Nuclear bombs and economic sanctions

We examine the efficacy of trade sanctions when a target's action causes an irrevocable change in the status quo; for example, sanctions to stop a target's nuclear weapons development program. We find that when a sanctioning country cannot precommit to maintain sanctions long after a target becomes a nuclear power, sanctions are not only inefficacious but they backfire, spurring a target to intensify its effort to complete the nuclear program. If the nuclear program has several stages to complete, gradually increasing sanctions as the nuclear threat becomes more imminent may also backfire even though the program is potentially stoppable when sufficient pressure is applied earlier on. We also discuss the policy implications of our analysis.     

公路工程施工项目特殊季节与夜间施工安全控制要点

由于公路工程施工项目多数属于点多线长、露天和连续作业,涉及的人员、材料、机械设备多,技术含量低且需要经常变换工种的施工环境,使得安全风险大,因此,各施工单位必须对夜间和季节性施工安全措施高度重视,针对夜间施工和未来特殊气候环境影响下施工中可能发生的造成人员伤亡、疾病、财产损失、工作环境破坏等危险及紧急情况,采取有针对性的事先预防措施。     

我国金融创新人才的需求预测

金融业在现代经济中发挥着极其重要的作用,而金融创新是金融业持续发展的源泉,人才又是金融创新的关键。文章首先运用GM(1,1)模型对我国2012年-2020年金融业人才需求量做了预测,随后根据2009年金融创新人才的占比,以金融业从业人员的平均增长速度作为金融创新人才需求量的平均增长速度推算出了2012年-2020年金融创新人才需求量的占比,最后根据金融业人才需求量和金融创新人才需求量的占比预测出了2012年-2020年金融创新人才需求量,并根据预测结果提出了相关的建议。     

Structural transformation and productivity growth in India during 1960–2010

In this paper, we examine the role of structural change and sectoral productivity growth in explaining the aggregate productivity of India relative to the United Sates during 1960–2010. We set up a simple two sector general equilibrium model and calibrate it to fit the structural transformation of United States. Our calibrated model for India highlights the relative importance of agricultural productivity growth in explaining its slow process of catching up in terms of aggregate productivity. We show that India could have progressed at a much faster rate and closed a substantial part of its aggregate productivity gap if its agricultural sector had grown at a rate at par with the United States. It is India's relative productivity growth in the non-agricultural sector that explains all the recent success in its closing the aggregate productivity gap with the United States. We also found that an elimination of relative distortion in agriculture in India could result into a modest improvement in the aggregate labour productivity.     

Un indicador de baja calidad del empleo aplicado al Brasil, 2002–2011

En países con mayores niveles de informalidad y precariedad laboral es cuestionable la precisión con la que las tasas de desempleo y participación laboral y los salarios reflejan las condiciones del mercado de trabajo. En esta investigación utilizamos un indicador multidimensional de baja calidad del empleo que considera ingresos, existencia de contrato, contribución a la seguridad social y duración del empleo para analizar el mercado de trabajo brasileño entre 2002 y 2011. Los resultados muestran un aumento significativo de la calidad del empleo, especialmente en el periodo 2009–2011, y diferencias importantes entre trabajadores asalariados e independientes y por sector productivo.     

What is the major determinant of cross-border banking flows?

This study examines the major determinant of cross-border credit flows through global banks across 70 countries. Employing a Bayesian dynamic latent factor model, we decompose volatilities of banking flows into the contribution of a global common factor, regional common factor, and country-specific factor. The results indicate that the global and regional common factor explains about 40–50 percent of volatility in overall cross-border banking flows. In particular, the contribution of the global common factor increased in the 2000s. Simultaneously, main determinants are largely heterogeneous across countries: this implies that the desirable policy response to credit inflows may differ for each host country.     

Trade Liberalization and Environmental Taxation in Federal Systems

The literature on trade liberalization and environment has not yet considered federal structures. In this paper, we show how the design of environmental policy in a federal system has implications for the effects of trade reform. Trade liberalization leads to a decline in pollution taxes, regardless of whether pollution taxes are set at the federal (centralized) or local (decentralized) level, and it increases social welfare. The effect under a decentralized system is smaller than if these taxes are set by the federal government, and pollution emissions therefore decline in this case. Moreover, majority bias interacts with trade liberalization if federal taxes are used.     

Defining Capitalism

This article aims to incorporate the essential features of capitalism in an operational definition that identifies capitalism per se (pure laissez‐faire capitalism), and clearly excludes variations such as welfare capitalism and crony capitalism. By concisely highlighting the fundamental structures and mechanisms of capitalism, this essential definition facilitates defences of it that are more robust than those ordinarily offered. It also clarifies the relation between capitalism and phenomena with which it is frequently associated, and suggests a straightforward way of identifying and measuring the extent of capitalism in mixed economies.     

Fire sales by euro area banks and funds: What is their asset price impact?

The assets under management of investment funds have soared in recent years, triggering a debate on their possible implications for financial stability. We contribute to this debate assessing the asset price impact of fire sales in a novel partial equilibrium model of euro area funds and banks calibrated over the period between 2008 and 2017. An initial shock to yields causes funds to sell assets to address investor redemptions, while both banks and funds sell assets to keep their leverage constant. These fire sales generate second-round price effects. We find that the potential losses due to the price impact of fire sales have decreased over time for the system. The contribution of funds to this impact is lower than that of banks. However, funds’ relative contribution has risen due to their increased assets under management and banks’ lower leverage and rebalancing towards loans. Should this trend continue, funds will become an increasingly important source of systemic risk.     

基于快铁融合的上海铁路集装箱快运站选址研究

快铁融合可以充分发挥快递企业和铁路运输的优势,有效提升物流作业效率,达到运输资源分配平衡的效果,是多元化运输的发展方向。在既有和计划建设的铁路货运站中选择铁路集装箱快运站与快递企业集散网络衔接,以快递企业时间满意度和集散运输成本为目标,构建基于时间满意度的铁路集装箱快运站选址模型,以上海铁路集装箱快运站为例进行实证分析,提出保证铁路集装箱快运站与快递企业合理衔接的对策,为铁路集装箱运输融入快递市场提供决策支持,加速快铁融合的实施。