Endogenous human capital accumulation, comparative advantage and direct vs. indirect redistribution

Recently, several papers have reexamined the so-called production efficiency theorem and the Atkinson and Stiglitz theorem on commodity taxes in the optimal taxation literature. Naito [J. Public Econ. 71 (1999) 65] showed that indirect redistribution through production distortion or consumption distortion can Pareto-improve welfare and that the two theorems do not necessarily hold when different factors are imperfect substitutes and factor prices are endogenous. On the other hand, Saez J. Public Econ. (2002) forthcoming argued that in the long run, where human capital accumulation is endogenous, the two theorems are still valid. This paper develops reasonable alternative models where individuals accumulate human capital based on their comparative advantage. The present paper shows that the production efficiency theorem is not necessarily valid and that indirect redistribution from the able to the less able such as tariffs and production subsidies can increase efficiency even when skill accumulation is endogenous.     

增长失衡与政府责任——基于社会性支出角度的分析

当前中国的发展出现了以国富与民生关系失衡为本质特征的增长失衡。本文从教育、医疗和社会保障等与民生有关的政府责任切入,指出当前中国与民生状况直接相关的政府社会性支出的不足,是导致增长失衡的重要原因。为此,政府应在提供教育、医疗和社会保障等方面承担起基本的责任,加快财政支出结构转型,增加社会性支出的比重,改善民生状况,纠正增长失衡;并通过社会性支出的增加,促进人力资本积累,推动增长路径的转变,实现经济长期健康发展。     

Human capital composition, growth and development: an R&D growth model versus data

The effect of human capital composition on growth and development has been somewhat neglected in economic literature. However, evidence has suggested the importance of engineering and technical (high-tech) skills to economic growth, and international organizations have suggested their shortage in developed countries. Using a standard increasing variety growth model, we propose various measures of human capital composition that are related with economic growth and development. When compared to data, the model does well in explaining the rate of growth and the level of development as a function of these measures. “the British colonies had a better educated population (...). Education was secular with emphasis on pragmatic skills and yankee ingenuity (...). The 13 British colonies had nine universities in 1776 for 2.5 million people. New Spain, with 5 million, had only two universities (...) which concentrated on theology and law.” –(Maddison, 2001)     

人力资本价值、外部性与产权

人力资本价值包括使用价值和稀缺性价值,随着经济形态的演变,人力资本价值将上升,而且人力资本具有极强的正外部性,这是人力资本产权确立的重要基础.我国在进行物质资本产权制度改革的同时必须尽快建立一个有效的人力资本产权制度,以促进人力资本的形成和有效利用,这是我国在知识经济时代能否实现现代化目标、赶上发达国家的重要前提.     

Age-specific dynamic labor demand and human capital investment

To study the optimal age-specific labor demand and human capital investment at the firm level we extend the standard dynamic labor demand model by introducing ‘age’ as a second dynamic variable and distinguish between two types of workers: ‘low skilled’ and ‘high skilled’. Applying an age-structured optimal control model we derive qualitative features of the optimal age-specific hiring and training effort. For the case of a linear revenue and production function we prove that firms do not anticipate changes in adjustment costs in their optimal decisions. This result no longer holds if a nonlinear revenue or production function is considered.     

人力资本产权的实现方式

人力资本要素作为经济发展的根本动力,为越来越多的人所认识。而现行企业产权制度的不完善,严重制约着人力资本作用的发挥,为了充分发挥人力资本的作用,调动其积极性,必须赋予其产权。本文通过分析认为,人力资本产权的实现方式是产权化。     

Communication externalities in cities

To identify communication externalities in French cities, we exploit a unique survey recording workplace communication of individual workers. Our hypothesis is that in larger and/or more educated cities, workers should communicate more. In turn, more communication should have a positive effect on wages. By estimating both an earnings and a communication equation, we find evidence of communication externalities. In larger and more educated cities, workers communicate more and in turn this has a positive effect on their wages. Depending on the estimates, we find that 13 to 22% of the effects of a more educated and larger city on wages percolate through this channel.     

The Effects of Auditor Social and Human Capital on Auditor Compensation: Evidence from the Italian Small Audit Firm Market

Abstract

This study examines whether social and human capital influence the compensation of individual auditors in the small audit firm market. We employ a sample of Italian auditors and use measures from the network and auditing literatures to capture their professional connections, representing social capital, and their industry expertise, representing human capital. Our findings show a positive and economically meaningful association between these individual attributes and auditor compensation. We run several tests to address potential endogeneity issues in our research design. Our results suggest that, in the small audit market, clients perceive as valuable those auditors with higher social and human capital, and as a result, are willing to pay a premium for these specific auditor attributes.     

论煤炭企业物流管理体系建设

经济结构转轨时期,物流管理在煤炭企业的运营中起着承前启后的作用。它必然是煤炭企业经济外向型转化的一个标志。但是不容怀疑的是:注入了新元素的现代化的煤炭企业物流管理,需要一个科学的体系来维护,而这个体系本身就是一个新的利润源。在避免煤炭的生产、供应、转换、存储、运输、仓储等条件的制约后,如何转化成一个快速的,稳定的资源体系,使其能够形成稳定的利润增长和煤炭运销工作,对外供应的一个新局面,也就成了新时期煤炭物流管理的工作重点,恰恰也正是我们需要研究的重点。     

从福利经济学的角度看生态系统服务功能

生态系统服务功能与人类福利之间存在着密切的联系。深入认识生态系统服务功能与人类福利之间的相互联系与相互作用,对于保护和持续利用生态系统服务功能,提高人类的福利,促进经济社会的可持续发展具有重要的意义。本文基于联合国“新千年生态系统评估”(Millennium Ecosystem Assessment,MEA)项目的最新成果．系统分析了生态系统服务的内涵,从福利经济学的角度分析了生态系统服务与人类福利之间的关系,探讨了恢复和提高生态系统服务功能的主要措施。