An analysis of the automatic stabilizers associated with taxes and transfer payments

This paper examines the question of the stability of automatic stabilizers in the United States. Based on a statistical test suggested by Brown, Durbin and Evans, the analysis concludes that the magnitude of automatic stabilization of economic activity afforded by personal tax receipts has remained virtually invariant over the period 1939–86. The automatic stabilization effectiveness of transfer payments, however, had increased, since 1964. This is attributed to the implementation of various Great Society programmes beginning in 1964.     

Poland's agricultural sector under transformation

The Polish agricultural sector and food processing industry was the first industry to follow market economy because of agriculture's significance in the Polish economy and the dominant role of private ownership in agriculture. Full price liberalization, internal convertibility of the Polish currency, and liberalization of foreign trade completely changed the situation in agriculture. The main objective of this paper is to test the existence of market processes using monthly data from the agriculture and food processing industry covering the time period 1990–92. The largest part of the estimation is dedicated to agricultural products' and foodstuffs' prices. Typical demand-supply relations are observed on the pig, cattle, and milk markets only. In many equations, such variables like imports and exports of agricultural goods are not significant.     

论企业家市场化

企业家是一个国家或地区的重要而又稀缺的资源,这种资源必须由市场配置,即实现市场化.企业家市场化必须首先职业化,即企业家将经营管理企业作为终身职业,社会公认企业家是经营管理企业的专家,国家建立相应的稳定和发展企业家队伍的制度与机制.我国必须建立合理的激励机制,借鉴市场经济发达国家的做法,推行企业家年薪制和企业家股票期权制,建立统一与完善的企业家市场,遵循市场交易规则,防范和减少市场风险.在经济全球化浪潮中,我国实现企业家市场化十分迫切.     

Moral hazard with bounded payments

We study the moral hazard problem with general upper and lower constraints M on compensation. We characterize the optimal contract and show existence and uniqueness. When minimizing costs for given effort, a principal harmed by M will pay according to M on some range of outcomes; when M reflects limited liability or a minimum wage, the contract is option-like. When the principal also chooses effort, a principal harmed by M might nonetheless never pay according to M. This cannot occur if the cost of inducing effort in the standard principal-agent problem is convex, for which we provide sufficient conditions related to the informativeness of outcome about effort.     

Trade protection and balance of payments problems

A model to be used for planning short-term in-patient medical care is presented. The individual clinic is treated as a production unit which produces different kinds of treated wardcases with a given technique of production (given production-cost-structure). It is assumed to maximize the yearly number of treated wardcases under the constraints of (1) The yearly demand for different kinds of treated wardcases, which is assumed to be proportional to the number of citizens within the area which the clinic serves (the clinics population), (2) The yearly budget which is assigned by public authorities and has to cover all costs as the medical care is supplied free of charge, (3) The clinics physical capacity, measured by the number of beds.

The model has been applied to the branch of general medicine using the estimated production-cost-structure at an existing clinic within this branch. The kind of information that one can get is illustrated, for example: Given a clinic with a certain technique of production (production-cost-structure) which optimizes its production in the way that the model assumes, what is the marginal effects of changes in the size of budget, physical capacity or the size of population? In the case of an existing clinic, perhaps it serves too big a population (the marginal effect of reducing this constraint is zero)? or, when establishing a given kind of clinic what is the best combination of population size, size of budget and physical capacity? How much of the demand will be unsatisfied with different combinations, i.e. how large will the queues become?     

展望佣金市场化

我国目前仍实行的高比率固定化的佣金制度对投资者的投资行为、券商的创新机制和市场运行产生了消极的影响。     

新兴市场应从波兰大变革中吸取的七条经验教训

人们普遍认为,后社会主义的转型是从波兰开始的。但这种说法并不全面。虽然促成1980年代深刻变革的各个进程确实在波兰获得了最大的推动力,但是其他中欧和东欧国家也并不是一成不变。另外,人们普遍认为,后社会主义的转型是从1989年开始的,发轫于波兰,然后在整个区域产生了连锁效应。对这个巨大转型带来的挑战,波兰在许多方面都比其他国家做得更好。其他国家,尤其是所谓的新兴市场国家必定能从波兰的转型中吸取到不少经验。对什么起作用,为什么起作用？什么不起作用,为什么不起作用等问题作更深入的考察,是有价值的。     

探索养老金改革之路:波兰多支柱的社会保障体系

世界各国的养老金体系都存在急需解决的财务困难.处理养老金体系的问题通常有三种途径.最富有的国家,特别是欧盟国家,倾向不断从公共税收给予补贴的方案.那些无力提供大量补贴的国家采取了第二种方案:试图寻求增收节支使他们的养老金体系合理化.第三种……     

