Shifting the strategic paradigm: the case of the catalytic converter

The formulation and implementation of technology strategies by firms are closely and critically interrelated with the rate and direction of technological advance. Policy has an increasingly important role in this technology strategy process, such as in the provision of increasingly stringent guidelines for paths of developement, as in the case of environmental legislation on the reduction of undesiable automotive exhaust emissions. Drawing on evidence from the automotive industry, with a particular focus on catalytic converter technology, this paper considers the paradigmatic qualities of firms' technology strategies. It examines aspects of shifts in strategic paradigms and their technological and organizational effects. It is particularly concerned with the interrelation between firm strategy and government policy, and the integration of environmental pressures into the firms processes that ultimately determine paths of technological development and competitive performance in the automotive industry.     

Carbon Dioxide Emissions in the U.S. Economy: A Structural Decomposition Analysis

This paper provides an empirical analysis of the impact of various influences on carbon dioxide emissions. It incorporates methodological refinements of input-output structural decomposition analysis, which is the examination of economic change by means of a set of comparative static variations in key parameters of I-O tables. The analysis is performed using a two-tiered KLEM model, which allows for estimation of substitution and technological change effects within and between input aggregates. The model is used to decompose the sources of change in CO₂ emissions in the U.S. over the 1972–82 timeframe using hybrid energy/value tables for the initial and terminal years. Results show the significant effect of substitution within the energy sector and between energy and other inputs as the leading causes of the decline in carbon dioxide emissions.     

美国集装箱港口体系演进过程研究

以美国集装箱港口体系的相对集中度为标准,通过计算1970--2009年的赫芬达尔一赫希曼指数,在参考1970--2009年美国集装箱港口数量、集装箱吞吐量以及港口的空间变化基础上,将美国集装箱港口体系演进过程划分为四个阶段,即1970---1981。年的快速分散阶段、1981--1995年的缓慢分散阶段、1995--2006年的缓慢集中阶段以及2006--2009年的再次分散阶段。从美国集装箱港口体系的演进过程中可以发现,美国集装箱港口体系发展存在周期性;并在1995年之后形成了较为稳定的多中心的集装箱港口网络,且某一区域的货运中心并非都是一港独大的。     

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION AND U.S. R&D SUBSIDIES: A QUANTITATIVE WELFARE ANALYSIS*

In the early 1970s U.S. firms were the uncontested world leaders in R&D investment in most manufacturing sectors. Later, led by Japan and Europe, foreign firms began to challenge American R&D leadership in many sectors of the economy. This period of increasing technological competition is contemporaneous with a substantial increase in U.S. R&D subsidies. What is the effect of the observed increase in international competition on U.S. welfare? How does foreign competition affect the optimal R&D subsidy in the United States, and, consequently, how far is this from the subsidy observed in the data? This article addresses these questions in a two‐country quality ladder growth model.     

NSSM 200 and the world population explosion

This paper was published in the wake of Pope John Paul II's encyclical 'Evangelicum Vitae', which condemns abortion and contraception. The author describes how, in the mid-1970's, the Vatican blocked the implementation of President Nixon's 'National Security Study Memorandum 200', which was intended to combat global overpopulation. The author explains that excessive population growth is considered threatening to U.S. security interests, and concludes that "papal security-survival along with the influence of fundamentalist Protestant opposition to birth control is now pitted against the U.S. and world security-survival."     

Did immigration contribute to wage stagnation of unskilled workers?

In this paper we first show that the timing and skill distribution of Immigrants to the U.S. between 1970 and 2014 imply they did not contribute to the decline in the wages of native, non-college educated workers – including high school dropouts – at the national level. We then review other evidence at the local level, which implies immigration is not associated with lower non-college wages. Rather, higher immigration seems associated with higher average (and college-level) wages. Local externalities, complementarities, efficient specialization and appropriate technological choice suggest at least part of the positive association is causal.     

A monetary model of nominal income determination for the U.K.

