Dynamic comparative advantage and the welfare effects of trade

Developing economies may face a trade-off between specializingaccording to existing comparative advantage (in low-technologygoods), and entering sectors in which they currently lack acomparative advantage, but may acquire such an advantage inthe future as a result of the potential for productivity growth(in high-technology goods). Comparative advantage is endogenouslydetermined by past technological change, while simultaneouslyshaping current rates of innovation. Hence, specialization accordingto current comparative advantage under free trade may be welfarereducing. Selective intervention may be welfare improving, bothfor the economy undertaking it, and for its trade partner.     

Asset Prices and History: The Case of Austria

Historical events are reflected in asset prices. Looking at Austrian government bond prices traded on the Swiss stock exchange during WWII provides therefore a useful way of interpreting the importance the thousands of people directly and indirectly engaged in stock markets attributed to various war events. An econometric analysis of the relationship between government bond values and events in Austrian history reveals that some generally considered crucial events connected with WWII are clearly reflected in Austrian government bond prices. This holds, in particular for the beginning and the end of the war. The annexation of Austria by Germany in 1938 which seemingly looked as being overwhelmingly and passionately welcomed by the Austrian population negatively affected the evaluation of Austrian government bonds, i.e. it was considered to be to the disadvantage of Austria by the people who put their own personal fortune at risk.     

Business Ethics in Turkey: An Empirical Investigation with Special Emphasis on Gender

In today's complex business world, the question of business ethics is increasingly gaining importance as managers and employees face numerous ethical dilemmas in their jobs. The ethical climate in the Turkish business environment is also at a critical stage, and the business community as a whole is troubled by ethical problems. This study attempts to determine the effect of individual, managerial and organizational factors on the ethical judgments of Turkish managers, and to evaluate the ethical perceptions of these managers. The findings of this study reveal that the ethics score, the measure of ethical judgment, of Turkish managers differs significantly only with respect to gender and that female managers have higher ethics score than male managers. Other individual, managerial and organizational factors considered in this study do not have any significant effect on the ethical judgments of the managers. A comparative analysis between female and male managers in terms of their ranking of the eleven ethical business scenarios, ranking of the sixteen unethical acts, ranking of the factors influencing managers to engage in unethical practices, and ranking of the various parties to whom a company is socially responsible enables the researchers to enlighten the subject of business ethics in Turkey.     

Notes and comments. On the sustainability area as a simplifying didactic device

Recently, the sustainability area of public finance has beenlaunched as a simplifying screening device for the analysisof fiscal sustainability. In this comment, it is argued thatthe novel notion of the sustainability area (reflecting, inturn, a simple notion of public debt sustainability) does not,by itself, have any bearing on the sustainability of publicfinances: being positioned within the sustainability area cannotserve as a reasonable criterion of fiscal sustainability.     

Pasture Improvement, Stocking Rates and Rural Investment

Research Fellow in the Institute of Applied Economic Research and is a review of some result from part of the institute's Primary Production Research Project. The study was the subject of a paper presented to the annual conference of the Australian Agricultural Economic Society in February 1969 and will be published by the Institute as Technical Report No. 2.