The central common feature of a number of recent technological developments (collectively referred to as Web 2.0) is collaborative production of content on an amateur basis, that is, for motives other than commercial reward. Amateur production of content generates significant external benefits...

In this paper, I will argue that blogs and wikis are indeed highly significant, but more as instances of a new mode of innovation than as a direct replacement for existing communications media. This new mode has been christened the ‘creative commons’ and both elements of the name are...

This chapter will discuss what economics can tell us about New Media. More interestingly, perhaps, at least to those concerned with the long-term impact of New Media, it will examine the implications of New Media for economics and economic organization, and offer some policy recommendations.

Most, if not all, production technologies are stochastic. This article demonstrates how data envelopment analysis (DEA) methods can be adapted to accommodate stochastic elements in a state-contingent setting. Specifically, we show how observations on a random input, not under the control of the...

Starting from the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, this article provides background on China’s science and technology (S&T) system and the perceived growing urgency of reforming it in order to support continuing economic growth in China. The need for reform became...

This article concentrates on the global location of production of television receivers as a case study. The aim is to see if this accords with Vernon’s international product cycle theory or whether some modifications of the theory are required. The historical evolution of the global television...

This is the draft of the introductory chapter of Clem Tisdell (ed.) Globalisation and World Economic Policies. It highlights the varied dimensions of globalisation. Trends in world exports of goods and services as a percentage of global GDP, and world FDI net inflow as a percentage of global GDP...

Modern new biotechnology has the potential to provide major economic and other benefits, but at the same time it poses potential hazards for human health, the environment, the ‘natural’ biological order and can have adverse socio-economic consequences. The application of such technology...

We present a model of competitive interaction among n symmetric firms producing a homogeneous good that includes both Bertrand and Cournot competition as special cases. In our model the intensity of competition is captured by a single parameter—the perceived slope of competitors’ supply...

Considerable public funding is provided for research and development intended to improve the management and use of shared natural resources, such as water. In Australia the Land and Water Research and Development Corporation (LWRRDC) and Environment Australia are significant providers of such...