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The Economics
of Cloud Computing
-- Federico Etro
The paper examines the economic impact of the diffusion of a new technology as cloud
computing. This will allow firms to rent computing power and storage from service providers and to pay
on demand, with a profound impact on the cost structure of all the industries, turning some of
the fixed costs into marginal costs of production. Such a change will have a substantial impact on
the incentives to create new business, and through this, on investments and macroeconomic
growth, job creation in all industries and job reallocation in the Information and Communications
Technology (ICT) sector, and public finance accounts, through the direct impact on the public
sector spending and the indirect one on the tax revenues. The paper investigates the consequences
of the diffusion of cloud computing on market structures and competition, and tries to
disentangle the above-mentioned aspects with a particular focus on a simulation run for the
European economy.
© 2011 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
Corporate Diversification
of British and German
Non-Financial Firms
-- Maurizio La Rocca and Raffaele Staglianò
Empirical studies are yet to answer the basic question regarding why firms diversify and
what affects this choice. The present study attempts to answer this question using data from
British and German firms. The results show different effects of ownership concentration and
financial variables on the decision to diversify. It is also observed that in the UK, diversification
reduces firm performance, while in Germany, diversification improves firm performance.
© 2011 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
Technical Efficiency of Sugar Factories in West Godavari District,
Andhra Pradesh: A Case Study
-- Pesala Busenna and Ramesh Vadlamudi
This paper analyzes the technical efficiency of four sugar factories in West Godavari District
over the period 1985-86 to 2005-06. High efficiency is very important for the survival of a
factory. Technical efficiency of a sugar factory depends upon its capacity to extract maximum sugar
from the sugarcane. It is determined by several factors, such as reduced mill extraction,
reduced boiling house extraction, reduced overall extraction, and sugar loss. The paper reveals that out
of the four sugar factories, Andhra Sugars-I at Tanuku maintained minimum sugar loss level
and extracted maximum sugar from cane throughout the study period. Thus, the study concludes
that this factory was better than the other sugar factories in terms of technical efficiency during
the study period.
© 2011 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
Paradox of Plenty,
with Special Reference to Inelastic Demand for Apples
-- Monika Jain
Paradox of plenty in agriculture implies that a bumper crop reaped by the farmers brings
a smaller total income to them. The fall in the income or revenue of the farmer as a result of
the bumper crop is due to the fact that with greater supply the prices of the crop decline
drastically and in the context of inelastic demand for them, bring about fall in the income of the
farmers. Thus, bumper crop, instead of raising their incomes, reduces them. The reason for this lies in
the elasticity of demand for food stuff. The demand for food stuff is fairly inelastic. An increase
in their supply tends to lower their price. The lower price does not increase the demand for it as
per the law of demand or a normal price-demand relationship. Thus large harvest tends to bring
low revenue to the farmers.
© 2011 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
Banking Services
and Customer Satisfaction:
A Study on Banks in Belgaum District, Karnataka
-- A S Shiralshetti and J K Bagewadi
In banking, quality of customer service plays a crucial role in the context of sustained
business growth. The relationship between a bank and its customers must be a permanent and
enduring one, which needs to be maintained with good quality of services. In the present paper, an
attempt has been made to ascertain the level of satisfaction of customers as regards banking services
in Belgaum District in Karnataka. It highlights the banks' marketing strategies. The
satisfaction level of the customers has been measured and the varieties of new services which influence
the satisfaction level of the customers have been analyzed. The level of customer service and
satisfaction has been determined with the varieties of services provided by the banks in
Belgaum District.
© 2011 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
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