马克思本体论思想的演变

马克思主义哲学在哲学史上所造成的革命变革是从本体论层面上发动并展开的。马克思的本体论思想有一个演变过程,大致经过了自我意识的本体论、劳动本体论和实践本体论等几个阶段。在马克思主义哲学那里,实践具有本体论的意义。     

TOTAL SETUP LOT SIZING WITH QUANTITY DISCOUNTS*

Often, order quantity decisions are made by purchasers facing a price schedule of quantity discounts. Traditional solution procedures have consisted of the evaluation of total cost at numerous price-break points in search of the lowest total cost. This approach is tedious and not particularly informative, especially when one is faced with lengthy schedules. This paper presents a total setup lot-sizing model that reduces the computations required to find the least-total-cost quantity, given parameters from a supplier's price schedule. The parameters are first obtained by simple regression (graphical or computer) and in themselves can provide valuable insight for the purchaser's decision making. A total setup lot-sizing model is next developed to define a “critical interval” that contains the solution. The model and algorithm are tested under a variety of conditions. Their application offers the decision maker a convenient alternative to determine the best quantity to order from a tendered price schedule.     

Intersectoral Labor Mobility and the Growth of the Service Sector

One of the most striking changes in the U.S. economy over the past 50 years has been the growth in the service sector. Between 1950 and 2000, service‐sector employment grew from 57 to 75 percent of total employment. However, over this time, the real hourly wage in the service sector grew only slightly faster than in the goods sector. In this paper, we assess whether or not the essential constancy of the relative wage implies that individuals face small costs of switching sectors, and we quantify the relative importance of labor supply and demand factors in the growth of the service sector. We specify and estimate a two‐sector labor market equilibrium model that allows us to address these empirical issues in a unified framework. Our estimates imply that there are large mobility costs: output in both sectors would have been double their current levels if these mobility costs had been zero. In addition, we find that demand‐side factors, that is, technological change and movements in product and capital prices, were responsible for the growth of the service sector.     

ON THE COST OF NEW ISSUES OF COMMON STOCK: AN AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTANT GROWTH MODEL

Expansion decisions by corporate managements are importantly influenced by their perceptions of the firm's cost of capital and especially the cost of common equity. Their decision making is then influenced by the common perception that new issues of common stock are more costly than retained earnings because of the flotation costs inherent in new issues. Thus a rate of expansion that requires new issues is downgraded in decision making. In this paper the authors show that in actuality new issues of common equity may be less costly than retained earnings. Thus different decision-making implications are clearly involved.     

JOINT PRODUCT COST ALLOCATION IN THE CONTEXT OF COST-PLUS PRICING DETERMINATIONS WITH NON-UNIFORM MARKUPS

Companies that use cost-based pricing sometimes manufacture products that involve joint cost allocation. A problem with this is that, while product prices are a function of the full cost, joint cost allocation methods using net realizable values depend on the product prices. This paper demonstrates that when all costs and production quantities are known or can be budgeted, it is possible to simultaneously determine unique product prices (having non-uniform markup rates) and cost allocations using the net realizable value method.     

When are acquisitions a viable catch-up strategy? Some empirical evidence from China

How emerging-market firms can catch up with forerunners from advanced economies is a key issue in the economic and technology literature. Research has suggested that acquisitions are a viable tool for firms in emerging markets to reduce the productivity gap with global leaders, but the empirical evidence on this matter is still far from conclusive. Contributing to this debate, this paper examines the impact of cross-border vs. domestic acquisitions on the labor productivity of firms across different sectoral environments. Studying the acquisitions pursued by Chinese listed firms over one decade, we find that cross-border acquisitions are positively associated with firms' labor productivity and that this effect is particularly strong in high-tech sectors and among leading firms. We also find that domestic acquisitions are positively associated with firms’ labor productivity and that this effect is particularly strong in low-tech sectors and among laggards. We further investigate the mechanisms underlying the acquisition–productivity link and contend that “technological innovation” is the primary mechanism by which acquisitions enhance firm productivity in high-tech sectors, whereas “enhancing operating efficiency” is the primary mechanism by which acquisitions enhance firm productivity in low-tech sectors.