I estimate the price and productivity effects of horizontal mergers in the ready-mix concrete industry using plant and firm-level data from the US Census Bureau. Horizontal mergers involving plants in close proximity are associated with price increases and decreases in output, but also raise productivity at acquired plants. While there is a significant negative relationship between productivity...

Introduction The pig producer is faced with many challenges when establishing new pig facilities today. Besides existing legislation, he must often take into consideration market requirements concerning contract production, neighbours and others and try to minimise the nuisances related to odour and transport of animals, etc. At the same time, the design of the housing facilities must be aimed ...

The burden of mental, neurological, and substance use (MNS) disorders increased by 41% between 1990 and 2010 and now accounts for one in every 10 lost years of health globally [1]. Mental and brain disorders represent the greatest health burden to Europe-not only for directly affected individuals, but also for their caregivers and the wider society. They incur substantial economic costs through...

FIN is an initiative ot the Grain and Feed Trade Association, funded by the Sea Fish Industry Authority Today's dairy farmer faces many challenges. Depressed milk prices focused attention on the need to improve productivity, reduce input costs and add value to milk output. At the same time, milk processors and consumers are stepping up their demands for assurances of safe, healthy products – pr...

My research examines a variety of central questions in international macroeconomics and trade, such as: Does international trade improve welfare by stimulating innovation? To what extent can the increase in globalization account for the observed rise in wage inequality in developed and developing countries? What are the aggregate consequences of reallocating firm‐embedded know‐how across countr...

The paper studies the role of information transparency on fairness concerns, welfare and e ciency. When the rm's productivity and ultimately pro ts are revealed, wage o ers induce relatively fair divisions of potential gains and workers respond with higher performance. Workers respond not only to wages but also to rms' intentions concerning fairness. Information transparency serves as a mechani...

From a human welfare standpoint, the greatest benefits of biotechnology will surely be derived from the adoption of improved Biotechnology procedures that may be defined as a technology based on biological systems – plants, animals and microbes or parts of it (cell, tissue, gene or DNA). Pakistan would have to focus on genetically modified and hybrid crops to tap true potential of agricultural ...

Training by firms is a central means by which workers accumulate human capital, yet firms may be reluctant to train if workers can quit and use their gained skills elsewhere. “Training contracts” that impose a penalty for premature quitting can help alleviate this inefficiency. This paper studies training contracts in the U.S. trucking industry where they are widely used, focusing on data from ...

Findings – The results show that ICT can be used to eliminate non-value-adding tasks or make them more efficient, thus giving time for knowledge workers’ most important tasks. ICT can also result in improving employee welfare through decreasing dissatisfaction towards ICT systems and through transforming the content of work by deleting unimportant activities. Third, none of the potential ICT-ba...