Adjustment in General Equilibrium: Some Industrial Evidence

The link between output changes and factor-mix adjustments in general equilibrium is examined for each of nine industries using pooled data from 12 developed countries over the years 1970–85. Specifications of the Stolper-Samuelson theorem and the specific-factors model of production are built on the assumptions and structure of theory with each industry isolated in turn. In their simplest version with only capital and labor input, these competitive general-equilibrium models explain a good deal of the observed variations in industrial factor mixes. The specific-factors model performs better.     

Political opinion polls and the stock market

It is a part of the received wisdom of the American and British stock exchanges that the market prefers a Conservative administration. However, attempts to test this proposition by examining market returns about the time of elections have produced contrasting and sometimes indecisive results. The present paper assumes that election outcomes will be largely anticipated by the market on the basis of published opinion forecasts. The paper examines the impact of opinion poll information on share prices over the period 1960–79—one largely characterized by two-party competition. It is found that opinion movements towards the Conservative Party do exert a significant positive impact on the market, but only where the two main parties are relatively evenly balanced.     

The role of economies of scale in justifying free trade: the Canada-USA Free Trade Agreement and Europe 1992 compared

In what way will the benefits of free trade emerge? This analysis looks at the role of economies of scale in justifying free trade. It takes the 1989 Canada-USA Free Trade Agreement and the European 1992 programmes as two recent examples of analyses in which economy of scale arguments were central to the economic evaluation of welfare gains. The official assessments of both policy moves are scrutinized and compared. It is suggested that the advantages of economies of scale are exaggerated in each account. The policy implications of the critique are drawn out for the case of both internal and external economies of scale. The argument is that a move away from traditional mass production process technologies and business strategies is underway, which requires a radically different approach to trade and scale issues.     

SEASONED EQUITY OFFERINGS FOR NEW INVESTMENT AND THE INFORMATION CONTENT OF INSIDER TRADES

Significant negative valuation effects are widely acknowledged for firms announcing seasoned equity offerings. This result is consistent with theoretical models linking new equity issues to increased adverse-selection costs, lower management ownership in the firm, misuse of free cash flow, or expectations for earnings declines. Also increasingly evident, insiders trade around corporate announcements. We test the hypothesis that insider trading and announcements of new equity issues serve as joint signals in the market's evaluation of prospective capital investment projects. Our findings are consistent with the hypothesis that insider trading is related to market reaction to announcements of new equity issues.     

Do Wages Rise or Fall Following Merger?*

This paper provides a systematic empirical analysis of the effects of merger and acquisition activity on profitability and firm‐level employee remuneration in the UK, using a specially constructed database for the period 1979–91. It finds that both profitability and wages rise following acquisition, and firms that merge within the same industry division experience larger increases in profitability and pay their workers higher wages than those engaged in unrelated acquisitions; i.e. in part, the result of an increase in the efficiency with which labour is used following related acquisition.     

生态建筑——居住新概念

生态建筑是将建筑看成一个生态系统,它巧妙地利用了自然资源,给人类的居住带来了一场新的革命。城市发展应走生态建筑之路。     

Responding to Agenda 21: purchase and waste behaviour and the introduction of weight-based billing – a case study

In many societies unsustainable consumption patterns are currently being recognized as a critical problem receiving increasing public attention. Communities in many parts of the world are responding to United Nations Agenda 21 by attempting to increase public awareness about the necessity of increasing recycling, by increasing fees and taxes on products that are harmful to the environment, by introducing re-use systems, and by changing legislation. These are just a few examples of the kinds of measures that are being employed in an attempt to move towards an ecocyclic society. This article reports a case study from a Swedish municipality, Varberg, and the focus is on the relationship between household routines related to purchases of everyday commodities and waste management. In 1994, Varberg introduced a weight-based billing system for household waste and at the same time a green shopping campaign was launched by the authorities. The article reports findings from a study of 39 households, located in two different areas, a town area with rented apartments and a suburban area with owner occupied, one-family houses. Data have been obtained through interviews and weighing of household waste. Results show that there are important differences between these areas with respect to awareness of the information launched in the campaign, knowledge of the goals of the campaign and in the manners in which dwellers felt affected by the message conveyed. Households in the suburban area, for instance, had a better knowledge of green labels and what they stand for. There are also clear differences in concrete actions that can be taken by those living in the two areas. In the area with rented apartments, weight-based billing for the individual household is not possible, nor is composting a viable alternative. For the suburban families living in their own houses, there are a broad set of measures that could be taken to modify purchase behaviours and waste management towards more environmentally friendly alternatives.