Business Economics articles from July 1998

Business Economics archives from July 1998

Making a difference at AT&T: transition to a new professional model
July 1, 1998... Competition in the u.S. Economy is getting tougher in many ways. Consumers are becoming increasingly savvy with the help of new information sources. They are increasingly looking for best prices. Consumer expectations about customer service are...

Making a difference at Chrysler.
July 1, 1998... For the past five to ten years, decisionmaking at Chrysler has become more and more decentralized. This change has coincided with a fundamental reorganization of the company's vehicle-making process. The old way of bringing new vehicles to market...

Making a difference at Weyerhaeuser. (Marketing and Economic Research group)
July 1, 1998... The function I manage at Weyerhaeuser is called the Marketing and Economic Research group or M&ER. The group has been operational at the company for nearly thirty years. The composition, size and emphasis of the group have changed dramatically...

Making a difference at Caterpillar. (Economics group at Caterpillar Inc.)
July 1, 1998... Making a difference has made all the difference to the Economics group at Caterpillar Inc. By helping our clients make decisions, we have enjoyed a steady increase in demand for our services since 1990, and all indications are that demand will...

Making a difference at Air Products & Chemicals. (the role of business economists)
July 1, 1998... As I sit here trying to determine factors that help business economics functions succeed, I have to admit that I do not know any typical business economics functions. Neither benchmarking exercises nor extensive informal networking has ever...

Making a difference at Conrail. (Consolidated Rail Corp.)
July 1, 1998... Conrail's business economics group is known as Forecasting & Economic Analysis (FEA) and is part of the company's Finance department. The group is headed by the Chief Economist, who reports directly to Conrail's CFO. FEA is charged with supplying...

An analysis of China's economic development policies and prospects.
July 1, 1998... The year 1997 was a good one for China's economic development. Its economic growth reached 8.8 percent, (a sustainable and less inflationary rate than earlier double-digit growth rates), total foreign investment increased 13 percent, while...

Sales forecasting in cyclical markets.
July 1, 1998... In the aerospace industry, the cyclical nature of the commercial aircraft transport market makes it particularly difficult to develop a sales forecast that can be used as part of a company's business plan. The demand for air travel, on a...

Household debt and consumer spending.
July 1, 1998... A concern often expressed by policymakers and analysts in recent years is that rising levels of consumer debt may restrain future spending by households and slow the U.S. economy.(1) They point to increases in delinquency rates on consumer loans,...

The case of the transient taxpayer: how tax-driven price differentials for commodity goods can create improbable markets.
July 1, 1998... Three concepts should be of particular interest to economists involved in the production and sale of consumer goods, because they can significantly influence markets. First, there is the cliff effect, which shows that price differences can alter...

Industry corner: the information security marketplace.
July 1, 1998... Since the dawn of the computer age over four decades ago, many tools have been developed to safeguard equipment and services. Concern has grown steadily regarding electronically stored and transmitted information. Older, conventional devices...

The statistics corner. (Eurostat's Economic and Monetary Convergence Directorate)
July 1, 1998... Eleven European countries moved into Phase III of Economic and Monetary Union on May 1. Alberto De Michelis, Director of Eurostat's Economic and Monetary Convergence Directorate, discussed the statistical information used to reach the decision on...

The statistics producers' corner. (Census Bureau's American Community Survey)
July 1, 1998... THE AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEY The Census Bureau is developing a new survey the American Community Survey (ACS) - to provide annual economic, social, and housing information traditionally collected by the decennial census long form. The ACS...

Entertainment Industry Economics: A Guide for Financial Analysis.
July 1, 1998... By Harold L. Vogel, Cambridge and New York, Cambridge University Press, fourth edition 1998, pp.490, $39.95. Business economists working in the entertainment industry will recognize this new edition as an old friend. Since its first...

Housing Partnerships: A New Approach to a Market at a Crossroads.
July 1, 1998... By Andrew Caplin, Sewin Chan, Charles Freeman, and Joseph Tracy, Cambridge, MA, MIT Press, 1997, pp. 280, $35.00. Purchasing a home is for many Americans the essence of the American dream. Unfortunately, the dream remains an unattainable dream...

U.S. Industry & Trade Outlook '98.
July 1, 1998... DRI/McGraw-Hill, Standard & Poor's, U.S. Department of Commerce/International Trade Administration, pp. xxxix, 780, 1998, $69.95. It is always good to see an old friend, especially when the friend is dressed up in new clothes. This comment...