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During recessions, output prices seem to rise relative to wages and raw-material prices. One explanation is that imperfectly competitive firms compete less aggressively during recessions. That is, markups of price over marginal cost are countercyclical. We present a model of countercyclical markups based on capital-market imperfections. During recessions, liquidity-constrained firms boost short-run profits by raising prices to cut their investments in market share. We provide evidence from the supermarket industry in support of this theory. During regional and macroeconomic recessions, more financially constrained supermarket chains raise their prices relative to less financially constrained chains.

This paper establishes an empirical link between firm capital structure and product-market competition using data from local supermarket competition. First, an event-study analysis of supermarket leveraged buyouts (LBO's) suggests that an LBO announcement increases the market value of the LBO chain's local rivals. Second, I show that supermarket chains were more likely to enter and expand in a local market if a large share of the incumbent firms in the local market undertook LBO's. The study suggests that leverage increases in the late 1980's led to softer product-market competition in this industry.

Thompson discusses the economic and demographic characteristics of consumers who favor organic products.

Since the classical economics, the model of competitive advantage at different levels (national, industry, firm) has been considered attentively by experts in economics and management. In recent years, one pivotal issue in the field of management has been the identification of competitive advantage sources and the breakthrough strategies for its preservation and development. The main purpose of this article is to explain one of the popular theories concerning the competitive advantage model, that is Porter's model, to show whether it is applicable in a country like Iran, which possesses a highly dominant government-based economy, or not. Besides, if it requires any modification in its pattern, what form of modification should it comprise? In terms of methodology, thus, this may be deemed an applied developmental research. Primary data targeted was obtained by means of a quantitative survey using a questionnaire technique of data collection. The questionnaire survey took place in the period from 10/2010 to 6/2011 and a total of 109 firms (undertaking their activities in the territory of the Iran) were involved. The results of the study show that Porter's model in both the upstream and the downstream forms must become developed and rectified. Ultimately, the most advantageous shape of the model for detecting the sources of competitive advantage in bottled drinking water industry is offered.

Cet article interroge les processus de globalisation par le bas en présentant l’ethnohistoire du bassin industriel verrier de Firozabad, en Uttar Pradesh, et en étudiant ses liens historiques ou plus récents avec d’autres bassins verriers, notamment la Bohème. Le but est de souligner l’importance des échanges à l’échelle internationale dans l’évolution de ce bassin industriel depuis l’ère coloniale et de montrer le rôle des ouvriers et des artisans dans les mécanismes économiques ayant abouti à une inversion des flux d’export à l’époque contemporaine. Il s’agira également d’examiner la dialectique locale entre vernacularisation des savoir-faire et acquisition de nouvelles techniques par les groupes de producteurs de Firozabad. L’objectif est ainsi de donner à voir les potentialités heuristiques d’une anthropologie historique connectée aux métiers pour mieux comprendre les enjeux de la globalisation au sein du capitalisme moderne. ‪This paper explores the processes of globalization from below by way of an ethnohistory of the glass industrial basin of Firozabad, in Uttar Pradesh, and its historical or more contemporary links with other glass basins, notably Bohemia. The aim is firstly to highlight the importance of globalized processes in the evolution of this industrial basin since the colonial era, secondly to show the importance of workers and artisans in economic processes that have resulted in a reversal of export flows in the contemporary period, and thirdly to examine the local dialectic between vernacularization of know-how and acquisition of new techniques among the groups of producers in Firozabad. The paper thus seeks to show the heuristic potential of a historical anthropology connected to professions, to better understand the implications of contemporary globalization.‪

This paper develops a model of capacity-price competition in which the equilibrium outcome ranges from the Bertrand to the Cournot outcome as capacity constraints become more important. This model is employed to reexamine aspects of strategic-trade-policy theory and, in particular, the theory's well-known sensitivity to the mode of oligopolistic competition. Among other things, the analysis identifies a simple single-rate policy, namely, capacity subsidies, which can increase the home country's income regardless of the mode of competition. This suggests that the presence of critical informational constraints need not diminish governments' incentives to distort the international competition.

The Czech Republic is roughly self-sufficient by 70-80% in agrarian products of a competitive nature. In case of products of a non-competitive nature, the CR shows almost zero self-sufficiency. It means that agrarian foreign trade occupies a non-substitutable position in the CR economy (at least from the export point of view). The CR performs as an active exporter and importer (about 100 billion and 130 billion CZK, respectively, in 2009). However, together with the still growing needs of the national economy and the inhabitants' requirements for a varied composition of agri-food products, the CR does not succeed to decrease the negative balance of the agrarian foreign trade. The stagnation or even growth of the negative agrarian foreign trade balance is influenced by non-substitutable imports of non-competitive food raw materials, foodstuff products and many other raw materials required by the non-agricultural sectors of the national economy.

This study is engaged in the problems of competitiveness and the performance of the Czech food industry. Both these attributes are evaluated in the framework of the domestic manufacturing sector and market, as well as from the point of view of foreign trade. Input-output analysis was used to analyse the period 2000-2008, i.e., the period before and after the accession of the CZ to the EU. The SWOT analysis shows, among other, the occasions that could improve the current stagnant or rather decreasing situation of competitiveness of the food sector. The analysis demonstrated that the competitiveness is not in a critical situation. As it follows from the SWOT analysis, the reason of the stagnation is that the opportunities of the sector are not fully utilised. Food producers are facing some basic problems in the output sphere mainly in the domestic market.

By adopting the RCA, CMS, TCD, SI and TCI models, this paper has made an empirical analysis of the comparative advantages and complementarity of the agricultural trade between China and the United States in terms of sixteen major agricultural products since 1997. The results indicate that (1) the exporting agri-products of China and the United States reflect the characteristics of the resource endowment of each country; (2) China's agri-product competitiveness has decreased after its WTO accession, while the country's agri-export structure has been upgraded; (3) Sino-US agri-trade dependency continues to rise, and the U.S. relies more on China than China does on the U.S.; (4) China and the United Sates have good complementarity in the agricultural trade, which tends to strengthen after the China's accession to the WTO. Policy implications are proposed accordingly based on these findings.