We analyze the interaction between market structure and market performance and how it varies over the product cycle. To account for the potential endogeneity in this relation, we use an instrumental variable approach. We combine data from the largest Austrian online market for price comparisons...

The microgrid concept has been closely investigated and implemented by numerous experts worldwide. The first part of this paper describes the principles of microgrid design, considering the operational concepts and requirements arising from participation in active network management. Over the...

World cotton prices soared to record levels in March 2011, reaching $2.20 a pound in contrast to 40–80¢/pound between 2000 and 2010. The price spike serves as a natural experiment that offers insights into the relationship between world cotton prices and producer prices in West Africa. A...

In a North–South vertically differentiated duopoly we analyze (i) the effects of parallel import (PI) policies on price competition and (ii) the interdependence of national PI policies. Prices can be higher in the North if both countries permit PIs relative to when only the South does. If...

We consider a setup where lobbyist firms undertake contributions to an office-motivated policy maker in exchange for profit increasing regulations, in a general equilibrium model of R&D-driven growth. We find that, despite increasing concentration—which leads to higher prices and less...

The perception that banks are exploiting customers through their fee-charging practices in a bid to maximize profits, has fuelled widespread public interest in identifying the banks that profit most heavily from fees. Using hierarchical cross-country regression analyses, this paper seeks to...

The main objective of this paper is to answer the question; does the market structure explain the variation in profitability of Indian cement industry? If yes, which measure; if no, why not? To answer this question, we used the empirical technique, the Davidson-MacKinnon’s J test, to test the...

Financial intermediation is low in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) compared to other regions of the world. This paper examines the determinants of bank interest margins using a sample of 456 banks in 41 SSA countries. The results show that market concentration is positively associated with interest...

This paper presents an endogenous growth model where, in line with the recent empirical evidence, the telecommunications industry (telecom) is an engine of growth. In such a framework, this paper analyzes the channels through which telecom contributes to economic growth and focuses on market...

Over the past decades, private R&D spending in the US and other developed countries has been growing faster than GDP. In the United States, for example, R&D expenditures (excluding those funded by the federal government) have grown from 0.63% of GDP in 1953 to 1.95% of GDP in 2007, i.e. R&D...