Importance Of Competition Research Articles

The Game Theory of Football Penalty Kicks

Abstract. Soccer is the world's number one sport, known for its fierce rivalries and full of surprises. Especially in important international competitions, such as the World Cup and the European Championships, matches are often about national honor and the expectations of millions of fans. Penalty kicks are a common punishment in soccer, where the goalkeeper and the shooter are pitted against each other in a one-on-one confrontation. Penalty kicks, because of their simplicity of confrontation, have a breath-taking tension and excitement, and most of the victory depends on the decision-making confrontation between the shooter and the goalkeeper. Game theory is an important tool for studying how participants make decisions to maximize their own gains in situations of conflict and competition. In order to study how the goalkeeper saves most effectively, this paper analyzes the penalty shot from the perspective of game theory, and obtains the optimal solution for the goalkeeper's save direction in a simplified situation by calculating the Nash equilibrium under mixed strategies.

Industry Trade Exposure and the Quality of Employment in India’s Manufacturing Sector

Globalization, trade and labour institutions have implications on the labour market affecting the regular nature of jobs and increasing dependence on contract labour. Using worker-level data for India’s manufacturing sector, this paper evaluates the influence of outward orientation of the worker’s industry on the informal nature of employment. We find that higher import penetration and export orientation of the manufacturing industries of workers promote employment of regular nature. However, the regular jobs come tied up with lack of job contracts in industries facing higher import competition. Export-oriented industries increase the chances of regular jobs with a written job contract.

Adapting to Competition: Solar PV Innovation in Europe and the Impact of the ‘China Shock’

AbstractLow cost solar energy is key to enabling the transition away from fossil fuels. Despite this, the European Union followed the United States’ example in imposing anti-dumping tariffs on solar panel imports from China in 2013, arguing that Chinese panels were unfairly subsidised and harmed its domestic industry. This paper examines the effects of Chinese import competition on firm-level innovation in solar photovoltaic technology by European firms using a sample of 10,137 firms in 15 EU countries over the period 1999–2020. I show that firms which were exposed to higher import competition innovated more if they had a relatively small existing stock of innovation, but less if their historical knowledge stock fell within the top 10th percentile of firms in the sample. This suggests that newer firms were more able to respond to increased competition by innovating, while firms with a large historical stock of innovation may have been locked into old technological paradigms. As firms with a smaller knowledge stock tended to innovate more overall, trade with China appears to have been beneficial in encouraging innovation among the most innovative firms. However, I also find evidence that import competition increased the probability of exit among firms in the sample.

Fighting Alone or Mutual Benefit and Win? A Study on Forestry Embodied Energy Competition Network Based on MRIO

Abstract Measuring energy usage in the forestry trade is a topic of great significance. In this article, we use the World Input–Output Database and the multiregional input–output model to establish an embodied energy competition network and assess the influence of global value chain (GVC) integration on competition. The results show that (1) the intensity of competition for embodied energy in forestry is higher for exports compared with imports. Additionally, the import competition network exhibits lower connectivity and overall efficiency. (2) The core regions of the competitive network are primarily found in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. The United States consistently maintains a competitive advantage. However, forestry policies have led to a decline in the status of the United States, (3) The hierarchical structure of export competition is more pronounced. When the weighting degree exceeds 200, this phenomenon becomes more pronounced. (4) From the perspective of GVC, positive embedding in the GVC is negatively correlated with import competition. Backward GVC embedding is positively correlated with import and export competition. On the basis of the above results, this article proposes that countries where backward embedding is the main method should actively participate in building appropriate export international associations, participating in international organizations, and building a relatively harmonious and stable export competition market, thereby helping to maintain economic development and energy environment management.

Unraveling the time-of-day influences on motor consolidation through the motor-declarative memory conflict.

Competition between motor and declarative memory systems, both involved simultaneously in motor learning, has been shown to reduce motor consolidation. Here, we investigated this conflict during the learning of a sequential finger-tapping task (SFTT) scheduled for either the morning or the afternoon. Sixty participants, divided into four groups, trained on SFTT at either 10 a.m. or 3 p.m., and retested five hours later. To disrupt the conflict between the two memories, two groups underwent declarative learning immediately after SFTT training, involving word list training (G10DL and G3DL), while the two other groups (G10CTR and G3CTR) experienced no additional learning. The results revealed that after morning training without additional learning (C10CTR), skill consolidation deteriorated, while the addition of declarative learning (G10DL) significantly attenuated this decay, stabilizing consolidation. Afternoon training showed skill stabilization for both groups (G3CTR and G3DL). These results suggest that weaker consolidation after morning training may be due to an important competition between motor and declarative memories within the same motor task.

