Natural resources,technological progress,and economic modernization

The present inquiry focuses on the modernization perspectives of the commodity‐exporting countries through the lens of development economics. To this end, the study adopts the Kaldorian framework to address the modernization effects, epitomized in the absorption of surplus labor. To trace the process of economic modernization, the study augments Lewis’s dualistic economy model by the extractive sector. Three different scenarios for the management of resource revenues are scrutinized. An altruistic mode, which implies a pure redistribution of the revenues among the poor swaths of the population, protracts the process of economic modernization, requires a greater amount of capital stock, and harbors a greater risk of a poverty trap. This effect is less pronounced if the modern sector is more capital‐intensive. A productive mode, which elicits full reinvestment of the commodity revenues, in contrast, accelerates the pace of economic modernization. Further, predicated on the scrutiny of a more realistic scenario, a bargaining mode, the study derives the condition for a net positive (or negative) modernization effect. The study identifies technical progress alongside capital accumulation as a further important source of economic modernization.     

Investment dynamics and capital distortion: State and non-state firms in China

This paper studies investment dynamics in Chinese manufacturing firms. The analysis estimates capital adjustment costs and uncovers capital distortion in state and non-state firms. There is strong evidence of quadratic adjustment cost and distortion in capital price for both types of firms. The capital distortion is a major source of capital misallocation in Chinese firms. Completely removing the distortion would increase aggregate total factor productivity (TFP) by 18–29%.     

The 2020 Pandemic: Economic repercussions and policy responses

This paper analyses the economic and financial repercussions of the 2020 COVID‐19 pandemic. It argues that the pandemic has inflicted serious injuries to the labor force but has not damaged the physical capital stock. Therefore, the resolution policies of this crisis ought to be carefully tailored to supporting structural adjustments to the labor market. The analysis asserts that the impact of the pandemic crisis is exacerbated by the identification gap between the unobserved and the officially reported cases of COVID‐19. The gap increases financial risks, including market‐, credit‐, default‐, and foreign exchange risks.     

Are microfinance institutions resilient to economic slowdown? Evidence from their capital ratio adjustment over the business cycle

Prior studies using pre-crisis data concluded that microfinance institutions are resilient to economic crises. However, some recent studies indicate that the microfinance sector is becoming part of the global financial system and microfinance lending activities are now vulnerable to economic and financial crises. Capital being a key resource to support lending, this paper analyzes the cyclical behaviour of capital ratio using an international sample of microfinance institutions from 2001 to 2014. We uncover a negative relationship between their capital-to-assets ratios and business cycle indicators. This relationship mainly concerns regulated institutions, comprised mostly of profit-oriented MFIs, and is driven by both asset-side and capital level adjustments. We identify the lending channel (loan-to-assets ratio) as the main mechanism to explain these cyclical variations. Our findings are consistent with the “procyclicality” of capital regulation documented extensively in the banking literature. Hence, macro-prudential regulation for MFIs should target regulated and profit-oriented MFIs.     

The effect of observables,functional specifications,model features and shocks on identification in linearized DSGE models

The decisions a researcher makes at the model building stage are crucial for parameter identification. This paper contains a number of applied tips for solving identifiability problems and improving the strength of DSGE model parameter identification by fine-tuning the (1) choice of observables, (2) functional specifications, (3) model features and (4) choice of structural shocks. We offer a formal approach based on well-established diagnostics and indicators to uncover and address both theoretical (yes/no) identifiability issues and weak identification from a Bayesian perspective. The concepts are illustrated by two exemplary models that demonstrate the identification properties of different investment adjustment cost specifications and output-gap definitions. Our results provide theoretical support for the use of growth adjustment costs, investment-specific technology, and partial inflation indexation.     

