Information technology (IT) tends to be viewed as ancillary to core government functions. Consequently, IT is often outsourced to the private sector. Unfortunately, there is a long line of failed outsourced projects. This article uses two New Zealand case studies, the particularly public failure...

With the rapid development of E-commerce, more and more E-commerce enterprises attach great importance to customer experience, and B2C E-commerce enterprises make no exception. The good customer experience can promote customers' perception of the service level of B2C E-commerce enterprises....

Abstract Most economic theories on patent pools focus exclusively on patent owners’ licensing practices in explaining why patent owners voluntarily form a patent pool. Such an approach ignores the “property” root of patents. Judge Posner emphasized the importance of using economic theories...

This paper presents a novel explanation of the decision by a firm to make an input within the firm rather than to out-source the production to another firm. Due to the limited attention of the manager/entrepreneur, time spent overseeing production in-house has an opportunity cost: the neglect of...

Larry Lessig flagellates himself about losing the Eldred case, which upheld the legality of copyright extensions. He shouldn’t: Eldred was unwinnable. (The Court’s 7-2 vote is one clue). Besides, the worst of the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act’s effects can still be made to...

Standard economic intuition of revealed preference implies that when two parties freely enter into a contract then neither should be worse off. In this study, we develop a simple model showing that introducing the opportunity to contract can lower welfare for some, and perhaps all, contracting...

The paper is based on the New Institutional Economic Theory, which emphasizes institutions as a vital component in the creation of wealth and economic growth. It is widely accepted that formal institutions change rapidly through political and legislative decisions. Informal institutions are...

Abstract This article reports on the results of a case study that examines the characteristics of the transaction between a plastic producer firm and its supplier of steel injection mold in order to explore the possible effects of asset specificity on the firm�s choice of the transaction...

Abstract Governments and international development agencies often fail in their efforts to build and reform property and company registries. They implement misguided policies rooted in a poor understanding of the role that registries play in the modern economy. This work aims to remedy this...