Lerner, Josh and Jean Triole.  "Some Simple Economics of Open Source."  The Journal of Industrial Economics. Vol. 50, No. 2 (Jun., 2002), pp. 197-234.  Blackwell Publishing.

This article from The Journal of Industrial Economics surveys some of the basic economics of the open source software model.  The article begins by noting how open source practices have in fact existed in the realm of software development for several decades, but that the practice of open source software development has grown more concretized and widespread due to the rise of the Internet (to demonstrate this, the article provides a brief history of software development from the 70s to present day).  The article then goes on to examine several case studies involving specific products of open source software development, specifically Apache, Linux, Perl and Sendmail.

Perhaps one of the more unique aspects of the article is the close examination of the motivation for developers to work with open source rather than closed source software.  The authors identify several types of incentives that they hypothesize lure developers to the open source model.  Such incentives include career concern incentive and the ego gratification incentive.  Both of these incentives are categorized in economic terms as what's called a signalling incentive.  The authors list several conditions under which signalling incentives are strengthened, and all of these conditions appear to be present within the open source model.  For example, the ego gratification incentive is in part fulfilled by peer recognition.  The open source model strengthens this incentive because the development process is transparent, meaning all changes to source codes are tracked and tied to specific developers, thus allowing for a high level of peer recognition.

While this article may ultimately pose more questions than it answers, it marks a necessary step towards closer examination of the open source model.  By examining the model from an economic perspective, the article is helping to systematize and deconstruct the motivations and human behaviors that govern the ways in which open source development operates.

Naomi Klein and Avi Lewis report on how Argentina's worker-run factories have nurtured a powerful social movement, while seamstress Matilda Adorno explains how a dispute over pay became a political struggle.

Title: Theoretical frameworks for personal relationships / edited by Ralph Erber, Robin Gilmour. Publisher: Hillsdale, N.J. : L. Erlbaum, 1994. Description: Book xi, 271 p. : ill. : 24 cm. LC Subject(s): Interpersonal relations. Man-woman relationships. Intimacy (Psychology) Location: Van Pelt Library Call Number: HM132 .T45 1993 Status: Available, check location

NOTE: see chapter 2 - communal and exchange relationships - for a review of market practices vs social norms

June 1, 2008
In the Region | New Jersey
A Rail Line Generates New Life
By ANTOINETTE MARTIN

HERE is what light rail has delivered to five formerly down-at-heels neighborhoods along the 20.6-mile system in northern New Jersey: more than 10,000 units of new housing, with a total property value surpassing $5 billion.

The opening and continued expansion of the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail system from 2000 to 2006 have greatly affected all 23 stops on the north-south line running through seven municipalities.

According to a new study from the Voorhees Transportation Center of Rutgers University, some station sites have already been reshaped by development; others are poised for the same treatment.

The detailed study focused especially on five of the station areas - those that researchers considered to have the most potential for development. They are Port Imperial in Weehawken; Ninth Street in Hoboken; the area between the Essex Street and Jersey Avenue stations in Jersey City; the Bergenline Avenue neighborhood of Union City and West New York; and the 34th Street area in Bayonne.

The Economics of Welfare by Arthur C. Pigou
Macmillan and Co. London, Fourth edition, 1932. First published: 1920. 

A secret behind Wal-Mart's rapid expansion in the United States has been its extensive use of public money. This includes more than $1.2 billion in tax breaks, free land, infrastructure assistance, low-cost financing and outright grants from state and local governments around the country. In addition, taxpayers indirectly subsidize the company by paying the healthcare costs of Wal-Mart employees who don't receive coverage on the job and instead turn to public programs such as Medicaid. This website brings together available information on both kinds of subsidies involved in Wal-Mart's "double-dipping." In the future we will add data on other ways Wal-Mart relies on taxpayers to finance its growth.

An economy is the organization of resource production and distribution of goods and services within a community. As the number of worldwide online game players increase, virtual worlds have expanded in complexity. Game economies have risen out of nowhere to having players engage in day-to-day economic activities like in the real world. The economics of games themselves as a good is just as important as the economies within the games. At the most basic principle, games are purchased by consumers as a good to satisfy a need or a want. Players are initially drawn to virtual games for their entertainment value. Their interest and desire to continue play depends on how intriguing and exciting the game is to the player. Revenues from game subscriptions, in turn, can be invested into development of the virtual world and game technologies.

The future of MMORPGs and virtual worlds relies on this cycle. Better game play leads to more revenue and in turn, revenue produces better game play. If virtual worlds grow in the future to have a significant impact on real world economies and social interactions, then the economics of virtual games becomes important. Furthermore, games and their virtual worlds are owned and operated by game corporations. The effect that these owners have on the economies and on the rules that govern such economies is extremely important to the macroeconomics of the game industry.