中国各地区市场化相对进程报告

本文是对一项开拓性研究课题“中国各地区市场化进程相对指数”(简称“市场化指数”)的分析报告。市场化指数由五个方面、2 3个分指标为基础 ,用“主因素分析法”(PrincipalComponentAnalysis)为基本计量方法构造而成 ,其各分指标在指数中的权重 ,不依赖于“专家评分”等主观因素而定 ;是用来分析各地区体制改革进程相对关系的一个有用的经济分析工具。文章论证了只有这样一种“相对指数”才是可以验证的 ,从而是具有科学性的。而这一指数的价值就在于它可以作为一个“制度变量” ,在许多理论研究中作为解释体制变革在中国经济效绩的改进中的作用的有效工具 ,也可以在改革政策的分析中 ,被用来分析各地区差距、使各地区相互借鉴、加速改革进程的有效工具。     

市场化:企业债券改革与发展方向

文章认为，制约我国企业债发展的主要原因是长期实行计划行政管理体制。企业债发展必须坚持以市场化为导向，在发行主体资格、发行条件、发行用途、利率限制等方面放松管制，改革传统的计划管理手段，转由市场力量来决定，并积极促成具有充分流动性的企业债券市场.此外还应注重建设和完善相关的配套制度和债券中介服务机构。     

论利率市场化与货币政策

我国利率市场化正在稳步推进。利率市场化会对货币政策产生巨大影响,主要表现在:货币定义与计量更加困难,削弱了中央银行控制货币供应量的能力,改变了货币政策的传导机制。     

煤气化技术的市场化

在未来20～30年内，中国仍将保持以煤炭为主的能源结构，但是煤直接燃烧会带来严重的环境污染问题，对我国的经济发展和人们健康产生不容忽视的负面影响。所以，我们必须立足本国优势能源，开发和推广清洁煤技术，加快煤气化技术市场化的步伐。     

关于企业家市场化的研究

文章从理论与实际的结合上 ,论述了企业人事制度改革与企业家队伍的建设问题 ,提出了建设企业家队伍的根本是加强人事制度的改革 ;造就企业家队伍的关键在于企业家的职业化 ;企业家的职业化首要的是企业家的市场化。并就加快企业家市场的建设 ,在创造条件、改革创新等具体运作上 ,提出了具体意见。     

中国经济市场化过程及制度演进研究评述

1978年以来,中国从计划经济体制逐步向市场经济体制转轨,进行了全方位的市场化改革。国内外有大量文献针对这一重大的制度变革开展深入的探讨和分析。值得注意的是,这里讨论的市场化是不存在意识形态差别的,而是针对管制而言的相对概念;中国的市场化是一个制度变迁、创新的过程;这一过程对于经济增长有着积极的影响和作用。     

Risk externalities in a payments oligopoly

I discuss the role to be played by central banks in payment systems by way of an oligopoly model of a payments market where firms exert negative risk externalities upon each other. A central bank participating actively in this market is modelled as benign in two ways: exerting less externalities than other banks and maximizing welfare rather than profit. Because other banks react strategically to the central bank’s presence due to its low externalities, there is a risk that it backfires, with these other banks’ taking more risky positions than if the central bank were not there. The proper role of the central bank may actually be to stay out.     

The English rule with payments upfront

This paper extends the economic model of litigation under the English rule for allocation of costs by considering payments upfront. Implications are derived for current legal reforms in Portugal.     

De-industrialisation and the balance of payments in advanced economies

This paper defines de-industrialisation as a secular declinein the share of manufacturing in national employment. De-industrialisation,in this sense, has been a widespread feature of economic growthin advanced economies in recent decades. The paper considersbriefly what explains this development and quantifies some ofthe factors responsible. It then examines the experience ofBritain and America, which are two countries that have combinedrapid de-industrialisation with a strong overall economic performance.The paper considers both the domestic situation of manufacturingindustry in these countries and its foreign trade performance.It concludes by examining in detail the British balance of payments,and documenting how improvements in the non-manufacturing spherehave helped offset a worsening performance in manufacturingtrade.     

产业技术进步与金融的市场化趋势——基于银行与市场功能比较的分析

本文通过回顾产业技术进步历史上影响最深远的三次技术革命,发现新兴的产业技术几乎都是最初发展于"市场主导型金融体系"的美国、英国.比较而言,"银行主导型金融体系"的日本、德国更擅长于学习和推广成熟技术.基于银行与市场功能比较的视角,本文分析了二者对于不同特征产业和处于生命周期不同阶段产业的作用差异,以及二者在风险管理上的功能差异.