We study university projects and research collaboration projects with industry that are supported by government grants. First, we propose a theoretical model to analyze optimal decisions in these ventures. Second, we test our theoretical results with a unique dataset containing academic publications and collaborative research funds for all the academics at the major engineering departments in t...

This paper argues the widespread adoption of Just-in-Time (JIT) logistics provides a key to understanding the growth in the U.S. trade share. To do so, I develop a dynamic trade model based on the choice of the logistics technology used in a firm’s supply chain. The model’s predicted trade dynamics depend on how the set of firms using JIT with international suppliers changes over time. A numeri...

We explore the implications of risk-based capital requirements, à la Basel, for the conduct of monetary policy. A “bank balance-sheet channel” of monetary policy is identified, which operates through bank capital and influences the bank’s loan decision. Using a dynamic banking model, we endogenize the capital decision and show that banks are likely to hold capital above the regulatory minimum t...

We conduct experiments testing the relationship between excess capacity and pricing in repeated Bertrand-Edgeworth duopolies and triopolies. We systematically vary the experimental markets between low excess capacity (suggesting monopoly) and no capacity constraints (suggesting perfect competition). Controlling for the number of firms, higher production capacity leads to lower prices. However, ...

This paper investigates interactions between exporting and productivity at the firm level, using a panel of firms in the UK chemical industry. This is both highly technology intensive and the UK’s largest exporting sector. We find exporters are more productive than non-exporters, but are also on average smaller. This superior productivity performance among exporters appears to be caused by both...

Agricultural research drives increases in agricultural productivity, and the number of private agricultural input firms has been declining. The empirical relationship between the number of firms doing applied biotechnology crop research and the amount of research output they produce is investigated in a research profit function model. Increases in seed industry concentration have reduced biotec...

This paper examines whether it makes sense to consider Sutton’s “bounds” approach as a candidate theory for explaining the recent evolution of market structure in the biotechnology sector, and to speculate whether market structure will change if the industry begins to introduce second-generation GM products that are of more direct benefit to consumers. A key result is that the market structure ...

This paper investigates the relationship between telecommunications infrastructure competition, investment and productivity. Using econometric modelling and input-output economics, the analysis examines and measures the extent to which telecommunications has contributed to national and sectoral productivity performance. The main findings from this paper suggests that most industries have benefi...

The stochastic modeling and determination of reserves and risk capitals for variable annuity guarantee products are relatively new developments in the insurance industry. The current market practice is largely based on Monte Carlo simulations, which have great engineering flexibility but the demand for heavy computational power can be prohibitive in many cases. In this paper, we distinguish and...

We examine empirically the effect of international outsourcing on labour demand at the level of the individual plant. We do so by estimating a dynamic model of plant level labour demand, using a Generalised Method of Moments estimator. We use plant level data for the Irish Electronics sector, an industry that has expanded rapidly over the last decade and that has witnessed significant offshorin...