ASSESSING THE QUALITY ERROR IN OUTPUT MEASURES: THE CASE OF REFRIGERATORS*

This paper computes new indexes of output for refrigerators, using hedonic methods to adjust for quality change. The hedonic technique is applied in a new way (it is used to make quality adjustments to prices before they are used in the index), and the results are compared with those from methods used in previous hedonic investigations. There are three major findings. (1) Overall (1960–1972), our hedonic deflated output series rise more rapidly than conventional measures, because the price indexes used for deflation rise more slowly. (2) The output measures fluctuate more than do output measures produced by conventional methods, because adding hedonic quality adjustments to WPI indexes moves them up in some years and down in others, and the resulting adjustments to the output series were positively correlated with changes in output. (3) Applying methods used in previous studies produces larger adjustments to the published indexes, suggesting that some of the differences noted in previous studies between hedonic indexes and official published indexes are related to computational methods, not to quality adjustment.     

A model of quality control based on recycling economy and sustainable manufacture

People currentiy pay attention to a hotspot problem that how industrial production is evaluated and controlled based on sustainable development theory. Quality is one of the important indexes. Two mainstream theories guide us to realize the industrial sustainable development： mainly the circular economy and sustainable manufacturing are introduced. The basic characteristics of the sustainable manufacturing are introduced, and that quality management is important contents of sustainable development is indicated. Based on circular economy and sustainable manufacture theories, the drawbacks in the existing quality management models are analyzed. The requests that satisfy the big system ＂environment- society - economy＂ are summarized to build up a model. A Chinese traditional cultural principle is applied and the relevant contents are sublimated as the platform to set up the model. The new quality management concept models are put forward ＂T- D- R＂ three-dimensional structures and ＂ecological quality loop＂ model, from which the new quality concepts are formed The paper elaborates the contents and the process of setting up the models. The big quality problems of the system can be handled by the new quality concept and model that are validated in practice.     

基于低碳经济的江苏化工企业“节能减排”投资绩效评价指标体系研究

化工行业是"节能减排"的重点行业之一,加强对化工企业"节能减排"投资绩效评价,对于转变经济增长方式、大力发展低碳经济具有十分重要的意义。化工企业"节能减排"投资绩效评价指标体系的构建应坚持科学性、系统性、代表性、可比性、可操作性、综合性等原则。化工企业"节能减排"投资绩效评价指标体系应从节能效果、减排治污效果、"节能减排"经济效益和社会效益四方面设计。节能效果指标可以用能源(资源)循环利用率、单位能耗收入、可再生能源(资源)利用率和投资节能率;减排治污效果指标可以用"三废"回收利用率、"三废"排放达标率、单位"三废"排放收入和投资减排率;"节能减排"经济效益指标可以用"节能减排"投资收益率和"节能减排"成本费用收益率;"节能减排"社会效益指标可以用居民生活环境满意度、环境质量优化度。     

食品安全规制机能的反思——以沃尔玛“猪肉门”为例

对与沃尔玛“猪肉门”相关的177篇报纸文章进行个案反思,归纳出我国食品安全规制机能现存的三种失调表现:日常监管高度乏力、“发证”与“验证”路径依赖和消费者索赔权实现的被动性.为破解我国食品市场低安全质量均衡的困局,应有的放矢地对这些食品安全规制机能失调的现象进行矫正.尤其是促使食品经营者主动从“反应型食品安全监管”向“自主型食品安全监管”转变,进而促进食品市场“自适应机制”效力的更好发挥,理应成为矫正食品安全规制机能失调的一个制度路径方向     

Prices,product differentiation and quality measurement: A comparison between hedonic and matched model methods

The paper provides an analysis of the problems of construction of quality-adjusted price indexes within the framework of the theory of product differentiation. In the general case of price-making behaviour on the part of firms, hedonic regressions are defined on the basis of reduced forms of the equation relating equilibrium prices to product characteristics. The paper considers the reduced form given by the marginal cost function and shows that the Laspeyres hedonic price index provides a lower bound to the quality-adjusted rate of price change while the Paasche hedonic price index provides an upper bound to the quality-adjusted rate of price change. The properties of hedonic price indexes are compared with those of matched model indexes. The theory is applied to the study of personal computer prices in Italy during the 1995–2000 period.     

The Impact of Transfers and Taxes on Alternative Poverty Indexes

Changes in the headcount rate are the standard metric for gauging how public transfers and taxes affect US poverty. An alternative strategy, one theoretically more appealing and complete, is to rely on distribution-sensitive indexes (Sen 1976, 1981). How would policy's measured impacts change if such an approach were to be used? This study provides empirical evidence using three selected poverty indexes from the class developed by Foster et al . (1984). Pre- and post-policy values of each index are estimated for the total population and for twenty-three demographic sub-groups using data from March Current Population Surveys covering the period 1992 to 1998. The results indicate that the alternative indexes produce consistent ordinal rankings of policy's impact. (In contrast, the measured cardinal effects of policy differ substantially across indexes.) The empirical evidence has a clear implication for anti-poverty policy: government transfers and taxes are effective in lowering poverty headcount rates, in reducing the depth of poverty and in lessening the relative deprivation among the poor.     

