The present two volumes contain the essays and part of the discussions as presented at the conference on Mainstreams in Industrial Organiza tion, held at the University of Amsterdam, 21-23 August 1985. The thema was chosen because the field of studies commonly designated "industrial organization" in the Anglo-Saxon countries, or "market theory" in Continental Europe, has experienced important alterations during the past decade. Partly this reflects changing theoretical views inside the field, in which shifts in the core concepts have occurred and different emphasis is laid on time-honoured views and results. Partly, critical views have been voiced from outside the field. As in all open scientific debate, they have to be weighed and, if necessary, taken into account. Partly also, diver gent developments in thinking between the Anglo-Saxon, European and Japanese areas need to be considered, because both the problems and the ways of approaching them still differ. The variety of views, theori~s and results is testimony to the vitality of this field of economics; variety is generated by the creative endeavours, from which the chaff is being beaten out by critical discussions. That is especially true for the concept of competition itself, which industrial organization economists are debating intensively.
The present two volumes contain the essays and part of the discussions as presented at the conference on Mainstreams in Industrial Organiza tion, held at the University of Amsterdam, 21-23 August 1985. The thema was chosen because the field of studies commonly designated "industrial organization" in the Anglo-Saxon countries, or "market theory" in Continental Europe, has experienced important alterations during the past decade. Partly this reflects changing theoretical views inside the field, in which shifts in the core concepts have occurred and different emphasis is laid on time-honoured views and results. Partly, critical views have been voiced from outside the field. As in all open scientific debate, they have to be weighed and, if necessary, taken into account. Partly also, diver gent developments in thinking between the Anglo-Saxon, European and Japanese areas need to be considered, because both the problems and the ways of approaching them still differ. The variety of views, theori~s and results is testimony to the vitality of this field of economics; variety is generated by the creative endeavours, from which the chaff is being beaten out by critical discussions. That is especially true for the concept of competition itself, which industrial organization economists are debating intensively.
This book contains the key-note lectures and a selection of papers that were presented at the 15th Conference of the European Association for Research in Industrial Econo mics (EARlE) held under the auspices of GRASP at Erasmus University Rotterdam in 1988, plus an introductory chapter by the Editors. Upon suggestions by the Editors, all papers have been revised for this book, some more extensively than others. Robin Marris has added to his lecture a synopsis of the contributions to the Round Table on the Micro-Macro Interface which he chaired during the Conference. The papers cover issues that seem to be both interesting and relevant for the 1990s. While some of the papers are cast in a rather established research frame -enabling the use of regular academic routines - others are first attempts at delineating the contours of areas that are peripheral to what is often considered as the core of Industrial Organization. In their introductory chapter, the Editors set forth that a neglect of those areas may well relegate Industrial Organization to social irrelevancy. Therefore, it is hoped that the book will also contribute to a reflection on the main lines of Industrial Organization research for the 1990s -thus helping to create a healthy perspective for this part of economics at a time when macroeconomics is undergoing a severe crisis.
Empirical Studies in Industrial Organization brings together leading scholars who present state-of-the-art research in the spirit of the structure-conduct-performance paradigm embodied in the work of Leonard W. Weiss. The individual chapters are generally empirically or public policy oriented. A number of them introduce new sources of data that, combined with the application of appropriate econometric techniques, enable new breakthroughs and insights on issues hotly debated in the industrial organization literature. For example, five of the chapters are devoted towards uncovering the link between market concentration and pricing behavior. While theoretical models have produced ambiguous predictions concerning the relationship between concentration and price these chapters, which span a number of different markets and situations, provide unequivocal evidence that a high level of market concentration tends to result in a higher level of prices. Three of the chapters explore the impact of market structure on production efficiency, and three other chapters focus on the role of industrial organization on public policy. Contributors include David B. Audretsch, Richard E. Caves, Mark J. Roberts, F.M. Scherer, John J. Siegfried and Hideki Yamawaki.
