This volume brings together fourteen papers by leading economists, regulators, and industry practitioners presented at a historic conference on natural gas deregulation. From the origins of gas regulation in the last century to a reexamination of the policy reforms of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) over the last decade, these essays constitute a primer on today's major gas policy issues. These topics include the case for incentive regulation, the costs and benefits of mandatory open-access transportation, the methodology used for determining "workably competitive" markets, lessons from light-handed intrastate regulation, new transactions in the gas market, and private contracting to bypass regulation. Many of these issues and insights can be applied to restructuring other industries such as electric power and telecommunications. Academics and industry practitioners alike will find this book an indispensable reference guide to the history of gas regulation, the recent industry restructuring, and the options for future regulatory reform toward greater market reliance.

The theory of antimarket behavior proposes that economic behavior to escape or control market competition is a normal part of free enterprise. The most common state of economic competition in the modern economy reflects both market and antimarket forces. A better general economic model must include these dynamics, and normative economics must recognize the welfare implications of innovation and variety engendered by the ability to escape market forces. The theory of antimarket economics is supported with evidence from current events, expectations and information theory, public choice, and institutional, environmental and other economic fields.

In Germany's Economic Renaissance, veteran European correspondent Jack Ewing of The International New York Times explains how a country with some of the highest labor and energy costs in the world beat the odds to become the third-largest exporter of manufactured goods, after China and the United States. Men and women who manage German companies both big and small explain how any company can behave like a multinational, as well as the secrets of conquering the high end of the market where quality is more important than price. Both informative and entertaining, filled with rich character studies, this book is essential reading for everyone wondering how to bring factories - and the jobs they provide - back to American shores.

The book examines the changing external environment of organizations. This book explores the contradictions within the global capitalist system and their consequences to assess and find ways in creating new knowledge for managers/leaders to reorient themselves in appropriate restructuring of organizations to better serve their stakeholders.

By understanding the historical antecedents and current organization of industry associations, business and government will better be able to help restructure them and thus assist American industry more effectively battle foreign competition. Procassini, president of the Semiconductor Industry Association, maintains that American associations can, and should be reorganized by reviewing and comparing their origins and operations today to similar associations in America's two major trade competitors, Germany and Japan. Comprehensive, thoroughly researched, readable and anecdotal, this book is the first to focus on the role of associations in the global marketplace. A provocative and useful analysis for businesspeople, government officials, and members of the academic community concerned with the structure and practice of international commerce.

The author compares U.S. industry associations to those in Germany and Japan in two ways. First, he looks at their past legacies and present mandates; then, with special emphasis on America's major high-tech industries, he analyzes their organization and operation. After a general overview of the past, present, and foreseeable future of associations, and a detailed study of those in the U.S., Germany, and Japan, he turns to specific industries -- aerospace, biotechnology, semiconductors, and computer systems -- and their trade associations, defining and comparing the characteristics of each. Part IV of the book digs into the ways in which associations fail, as well as succeed, in the mission demanded of them today. From this analysis and the author's extensive experience as a corporation and association executive, emerge a series of recommendations for redefining the associations' mission in today's global economy, and a blueprint for achieving these goals.

This is the first book dealing with competition and efficiency issues in the Arab world. Combining quantitative analysis and field surveys to assess the degree of competition, the degree of efficiency and their relationships in the manufacturing sector, this book provides a unique insight into Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia.

The issue of international antitrust enforcement is high on the agenda for both developed and developing countries. Bilateral cooperation between antitrust agencies, in particular the European Commission and US agencies, is the focus of this new work. It first shows how bilateral cooperation was developed as a response to the limits of the unilateral and extraterritorial application of national competition laws, and how it has evolved from an instrument initially designed to avoid conflicts into a tool aimed at coordinating joint investigations of international competition cases. It then considers how bilateral cooperation could be used optimally, by analysing two forms of advanced cooperation: the exchange of confidential information, and positive comity, which is the only satisfactory answer competition law can provide to market access cases. It shows that the use of such instruments is limited by significant legal and political obstacles, even in the context of the exemplary EC US relationship. The book therefore argues that the efficient use of bilateral cooperation will be limited to a small number of well-established competition agencies. If international anticompetitive practices are to be efficiently addressed by an increasingly large and heterogeneous group of competition agencies, horizontal cooperation between antitrust agencies must be complemented by a multilateral and supranational solution going beyond proposals currently put forward. The book concludes that only the WTO and its dispute settlement system could provide the basis for such a system.

Competition between companies tends to be beneficial for the general public, but is this also true for competition between States in a world with global financial markets, low transport costs, and increasing migration? In this book, Sinn provides a solid economic analysis of the competitive forces at work and addresses how we should organize competition between systems so they will enhance the efficiency of these systems, as opposed to acting destructively on them.Provides a thorough economic analysis of the competitive forces at work between nations and governments.Analyzes a wide range of state activities, including taxation, public goods provision, income redistribution, environmental policy, safety standards, and competition policy.Addresses ways to organize competition so it will enhance the efficiency of these systems.

