As a selling mechanism, auctions have acquired a central position in the free market economy all over the globe. This development has deepened, broadened, and expanded the theory of auctions in new directions. This chapter is intended as a selective update of some of the developments and...

Following Furtuoso and Guilhoto (2003) the GDP of the Brazilian Agribusiness is estimated to be around 27% of the Brazilian GDP in 2000, and the latest numbers show that it could be reaching 30% of the Brazilian GDP in 2003. Despite its importance for the Brazilian economy as a whole, the size...

In recent years, several peer-to-peer carsharing systems have developed worldwide. They allow car owners to share their vehicles in exchange of a monetary compensation. The paper, starting from an online survey carried out in Milan in 2012, analyzes the potentiality of a possible peer-to-peer...

We investigate the efficiency of the Dickey-Fuller (DF) test as a tool to examine the convergence hypothesis. In doing so, we first describe two possible outcomes, overlooked in previous studies, namely Loose Catching-up and Loose Lagging-behind. Results suggest that this test is useful when the...

Abstract This paper discusses the effects of the real exchange rate (RER) on the structure of exports. Based on a North-South Ricardian model, two hypotheses are suggested and tested. The first one is that a higher RER allows for a higher diversification of exports. The second hypothesis is that...

Logistics is a backbone for the global supply chains. In Malaysia, logistics are now recognized as strategic industry that positively contribute to gross domestic product (GDP) and performance of logistics is foremost significant. Whereas most of the logistics performance has focused on...

We analyze a situation where an antitrust authority delegates to an audit inspector the mission of gathering the sufficient information to condemn a cartel. The authority has two instruments at her disposal: rewarding the inspector with a proportion of the collected fine or providing him with...

The convergence processes in the financial market have led to the emergence and development of new forms of interaction between the stock market, the insurance market and the banking sector. One of the main areas of convergence of the financial market segments is the use of securitization...

Help within genetically related and unrelated organisms as well as investments of investors holding shares to different degree including charity can be understood within the ensemble concept. In an ensemble transfer of substrate from a source to a sink may result in superadditivity as well as...

The cane, sugar and ethanol production in Brazil has been divided in two major production regions, the Center-South (CS) and the North-Northeastern (NNE) Brazil. These regions present very different productivity, and henceforth production costs. The Center-South average productivity is higher...