One of the standard criticisms of the St. Louis reduced form approach has been their failure to provide a sound theoretical base to the proposition that nominal income is primarily determined by the money stock and government fiscal measures. In this respectAnderson in a recent article [1975] attempts to set out a theoretical model with empirical conclusions to justify this proposition. The theoretical properties of this model have a close similarity to the empirical estimates found in previous St. Louis studies, seeAnderson/Jordan [1968] andAnderson/Carlson [1970], and perhaps not surprisingly an empirical analysis for the U.S., for the period 1955(I)–1973 (IV), fails to reject the theory. In this paper we briefly portray the theoretical flavour of the Anderson model. Secondly we consider certain estimation problems and test for the existence of such a relationship for the U.K. Thirdly we examine the forecasting ability of the model with respect to nominal income, private expenditure, nominal imports and the velocity of circulation. Finally we examine the dynamic properties of the model and conclude on its overall performance.     

Technological progress in particulate removal equipment at U.S. coal burning power plants

Coal-fired power plants contribute significantly to particulate matter emissions, which are regulated in the U.S. with emissions standards set by individual states. The theoretical literature generally, though not always, finds that standards offer inferior incentives to develop and adopt technological innovations, especially in end-of-pipe pollution control. This analysis empirically tests for cost-saving innovations in the operating, capital, and lifetime costs of flue gas particulate collectors. Results suggest that operating costs have fallen over time, capital costs have increased, and that these changes have led to no statistical change in lifetime costs.     

Spatial growth and industry age

Between 1970 and 2000 employment growth across U.S. counties exhibited very different patterns in manufacturing and services. Whereas manufacturing employment growth was negatively related to initial manufacturing employment across the entire distribution of counties, service employment growth was positively related to initial service employment for intermediate sized counties. This paper presents a theory to rationalize these facts. Local sectoral growth is driven by technological diffusion across space and depends on the age of the sector. The theory correctly predicts the relation between county employment growth and initial county employment in manufacturing at the turn of the 20th century.     

行业视角下减排成本估算及减排路径研究

碳达峰碳中和是中国经济发展环境治理的战略目标,减排成本与减排路径是该战略实施中两大现实问题。基于行业视角,利用投入产出方法,对行业减排成本、技术减排效应及减排路径展开研究,基本结论如下：①行业减排成本差异大,整体减排成本逐年上升。在三个代表性年份行业最高与最低减排成本相差40-60倍,减排成本绝对差值在1500-3000$/t。在2000-2010年间, 32个行业减排成本均有不同程度的上升, 全社会整体减排成本上升了56.98%。②技术进步的减排贡献较大,部分行业技术减排有限。在产出固定假设下,2000-2010年技术进步实现累计减排57.09亿t,累计技术减排率达到47.88%；但在旅游、住宿餐饮等行业技术减排率为负,技术因素导致的排放不减反增。③行业减排路径应遵循从高碳到低碳的顺序。基于减排成本与技术减排两大因素的减排路径规划显示,优先和重点减排行业主要集中在能源生产供给、加工制造、交通运输、采矿及设备制造等高能耗高排放行业；可相对延后和非重点减排行业主要为食品烟草等传统加工制造业以及金融、房地产等现代服务业。     

Technological substitution in the United States pulp and paper industry: The sulfate pulping process

This paper presents an econometric analysis of the diffusion of the sulfate pulping process throughout the U.S. pulp and paper industry. A dynamic equilibrium, Gompertz diffusion function is employed to derive a multivariate estimation model which incorporates more information than the traditional approach of estimating the growth rate function alone. The empirical results suggest that the econometric approach provides a useful integration of the technological diffusion process and the comparative static theory of demand. The sulfate pulping process is projected to continue capturing market share at a relatively rapid rate, and could account for 90% or more of total U.S. woodpulp production by the year 2000.     

Job Polarization and Task‐Biased Technological Change: Evidence from Sweden, 1975–2005

In this paper, we show that between 1975 and 2005, Sweden exhibited a pattern of job polarization with expansions of the highest‐ and lowest‐paid jobs compared to middle‐wage jobs. The most popular explanation for such a pattern is the hypothesis of task‐biased technological change, where technological progress reduces the demand for routine middle‐wage jobs but increases the demand for non‐routine jobs located at the tails of the job–wage distribution. However, our estimates do not support this explanation for the 1970s and 1980s. Stronger evidence for task‐biased technological change, albeit not conclusive, is found for the 1990s and 2000s. In particular, there is both a statistically and economically significant growth of non‐routine jobs and a decline of routine jobs. However, results for wages are mixed; while task‐biased technological change cannot explain changes in between‐occupation wage differentials, it does have considerable explanatory power for changes in within‐occupation wage differentials.     

