Research instrumentation and institutional innovation in canada

Science policy is being challenged. Conceptions of innovation and the nature of research are rapidly being forced beyond traditional views which see innovation as a linear process and science policy in terms of funding issues. Indeed, the policy challenge is being defined by the tension between trying to conduct or encourage research that is at or near an expanding research frontier, while simultaneously functioning within 'steady state' fiscal environments. One key manifestation of this challenge—which is underpinned by a new social contract between the scientific and government communities—is being expressed in terms of the changing role that research instrumentation is playing with regard to research management, research policy and research planning. This paper examines several Candian example f the changing nature of research, with particular reference to the role of instrumentation; it also outlines the particular challenges that small open econmies must face with respect to instrument-intensive research and offers a possible taxonomy for analyzing innovation and policy options.     

The Role of the Media in the Formulation of Economic Policy

This article examines and comments on the reporting of economic news in the Australian media, the influence on that reporting of media judgments about newsworthiness, the relationship between economic reporting and the financial markets, and governments' use of the media in the economic policy process. Finally, it focuses on the role of economic commentators in the quality press, their relations with the bureaucracy, their part in the rise of economic rationalism and the nature of their influence on the formulation of economic policy. It concludes that when the commentators as a group take up causes and pursue them over sustained periods, they help to create a climate of elite option which emboldens governments to undertake politically difficult policy reforms.     

Some Lessons from Transaction-Cost Politics for Less-Developed Countries

Transaction-cost politics views economic policy-making as a political process constrained by asymmetric information and limited commitment possibilities. This paper examines some implications of this perspective for less-developed countries (LDCs) considering policy reform. It emphasizes that success requires reform of the rules and institutions which govern the strategic interaction of the participants in the political game, and that reforms must cope with the special interests and asymmetric information which already exist. In this light, it examines some broad issues of the design of constitutions and institutions (definition and enforcement of property rights, control of inflation, and of government expenditures, federalism, and redistribution), as well as some specific issue of the design of organizations and incentives (problems posed by the interaction of multiple tasks and multiple interests, and their interaction with the limitations on auditing and administration that exists in many LDCs).     

Environmental Policy Theory Given Bounded Rationality and Other-regarding Preferences

Established environmental policy theory is based on the assumption of homo economicus. This means that people are seen as fully rational and acting in a self-regarding manner. In line with this, economics emphasizes efficient policy solutions and the associated advantages of price incentives. Behavioral economics offers alternative, more realistic views on individual behavior. In this paper we investigate opportunities to integrate bounded rationality and other-regarding preferences into environmental policy theory to arrive at recommendations for more effective policies. For this purpose, we will address decisions made under risk and uncertainty, intertemporal choice, decision heuristics, other-regarding preferences, heterogeneity, evolutionary selection of behaviors, and the role of happiness. Three aspects of environmental policy are considered in detail, namely sustainable consumption, environmental valuation and policy design. We pay special attention to the role of non-pecuniary, informative instruments and illustrate the implications for climate policy.     

Wicksteed,Robbins and the Emergence of Mainstream Economic Methodology

Phillip Wicksteed's ideas played an important role in the history of economic methodology, first, because his views represent the starting point of the deliberate attempt to expel hedonism from marginalist economic analysis, and secondly because his ideas influenced his prominent disciple Lionel Robbins. The current mainstream view of an allegedly value-free economic science can be traced to Robbins. The paper examines Wicksteed's conception of economic science and the role of hedonism. His views on the nature and the role of economic man, and his analysis of egoism and of altruistic behaviour are also discussed. The paper assesses Wicksteed's influence, via Robbins, on the formation of mainstream methodological views.     

Joan Robinson's disillusion with economics

In her last public comments on the state of economics, Joan Robinson made some extraordinary remarks that conveyed profound pessimism and theoretical nihilism. To account for the bleakness of Robinson's later views on economics and economic policy this article examines her last decade. These years were marked by an array of reverses to the causes she espoused. While ill health and a propensity to be provocative coloured her disposition, her comment about economic theory disintegrating in her hands was not made casually; it was, rather, an acknowledgement that her project to integrate Keynes with the classical surplus theory had failed. This acknowledgement crystallised into her rejection of the long-period equilibrium interpretation of Keynes's theory of unemployment. At the end of her life Robinson was willing only to embrace the more traditional short-period Keynesian model grounded in uncertainty and expectations.     

