Industry Studies

Featuring new chapters on casino gambling and the nursing home industry, and updated throughout, the new edition of this highly readable text analyzes well-defined industries from commodities and manufacturing to distribution and services, showing how firms compete with one another. Each study gives appropriate attention to government policies that have influenced competitive conditions in the industry, and the material is presented without the use of calculus so that anyone with some background in economic principles can benefit from it. The book provides balance in regard to the mix of industries dealt with, and also in the varying perspectives of the contributors.

Part I. Commodities and Manufacturing; 1. Automobiles: Products, Process, and the Decline of U.S. Dominance, John E. Kwoka jr; 2. Beer: Causes of Structural Change, Douglas F. Greer; 3. Broilers: Differentiating a Commodity, Richard T. Rogers; 4. Pharmaceuticals: The Critical Role of Innovation, Larry L. Duetsch; 5. Steel: Decline and Renewal, Donald F. Barnett and Robert W. Crandall; Part II. Distribution and Services; 6. Airline Service: The Evolution of Competition Since Deregulation, Steven A. Morrison; 7. Retail Commercial Banking: An Industry in Transition, Robert M. Adams; 8. Casino Gambling: Competing with Other Forms of Entertainment, Ronald M. Pavalko; 9. Electric Power: Generating Controversy, David B. Patton and Robert A. Sinclair; 10. Health Insurance: Designing Products to Reduce Costs, Lee R. Mobley and H.E. Frech III; 11. Motion Pictures: Competition, Distribution and Efficiences, Stanley I. Ornstein; 12. Nursing Homes: Rising Costs and Added Forms of Service, Joseph A. Giacalone; 13. Microcomputer Platforms: Competition in Software, Thomas Cottrell; 14. Telecommunications: Competition and Network Access, Susan E. McMaster

Larry L. Duetsch