In this paper we model the development of consumption when there are interactions between consumers. The consumer recognizes three reference groups: peer, distinction, and aspiration. The interplay of aspiration and distinction can lead to 'waves' in consumption; for example, the avant-garde...

The paper draws on the economics of standards to inform current debates on international accounting standards. It traces the benefits claimed for standards - their contribution to the division of labour, innovation, trust, etc.; and the costs, including entry barriers and compliance costs. It...

This paper describes the main innovations in PC operating systems from 1975 to the present, and looks at these innovations from three perspectives. First, to what degree have these innovations enhanced the competitiveness of the innovator? Second, to what degree have these innovations...

In the presence of strong economies of scale, a fall in transport costs can lead to a more pronounced geographical concentration of production. This is very apparent in the growing concentration of breweries in England from 1900-1970. The number of breweries in England fell sharply between 1900...

How should the university respond to the ever more complex global division of labour in the global economy? This paper argues that the appropriate response is to progress in an opposite direction. Instead of being a clever institution, with an ever more complex division of labour, the university...

Can an amorphous cloud of points really illustrate a statistically significant relationship between two variables? We examine one particular scatter-plot from 402 observations which appears to show no relationship whatever between the Y and X variables, and yet, the conventional OLS regression...

The aim of this paper is to estimate the importance of (induced) network effects in the use of mobile telephones and the impact of the structure of social networks on a consumer's adoption decision. This is done using social network data obtained from a survey of second year undergraduate...