论经济法的政策性

尽管学界对经济法众说纷纭，但普遍承认经济法是一个国家和政府经济政策的法律化。认为：政策性是经济法的本质特征，经济政策对经济法的内容、体系、实施等方面都有决定意义。同时认为，经济法也是法，其政策性是与整个法秩序一致的，否则经济法就失去了法的意义和价值。     

The migration policy of developed Socialist society: problems of improvement

In the USSR the need for migration policy stems from objective processes in the development of socialist production and from its constant structural and territorial modifications, which are particularly palpable under current conditions, at a time when vast new regions are undergoing intensive development. Migration policy, to play the part of an effective instrument for exerting a purposeful influence on migration processes, must be stable in its basic directions and relatively flexible when it is necessary to react quickly to changes in various relatively local circumstances. The determination of criteria of optimization of migration processes is of paramount significance for the solution of problems of migration policy. The improvement of migration policy under the conditions of developed socialism must be based on the known patterns of reproduction of the population. At the same time it is necessary to consider the fact that the migration of the population proper can be considered as the source of regional differences in this reproduction and simultaneously is their consequence to a considerable degree. Consequently, 1 of the approaches to the elaboration of migration policy measures is oriented toward the equalization of conditions of population reproduction at the settlement and regional level. Many investigators of the problem of retaining youth in the countryside and of attracting skilled persons to rural areas believe the optimization of the productive and nonproductive spheres of activity to be the solution. Migration policy is implemented at 3 levels: the population as a whole; the collective; and the individual. Migration policy measures are divided according to the nature of their impact on the population into economic, moral, and administrative categories with the leading role assigned to economic measures. Among the economic measures that stimulate migration, a leading role is played by cash payments in the form of wage increases and one time grants. Recognizing the role of distribution on the basis of labor in the regulation of the migratory mobility of the population, the general direction of improvement of migration policy consists in the further raising of the role of consumption funds and particularly the fund for the joint satisfaction of requirements. The superiority of social consumption funds over wages in attracting and retaining the population stems particularly from the fact that the consumption of goods and services available free of charge or for a reduced charge occurs only at the place where they are offered. Ecomonic measures of migration policy must consider the fact that work incentives have recently included creative stimuli associated with the character, content, and conditions of work.     

Competition and Cooperation in the Small Firm Sector

This paper examines the nature of economies of scale in the small firm sector and aims to provide new insight into the economic efficiency of small firm industrial districts. The theoretical analysis identifies the role played by collective external economies of scale that are realised through cooperation over input activities. Using game theory it is shown that cooperation can emerge both as a result of rational profit maximising behaviour and as a result of institutional and cultural environments that encourage cooperation and trust. The implications for industrial policy are discussed in the concluding section.     

风险还是机遇：经济政策不确定性对制造业突破式创新的影响

利用2010—2017年中国A股制造业上市公司数据，基于实物期权理论与宏观经济政策不确定性理论揭示经济政策不确定性对制造业突破式创新的影响及作用机制。由行为金融学视角出发，考察管理者过度自信对两者关系的调节作用。结果表明：经济政策不确定性对制造业突破式创新具有抑制作用，且这种抑制作用在先进制造业中更显著；管理者过度自信可削弱经济政策不确定性对制造业突破式创新的抑制作用；相较国有制造企业，非国有制造企业受经济政策不确定性的影响更显著，且管理者过度自信在非国有制造企业中的调节作用更显著。进一步分析其作用机制发现，融资约束在经济政策不确定性与制造业突破式创新关系中起部分中介作用。研究结论对制造业降低经济政策不确定性带来的风险，寻求高质量发展机遇具有一定的启示。     

Inside the Crystal Ball of Finance: Understanding Financial Economists' Attitudes to Market and Society

Market economists are thought to wield tremendous power—not only over financial markets but over governments that stray from the ‘market way’. Still, there is mystery about what economists think, and how they form their judgements. This article reports results from a survey of over 50 financial market economists from leading financial institutions in Australia conducted in December 2003 and January 2004. It provides insight into the opinions of economists who impact on markets and policy, especially through media commentary. The article identifies their economic and social views, comparing them with the Australian public. We then examine how professional views of economists differ from their personal views. Differences in professional and private views—especially over the role of government and labour markets—are an opportunity to ponder how judgements are formed and used. We offer tentative answers to the question: do these professionals—highly paid for their opinions—occasionally self‐censor?     

Learning to Argue with Intermediate Macro Theory: A Semester-Long Team Writing Project

The authors describe their experience with integrating a semester-long economic analysis project into an intermediate macroeconomic theory course. Students work in teams of “economic advisors” to write a series of nested reports that analyze the current state of the economy, and propose and evaluate policies for a decision-maker. The project simulates real-world policy consulting with an emphasis on applying economic theory and models. The authors describe the project setup and how to tailor its theme to current events, explain methods for keeping it manageable in larger classes, discuss student learning outcomes, and document course evaluation results. Besides improving the learning experience, this project prepares economics students to contribute their own views to policy debates and buttress them with tight macroeconomic reasoning.     

