Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 34-04, Section: A, page: 1449. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1973.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 33-08, Section: A, page: 3915. / Thesis (D.B.A.)--The Florida State University, 1972.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 28-11, Section: A, page: 4350. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1967.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 32-11, Section: A, page: 5977. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1967.

The issue of market delineation and power in the wholesale electric energy market is explored using three separate approaches: two of these are analyses of spatial pricing data to explore the functional size of the markets, and the third is a series of experimental tests of the effects of different cost structures and market mechanisms on oligopoly strength in those markets. An equilibrium model of spatial network competition is shown to yield linear relationships between spatial prices. A data set comprising two years of spatial weekly peak and off-peak prices and weather for 6 locations in the Western States Coordinating Council and the Southwest Power Pool is subjected to a pairwise cointegration analysis. The use of dummy variables to account the the flow directions is found to significantly improve model performance. The second analytical technique utilizes the extraction of principal components from a spatial price correlation matrix to identify the extent of natural markets. One year of daily price observations for eleven locations within the WSCC is compiled and eigenvectors are extracted and subjected to oblique rotation, each of which is then interpreted as representing a separate geographic market. The results show that two distinct natural markets, correlated at 84%, account for over 96% of the variation in the spatial prices in the WSSC. Together, the findings support the assertion that the wholesale electricity market in the Western U.S. is large and highly competitive. The experimental analysis utilizes a radial three node network in which suppliers located at the outer nodes sell to buyers located at the central node. The parameterization captures the salient characteristics of the existing bulk power markets, and includes cyclical demand, transmission losses, as well as fixed and avoidable fixed costs for all agents. Treatments varied the number of sellers, the avoidable fixed cost structures, and the trading mechanism. Results indicated that sealed bid markets greatly reduced the ability of sellers to exert market power. Overall the existence of higher avoidable fixed costs tended to ameliorate market power effects.

This dissertation studies the market effects of competition and cooperation between otherwise noncooperative firms. The first two chapters present theoretical treatments of joint ventures and mergers, respectively, while the third chapter applies sophisticated econometric techniques to market data generated in controlled experiments. A common thread ties the theoretical chapters: cooperation can be socially beneficial under some fairly general conditions. These conditions are derived and elucidated in each chapter. Despite potential social gains from combinations of otherwise competitive firms, consumers may nevertheless experience increasing prices. The goal of antitrust regulation is to ensure the competitive operation of markets, for the sake of consumers as well as non-combining competitors. The ensuing tension between social efficiency and higher post-combination prices is studied in detail in both of the first two chapters. In the case of a production joint venture, it is shown that relationships which are closer than "arm's length" can be socially optimal, although antitrust regulation clearly discourages such relationships. In the case of mergers, it is shown that combinations of large firms can not only increase aggregate welfare, but may increase consumer welfare under entirely plausible conditions. These results support a broad, rule-of-reason approach to interrival cooperation. The third chapter studies the tendency of non-cooperating, financially motivated subjects in controlled experiments to play as though they observe a particular adjustment process. There have been many experimental and field studies of the Cournot model, but the process of adjustment to equilibrium predictions has not been a major focus. Studying the observed play of experimental subjects in the Cournot environment is important because it can allow for greater understanding of where the model's assumptions fail in the field. Understanding adjustment can require some relatively advanced econometric tools, which are discussed and employed in the third chapter. It is shown that subjects do not individually conform to theoretical adjustment predictions, but behavior at the market level does approach predictions fairly often.

No description available.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Fairleigh Dickinson University, 1987. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 49-05, Section: A, page: 1222. Adviser: David M. Rosen.

abstract: This thesis explores the extent to which entrepreneurship is possible for women in Saudi Arabia, and it's potential to increase Saudi women's socio-cultural autonomy, financial independence, and overall well-being. The study uses interviews and an online surveys to gather information from recognized female entrepreneurs, those officially registered with the Women's Business Center in Alkhober, Saudi Arabia, about how they founded their businesses, the challenges they have experienced, and the effects of business ownership. These women are interesting because their experience seems to run counter to Saudi society, which generally restricts women's activities. The study's findings show that despite their successes, Arab traditions still hinder the success of Alkhober female entrepreneurs, for instance, by requiring male guardianship and prohibiting travel unaccompanied by a man. From an institutional perspective, administrative and legal requirement can prevent women from fully realizing their potential as businesswomen. The existing women's rights legislation lacks authority because political opportunities for Alkhober women are still limited. For Saudi women entrepreneurship remains an alternative to joblessness and dissatisfaction derived from other employment sources. The challenges women entrepreneurs experience while starting businesses are lack of support from the executive branch of government, lack of quality education, and lack of available financial resources, in addition to the cultural barriers caused by Arab traditions restricting the activities of women. However, a key finding from this study is that the women interviewed all showed a high level of resourcefulness and creativity that helped them to circumvent such obstacles. This study recommends that the government provide financial services, or training programs to aspiring female entrepreneurs and offer incentives for women to register their businesses. This will benefit not just Saudi women but for the Saudi economy overall. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S.Tech Technology 2013

These essays investigate the role of entrepreneurial human capital as a driver of innovation and growth. In the first chapter, I estimate the effect of manager education on firm employment growth using administrative panel data on the universe of firms in Portugal between 1995 and 2009. I exploit manager changes and switches between management and other occupations to account for unobserved firm and manager characteristics as well as selection into management. I find that a year of manager schooling increases firm growth by around 0.25 percentage points per year, and also increases survival. In addition, manager education is a highly persistent firm characteristic. These findings imply that manager education can lead to large differences in firm size over the lifecycle. On average, a firm with a college educated manager starts out just nine percent larger than a firm with a primary school educated manager. In a simple simulation, I find that it grows to two thirds larger by age 12 and three times larger by age 30. Entrepreneurial human capital can increase growth through different mechanisms. One of them is the ability to incorporate advances in the technological frontier into production. In the second chapter I explore the importance of this mechanism by analyzing the relationship between local demand for knowledge and city growth using a new database of 5.5 million books published in Europe from 1450 to 1800. The database consists of individual book data drawn from over 72,000 library catalogs around the world, including most major national and research libraries. Exploiting within-city variation, I find that book production is a strong predictor of subsequent population growth. I then distinguish between possible interpretations of this relationship using information on book subjects. I find that the results are robust for books on technology, finance, medicine and history, with technology and finance having the largest coefficients. In addition, although science books as a whole are insignificant, books on chemistry and geology also increase growth, which is consistent with the important roles of chemistry and coal mining during the Industrial Revolution. Books on other topics, such as religion or literature, are not associated with growth, suggesting that the findings reflect the diffusion of knowledge rather than literacy or consumption. / Business Economics