With the introduction of real money to virtual world economies, there is an instant bias in terms of the construct of the game. Those with higher incomes have an advantage when purchasing virtual goods or services. As well, these same people might have the luxury of more free time to pursue leisure activities such as game playing. Since online multiplayer games do not end when one player logs off, game time is unevenly distributed. Immediately, the problem of price discrimination comes forth. Consider also that these games are generally open to the international market. Economies with different standards of living, currency values, and financial differences are now subjected to the same rules and regulations of an online game economy. Taking into account all of these restraints, game law must then adapt and compromise to this environment to meet the needs of this new global economy.

From the website:

WRDS provides instant access to important databases in the fields of finance, accounting, banking, economics, management, marketing and public policy.

We provide universities with the following key benefits:

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    * Support from a team of PhD's and IT Specialists. Whether you use the web interface or run customized programs on our UNIX server, our staff of Phd's and programmers will answer your research and programming questions.

    * Classroom Learning Enhancements. WRDS interface is simple and straightforward. Faculty can easily integrate research data into classroom lectures and student projects.

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Chinese women, living and working / edited by Anne E. McLaren. [0415312175 (alk. paper) ] London ; New York : RoutledgeCurzon, 2004.
Call#: Van Pelt Library HQ1767 .C45253 2004

“The Macroeconomics of Dr. Strangelove” presents an economic analysis of a hypothetical nuclear arms race between two countries. The examination attempts to uncover the economic reasoning behind a country’s desire to accumulate these weapons of mass destruction and also discusses the effect rival countries have on one another in this accumulation. The study works through the decisions made in a cold war situation as two countries progress to one of two circumstances: an equilibrium is reached and thus neither country initiates conflict or one country accumulates such a massive stock of weapons that the consequences of conflict are so large that conflict is never initiated.

The basic logic behind the cold war model is that each generation is able to chose how much weapons stock to produce and store for the next generation. The subsequent generation then has the choice of utilizing that stock to initiate nuclear conflict with the other country or adding on to the stock by producing and storing even more weaponry for their posterity. The model assumes that current generations are making decisions with future generations in mind and also that any conflict that arises will not necessarily deplete a nation’s entire supply of weapons.

As time passes in the model, countries make weapons decisions based on other nations’ possible decisions and the probability of catastrophe should conflict arise. The higher each country’s weapon stock, the higher the probability for catastrophe. A higher possibility for catastrophe makes initiation of conflict riskier for every country and thus less likely to occur. Countries react to the weapons stock of other countries though and desire to accumulate at least the same amount of weaponry as other countries. Thus, the nuclear arms races after World War II, the subject of Dr. Strangelove. This article details the various decisions that countries can make with respect to their arms stock and the reactionary steps other countries would then take.

The concluding argument of the paper is that increasing international weapons stock actually decreases the chance of conflict because the probability of catastrophe is much higher than it is with fewer weapons. The creation of a Dr. Strangelove doomsday device is based in sound logic, though not executed well, as the movie demonstrates. As countries build up their nuclear arms, this paper argues it is better to let this continue until maximum potential catastrophe has been reached.

The article “The Macroeconomics of Dr. Strangelove” by Andrew John, Rowena Pecchenino, and Stacy Schreft considers weapons accumulation through an economic model and works to find an equilibrium between countries’ strategies. The authors construct a situation in which individual of two nations can choose to amass weapons by allocating resources. By monitoring the moves of the other, a country can calculate its probability of winning and decide appropriately whether or not to attack. One can then calculate the benefits and disadvantages of accumulating and using weapons.

The model presented mathematically analyzes the issue of nuclear proliferation. In its calculated approach, however, the model fails to capture the element of humanity; the model only measures success and failure not innate human worth. In this way the article doesn’t drive the same message as Dr. Strangelove. Instead of emphasizing the danger of nuclear armament like the film, the article examines whether or not nuclear accrual is beneficial or detrimental to a country. Interestingly, the article finds that equilibrium can exist where neither country amasses weapons and where both countries “accumulate weapons to the point where conflict initiation is so dangerous that it never occurs” (p. 44). This finding supports the ideology held by Cold War hardliners, the same ideology Kubrick satirizes with Dr. Strangelove. Through a purely analytic model it may seem possible for a country to protect itself with weaponry, though, as the Kubrick’s film indicates, the dangers incurred through such defense are too immense to tolerate.

This article shows how the broadcasting of sporting events, especially when a superstar athlete is playing, affects the revenue of the sport industry.  The article also looks at the rules of the National Basketball Association pertaining to specific players on specific teams.