The group of issues that falls under the heading of bank capital adequacy has received a great deal of attention from academics, regulators, and bankers in recent years and is likely to continue as a subject for debate for many years to come. Although the traditional questions debated in the literature on capital adequacy are important and remain unresolved, this paper is not directed at them. Instead, the approach here is to examine how bank regulators operating within the existing legal structure of regulation can pursue optimal policies with respect to the regulation of bank capital

This paper examines the effects on firm behavior and industry structure of industry-wide price regulation by the state. Such regulation, wherein regulators set prices with regard to an industry-wide aggregate performance measure, has been (and still is) widely used and is shown to induce inefficiencies in firm operation. In general such regulation can result in setting prices high enough to maintain inefficient firms, and it encourages to inefficient firm operation due to incentives to inflate costs and Averch-Johnson effects

This paper examines the effects on firm behavior and industry structure of industry-wide price regulation by the state. Such regulation, wherein regulators set prices with regard to an industry-wide aggregate performance measure, has been (and still is) widely used and is shown to induce inefficiencies in firm operation. In general such regulation can result in setting prices high enough to maintain inefficient firms, and it encourages to inefficient firm operation due to incentives to inflate costs and Averch-Johnson effects

This paper reexamines a much-studied topic, the effects of surface freight regulation. It demonstrates that several studies use invalid methods to estimate the welfare costs of rate regulation, develops a correct procedure, and provides estimates of the welfare effects using data and modal market share relationships estimated by Boyer. The paper also analyzes some implications of the common assumption that the demand for total freight shipments by all modes is perfectly inelastic

This paper presents estimates of the rate of technical change in the electric power industry over the period 1951-78. The estimated model directly incorporates the effects of rate-of-return regulation, and uses both a time trend and a vintage index to represent disembodied and embodied technical change, respectively. The results indicate that disembodied technical change was the primary source of cost reduction during 1951-70, and that tighter regulation, as represented by a one point reduction in the rate of return, would have reduced the rate of technical change by an average of 1%-2% during 1951-78. 34 references, 18 footnotes, 3 tables

Reviews the book "Transfer Pricing and Multinational Corporations: An Overview of Concepts, Mechanisms and Regulations," by Sylvain R.F. Plasschaert

Suppose that engineers can demonstrate that air bags will reduce the risk of death in an automobile by 25 percent for any given frequency and severity of accidents. Would the installation of these devices necessarily reduce the fatality rate by 25 percent? The answer depends upon the response of drivers to the increased protection from dangerous accidents. If they increase their (speed, recklessness, driving while intoxicated, driving in unsafe conditions, etc.), they may realize substantially less than a 25 percent reduction in expected fatalities. Such offsetting behavior is not irrational: it merely represents a substitution of the marginal benefits of driving intensity for the reduced marginal cost of risk. If offsetting behavior actually occurs, it may be realized in increased risks for bicyclists, motorcyclists, and pedestrians. These externalities could be substantial unless there is a reduction in risk taking among these groups. As a result, the net effect of mandating air bags or any other safety device is far from obvious. There may be no net reduction in fatalities or serious injuries. These theoretical considerations are at the core of Sam Peltzman's classic study (1975) of automobile safety regulation. For policymakers, however, the key question is how much offsetting behavior actually occurs. As Peltzman (1977) acknowledges, offsetting behavior could be trivial or substantial. In this paper, we explore this issue, providing new empirical estimates of the effects of crashworthiness standards established for automobiles over the past fifteen years. These standards have required the installation of lapshoulder belts, energy-absorbing steering columns, head restraints, padded dashboards, crush-resistant passenger compartments, safer windshield mounting, more secure locks, and a variety of other features

A multiproduct cost function for the regulated trucking industry is developed and estimated that utilizes network variables as arguments in the cost function. Using a cross-section of large regulated common carriers in 1976, it is shown that (1) substantial economies of network configuration and network operation exist, with well-connected networks and concentrated traffic flows yielding significant cost savings; and (2) the use of aggregate output measures and the omission of network variables may lead to substantial bias, indicating that researchers should use disaggregate output data in estimating trucking costs

tional attainments suggests the usefulness of special training programs for unskilled immigrants. Further, the persistence of racial differentials underscores the importance of the enforcement of anti-bias employment regulations to protect non-white immigrants. Recent changes in immigration law under the Refugee Act of 1980 will increase uncertainty regarding the composition of future immigration waves. It is likely, however, that the proportion of immigrants for whom specialized training and anti-bias regulation enforcement can hasten the traditional catch-up process which has historically characterized the immigrant economic experience will continually increase. Additional research using more recent data will allow both the efficacy of the recommendations advanced and the persistence of the observed patterns to be tested