Suchergebnisse

Japan eventually joined the 2050 net carbon neutrality club soon after the Suga administration emerged. What are the primary drivers of Japan's decision and why this timing? This article argues that the interactions of domestic and international factors can explain this policy change in the context of global competition over energy transition and technological breakthroughs to mitigate climate change. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's move was almost an established policy line brewed during the predecessor government.

It is important in sensory tests to check the qualifications of the inspectors as judges of the quality of products. This paper is concerned with this problem when products are divided into several grades by subjective tests. A constellation graphical method for qualifying the inspectors is proposed and illustrated.

Observations abound on the input-output imbalance in the field of foreign language education in Japan. Theories abound that attempt to explain why the Japanese are typically found to be poor linguists in spite of enormous educational inputs effected. Reviewed are some commonly held theories that hypothesize (1) lack of incentives, (2) lack of logic, (3) unique linguistic structure, &/or (4) eccentric mentality, all allegedly related to the Japanese as the major determinant(s) of their not very impressive command of international language(s)-Eng in particular. Proposed is an alternative economic interpretation. The nature of the problem is best characterized by a market failure due to imperfect flow of information & vested interests of industries involved with teaching & testing in the highly specialized field of exam-Eng (which is distinct from the kind of Eng tested, eg, by TOEFL). Relevant aspects of socioeconomic background are also observed & commented upon. AA.

AbstractCompared to the well‐known oligopoly models such as those of Cournot, the so‐called Bowley duopoly is less known, and almost ignored in the literature. This neglect reflects the assumption that as a leader–leader model incorporating apparent excess rivalry it is presumably untenable, at least in theory. However, it is, in fact, observable in practice. Furthermore, the predicted excess competition is not only observable empirically but also accountable theoretically. We show how excess competition emerges when an upstream monopolist offers the downstream retailers a compensated game in which each acts as a leader. The outcome is not only stable but also benefits all involved actors, including consumers under vertically‐related markets, such as those presided over by a monopolist producer. This result of emergent stability shows that the Bowley duopoly should be considered alongside other oligopoly models.

AbstractThe concept of maximum entropy has been applied to specify the probabilistic model of consumer purchase behavior. This article is concerned with the marketing structure analysis based on entropy model when a new brand has pushed into the existing two‐brand market. A comparison between the proposed model and the initial three‐brand model is attempted based on their marketing structures. An optimal price decision maximizing the sales is also discussed.