A COMMENT ON “PRICE DISPERSION,INFLATION, AND WELFARE” BY A. HEAD AND A. KUMAR*

The principal results of Head and Kumar's article are derived under the natural assumption that the number of price offers received per period by buyers is distributed Poisson. This case is of interest for two reasons. First, because the infinite sums and integrals that enter the equilibrium conditions can be solved in closed form, the derivations of the model's implications are straightforward. Second, by regarding the arrival rate as the relevant measure of search intensity, the analysis of endogenous search effort is simplified.     

Well‐Being,Deprivation, and the Great Recession in the U.S.: A Study in A Multidimensional Framework

We study changes in social well‐being and deprivation in the U.S. during the Great Recession and the subsequent recovery. We outline an analytical framework for measuring well‐being and deprivation in a multidimensional fashion when data on achievement in each dimension is assumed to be ordinal and binary in nature. We use data from the American Community Survey between 2008 and 2015 and find that there was a decline in social well‐being and a rise in social deprivation in the U.S. during the recession followed by a reversal of trends during the recovery. Despite low deprivation levels among the White population, this population experienced the largest increase in deprivation during the recession and the least decline in deprivation in the recovery period. These results underscore the fact that the impact of recession and the subsequent recovery varied significantly across population groups.     

Models for innovation diffusion: Vijay Mahajan and Robert A. Peterson; A Sage University Series on “Quantitative Applications in the Social Sciences,” No. 07-048, Sage, Beverly Hills, 1985.

Developing countries wish to achieve in a few decades what the developed countries accomplished in many centuries under conditions of relatively lesser resource constraints. Therefore, the developing countries cannot emulate the evolutionary experiences of the developed countries; they need a revolutionary approach in their development strategies. One plausible option for this revolutionary orientation could be the utilization of a technology-based strategy for national development planning. This article proposes undertaking certain measurement activities with respect to the technological system of a country, which would enable national decision makers to use technology as a strategic variable for socioeconomic development. The article briefly describes the role of technology as the master key for sustainable development, discusses the current activities related to the measurement of technology, presents a few conceptual schemes, and a framework for the assessment of national technological capabilities and needs.