Spurious welfare reversals in international business cycle models

Several papers have documented spurious welfare reversals: incomplete-markets economy produces a higher level of welfare than the complete-markets economy. This paper first demonstrates how conventional linearization can generate approximation errors that can result in welfare reversals. Using a two-country production economy, we argue that spurious welfare reversals are not only possible but also plausible under reasonable values for model parameters. This paper then proposes an approximation method that modifies the conventional linearization by a bias correction. This method can be easily implemented and approximates welfare as accurately as a second-order perturbation method.     

中国—东盟自由贸易区“10 1”方案的福利效应分析

中国—东盟自由贸易区的建立是双方加强经济合作的必然要求,同时也顺应了经济全球化和区域经济一体化的趋势,有利于双方更好地分享区域经济一体化所带来的好处。然而,当前我国和东盟各国的比较优势都集中在劳动密集型产品上,各成员国之间存在着较强的竞争性,自由贸易区建成后我国和东盟各国能否从中获得更大的利益?本文从福利经济学的角度出发,分析了建立“10 1”自由贸易区所可能产生的各种福利效应。     

Technological advances in digital cameras: Welfare analysis on easy-to-use characteristics

This paper examines the characteristics attributed to the success of digital cameras by studying both the demand and the supply sides of the digital-camera market. A discrete choice model is employed to investigate consumer preferences over digital camera characteristics during the period 1996–1998. The empirical findings reveal that Sony’s ‘Easy-to-Use’ storage system contributes significantly to Sony’s demand advantage and profitability. Also, the welfare analysis demonstrates that ‘Easy-to-Use’ attributes significantly contribute to social welfare improvement.

中美双边工业品增加值贸易隐含碳福利核算与分配问题研究

现代贸易方式不仅导致贸易利益在全球价值链上进行分配,还带来了贸易隐含污染排放在全球贸易网络中的分布。两国之间的贸易利益分配除了表现为贸易经济福利的分配,还表现为贸易隐含碳福利的分配。本文将贸易增加值分解法结合MRIO模型对2000—2014年中美双边工业品贸易增加值所隐含的碳福利分配及影响机制展开深入分析。研究结果表明:(1)在中美双边工业品增加值贸易隐含碳福利分配中,碳福利逆差在中国,碳福利顺差在美国;(2)中美工业品贸易碳福利级差经历了“先扩大,后收窄”的过程,美国次贷危机之后双边碳福利不平衡状况重新呈现扩大趋势;(3)中国碳排放强度下降、价值链地位提升以及对美进口规模扩大都有助于改善碳福利逆差的局面,但美国对中国不断扩大的中间品和最终品需求以及双边复杂的技术关联结构仍是中国碳福利逆差的主导因素;(4)全球价值链的深化可能将导致对出口国加征关税会通过降低进口消费侧排放的方式恶化加征国的贸易隐含碳福利。本文研究的时间范围同时覆盖中国加入WTO以及美国次贷危机两个重要节点,这对于重新审视中美经贸关系新格局下双边贸易隐含碳福利分配构建了一个新的分析视角,为中美未来贸易谈判以及全球碳排放责任认定提供了一个新的解读方向。     

人民币汇率变动的物价传递效应:多结构变化协整回归分析

现有研究物价传递效应的文献以线性模型为主,甚少关注物价传递过程中可能存在的结构变化,本文在充分考虑我国转轨时期所面临的各种经济冲击的条件下,利用最新发展的多结构变化协整回归方法考察了1994年1月至2008年12月间人民币汇率变动的物价传递效应。研究结果表明,人民币汇率变动的物价传递效应分别在1998年8月、2002年10月、2005年8月及2007年7月发生了四次结构变化,传递效应虽总体趋减,但2007年7月后出现了反复,且符号也发生了改变。在上述结论基础上,本文提出了相关政策建议。     

中国城市物联网产业发展水平测度及比较

依据中国《物联网"十二五"发展规划》制定的物联网产业统计口径,结合物联网产业链结构的特征,设计包括5个一级指标和20个二级指标的物联网产业发展水平评价指标体系,运用层次分析法(AHP)确定指标权重,以14家物联网上市公司数据为基础,考量中国18个主要城市2009~2011年物联网产业水平。结果显示:整体上,中国物联网产业水平呈上升趋势;东、中、西部地区物联网产业发展水平存在差异;不同城市物联网产业发展的优势不同。     

Trade and financial liberalization with asymmetric information in bank financing

We investigate trade and financial openness in a small developing country where entrepreneurs need bank financing to operate in an import‐competing sector but banks do not observe their ability. This informational asymmetry causes adverse selection of low‐ability individuals into entrepreneurship and also prevents poor but able individuals from being entrepreneurs. We find that trade opening improves national welfare, but a tax is needed on foreign financial capital. Trade opening reduces an income gap between the rich and the poor, while financial opening affects this income gap ambiguously.     

Ontology and Feminist Theorizing

There are large research, policy, and economic gaps between the ways US researchers and policy makers address the work/family bind amongst middleclass professionals and poor lone mothers. This is clearly seen in US welfare reform, an important piece of work/family legislation in the 1990s. The new rules make the work/family binds worse for low-income, poor mothers and do not alleviate poverty. With its clear expectation that poor mothers be employed, the legislation opens up new avenues to revamp low-wage work for breadwinners and to socialize the costs of caring for family. Closing the literature gap may help to close the policy gap, which, in turn, would promote more income equality.     

An interest rate peg might be better than you think

Active interest rate policy is frequently recommended based on its merits in reducing macroeconomic volatility and being a simple device. Yet, it might be outperformed by an even simpler policy. A peg can be welfare-enhancing and can uniquely be implemented.