Das Konzept der Modularität wird von vielen Unternehmen als geeignetes Mittel zur Steigerung der Flexibilität gesehen. Durch ein modular aufgebautes Produkt können beispielsweise heterogene Kundenbedürfnisse möglichst treffend bedient werden, ohne dass dies zu großen Kostensteigerungen...

In der klassischen Ökonomik ist in der Regel der statische Gleichgewichtszustand einer einfachen Wirtschaft der zentrale Betrachtungsgegenstand. Mit dem Simulationsprogramm EconSim entwickelt der Autor ein Modell, das es Ökonomen ermöglichen soll, deutlich komplexere Abbilder realer...

The rise of offshoring of intermediate inputs raises important questions for commercial policy. Do the distinguishing features of offshoring introduce novel reasons for trade policy intervention? Does offshoring create new problems of global policy cooperation whose solutions require...

In this paper we develop a monopolistic competition model where firms exercise their market power across multiple products. Even with CES preferences, markups are endogenous. Firms choose their optimal product scope by balancing the net profits from a new variety against the costs of...

For centuries, most international trade involved an exchange of complete goods. But, with recent improvements in transportation and communications technology, it increasingly entails different countries adding value to global supply chains, or what might be called "trade in tasks." We propose a...

We analyze entry, pricing and product design in a model with differentiated products. Under plausible conditions, entry into an initially monopolized market leads to higher prices for some, possibly all, consumers. Entry can induce a misallocation of goods to consumers, segment the market in a...

We analyze alternative policies such as a disposal content fee, a subsidy for recyclable designs, unit pricing of household disposal, a deposit-refund system, and a manufacturer `take-back' requirement. In order to identify the problem being addressed, we build a simple general equilibrium model...