Since the pioneering work of Joseph Schumpeter (1942), it has been assumed that innovations typically play a key role in firms' competitiveness. This assumption has been applied to firms in both developed and developing countries. However, the innovative capacities and business environments of firms in developing countries are fundamentally different from those in developed countries. It stands to reason that innovation and competitiveness models based on developed countries may not apply to developing countries. In this volume, Vivienne Wang and Elias G. Carayannis apply both theoretical approaches and empirical analysis to explore the dynamics of innovation in developing countries, with a particular emphasis on R&D in manufacturing firms. In so doing, they present an alternative to Michael Porter's Competitive Advantage Model-a Competitive Position Model that focuses on incremental and adaptive innovations that are more appropriate than radical innovations for developing countries. Their research addresses such questions as: Do innovations advance the competitive positions of manufacturing firms in developing countries? Does the pace of innovation matter, in particular, in socio-economic and socio-political contexts? To what degree can national innovation systems and policies influence development? To what extent do a firm's innovation commitments correlate with the protection of intellectual property rights? What roles do foreign direct investment and relationships with clusters and networks play? The resulting analysis not only challenges traditional theoretical approaches to innovation, but provides suggestions for improving business practice and policymaking.

Global competition, shorter product lifecycles and increasingly demanding customers are creating significant pressures for the creation of innovative organizations. By examining eight case studies in various industry sectors in Europe, Australia, Japan and Thailand, this book provides a qualitative explanation of the complex relationships between innovation capability, e-commerce, sustainable development and new product development. The book explores how organizations develop innovation capability through the application of e-commerce, sustainable development-orientation, and new product development in order to gain competitive advantage. This knowledge will help managers, academics and policy-makers understand "what works, and why and how it works" in creating innovation-driven organizations from an international perspective, thereby providing an integrated approach to innovation management.

As globalization creates the need for leaders who transcend national borders, this book provides an insider's view of what makes them special. This is the first book to present a framework for understanding this fast-growing and influential group and it provides tools for readers to discover their own inner competitive edge.

Technology and U.S. global competitiveness is a major concern today, and yet there is no study that surveys the key issues describing federal and state policies in the United States. What new technologies are likely to increase our national productivity and international competitiveness in the future? Editors Lambright and Rahm have gathered together a group of experts to provide varying perspectives and recommendations for students, scholars, experts, and policymakers to consider. The edited collection describes federal and state programs, institutions, and changing policy issues given the new world order of technology and competitiveness. Part I analyzes federal competitiveness policy, the decontrolling of technology transfer, the role of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the emerging role of the Department of Defense in Technology Transfer. Part II covers turbulent state programs in the 1990s, state space technology programs, and basic research and development. Part III deals with recent theoretical and organizational approaches to U.S. technology policy, changing international relations and U.S.-Japanese competitiveness, and corporate culture in small high tech firms.

Central and Eastern European countries are entering the development race at a crucial juncture in EU enlargement and the wider phenomenon of globalization. In the face of hesitant and controversial EU policy, these countries need to engage sound development strategies. International production networks are expected to be decisive in helping them strengthen their competitiveness and establish knowledge based economies. Julie Pellegrin looks at whether and how production networks develop in Central and Eastern European countries and assesses their chances of catching up with the rest of Europe.

This study was motivated by an awareness of the ever-growing importance of technology on productivity and power in the information age. It examines the relationship among national security, economic competition, and technology. An underlying premise is that in an era of diminished military confrontation, economic and technological power are acquiring enhanced importance in national security considerations. Green believes that this is bound to promote closer coordination between government and private industry, but not without tensions. Using both a public policy and an economic focus, his work seeks to clarify the debate on high technology industrial policy and to address the policy question of whether and how government should respond to competitive assaults in strategic industries.

The key arguments and debates about globalization have raised searching questions about the significance of national and regional borders for the competitive strategies of individuals, firms and industries." Global Competitiveness and Innovation" seeks to address these issues by exploring four key topics: The status of economic agents in the emerging global economy; the limits of path dependence and the scope of agent action; the relationship between agents' decision-making and their environments; and agents' learning capacities in a world of information and knowledge creation.