Quality,quantity, spending and prices

One measure of the change in the “quality” of consumption is the degree to which the consumption basket as a whole moves towards more luxurious goods, away from necessities. We introduce two related measures based on the luxury/necessity distinction. One is an index of the extent to which the prices of luxuries change as compared to necessities, while the second indexes the change in spending. These two measures are interpreted as the price of and spending on quality. The “volume” of quality is then spending deflated by its price. Using the recent International Comparison Program data for 100+ countries, we find that, on average, quality increases with income, but at a slower rate; luxuries are relatively more expensive in richer countries, necessities cheaper; and approximately 75 percent of additional spending on quality flows into a volume component, with the remaining 25 percent accounted for by prices.     

Technical change, prices and communications technology: Insights from the Local Area Networking industry

We use hedonic regressions to analyse price changes in two categories of Local Area Networking (LAN) equipment: hubs and switches. Constant quality price indexes are constructed from the regressions and contrasted with available indexes constructed for the same type of equipment. We find that prices fell at an average annual rate between 22% and 33% during the 1990s. The results suggest that beside falling prices of inputs (i.e. semiconductors), technical change in the LAN equipment may be responsible for the decrease in the prices of communication equipment during the 1990s.     

Welfare effects of quality change and new products in the Japanese mobile telecommunications market: 1995–2001

This paper presents a simple framework based on a discrete choice model to assess the welfare effects of quality change and new products. Such a framework is shown to be useful where the hedonic approach is impracticable. This framework is applied to the Japanese mobile telecommunications market during the period 1995–2001. The estimated qualities for mobile telecommunications services in Japan are shown to have improved rapidly during this period, indicating the importance of quality change in the welfare gains of consumers relative to price change, and the need to adjust quality change in the construction of price indexes. However, it is also proven, at least in the earliest stages, that the effect of new services on consumer welfare was limited.     

从开放宏观的视角看环境污染问题:一个综述

在全球化背景下,伴随着国际间的要素流动,环境问题越来越多地被赋予了全球化的内容。本文将环境与增长、环境与贸易、环境与就业、环境与人口迁移等研究文献纳入到一个开放宏观分析框架中,通过文献研究发现,国际分工使"南—北"之间存在了多纬度的"环境不平等":首先,环境与经济增长问题先后经历了三个发展阶段,即罗马俱乐部提出的"增长极限说"、环境库兹涅茨曲线假说、贸易与环境库兹涅茨曲线假说相关性的争论。随着研究的推进,环境与增长问题越来越类似于一枚硬币的两面,难以同时兼得,但是,由于国际分工模式的差异,发展中国家却为发达国家提供了"污染储藏地"。其次,虽然环境规制使企业损失了部分"棕色"就业,但是环境保护同样能够创造"绿色"就业,然而,在国际分工背景下,环境保护是否有利于发展中国家的整体就业还存在着争议。最后,环境恶化已经导致一些国家出现了"环境难民"以及随之而来的人口迁移。到2050年,全世界由气候变化引起的人口迁移很可能达到5千万至7亿。然而,穷国和富国的环境压力和迁移能力却不尽相同,从某种程度上,这也是国际分工产生的间接影响,但是,关于这一问题的研究还十分有限。     

MANAGING CALIFORNIA's WATER IN THE LONG RUN

Water development in the western states has passed through an "expansive" phase and now is entering an "intensive" phase. Large untapped sources of high-quality fresh water no longer are available. Using current supplies more efficiently and reallocating water among uses will be necessary so as to sustain economic growth. Water conservation, particularly in the agricultural sector, will be an important part of decreasing both the quantity problems and the quality problems that have developed. This paper discusses alternative policies for gaining these benefits.     

Circularity of the Malmquist productivity index

The geometric mean version of the Malmquist productivity index does not satisfy the circular test, and its component adjacent period indexes can give different productivity change measures for the same data. A fixed-base version of the index solves both problems, but it is not independent of the base period. It has been argued that time-neutrality of technical change is necessary and sufficient for all three properties to hold. We show that time-neutrality is sufficient, but not necessary, for all three properties. We develop a weaker version of time-neutrality that is necessary and sufficient for all three properties to hold. We thank a very perceptive referee for helpful comments, although content remains our responsibility. A longer working paper is available on request.     

"三农问题"的缓解会降低中国的出口竞争力吗?

我国的出口竞争力主要来自于低廉的工资成本.依赖FDI和加工贸易的迅速增长,我国形成了低成本扩张的外向型经济增长模式.这种增长模式和"三农问题"存在紧密的内在联系."三农问题"的缓解,劳动者工资的提高,并不一定会降低我国的国际竞争力.从长期来看,转变这种不可持续的增长模式与解决"三农问题"应该而且能够协调互动.     

