The demand for goods like seasonal fashion apparel is uncertain but the lead time needed for production is long, and so it is necessary to set the production quantity before the demand is fully known. Once sale begins, if demand is less than anticipated, the price will be low. In a futile...

We review the facts pertaining to some recent antimonopoly cases in Japan involving interference with unauthorized imports, so-called parallel imports, and propose economic explanations for the behavior of the foreign manufacturers in these cases. Japan's intellectual property law provides a...

A measure of number of steps in the wholesale distribution chain is proposed and calculated for Japan, the United States, and Germany and for different kinds of business within Japan and within the United States. Economic factors that influence the number of wholesale steps in the distribution...

In this paper, we use a spatial competition model developed by Pal (1998) to analyze producer imposed retail price ceilings and producer assigned exclusive geographic sales territories. Two wholesale distributors are presumed to each have a single collection point respectively from which they...

I investigate a pricing strategy that is aimed at deterring entry by applying a two-period model of a durable-goods monopolist. There exists an incumbent that is of two types, that is, high and low quality types. They differ in terms of their R&D capabilities, and the incumbent's type is assumed...

This paper empirically analyses whether consumer confidence has an effect on the real economy in Japan. This paper uses vector autoregressions including variables which represent consumer confidence. It is shown that in the cases of quarterly and monthly data, consumer confidence has a...

In this article, I investigate the effect warranties have on durable-goods markets. Many if not most goods that are sold with a warranty are durable goods; thus, it is extremely important to consider the role of warranties in a durable-goods setting. This article analyzes the signaling role of...