http://phys.org/science-news/economics-business/ en-us PhysOrg Team Phys.Org provides the latest news on economics research, business research, management sciences Medicare's new method for buying medical supplies and equipment -- everything from wheelchairs and hospital beds to insulin shots and oxygen tanks -- is doomed to face severe difficulties, according to a new study by Caltech researchers. http://phys.org/news257774834.html Other Sciences - Economics & Business 2012-06-01T13:07:22-07:00 A recently updated 2011 study by the University of Maine School of Economics that sorted and assessed the contents of trash in a representative sample of 17 Maine communities concludes that as much as 60 percent of what’s thrown away could be diverted from the waste stream through composting and recycling. http://phys.org/news257673516.html Other Sciences - Economics & Business 2012-05-31T09:10:01-07:00 Earlier this month, heavyweight bank JP Morgan Chase announced it had lost at least $2 billion on a single trade — a figure that could grow as the firm struggles to unwind its position. The event has prompted a public airing of many questions: What went wrong, and why didn’t JP Morgan recognize the problem sooner? Should the bet be regarded as a risky proprietary trade, or a hedge designed to offset potential risks on other trades? And what will it take to prevent future blowups like this? MIT News spoke about the issue recently with Andrew Lo, the Charles E. and Susan T. Harris Professor of Finance at the MIT Sloan School of Management. Lo, an expert in financial markets, was recently named one of the world’s 100 most influential people by Time magazine. http://phys.org/news257670245.html Other Sciences - Economics & Business 2012-05-31T08:04:20-07:00 The results, published earlier this month in the journal Administrative Science Quarterly, may help explain why a growing number of recession-weary Americans are participating less in monetary-based consumerism in favor of "gift economies" built on freebies and community spirit. http://phys.org/news257589117.html Other Sciences - Economics & Business 2012-05-30T09:32:22-07:00 New research by a University of Illinois expert who studies process management points to the potential role of regulatory oversight in preventing deterioration of operational routines that are used to complete day-to-day tasks in business organizations. http://phys.org/news257588811.html Other Sciences - Economics & Business 2012-05-30T09:28:33-07:00 (Phys.org) -- A new study by supply-chain researchers at the University of Arkansas shows that the relationship between major retailers such as Walmart and Target and their suppliers is collaborative in nature, rather than adversarial, and that suppliers that actively participate in innovative supply-chain processes with these major customers actually wield considerable leverage and perform better financially. http://phys.org/news257583019.html Other Sciences - Economics & Business 2012-05-30T07:51:35-07:00 (Phys.org) -- The partnership of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. with American Public University to provide online college degree programs to Walmart’s U.S. workforce has generated skepticism among some in academia. http://phys.org/news257577503.html Other Sciences - Economics & Business 2012-05-30T06:18:35-07:00 A recent report conducted by the University of Illinois provides an economic snapshot of the current state of the livestock industry, giving the Illinois livestock industry data to back up their importance to the state. The data show the production sector of the industry contributing to more than 25,000 jobs and $3.5 billion to the state's economy. When combined with meat and dairy processing, the numbers are an even more impressive 99,000 jobs and $27 billion. http://phys.org/news257516734.html Other Sciences - Economics & Business 2012-05-29T13:25:44-07:00 (Phys.org) -- Consumer confidence improved in each of the past nine monthly surveys, rising to its highest level this month since October 2007, according to University of Michigan economist Richard Curtin, director of the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers. http://phys.org/news257407736.html Other Sciences - Economics & Business 2012-05-28T07:12:49-07:00 (Phys.org) -- The assumption that employees who regularly telecommute will feel less attached to the organization they work for due to feeling isolated and disconnected is a myth, according to a study led by a communication researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM). http://phys.org/news257067178.html Other Sciences - Economics & Business 2012-05-24T08:33:37-07:00 While mutual funds and issue of stocks cause price impact, hedge funds and repurchase of shares decrease this. The doctoral dissertation by Kalle Rinne, M. Sc. (Econ.), studies how demand and provision of immediacy affects the market's functioning and what the roles are of different market parties with regard to provision of immediacy. http://phys.org/news257063305.html Other Sciences - Economics & Business 2012-05-24T07:28:32-07:00 (Phys.org) -- U.S. factories produce about 75 percent of what the country consumes, but the right decisions by both business and political leaders could push that to 95 percent, say University of Michigan researchers. http://phys.org/news257060721.html Other Sciences - Economics & Business 2012-05-24T07:00:02-07:00 An individual's sense of right or wrong may change depending on their activities at the time – and they may not be aware of their own shifting moral integrity — according to a new study looking at why people make ethical or unethical decisions. http://phys.org/news256998282.html Other Sciences - Economics & Business 