Economy-wide estimates of the implications of climate change - a rejoinder

[Ackermann, F., Stanton, E., 2008-this issue. A comment on economy-wide estimates of the implications of climate change: human health. Ecological Economics. doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2007.10.006] criticise our recent paper [Bosello, F., Roson, R., Tol, R.S.J., 2006. Economy-wide estimates of the implications of climate change: human health. Ecological Economics 58, 579-591] on different levels, calling it “mistaken” and “misleading”. We welcome the opportunity to respond. The critique of [Ackermann, F., Stanton, E., 2008-this issue. A comment on economy-wide estimates of the implications of climate change: human health. Ecological Economics. doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2007.10.006] is either misdirected or incorrect.     

Country size,income level and intra-industry trade

This study investigates three testable hypotheses of intra-industry trade., It begins by developing a theoretical, two country model., The model explicitly includes two goods: differentiated products and homogeneous goods., Then three empirical hypotheses are derived as follows., The share of intra-industry trade will be large: (a) if the two economies are of similar size, (b) if the capital-labour endowment ratio of both countries is similar, and (c) if the total size of the two economies is large., From the cross-sectional analysis using 1970–1994 data, results are obtained that support the model., Furthermore, the results are confirmed using panel analysis on the pooled data.,     

Book Reviews

Book reviewed in this article:
Estrin, Saul; Cave, Martin, eds., Competition and competition policy: a comparative analysis of Central and Eastern Europe
Saunders, Christopher T., ed., The role of competition in economic transition
Richard Portes, ed., Economic transformation in Central Europe , London: Centre for Economic Policy Research and Brussels: the Office for Official Publications of the European Communities
Campbell, Robert, The failure of Soviet economic planning: system, performance, reform     

Book Reviews

Book reviewed in this article:
Winters, L. Alan, ed., Foundations of an Open Economy: Trade laws and Institutions for Eastern Europe
Åslund, Anders, ed., Russian-Economic Reform at Risk
Chang, Ha-Joon & Nolan, Peter, eds., The Transformation of the Communist Economies. Against the Mainstream
Faini, Riccardo & Portes, Richard, eds., European Union Trade with Eastern Europe: Adjustment and Opportunities
Howell, John, Understanding Eastern Europe: The Context of Change
Csaba, László, The Capitalist Revolution in Eastern Europe. A Contribution to the Economic Theory of Systemic Change
Boycko, Maxim, Shleifer, Andrei and Vishny, Robert, Privatizing Russia
Hardt, John P. & Kaufman, Richard R., eds., East-Central European Economies in Transition
Jackson, Marvin, Koltay, Jenö & Biesbrouck, Wouter, eds., Unemployment and Evolving Labour Markets in Central and Eastern Europe
Commander, Simon & Coricelli, Fabrizio, eds., Unemployment, Restructuring and the Labor Market in Eastern Europe and Russia     

Is there a “true” diversity?

Jost [Jost, L., 2006. Entropy and diversity. Oikos, 113: 363-374.] recently discussed Hill's [Hill, M., 1973. Diversity and evenness: a unifying notation and its consequences. Ecology, 54: 427-431.] effective number of species and concluded by naming it the “true” diversity. In this note we comment on parts of Jost's work and argue that the true diversity is not what the name suggests.     

Book reviews

Book reviewed in this article:
Chen, Deron, Chinese Firms between Hierarchy and Market
Lapidus, Gail W., ed., The New Russia. Troubled Transformation
Blejer, Mario I. and Coricelli, Fabrizio, eds., The Making of Economic Reform in Eastern Europe: Conversations with Leading Reformers in Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic
Gács, J.; Winckler, G., eds., International Trade and Restructuring in Eastern Europe     

