumed. Therefore, not only countries should reconsider emphasizing taxation when implementing policies to attract investment but the main argument for corporate tax integration in the EU simply vanishes. The book may help managers dealing with investment decisions, public officials designing incentives to attract firms and lecturers in international economics or management. ... Read more

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The theory of the firm and transaction cost analysisprovide the starting point of this institutionalstudy of business co-operation in the aftermath ofWorld War Two. It is suggested that the market is aninstitution which is subject to the visible hand ofbusiness. The aim of business in this process is tocontrol information flows and reduce uncertainty.Utilising business history case studies, of the oilindustry., the electrical engineering industry and the grocery retailing trade the book shows how firmsaim to create market governance procedures in orderto alter the structure of the market.The studyfinds that inter-firm co-operation is central tounderstanding the development of markets and that co- operation is a dynamic process, which responds tochanges in market conditions and governmentcompetition policy. The study concludes that firmsare not primarily transaction cost minimisers butare maximisers ofmarket power. This book will beuseful to researchers and students interested inbusiness management and strategy or industrialeconomics ... Read more

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Most cities in America today operate in a fragmented metropolitan system in which they compete with each other for residents and employers in much the same way that private companies compete for customers.Cities regularly seek out opportunities to meet the rising expectations of their residents for both higher services and lower property tax rates.One way cities can achieve cost savings is to cooperate with other cities in the delivery of goods and services.Such efforts often can improve the quality of the services being provided and reduce costs by taking advantage of economies of scale and reducing spill-over effects.Cities are thus simultaneously compelled to compete and cooperate with each other.How they go about the process of making partners of the cities with which they regularly compete is the subject of this book.The author focuses his analysis on how cities choose their cooperation partner.Using Census data on local government finances, the book explores patterns of cooperative behavior regularly utilized by cities, and suggests a model of cooperation choice not previously discussed in the literature. ... Read more

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This study explores taxation literature and usesempirical evidence from the period of 1996-2006 toexamine tax competition and tax harmonization inSoutheast Asia. The study seeks evidence for theexistence of tax competition by analyzing recenttrends in two groups of measures of taxation: taxrates and tax revenues.Evidence is found for a decline in statutorycorporate tax rates, developments commensurate withthe existence of tax competition. On the contrary,the tax revenue data presented here, show that theexpected decline in total tax revenues has notoccurred; indeed, a significant increase has beenrecorded. It is also supported by empirical evidenceof the ratio of corporate tax revenue eitherrelative to GDP or to total tax revenue. The twogroups of measures of taxationthus provide apparently inconsistent views of theimpact of tax competition. There follows an analysisof the elements of tax competition according toliterature, in an attempt to draw out itsimplications for the experience within the SoutheastAsian region. This study also examines the case fortax harmonisation and the Southeast Asian experience. ... Read more

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Fundamental principles of freedom of commerce andindustry give rise to the freedom of competition.However, this freedom may sometimes cause unfaircommercial practices between companies. Despitedifferences, all countries in Europe have set upmechanisms based on the principle of fairness inorder to better facilitate activities related tocommerce. It is generally believed that the marketshould act in a fair way towards the interests ofall participants and, therefore, that some standardrules should be agreed in order to secure suchfairness.In order to combine a high level of consumerprotection while freeing up international trade inall countries, several regulations entered intoforce in the European Union Law. This bookintroduces a comprehensive outline of such unfaircompetition law in the European Union and Turkeythrough focusing on particular regulations anddirectives. ... Read more

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In order to create more opportunities, cities mustbeable to attract more investment, business, residentsand visitors. In order to improve the country/cityimage, governments have lately been engaged inconventional marketing techniques used otherwise byprivate companies. A well designed program toattractforeign investment contains complementary elements:promotion, incentives, and policies designed toimprove the investment climate. Actions likesubsidizing investors, promotion of the city,branding, offering financial incentives to existingcompanies and to investors are only few of thestrategies that are considered to beentrepreneurial.What entrepreneurial cities are, if the two analyzedcities can be considered entrepreneurial, whatpolicies they adopted since the fall of thecommunistregimes and how these policies affected the localdevelopment of the respective cities are only few ofthe issues that will be addressed in this paper. ... Read more

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In recent years economic reform has been implemented, or contemplated, in many economic sectors in the European Union. The transportation sector in Germany is no exception. To understand the consequences of reform, one must begin by characterizing the pre-reform nature of the relationship between prices and marginal costs in the industry.This study has been designed to assess the extent to which price deviates from marginal costs in selected sectors of the West German transport industry. A fully specified theoretical model has been developed that allows us to examine the nature of the relationship between price and marginal cost, and estimate a model consistent with the theoretical structure.With the unification of Germany, the question of further deregulation and privatization of these modes has assumed even greater importance. The results of this study can provide some important policy implications for further deregulation.The analysis in this book should be useful for students and policy makers alike who might be interested in understanding the efficacy of deregulation and privatization proposals for different industries, whether in Europe or elsewhere. ... Read more

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This book studies the insights driving airline faresand their time variations both in theory and inpractice. Part I first explains the dynamics ofairline pricing and the reasons of price dispersion;then it studies how the pattern of airline fares,which resemble the shape of a J-curve, can beaffected by the extent of competition. Thereafterpart II is devoted to an empirical application usingposted fares of the main carriers of the UK-Irelandairline market. The author first offers a briefdescription of the market and then presents agraphical analysis to reproduce with real postedfares the pattern of airline pricing throughout thebooking period. Finally he conducts an econometricinvestigation on the effect of market structure onprice dispersion of airline fares. The book is written to appeal to both practitionersand readers willing to understand how airline faresevolve throughout the booking period and how theirpattern can be affected by extent of competition.Furthermore, because its application focuses on theUK-Ireland airline market, this book also targetsthose interested in the Aer Lingus vs Ryanaircompetition case. ... Read more

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This book estimates the competitiveness level of the UK beer market.In order to achieve this task, the model of Bresnahan (1982) and Lau(1982) is employed to determine the short term competitiveness whilethe model offered by Steen and Salvanes (1999) is used to determinethe level of competition in the long-run. The findings show that thebeer industry in the UK is perfectly competitive both in the short-runand in the long-run. ... Read more