COMPARISONS OF PURCHASING POWER, REAL OUTPUT AND LABOUR PRODUCTIVITY IN MANUFACTURING IN JAPAN, SOUTH KOREA AND THE U.S.A., 1975–85

This study presents binary comparisons of real output and labour productivity in manufacturing in Japan, South Korea and the U.S.A. in 1975, made according to an "industry of origin approach." The 1975 benchmark comparisons have been updated to 1985. Value added per hour worked in Japanese manufacturing increased from 54 percent of the U.S. level in 1975 to 76 percent in 1985. In certain important branches such as electrical machinery, metal products and machinery and transport equipment, productivity leadership shifted to Japan. In South Korea, labour productivity in manufacturing increased rapidly from 1975 to 1985, both in absolute terms and relative to the U.S.A. Nevertheless, in 1985 value added per hour worked was only 14 percent of the U.S. level.     

基于环境库兹涅茨曲线的北京市碳排放与经济增长相关性研究

利用环境库兹涅茨曲线,对北京市1998--2009年人均碳排放与地区生产总值的相关性进行了研究,发现环境库兹涅茨曲线呈倒“N”型,而不是常规的倒“U”型。北京市碳排放之所以在不同时间段内呈现不同的升降趋势,是因为除经济增长外,其他因素,如产业结构、时代背景、相关政策法规的实施等也对碳排放造成影响。为了完成“十二五”规划任务,实现建设世界城市和宜居城市的目标,北京市应合理控制经济发展速度、努力推动节能减排和积极开发利用新能源。     

Inflation and its variability : Some comments and the Dutch case

Some results concerning the rate and variability of inflation in the Netherlands during the period 1952–1975 are presented and contrasted with similar results for the U.S.A.     

政府支持企业技术创新所面临的风险研究——以ATP计划的废除为例

从计划评估的角度,通过对美国联邦政府支持企业技术创新的典型案例ATP进行研究,发现该计划被废除主要是因为制度合理性以及执行有效性方面的争议,进而得出结论:我国制定类似的计划应具备项目的针对性、互补性、有效性以及公平性等基本特性。     

An approximation of the relative real per capita GDP of the People's Republic of China

This paper presents a rough estimate of the real per capita GDP of the People's Republic of China, relative to that of the U. S. and other countries, with a 1975 reference date.     

长株潭城市群环境污染与经济增长的关系研究

利用长株潭城市群最近10年的经济与环境数据,建立该区域主要污染物排放与经济增长的计量关系模型。结果表明,长株潭城市群环境污染与经济增长的关系符合环境库兹涅茨曲线,除汞为U形曲线外,二氧化硫、化学需氧量、镉等其他7项指标均呈倒U形,且绝大部分指标已越过环境库兹涅茨曲线的转折点,表明长株潭城市群已进入经济与环境协调发展的有序阶段。环境政策的有力实施是促进长株潭城市群经济与环境协调发展最重要的保障。     

An econometric analysis of the world zinc market

A fairly detailed market form of econometric model is built, based on the technological, behavioral and institutional features of the world zinc industry. An estimated version of the model indicates different systems of lag responses in the structures of demand and supply to the price of zinc, a very poor substitutability on the demand side, free market price as a long-run equilibrator for the U.S. producers' price, and an important influence of the U.S. interventions on the world market. The model meets reasonably well the predictability criterion based on the technique of dynamic simulation. The performance properties of the world zinc industry, analysed through dynamic multiplier simulation technique, show that the industry exhibits a reasonably, stable market environment to the exogenous disturbances such as an increase in the activity levels of consumers and variations in the prices of substitutes. It is, however, quite sensitive to technological changes in the consumer industries. The stockpile policy of the U.S. Government does not seem to be properly geared to its objectives and, in general, it seems to have restricted the development of the industry as a whole.