Capital–skill complementarity and inequality: A sensitivity analysis

Krusell et al. in [Krusell, P., Ohanian, L., Ríos-Rull, J.V., Violante, G.L., 2000. Capital–skill complementarity and inequality: A macroeconomic analysis. Econometrica 68 (5), 1029–1053] analyzed the capital–skill complementarity hypothesis as an explanation for the behavior of the US skill premium. We refit Krusell et al.'s [Krusell, P., Ohanian, L., Ríos-Rull, J.V., Violante, G.L., 2000. Capital–skill complementarity and inequality: A macroeconomic analysis. Econometrica 68 (5), 1029–1053] model with two alternative capital equipment price series: One proposed by Greenwood et al. [Greenwood, J., Hercowitz, Z., Krusell, P., 1997. Long-run implications of investment-specific technological change. Amer. Econ. Rev. 87 (3), 342–362] and the official, revised National Income and Product Accounts (NIPA) data. We find that capital–skill complementarity is preserved, but other results were sensitive to the data used. Specifically, the fit of the model was similar to Krusell et al.'s [Krusell, P., Ohanian, L., Ríos-Rull, J.V., Violante, G.L., 2000. Capital–skill complementarity and inequality: A macroeconomic analysis. Econometrica 68 (5), 1029–1053] using the NIPA data, but not the Greenwood et al. [Greenwood, J., Hercowitz, Z., Krusell, P., 1997. Long-run implications of investment-specific technological change. Amer. Econ. Rev. 87 (3), 342–362] data. Also, both series produce estimates of the elasticity of substitution between unskilled labor and equipment that are substantially larger than Krusell et al.'s [Krusell, P., Ohanian, L., Ríos-Rull, J.V., Violante, G.L., 2000. Capital–skill complementarity and inequality: A macroeconomic analysis. Econometrica 68 (5), 1029–1053] estimates.     

Book review

Corporate Technological Behaviour: Cooperation and Networks, H. Hakanson, Andover, Routledge, 1989, 210pp., $30.00.

Technology and Power, David Kipnis, Springer, New York, 1990, 150pp., DM50.

The Practical Guide to Joint Ventures and Corporate Alliances: How to Form,How to Organise, How to Operate, Robert Porter Lynch, New York, John Wiley and Sons Inc., 1989, 336pp., $44.00 hb.

In the Age of the Smart Machine: the Future of Work and Power Shoshana Zuboff Oxford, Heinemann Professional Publishing, 1988, 460pp., $17.00

Directory of American Research and Technology 1990: Organizations Active in Product Development for Business K. R. Bowker New York, 1990, 24th edition, 740pp., $215.     

Income inequality, democracy and growth reconsidered

Persson and Tabellini (Persson, T., Tabellini, G., 1992a. Growth, distribution and politics. Eur. Econ. Rev. 36, 593–602; Persson, T., Tabellini, G., 1992b. Growth, distribution and politics. In: Cukierman, A., Hercowitz, Z., Leiderman, L. (Eds.), Political Economy, Growth, and Business Cycles. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, pp. 3–22; Persson, T., Tabellini, G., 1994. Is inequality harmful for growth? Am. Econ. Rev. 84, 600–621) as well as Alesina and Rodrik (Alesina, A., Rodrik, D., 1992. Distribution, political conflict, and economic growth. In: Cukierman, A., Hercowitz, Z., Leiderman, L. (Eds.), Political Economy, Growth, and Business Cycles. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, pp. 23–50; Alesina, A., Rodrik, D., 1994. Distributive politics and economic growth, Q. J. Econ. 109, 465–490) have argued that income inequality reduces economic growth rates among democracies because it promotes distributional struggles. In this paper I question the supportive evidence for a number of reasons. Measures of income distribution and democracy are unreliable and permit only very tentative conclusions. Changes in data sources or recoding of some influential cases affect results. It is questionable whether equality effects on growth apply only within democracies, as a median voter interpretation of this relationship should make one expect. The general idea that distributional struggle hurts the growth prospects of nations, however, receives some empirical support.     

Book Reviews

Books reviewed:
Nielsen, S. B., Incentives and Redistribution in the Swedish Welfare State: The Swedish Tax Reform
Hannesson, R., Principles of Economic Growth     

Book reviews

New Perspectives on Technology and Organization.

Innovative Banking: Competition and the Management of a New Networks Technology J. Howells & J . Hines Eds) Ldon, Routledge, 1992, 252pp., £40.00 (hbk), ISB-V 0-415-05941-0. Technology and Organization: Power, Meaning and Design H. Scarborough & J.M. Corbett London. Routledge. 1992, 178pp., ,£15.00, (pbk), ISBN 0-415-05941-0.

