After a characterization of the cost-oriented assembly line balancing problem it will be shown that by loading the stations maximally the cost-oriented optimum can be missed. Instead of loading the stations maximally the criterion two-stations-rule a has to be used. For generating optimal...

This paper is focused on the solution quality and computing time requirements of heuristic methods for cost-oriented assembly line balancing. It is based on a recent paper (Amen, International Journal of Production Economics 68 (2000), which describes in detail the solution process of existent...

This paper is concerned with cost-oriented assembly line balancing. This problem occurs especially in the final assembly of automotives, consumer durables or personal computers, where production is still very labour- intensive, and where the wage rates depend on the requirements and...

The demographic transition that swept the world in the course of the last century has been identified as one of the prime forces in the transition from stagnation to growth. The unprecedented increase in population growth during the early stages of industrialization was ultimately reversed and...

A flexible production function analysis is addressed to Namibia's data for the 1968-1992 period to test for evidence of structural problems in sectoral and sub-sectoral performance. The analysis found the primary sector to be characterized by constant returns to scale through the entire 25...

The interest rate and the rate of economic growth are often regarded as roughly constant as economies grow. Moreover, the agricultural sector and rural population typically shrink. We show that an otherwise standard growth model that includes a backward and an advanced sector can account for...

This chapter examines the process of development from an epoch of Malthusian stagnation to a state of sustained economic growth. The analysis focuses on recently advanced unified growth theories that capture the intricate evolution of income per capita, technology, and population over the course...

Research activities have uncertain outcomes. The question asked in this paper is whether or not this uncertainty can be a central piece on the explanation of long run consumption growth paths. More specifically, we inquire how the existence of different research projects, with different degrees...

The equalization of profit rates across a multisector production economy subject to Nash bargaining over wages supports an industry wage structure like those that account for a large fraction of actual wage dispersion and a wage-wage-...-wage-profit surface on which the general profit rate can...

This paper constructs an equilibrium model of entrepreneurial innovation where individuals differ in their attitude toward uncertainty. Unlike previous models of innovation, the firm-formation process is endogenous. An entrepreneur, who owns residual profits, utilizes an uncertain technology and...