Labour market impacts of the China shock: Why the tide of Globalisation did not lift all boats

The 1990s and 2000s saw a dramatic expansion in global goods trade. China rapidly emerged as the world's leading exporter while manufacturing employment in many high-income countries plummeted. Guided by textbook models that assumed frictionless labour markets and balanced trade, economists long maintained the view that trade had only modest labour market impacts and was not an important contributor to rising inequalities in high-income countries. We review recent evidence on the impacts of rapidly rising import competition from China on a broad range of outcomes in high-income countries. Import competition led to employment and wage losses that were heavily concentrated among the employees of exposed industries and individuals residing in local labour markets where such industries clustered, while consumer gains from lower goods prices were much more evenly distributed in the population. The disruptive effects of trade were particularly salient in countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom where a rapid growth of imports did not coincide with a commensurate expansion of own exports. Local labour markets facing greater import competition also experienced deteriorations in terms of health outcomes, crime, and family structures, and they became more likely to support far right politicians. We discuss several policy options to support the losers from globalisation.

Import competition, credit reallocation, and small business lending

Import competition, credit reallocation, and small business lending

Detecting the local characteristics from the iron ore import competition intensity among nations: A network-based resource allocation process method

Iron ore is an important industrial raw material, and its production and consumption have a significant impact on the world economy. As resource demand increases, competition among iron ore importing countries has intensified. To investigate the global iron ore competition landscape through the competition intensity among importing countries and to study the iron ore competition groups and key competition modes from a local perspective, this paper constructs the iron ore import competition intensity network (IOCIN) by employing the network decreasing-mode and resource allocation process (RAP). The empirical results are as follows. First, competition intensity is unevenly distributed. The unevenness of competition intensity eases slightly, and the IOCINs become tighter over time. Second, the composition of the community is unstable, and the competition groups show geographic dispersion. Third, unidirectional competition with an overwhelming advantage on one side is a common relationship in the global iron ore market. At the same time, a relatively stable bilateral competition pattern has promoted the evolution of the global iron ore competitive landscape. The value of this study includes not only the improvement of the method but also practical strategic recommendations for rational competition and resource allocation optimization among countries.

The effect of import competition across occupations

We empirically examine the effect of import competition on worker earnings across occupations. To guide our analysis, we develop a stylized model that emphasizes industries using occupations in different intensities. We show that an occupational exposure index summarizes the overall exposure of an occupation to industry-level trade shocks. Proxying these industry-level trade shocks with rising Chinese competition and using nationally representative matched employer-employee French panel data from 1993 through 2015, we obtain evidence consistent with the predictions of the model. We find that workers initially employed in occupations highly exposed to Chinese competition –as measured by our occupational exposure index– experience larger declines in earnings. The magnitude of our estimates implies that the effect of rising Chinese competition on workers’ earnings due to differences in workers’ occupations is of comparable magnitude to the effect of workers’ sector of employment. This finding suggests that accounting for the distributional effects of trade across occupations is quantitatively important.

International trade and wage inequality: Evidence from Brazil

We study the effect of the bilateral trade integration with China on wage inequality in Brazil. Previous studies have documented the contribution of trade opening to the decline in inequality since the 1990s, driven primarily by cross-firm pay differences. We find a sharper reduction in wage inequality over the 2000s, parallel to China’s accession to the WTO. Our analysis of the China shock suggests that some firms are harmed by import competition, especially those in the High-Tech Manufacturing sector, while others profit from increased exports and cheaper inputs. We rationalize these patterns by extending the theoretical framework of Helpman et al. (2017) to include sector heterogeneity in trade exposure and firm-level selection into imports. Our model indicates that the rise of China led to a reduction in cross-firm wage inequality in Brazil by about 5%.

Imports, Exports, and Employment: India’s Trading Relationship with China

This paper examines the effect of increased import competition and export demand on local labour markets in the context of India’s trading relationship with China. Using an instrumental variables approach, I find that Indian districts exposed to Chinese imports experience decreased manufacturing employment growth relative to their positive pre-existing trend with no offsetting adjustment in services employment or population. The negative employment effect of imports is greater for large establishments. On average, manufacturing employment does not grow in response to export demand shocks, but districts with sufficient development, density, or access to Chinese markets see increased manufacturing employment in response to Chinese export demand.

The Nature of Import Competition and Firms’ Environmental Engagement in Emerging Markets

The Nature of Import Competition and Firms’ Environmental Engagement in Emerging Markets

The impact of the U.S. export controls on Chinese firms' innovation: Evidence from Chinese high-tech firms

Using a sample of Chinese high-tech firms from 2007 to 2020, this study investigates the impact of U.S. export control regulations (ECRs) on Chinese high-tech firms' innovation. The results reveal that U.S. ECRs force Chinese firms to increase their R&D inputs and outputs. Moreover, the findings illustrate that technology dependence and import competition act as mechanisms to mediate such trade effects. Our cross-sectional analyses indicate that the positive relationship between U.S. ECRs and Chinese firms' innovation strengthens in firms importing more high-tech products, with better innovation accumulation, with fewer financial constraints, or with more financial subsidies. Fundamentally, this study complements the literature on the U.S.-China trade war and offers policy implications for the Chinese government.