Beyond Partnership-Strategies for Innovation & Lean Supply Richard Lamming Hemel Hempstead, Prentice-Hall International, 1993, ix + 299pp., £19.95 (hbk).

From Anticipation to Action: A handbook of Strategic Perspective Michel Godet.     

News and notes

New Perspectives on Technology and Organization.

Innovative Banking: Competition and the Management of a New Networks Technology J. Howells &; J . Hines Eds) Ldon, Routledge, 1992, 252pp., £40.00 (hbk), ISB-V 0-415-05941-0. Technology and Organization: Power, Meaning and Design H. Scarborough &; J.M. Corbett London. Routledge. 1992, 178pp., ,£15.00, (pbk), ISBN 0-415-05941-0.

Beyond Partnership-Strategies for Innovation &; Lean Supply Richard Lamming Hemel Hempstead, Prentice-Hall International, 1993, ix + 299pp., £19.95 (hbk).

From Anticipation to Action: A handbook of Strategic Perspective Michel Godet.     

Book reviews

Book reviewed in this article
Hardy, Jane and Al Rainnie, Restructuring Krakow: Desperately Seeking Capitalism
Centre for Co-operation with the Economies in Transition (CCET), Regional Problems and Policies in the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic , OECD, 1996.
Newbery, David M. G., Tax and Benefit Reform in Central and Eastern Europe , CEPR, 1995.
Anderson, Ronald W.; Berglöf, Erik; Mizsei, Kálmán, Banking sector development in Central and Eastern Europe: Forum Report of the Economic Policy Initiative
Levitsky, Jacob, ed., Small Business in Transition Economies: Promoting enterprise in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union
World Bank, World Development Report 1966: From Plun to Market
Fingleton, John, Eleanor Fox, Damien Neven and Paul Seabright, Competition Policy and the Transformation of Central Europe
Frydman, Roman, Cheryl W. Gray and Andrzej Rapaczynski, eds., Corporate Governance in Central Europe
Abrahams, Ray, ed., After Socialism: Land Reform and Social Change in Eastern Europe
Slay, Ben, ed., De-monopolization and Competition Policy in Post- Communist Economies Westview Press, 1996.
Kaminski, Bartlomiej, ed., The International Polirics of Eurasia     

Book reviews

Book reviewed in this article:
Gregory, Paul R;Stuart, Robert C., Soviet and post-Soviet economic structure and performance , 5th edition, Harper Collins
Davies, R.W.; Harrison, Mark and Wheat-croft, S.G., eds., The economic transformation of the Soviet Union
Asian Development Bank, Mongolia: a centrally planned economy in transition     

Book Reviews

Book reviewed in this article:
Kornai, János, The Socialist System: the Political Economy of Communism
Dallago, Bruno; Ajani, Gianmaria; Grancelli, Bruno, eds., Privatisation and entrepreneurship in post-socialist countries
Dallago, Bruno; Brezinski, Horst; Andreff, Wladimir, eds., Convergence and system change: the convergence hypothesis in the light of transition in Eastern Europe
Frydman, Roman; Andrzej Rapaczynski; John S. Earle, et al., The Privatisation Process in Central Europe     

Schelling's spatial proximity model of segregation revisited

Schelling [Schelling, T.C., 1969. Models of Segregation. American Economic Review, Papers and Proceedings, 59, 488-493, Schelling, T.C., 1971a. Dynamic Models of Segregation. Journal of Mathematical Sociology, 1 (2), 143–186, Schelling, T.C., 1971b. On the Ecology of Micromotives. The Public Interest, 25, 61–98, Schelling, T.C., 1978. Micromotives and Macrobehavior. New York: Norton.] presented a microeconomic model showing how an integrated city could unravel to a rather segregated city, notwithstanding relatively mild assumptions concerning the individual agents' preferences, i.e., no agent preferring the resulting segregation. We examine the robustness of Schelling's model, focusing in particular on its driving force: the individual preferences. We show that even if all individual agents have a strict preference for perfect integration, best-response dynamics may lead to segregation. This raises some doubts on the ability of public policies to generate integration through the promotion of openness and tolerance with respect to diversity. We also argue that the one-dimensional and two-dimensional versions of Schelling's spatial proximity model are in fact two qualitatively very different models of segregation.     

