Combining preference ordering and contingent valuation methods to assess non market benefit of alternative afforestation projects

The application of the contingent valuation method (CVM) in this paper incorporates a prior preference ordering of several alternative future afforestation programmes which could be implemented in Ireland over the next decade. This particular experimental design is thereby shown to reveal the potentially conflicting preferences of different groups within society. These findings are used to devise appropriate CVM scenarios to take account, not only of the efficiency gains of choosing a single policy alternative over others, but also the effects on the distribution of non market benefit between different groups within society, arising from choice between alternatives. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Down with MNE-centric theories! Market entry and expansion as the bundling of MNE and local assets

Both Anderson and Gatignon and the Uppsala internationalization model see the initial mode of foreign market entry and subsequent modes of operation as unilaterally determined by multinational enterprises (MNEs) arbitraging control and risk and increasing their commitment as they gain experience in the target market. OLI and internalization models do recognize that foreign market entry requires the bundling of MNE and complementary local assets, which they call location or country-specific advantages, but implicitly assume that those assets are freely accessible to MNEs. In contrast to both of these MNE-centric views, I explicitly consider the transactional characteristics of complementary local assets and model foreign market entry as the optimal assignment of equity between their owners and MNEs. By looking at the relative efficiency of the different markets in which MNE and complementary local assets are traded, and at how these two categories of assets match, I am able to predict whether equity will be held by MNEs or by local firms, or shared between them, and whether MNEs will enter through greenfields, brownfields, or acquisitions. The bundling model I propose has interesting implications for the evolution of the MNE footprint in host countries, and for the reasons behind the emergence of Dragon MNEs.

Cooperative bank efficiency in Japan: a parametric distance function analysis

This study examines the relative performance of Japanese cooperative banks between 1998 and 2009, explicitly modeling non-performing loans as an undesirable output. Three key findings emerge. First, the sector is characterized by increasing returns to scale which supports the ongoing amalgamation process within the sector. Second, although restricted in product offerings, markets and their membership base, Japanese cooperatives secured both technical progress (a positive shift in the frontier) and a decrease in technical inefficiency (distance from the frontier). Third, the analysis highlighted that regulatory pressure to reduce non-performing loans will have an adverse impact on both output and performance. 

Characterisation of the Timing and Prevalence of Receptor Tyrosine Kinase Expression Changes in Esophageal Carcinogenesis

Despite being common in epithelial malignancies, the timing of receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) up-regulation is poorly understood and therefore hampers the identification of the receptor to target for effective treatment. We aimed to determine if RTK expression changes were early events in carcinogenesis. Esophageal adenocarcinoma and its pre-invasive lesion, Barrett's esophagus, were used for immunohistochemical analysis of the RTK panel, EGFR, ErbB2, ErbB3, Met and FGFR2, by utilising a cohort of patients with invasive disease (n = 367) and two cohorts with pre-invasive disease, one cross-sectional (n = 110) and one longitudinal in time (n = 91). The results demonstrated that 51% of esophageal adenocarcinomas over-expressed at least one of the RTK panel; with 21% of these over-expressing multiple receptors. Up-regulation of RTK expression was an early event corresponding with low grade dysplasia development (25% in areas without dysplasia vs. 63% in low grade dysplasia, p