资本要素市场化改革、对外直接投资与技术创新绩效

对外直接投资对母国产业的技术创新具有反哺促进效应,但同时受资本要素市场扭曲的调节作用影响。本文运用2003~2016年的面板数据,设定双因素基准模型并进行东、中、西部地区分样本回归以检验资本要素市场扭曲对OFDI的技术创新的调节作用。结果发现:OFDI通过逆向技术溢出促进了母国的企业技术创新绩效。同时,资本要素市场扭曲抑制了OFDI反哺技术创新绩效的正向作用,且资本要素市场扭曲对OFDI的技术创新的调节效应存在地区差异性。因此,深化要素市场化改革,调整对外直接投资结构和优化营商环境,是实现OFDI协调发展以推动技术创新绩效提升的有效途径。     

How Fast are Semiconductor Prices Falling?

The Producer Price Index (PPI) for the U.S. suggests that semiconductor prices have barely been falling in recent years, a dramatic contrast to the rapid declines reported from the mid‐1980s to the early 2000s. This slowdown in the rate of decline is puzzling in light of evidence that the performance of microprocessor units (MPUs) has continued to improve at a rapid pace. Over the course of the 2000s, the MPU prices posted by Intel, the dominant producer of MPUs, became much stickier over the chips' life cycle. As a result of this change, we argue that the matched‐model methodology used in the PPI for MPUs likely started to be biased after the early 2000s and that hedonic indexes can provide a more accurate measure of price change since then. MPU prices fell rapidly through 2004 on every price measure we present, with the PPI declining at an even quicker pace than the hedonic indexes. However, from 2004 to 2009, our preferred hedonic index fell faster than the PPI, and from 2009 to 2013 the gap widened further, with our preferred index falling at an average annual rate of 42 percent, while the PPI declined at only a 6 percent rate. Given that MPUs currently represent about half of U.S. shipments of semiconductors, this difference has important implications for gauging the rate of innovation in the semiconductor sector.     

Employment Dynamics and Linkages in the Rural Economy: Insights from Senegal

Evidence on rural wage employment is thin and lacks nuance for different employment sources, insights on dynamic effects, and an understanding of the channels of effects. We assess conceptually and empirically the direct and indirect welfare effects of entry and continuation in different types of wage employment in rural Senegal. Using panel data, fixed effects and first-difference estimation, we show substantial positive welfare and linkage effects. We find that participation in wage employment increases per capita income by 143%, and reduces poverty, poverty gap and food insecurity by, respectively, 63%, 89% and 48%. While the direct effect on income is larger for non-agricultural and contractual wage employment, the indirect income effects through self-employment are more pronounced for agricultural and casual wage employment. Our results imply that job creation is important for rural development, that wage employment in agriculture can lead to considerable growth multiplier effects, and that synergies exist between large-scale and small-scale agriculture.     

市场竞争不完全与企业内部工资差距*——基于产品与劳动力市场融合视角的分析

理解工资差距的形成机制是在新时期破解发展不平衡不充分问题，进而实现共享发展的关键。本文从产品与劳动力市场竞争不完全相融合的视角，扩展了中国企业内部技能员工与非技能员工工资差距形成机制的研究，兼论消除竞争不完全的效率提高。基于中国企业数据并在统一的框架下构建市场竞争不完全的测算指标，本文发现：中国的市场化改革并不必然带来收入差距的扩大，不完全的市场化改革形成的产品与劳动力市场竞争不完全才是引发企业内部收入差距的重要原因。当存在市场竞争不完全时，企业会将产品市场势力扩展到劳动力市场，形成劳动力市场竞争不完全对工资差距的更大影响。这意味着单一的市场化改革不能有效缓解收入差距，只有产品与劳动力市场的同步改革才能达到最优的政策效果。中国的市场化改革可以在初次分配中通过发挥市场机制兼顾效率与公平。     

最低工资标准、人力资本扩张与企业成本加成*

本文以人力资本扩张为切入点，构建了最低工资、人力资本扩张影响企业成本加成的理论框架，并使用中国1998-2013年284个地级市的工业企业数据进行了经验研究。结论显示：最低工资上调会显著抑制企业成本加成的提升，削弱了企业的市场势力，但该抑制效应在人力资本扩张的背景下得以缓解。同时本文通过进一步分组回归发现，最低工资标准与人力资本扩张对企业成本加成具有明显的异质性影响。因此，适度、稳定调整最低工资标准及推动人力资本质量的整体提升有助于保持企业成本加成能力及其动态竞争力。