The Economics of Pensions: A non-conventional approach

This paper examines two alternative pension systems, pay-as-you-go (PAYGS) and the capitalisation system (CS) in the light of alternative economic theories. It starts from a critical discussion of the insurance-fiction model of PAYGS proposed by Samuelson in 1958. The pros and cons of that model are illustrated by taking into consideration the non-orthodox views of Keynes, Lerner, Pechman, de Finetti and Eisner. Next, the paper investigates the relationship between CS and the marginalist capital theory. It is shown that, interpreted in a neoclassical framework, CS presents endogenous mechanisms of adjustment to demographic shocks. The problems of the transition between PAYGS and CS are then examined. The paper then discusses some main features of the current US policy debates on the Social Security system. Finally, the alleged advantages of a wider adoption of CS are criticised in the light of the Keynesian theory of effective demand reinforced by the Sraffian criticism of neoclassical capital theory.     

The Santa Fe approach to complexity: a Marshallian evaluation

The paper examines the characteristics of the ‘Santa Fe approach’ (hereafter SFA) to complexity and attempts its evaluation in terms of the Marshallian intellectual tradition. The paper is organised into three parts. The first part outlines the main features of the SFA The second describes Marshall’s views on complexity and his appeal to common sense as a way to apply economic reasoning (on complex systems) in practice. The last part argues that Marshall’s views on complexity, rather than just being a historical precedent for the SFA, consist in an original illustration of the role of judgement in the use of economic theory.     

On the Role of Paradigms in Understanding Economic Globalization

Any adequate analysis of economic globalization necessarily requires fundamental understanding of the worldviews underlying the views expressed with respect to the nature and role of economic globalization. This paper is based on the premise that any worldview can be associated with one of the four basic paradigms: functionalist, interpretive, radical humanist, and radical structuralist. It argues that any view expressed with respect to economic globalization is based on one of the four paradigms or worldviews. It, therefore, discusses four views with respect to the nature and role of economic globalization which correspond to the four broad worldviews. The paper emphasizes that the four views expressed are equally scientific and informative; they look at the nature and role of economic globalization from a certain paradigmatic viewpoint. Emphasizing this example in the area of economic globalization, the paper concludes that there are opportunities for each paradigm to benefit from contributions coming from the other three paradigms.     

Some Implications Of Endogenous Technological Change For Technology Policies In Developing Countries

Part I contrasts the general types of policy advice that follow from three different approaches to understanding economic growth and technological change. Neoclassical theory gives policy advice that is assumed to be relevant for all countries at all times: remove sources of ‘market failures’. Romer's branch of new macro growth theory stresses the nature of knowledge, non-rivalrous and partly appropriable. Structuralist-evolutionary theory is micro based and stresses the uncertainty that is associated with technological advance. Both of the latter approaches conclude that the neoclassical optimal allocation of resources is unachievable and hence the policy advice of removing impediments to achieving that optimum is not well grounded. As a result, policy advice for enhancing technological change must rely on a mixture of theory, empirical analysis and policy judgement. Part II deals with the large amount of context-specific policy advice that follows from structuralist-evolutionary theories.     

On the Role of Paradigms in Understanding Economic Globalization

Any adequate analysis of economic globalization necessarily requires fundamental understanding of the worldviews underlying the views expressed with respect to the nature and role of economic globalization. This paper is based on the premise that any worldview can be associated with one of the four basic paradigms: functionalist, interpretive, radical humanist, and radical structuralist. It argues that any view expressed with respect to economic globalization is based on one of the four paradigms or worldviews. It, therefore, discusses four views with respect to the nature and role of economic globalization which correspond to the four broad worldviews. The paper emphasizes that the four views expressed are equally scientific and informative; they look at the nature and role of economic globalization from a certain paradigmatic viewpoint. Emphasizing this example in the area of economic globalization, the paper concludes that there are opportunities for each paradigm to benefit from contributions coming from the other three paradigms.     

Civilisation as Paradigm: An Inquiry into the Hermeneutics of Conflict

This article examines Samuel Huntington's claims that his civilisational theory rises to the level of paradigm and is not merely social science theory. This claim is examined in light of Huntington's focus on Islamic civilisation and its relationship to the ongoing war on terror. The specific manifestations of Islam that have been relevant to this war are placed within the context of what Jeffrey Herf refers to as reactionary modernism, which views violent reactions to modernity as alternative expressions of modernity. While Islam has civilisational characteristics, as Huntington suggests, the violence that gives rise to terror is a result of time- and region-specific reactionary modern variables, and is not inherent in Islam itself. Second, though civilisation-as-social science might shed light on policy options to deal with the problem of terror, civilisational theory is not equipped to supersede the interest-orientation of realism.     

Brunner and Leijonhufvud: friends or foes?

Karl Brunner and Axel Leijonhufvud constantly pointed out the prominence of imperfect information in macroeconomic analysis. This paper argues that, despite strong oppositions related to their rival schools of thought, this emphasis on informational problems led them to adopt similar views on many theoretical and methodological issues. These issues encompass the perception of the economic agent in society, the theory of price inflexibility and unemployment, the role of relative prices, the importance of signal-extraction problems and the position within the Marshall-Walras divide.