Distributional consequences shape public support for the EU carbon border adjustment mechanism: evidence from four European countries

Abstract A carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) is a policy that increases the cost of carbon-intensive imports from countries with no or weak national carbon regulation. Proponents advocate that it helps avoid industrial relocation and protects jobs in the importing country; its critics say that it impedes free trade and drives up prices. Despite European Union legislation to introduce a CBAM policy, we find that citizens in our samples across four European countries---Germany (n=3,500), Hungary (n=2,512), Switzerland (n=2,500), and the United Kingdom (n=2,500)---have not formed clear opinions about the policy yet. Results from survey experiments, conducted over the course of 1.5~years, show a strong dislike for price increases associated with a carbon border tax, while the prospect of job protection does little to increase CBAM support---not even among subgroups most affected by import competition. However, employment effects become relevant when we prompt survey respondents to assess the effects of the carbon border tax for their country as a whole instead of for themselves as individuals. Consistent with exploratory findings that right-leaning voters express a much stronger opposition to the CBAM policy, our results speak to growing evidence of the politically polarizing nature of costly, green policies when citizens have not formed clear opinions about a policy yet.

Housing prices and import competition

Housing prices and import competition

Trade and inequality in Europe and the US

Abstract Low-income countries’ share of global exports nearly tripled between 1990 and 2015, largely due to China’s emergence as an exporting powerhouse. Evidence from several European countries and the US shows that import competition from China differentially reduced employment and earnings for workers in more trade-exposed industries and regions. We show that manufacturing employment declined most dramatically in countries where import growth was not matched by a commensurate expansion of exports. We also provide new results for the UK which indicate that imports from China contributed to substantial declines in consumer prices alongside job losses in manufacturing. However, while the adverse labour market impacts were concentrated on specific groups of workers and regions, consumer benefits from trade were widely dispersed and of similar magnitude for high and low-income households. We argue that assistance targeted towards displaced workers and depressed areas would better help the losers of globalization than new import tariffs.

Chinese Import Competition and Prices: Evidence from India*

How do output prices respond to trade shocks? Using detailed firm‐product level data on sales and quantity between 1996 and 2007, we study the causal effect of Chinese import competition on prices for Indian manufacturing firms. We find that Chinese import competition induces a significant decline in firm‐product prices. A 1 percentage point increase in the Chinese import penetration ratio reduces firm‐product prices by 3.5%. Further, this decline in prices is driven by a decline in markup, conditional on costs, as opposed to the pass through of cost savings to prices – providing evidence for pro‐competitive effect. This decline in prices and markup is less pronounced for firms owned by Business Groups compared to stand‐alone, privately owned firms. We also document a large decrease in marginal costs and an increase in markup with no significant effect on prices for firms on account of increased access to imported Chinese inputs.

Anxiety, eating disorders and menstrual disturbances risk in Spanish elite female paddlers

Affiliated athletes are frequently subject to higher levels of anxiety due to the intensity of training, competition and many other factors. This anxiety can cause alterations in their health, both physically and mentally, such as menstrual irregularities, eating disorders, etc. In this work we have analysed the anxiety levels of a population of female affiliated paddlers and the possible consequences for their health. The results showed that a third of the female paddlers analysed have a moderate/high risk of suffering from anxiety; and within this group, the less sporting experience the athlete has, the greater the probability is of suffering from anxiety. Moreover, almost half the total of the female paddlers suffers from menstrual dysfunction before an important competition, with this number rising among high performance athletes, even though three out of every four adjust their training schedule to their menstrual cycle. Less-experienced female athletes, who show higher anxiety levels, also present a greater risk of suffering from eating disorders.

Import Competition, Quality Upgrading, and Exporting: Evidence from the Peruvian Apparel Industry

Abstract This paper studies quality upgrading to escape competition from low-wage countries and proposes a new channel that does not rely on access to new inputs or markets. Informed by Peruvian apparel firms’ response to China’s WTO accession, I introduce factor specificity in a multi-product-firm model. Profitability losses due to competition in low-quality segments induce firms to reallocate specific factors to produce high-quality varieties for high-income countries. Gains from this channel are large. Using an observed quality measure, I show that import competition substantially increases domestic firms’ exports and high-quality export shares. Firms also reduce prices, resulting in additional welfare gains.

ŽENSKA ORODNA TELOVADBA V BRAZILIJI: NJENE POTI OD 1966 DO 2021

Brazilian men’s and women’s Artistic Gymnastics (AG) has been in the spotlight due to the results of some outstanding athletes in the most important international competitions over the last 20 years. However, the development of this sport in the national context does not reflect these achievements. This article performs a critical analysis of Women’s Artistic Gymnastics (WAG) in Brazil, reviewing the trajectory of the main gymnasts and their achievements in the World Championships and Olympic Games from 1966 to 2021, as well as relevant contextual facts during this historical period. Medals in major events have been won since 2001, with gradual and unstable growth, placing Brazil among the most prominent countries. Nevertheless, the data suggest that the achievements were based on concentrated investment in elite gymnasts, mainly in the Olympic team, with the support of already established clubs. The development is still centralized in a few clubs, without showing a sustainable increase in the number of clubs and gymnasts. In this scenario, there is a need for a long-term plan that can sustain the development of the national ecosystem (clubs, local competitions, provincial federations) across all age-group categories and in connection with the national teams..