Environmental policy in the European Union: Fostering the development of pollution havens?

A pollution haven occurs when dirty industries from developed nations relocate to developing nations in order to avoid strict environmental standards or developed nations imports of dirty industries expand replacing domestic production. The purpose of this study is to determine whether the European Union (EU) has increased its imports of “dirty” goods from poorer, less democratic countries during a period of more stringent environmental standards. Previous empirical studies such as those by Levinson and Taylor [Levinson, A., and Taylor, M.S., in press. Unmasking the Pollution Haven Effect. International Economic Review.], Ederington, Levinson and Minier [Ederington, J., Levinson, A., and Minier, J., 2005. Footloose and Pollution-Free. Review of Economics and Statistics., 87: 92-99.], Kahn and Yoshino (2004), and Ederington and Minier [Ederington, J., and Minier. J., 2003. Is Environmental Policy a Secondary Trade Barrier? An Empirical Analysis. Canadian Journal of Economics., 36: 137-54.] find evidence that United States imports are responsive to changes in environmental stringency, but the effects of EU policy have not been examined as thoroughly. Our study follows Kahn [Kahn, M.E., 2003. The Geography of Us Pollution Intensive Trade: Evidence from 1958 to 1994. Regional Science and Urban Economics., 33: 383-400.] and examines the impact of industry energy intensity and toxicity, measured by an energy index and a Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) index, on imports into the EU, at the 2-digit industry level from 1970 to 1999. We use the signing of the Maastricht Treaty to signify a period of more uniform and stringent community wide environmental standards (1993-1999), and identify the level of per capita GDP within an EU trading partner. We find an increased amount of EU energy intensive trade with poorer countries during the period with more stringent EU environmental standards. This result is not robust, however, when poorer countries are defined by OECD membership and geographic region. We do not find an increased amount of EU toxic intensive trade with poorer countries although there is some evidence of increased EU imports of toxic goods from poorer OECD and non-EU European countries. For our full sample of trading partners in all regions, the evidence supports the PHH for EU energy intensive trade, but not for toxic intensive trade. Results for regional trade analysis are less clear.     

Resource extraction by cartels facing constraints on cooperation

This paper considers a non-renewable resource cartel facing constraints on cooperation. Although different kinds of constraints are conceivable and some of them are also investigated, the analysis focuses on the case in which cooperation is restricted to sufficiently high quotas. This approach of imposing constraints on cartelization complements papers that assume exogenously when a monopoly ends (in particular Benchekroun, H., Gaudet, G., Van Long, N., 2006. Temporary natural resource cartels. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 52, 663–674) in two aspects: an endogenous determination when the cartel breaks up and the consequence that it is impossible to shift resource sales between the two regimes.     

Validation in agent-based models: An investigation on the CATS model

In this paper we deal with some validation experiments on the complex adaptive trivial system (CATS) model proposed in Gallegati et al. [Gallegati, M., Giulioni, G., Palestrini, A., Delli Gatti, D., 2003a. Financial fragility, patterns of firms’ entry and exit and aggregate dynamics. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization 51, 79–97; Gallegati, M., Delli Gatti, D., Di Guilmi, C., Gaffeo, E., Giulioni, G., Palestrini, A., 2005. A new approach to business fluctuations: heterogeneous interacting agents, scaling laws and financial fragility. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization 56, 489–512]. In particular starting from a sample of Italian firms included in the AIDA database, we perform several ex post validation experiments over the simulation period 1996–2001. In the experiments, the model parameters have been estimated using actual data and the initial set up consists of a sample of agents in 1996. The CATS model is then simulated over the period 1996–2001. Using alternative validation techniques, the simulations’ results are ex post validated respect to the actual data.     

BIBLIOGRAPHY - BIBLIOGRAPHIE

Book Reviews is this Articles:
HENNICKE P., JOHNSON J., KOHLER S. & SEIFRIED D., Die Energiewende ist möglich - Für eine neue Energiepolitik der Kommunen
HEUER H., Instrumente kommunaler Gewerbepolitik