This book is based on the papers presented at a conference on "New Issues in Industrial Economics" held at Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, June 8-10, 1987. The conference was organized by the Research Program in Industrial Economics (RPIE) in the Department of Economics at CWRU and was sponsored by The Cleveland Foundation, the Eaton Corporation, and The Standard Oil Company (later renamed BP America, Inc.). Their generous support is gratefully acknowledged. All of the papers have been revised, in several cases extensively, since their presentation at the conference. One of the primary reasons for organizing the conference was the concern that Industrial Economics has become too narrowly focused in most academic programs, largely being confined to Industrial Organization, i.e., issues of public policy towards enterprise with emphasis on antitrust and regulatory policy. This subject definition leaves out a number of interesting and important questions about how industries evolve over time, what the role of technological change (and organizational change) is in that process, and the associated structural changes within industries and firms. The object of this book is to derme these issues and suggest a framework within which they can be analyzed. I would like to thank all the conference participants for their contributions, particularly my colleagues at CWRU, Asim Erdilek and William S. Peirce, without whose encouragement and support the conference would not have taken place.
. . . this collection should be viewed as a pioneering effort. . . this book would most likely serve as a useful quick reference source for students of industrial economics. It can also serve as a valuable point of departure for those who wish to study intellectual developments in a major field in more detail. John Howard Brown, Journal of the History of Economic Thought This work will be indispensable for anyone who undertakes serious scholarly research in industrial organization. With its knowledgeable authors and editors, this book offers us valuable materials, about the work of writers long forgotten and others inadequately recognized, that can contribute much to understanding in the field. William J. Baumol, New York University and Princeton University, US This encyclopaedic work celebrates the scores of leading pioneers who created the modern economic field of industrial organization, at the heart of which lie competition and monopoly, the two great forces that drive modern markets. Their pioneering work has shaped the field s growing research as well as the past, present and future debates in Europe and America over several centuries. This landmark book includes authoritative entries on all the major figures in both Europe and North America. Pioneers of Industrial Organization also reveals how public policies such as antitrust and regulation and deregulation since the 1970s can promote, or impede economic results and progress. Readers will find the intellectual pioneers, the theories and policies, and the debates, in all their variety herein. Some pioneers have been free-market advocates, others have been more protective of popular values, but all have strained to make the economic engine promote more wealth, progress and fairness. This book presents the people, ideas and debates with careful neutrality, and also with clear, concise writing. For all those interested in modern economic progress and its problems, this book provides deep insight as well as great personal colour. It will be an essential source of reference for students, researchers and professors of economics, as well as those concerned with the historical foundations or the conceptual and thematic developments in industrial organization.
New forms of organisation and market behaviour are emerging to replace and reshape older forms. This has produced great uncertainty in industrial organization theory. The purpose of this volume is to review and present some of the new approaches developed in industrial organization. The material is organised into four sections: recent approaches to Industrial Organisation, the behaviour of individual firms and the characteristics of industrial systems as a whole, new theories of the firm and market structure and technical progress and market structure - some special issues.
Industrial Organization in Context examines the economics of markets, industries and their participants and public policy towards these entities. It takes an international approach and incorporates discussion of experimental tests of economic models.
Competition in Europe, which has been chosen as the title for the Essays in Honour of Henk W. de Jong, contains two key concepts, that characterize his scientific contribution to Industrial Organisation. Professor H.W. de Jong is in the first place an economist who is highly inspired by the dynamics of markets in general and the dynamics and conditions of compe tition in particular. In the second place, H.W. de Jong is a real European economist, not in the sense that his theoretical insights are limited to Europe, but in the sense that his ideas and policy suggestions - especially those concerning competition policy - reflect his sincere involvement in the European inte gration process and the economic conditions and perspectives of a Common Market for the European Community. In his many illustrations of the evolution of markets and the performance of enterprises in different business environments, H.W. de Jong also demonstrates his knowledge of historical and political aspects of different economies in Europe, often in comparison with the United States and Japan.