2012-05-23T13:25:04-07:00 People in rural counties who work for themselves may add a boost to local economies, improving income and job growth, according to economists. http://phys.org/news256986546.html Other Sciences - Economics & Business 2012-05-23T10:10:43-07:00 Popular strategy tools used by businesses include SWOT analysis and scorecards. Strategy tools are seen as a means that provides companies with practical ways of making use of scientific theories in order to improve competitiveness. However, this is only one side of the overall picture. http://phys.org/news256974429.html Other Sciences - Economics & Business 2012-05-23T06:47:19-07:00 (Phys.org) -- Older managers bring as much value to an organisation as their younger counterparts, according to new research. http://phys.org/news256969941.html Other Sciences - Economics & Business 2012-05-23T05:50:04-07:00 (Phys.org) -- U.S. laws and regulations on investment management address potential conflicts of interest between investors and managers through disclosure requirements. Surprisingly little is known about the effectiveness of these standards in resolving such conflicts, says Greg Kadlec, R.B. Pamplin Professor of Finance in the Pamplin College of Business. http://phys.org/news256888013.html Other Sciences - Economics & Business 2012-05-22T06:48:25-07:00 Investment bankers often are stereotyped as greedy, overpaid leeches who will say or do anything for a quick buck. http://phys.org/news256829355.html Other Sciences - Economics & Business 2012-05-21T14:29:42-07:00 A new University of Sydney study has revealed the full extent of Australia's love-hate relationship with credit cards and those who use them. http://phys.org/news256799541.html Other Sciences - Economics & Business 2012-05-21T06:15:20-07:00 There are jerks, and then there are jerks. http://phys.org/news256467140.html Other Sciences - Economics & Business 2012-05-17T09:52:39-07:00 We’ve said farewell to Friendster. Netscape Navigator is nevermore. As an Internet service provider, AOL is AWOL. What happened to these companies that once ruled their individual markets? According to two University of Alberta researchers, their market dominance made them vulnerable. http://phys.org/news256462832.html Other Sciences - Economics & Business 2012-05-17T08:40:46-07:00 Co-author of recently published book 'Jugaad Innovation', Professor Jaideep Prabhu argues that a frugal and flexible approach to innovation can generate breakthrough growth not only in the developing world but also in the West. http://phys.org/news256461905.html Other Sciences - Economics & Business 2012-05-17T08:25:14-07:00 (Phys.org) -- Small towns in Iowa (between 3,000 and 20,000 population) that have hosted Wal-Mart stores showed moderate increases in total retail sales in the 15 years following the stores' opening according to a new study by two Iowa State University economists. http://phys.org/news255944533.html Other Sciences - Economics & Business 2012-05-11T08:42:21-07:00 (Phys.org) -- Large-scale microfinance programs are widely used as a tool to fight poverty in developing countries, but a recent study by University of Notre Dame Economics Professor Joseph Kaboski and MIT colleague Robert Townsend suggests that microfinancing can have varying results for participants and may not be the most cost-effective use of funds for many situations. The study was published in a recent issue of Econometrica. Kaboski also is a faculty fellow of Notre Dame’s Kellogg Institute for International Studies. http://phys.org/news255940376.html Other Sciences - Economics & Business 2012-05-11T07:33:06-07:00 Microfinance seems like a boost for entrepreneurs in developing countries: Give them little loans, and people can make their small businesses a bit larger. Starting in 2001, the government of Thailand used this idea as the basis of a program called the Thai Million Baht Village Fund, which distributed loans in 77,000 rural villages. http://phys.org/news255851361.html Other Sciences - Economics & Business 2012-05-10T07:20:02-07:00 In small and medium-sized companies, investments in knowledge transfer and creation promote internalisation. Knowledge is transferred both through internal and external transfer, i.e. between the various actors within the company and outside it, such as customers and other companies. http://phys.org/news255769605.html Other Sciences - Economics & Business 2012-05-09T08:07:09-07:00 Increasingly "plugged-in" customers are grabbing extra seats, counter space and table tops by using cell phones, laptops and cups of steaming hot coffee to shield others from seemingly public spaces, according to two marketing professors who've studied this brewing consumer clash. http://phys.org/news255717055.html Other Sciences - Economics & Business 2012-05-08T17:31:05-07:00 A key change in Brazilian law simplifying the sale of repossessed cars has enabled low-income borrowers in the country to get credit more easily and buy newer, more expensive cars, a new study shows. http://phys.org/news255702027.html Other Sciences - Economics & Business 2012-05-08T13:21:01-07:00 As the country emerges from the Great Recession, a substantial number of U.S. families are underwater—and not just with their mortgages. http://phys.org/news255697135.html Other Sciences - Economics & Business 2012-05-08T11:59:05-07:00 (Phys.org) -- If international lenders refuse to renegotiate substantial reductions in Greek public debt, chances are that whatever government emerges in Greece in the next few weeks will run out of cash by the end of June, says an economist at Washington University in St. Louis. http://phys.org/news255683802.html Other Sciences - Economics & Business 2012-05-08T08:30:01-07:00