The blackout of 2003 illuminated just how dependent America is on electricity. It was not just that some 50 million people in eight states and Ontario were cut off from their televisions, microwaves, ATMs, and email. Without the electrical juice to keep their sockets alive, factory managers were forced to close production lines, city managers shut down water deliveries, grocery store clerks watched their frozen inventory slowly melt away. Economists estimated that the blackout cost Americans $5 billion even as energy analysts were predicting that a similar blackout could happen again. The catastrophe forced us to marvel at the unusual ability of sub-microscopic particles to move like waves inside a wire and cause bulbs to glow. It highlighted the complex requirements for managing the massive generators, transformers, transmission lines, and switch boxes needed to tap and deliver flowing electrons. It encouraged us to recognize the profound impact of electricity on all aspects of commerce and culture. Such events as the blackout, the Enron debacle, and the California "brownouts" also reveal the cracks in a 100-year-old industry structure that have been building ever since Thomas Edison, George Westinghouse, and their contemporaries first managed to harness electricity and make it available to the masses, and tycoons, such as Sam Insull and George Norris, began to concentrate financial control and political influence. From Edison to Enron traces the controversial history of this $210 billion industry--the nation's largest--showcasing the key individuals, technological innovations, corporate machinations, and political battles that have been waged over its domination. Munson maintains thattoday's technological and regulatory infrastructure, as a function of its history, is a relic that has long outlived its usefulness; he points out that two-thirds of the fuel burned to generate electricity is lost, that Americans pay roughly $100 billion too much each year for heat and power, and that environmentally unfriendly generators are the nation's largest polluters. Meanwhile, innovations in technology and business models are being blocked by entrenched monopolies. Ultimately, Munson argues that current policies and practices, including those favored by the Bush Administration, are preventing entrepreneurs from producing more efficient, healthy, and sustainable power supplies. Moreover, he presents an agenda for business and policy reforms that will stimulate economic development in the United States and around the world.

This study synthesizes and summarizes the theoretical arguments and empirical evidence that suggest that competition works remarkably well to reduce costs and improve efficiency and innovation, even in an arena where competition has typically been ignored--government-financed services. The arguments and data marshaled here, drawn primarily from the American experience, portray the substantial benefits to consumers and taxpayers that can result from efforts to increase competition in commercial services previously operated as government monopolies.

Competition in Government-Financed Services will help fortify the efforts of competition advocates, both in the United States and in the emerging market economies of Eastern Europe and the developing world, to get on with the job of strengthening competition and opening their systems to market forces.

This book addresses the multi-facet competitiveness of firms in China from an angle of strategic management of technology and innovation. The Chinese vanguard companies have been excellent in identifying strategic position and appropriately making strategic decisions, and effectively making strategy in action.

Competition, Efficiency and Welfare contains a collection of papers in honor of Manfred Neumann. This collection was prepared as a tribute to a teacher and scholar, whose accomplishments have enriched various fields of economics. The magnitude of his interests is reflected in the breadth of topics covered in this volume: industrial economics, competition policy and related topics. However, if one unifying principle runs through Manfred Neumann's work, it is the belief in the power of competition. Born on May 16, 1933, Manfred Neumann studied economics at the University of Cologne. He graduated in 1960. In 1969 Manfred Neumann was appointed Professor of Economics at Nurnberg University. He was Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences of the University of Erlangen-Nurnberg, President of the European Association for Research in Industrial Economics (EARIE) and Chairman of Industrial Organization Study Group of the Verein fur Sozialpolitik. Most of his professional career has been spent at Nurnberg, where he has helped to make the Economic Institute one of the leading research centers in Industrial Organization. He has also been involved in various advisory activities. The volume contains 18 essays. The first twelve are grouped into four categories: Innovation and R&D (Part I), Cartels (Part II), Mergers and Merger Policy (Part III), and Methodological Issues in Industrial Organization (Part IV). These papers fall within the bounds of industrial economics, which has been Manfred Neumann's primary research interest throughout his career. Part V includes two papers on theories of international trade, which has been a recurring topic of interest for Manfred Neumann through the years. The last three papers look at broader policy and macroeconomic issues. Contributors to this volume include Karl Aiginger, David B. Audretsch, Paul A. Geroski, Stephen Martin and Dennis Mueller.

Michman and Mazze present five key variables that retailing executives in nine specialty businesses must understand and work with, to gain and sustain competitive advantage in their competitive environments. Innovation, target market segmentation, image development, physical store decor, and human resource managementf are identified and examined. Authors argue convincingly from research and practical experience that these fundamental considerations are crucial to achieving competitive dominance. With up-to-date analyses and extensive coverage of e-commerce and internet retailing as well, their book is essential for retailing executives.

Michman and Mazze find that successful specialty retailers are not all things to all customers, and do not try to be. They are, however, the first to apply new technologies. Authors analyze the development of specialty stores in the U.S. and tie their variables together in an epilogue. Along the way they make clear that by focusing on their five critical variables, we can understand how marketing successes come about and what causes blunders in the nine highly important store categories under their examination here. They point out that not all of their variables need be used concurrently. Some may be more critical than others, and this depends on environmental and competitive conditions. Backing it all up is meticulously developed evidence from their research and personal experience -- all of it presented readably and in a way that practitioners can understand and immediately apply.

Strategic Interaction and Markets explores the theoretical richness of economic contexts such as product differentiation, strategic barriers to entry, and imperfect information, where economic agents act strategically taking into account the impact of their behaviour on competitors' behaviour and prices. This non-ideal form of competition is the standard result when competition is amongst a small number of agents. Designed as an ancillary text for graduate students, this book is an accessible introduction to the applications of a complex area of mathematical economics.