新疆绿洲经济可持续发展评价

新疆绿洲经济可持续发展指标体系包括经济发展能力、科学教育水平、人口发展能力、环境支撑能力以及社会协调能力等五个方面的16个指标，利用系统思想建立指标层次结构，能够科学地对新疆绿州经济可持续发展进行评价和分析。新疆绿洲经济可持续发展的核心是要切实转变政府职能，加大对教育和科技的投入。     

区位模型在公共设施布局中的应用

古典区位论是现代区位论的理论基石,运用于公共设施布局的分配.区位模型是在对古典区位论进行新的诠释以及对其中的假设限制加以修订的基础上发展起来的。顺应当今社会福利化的发展趋势,分配.区位模型正在为福利政策的全方位实施提供有效的理论借鉴。从量化的角度看,区位模型在应用方面大致可以分为解决“重心指向”、“中心指向”和“覆盖指向”等3类问题。建立应用模型首先要确定区位选择的评价标准,其次是划定设置设施的服务范围与确定设施的数目和等级;分析微区位设施布局限制条件的改变对目标函数的影响可以采用“感度分析”等方法。多目标的设施区位规划、GIS空间分析方法的有效使用,以及寻求更快捷的量化求解方法是分配.区位模型在未来的应用研究中应该加强的方面。     

高校贫困生问题的三维考察

高校贫困生问题的产生是多种合力形成的结果,既需要从国家、社会、教育制度等宏观方面分析,也需要从学校、家庭等中观角度分析,更要从个体心理、素质等微观角度分析。因此,贫困生问题的解决也应该从国家、社会、学校和个人等方面采取有效途径,共同改变贫困生弱势地位,促进教育公平的实现。     

Attending, questioning, and quality

Health care is just now feeling the effects of many years of neglect of serious attention to quality outcomes. We have many tools available now to change our thinking and to provide techniques to attain excellence in quality, such as Six Sigma and principals from Toyota. However, these techniques will only get us to a minimal level of quality. We need to change our questions, think the impossible, and break out of our old modes of thinking about quality. Zero defects are possible. We only have to take that quantum leap and think in new ways. We are posed on the edge of a quantum leap into new ways of thinking about quality. We will hear much more about nurse-sensitive indicators in the near future. Nurse leaders should change their questions now to attend to new models that will get us closer to the ultimate "impossible thinking" goal of zero defects in nurse-sensitive indicators of quality.     

The Impact Of Computer Prices On International Comparisons Of Labour Productivity

This paper analyses the international comparability of methods used to convert the value added of the office and computing machinery sector (OCM) into constant prices for nine OECD countries. It concludes that the variations which exist in the price indexes are largely due to differences in the methods countries use to capture changes in the quality of an industry's output over time. The paper evaluates the impact of these different OCM price indexes on the growth rate of labour productivity during the 1980s by conducting a sensitivity test where the US OCM index is substituted for each of the individual country indexes. This experiment causes the OCM labour productivity growth rate to change by over a factor of ten for several countries. This result suggests that international comparisons of labour productivity should not be made for the OCM sector using the official data, and that labour productivity comparisons of sectors OCM belongs to—non-electrical machinery and fabricated metal products and machinery—should be conducted cautiously, if at all.     

关于我国征地制度问题的研究

城镇化作为农民职业转换、身份转变和社会价值观转型的载体,其健康发展成为解决中国"三农"问题的核心之所在。目前我国城镇化正处在发展推进期,传统的征地制度日渐显现出其内在的弊端,甚至蜕变为我国城镇化发展中的障碍因素。因此,有必要在廓清我国征地制度的变迁轨迹的基础上,剖析传统征地制度中存在的固有缺陷,为探明相应的制度变迁路径提供一种思路。     

论中国社会基本问题

生活世界有三个维度——"物质生活"、"社会生活"和"精神生活"。能够长期延续的生活,在这三个维度上积累,形成传统。生活世界外生的或内生的变动,也依这三个维度分解为物质的、社会的和精神的变动。与传统相冲突的变动,只要足够强烈就可使传统持续演变。转型期社会的特征,是变动与传统的持续冲突。近代以来中国社会结构最显著的变动,可表述为适合市场经济的"小世界"网络结构的扩展过程。与这一过程相伴随的,是机会、财富和权力在人群当中的"幂律"分布,从而引发普遍的正义诉求——表现为大众对"公平"的迫切需求,这是中国社会基本问题的初级形式。在精神生活的不发达阶段,大众在社会生活维度上的正义诉求不能转化为精神生活维度上的自我满足。在"物质生活—社会生活"平面之内满足正义诉求的基本途径,是政治体制改革。改革的基本方向是消除或缓解权力的幂律分布,从而要求生活世界的网络结构从效率主导的演变为情感主导的。物质生活的效率原则与情感生活的心性原则之间的冲突,是中国社会基本问题的高级形式。