THE DISTRIBUTION OF HOUSEHOLD INCOME AND EXPENDITURE IN PORTUGAL: 1980 AND 1990

From 1980 to 1990 Portugal experienced a generalized liberalization of economic activity, due in large part to its 1986 integration in the European Union. This paper studies the changes in the Portuguese distribution of household income and expenditure during this period, using micro-data on household budgets and applying recent developments in statistical inference for Lorenz curves. We find a significant increase in six measures of welfare and an unambiguous decrease in the inequality of the respective distributions. Different explanations for the findings of decreased inequality are discussed.     

POLITICAL ECONOMY OF GOVERNMENT SPENDING FOR TRADE LIBERALIZATION: POLITICS OF AGRICULTURE RELATED GOVERNMENT SPENDING FOR THE URUGUAY ROUND IN JAPAN

This paper investigates the effect of political factors on the interregional allocation of the budget to assist farmers in coping with agricultural trade liberalization in Japan. We present a simple model to show the relationship between political factors and interregional budget allocation and empirically examine whether political factors played a key role in the interregional allocation of Japanese government spending for the Uruguay Round agricultural trade liberalization. Our findings show that this allocation was distorted due to political reasons, which was problematic from the standpoints of fairness and social efficiency.     

MEASURING THE BENEFITS FROM PUBLIC SERVICES: THE EFFECTS OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT SPENDING ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF INCOME IN NORWAY

The purpose of this paper is to provide an evaluation of how local public in-kind benefits affect the distribution of income in Norway. To this end, a method that accounts for differences between municipalities in capacity to produce the same standard of public services is used for assessing the value of sector-specific local public services in each municipality. Moreover, recipient frequencies in various demographic groups are used as basis for determining the allocation of the assessed value of services on citizens of the municipalities. The empirical results show that inequality in the (marginal) distribution of municipal in-kind benefits is rather high. The contribution of municipal in-kind benefits to inequality in the distribution of extended income (cash (after-tax) income plus municipal in-kind benefits) proves, however, to be approximately neutral.     

THE SIZE DISTRIBUTION OF HOUSEHOLD DISPOSABLE WEALTH IN THE UNITED STATES

In this study, new estimates are presented of the size distribution of household wealth in the U.S. in 1969. Compared to previous studies, its major advance is the inclusion of all marketable or discretionary household assets and liabilities and their alignment with national balance sheet totals. Household disposable wealth (HDW) is defined as the sum of all marketable or fungible assets held by households less liabilities. The Gini coefficient for HDW is 0.72, the share held by the richest one percent of households is 31 percent, and the share held by the top five percent is 49 percent. There is, however, a large variation in the concentration of different household assets. The Gini coefficient is 0.30 for household durables and inventories, 0.69 for equity in owner-occupied housing, 0.94 for bonds and securities, and 0.98 for corporate stock. HDW is then divided into two mutually exclusive components. The first, called "life-cycle wealth," is defined as the sum of equity in owner-occupied housing, durables, household inventory, demand deposits and currency, and the cash value of life insurance and pensions less consumer debt. This form of wealth tends to be accumulated over the life-cycle for either consumption, liquidity, or retirement purposes. The second, called "capital wealth," is the sum of time and savings deposits, bonds and securities, corporate stock, business and investment real estate equity, and trust fund equity. Life-cycle wealth is substantially less concentrated than capital wealth. The Gini coefficient for it is 0.59, while that for capital wealth is 0.88. Moreover, among the lower wealth groups, over 80 percent of household wealth takes the form of life-cycle wealth, whereas among the top wealth groups the proportion is under 20 percent. The results suggest substantially different savings motivations between the two groups.     

GOVERNMENT DEFICITS IN POST-KEYNESIAN THEORIES OF GROWTH AND DISTRIBUTION

This paper examines the role of the government sector in post-Keynesiantheories of growth and distribution. It shows the possibilityof reconciling two views on income distribution, present inthe post-Keynesian tradition, which the literature has consideredalternative. By following Kaldor's suggestions on the role thatmonetary and fiscal policy can play in maintaining steady growthconditions, we find that distributive variables depend bothon the rate of growth of the economy, as pointed out by Kaldorand Pasinetti, and on the money rate of interest, as suggestedby Sraffa and by the subsequent elaborations of a monetary theoryof distribution. The paper first verifies the validity of thePasinetti theorem and the dual theorem, and shows that thesetheorems do not always hold when the government sector is explicitlyconsidered. It extends the analysis to the case of the corporateeconomy and institutional distribution, clarifying limits tothe neo-Pasinetti theorem related to the assumption of an endogenousvaluation ratio in steady-growth equilibrium and to the factthat this theorem does not hold when real capital investmentis also financed through the issue of firms' bonds.     

大陆台资农业的区域分布特征

农业投资是两岸经贸关系发展的重要纽带之一,也是两岸农业交流与合作的重要载体。1980年代初期台商开始进入大陆进行农业投资,主要选择与台湾地理相近、气候相似的东南沿海地区。虽然两岸农业经贸关系经过了20多年的发展,台商在大陆的农业投资规模有了大幅度的增长,但投资的区域分布结构并没有发生显著的变化。通过分析台商在大陆农业投资的区域分布特征,进一步探讨台资农业的集聚效应。     

WELFARE EFFECTS OF GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION IN EDUCATION

Distortive effects of government intervention, especially in international trade, have received considerable attention. But not much literature exists on similar effects of public policies toward education. This paper provides a review of government intervention in education and its likely effects on economic growth and equity. Although governments may act with good intentions, educational policies often have adverse effects on social welfare. Less government involvement in education might actually lead to greater and more equally distributed real income, especially in developing countries.
Section I of this paper identifies and documents the extent of government-induced distortions directly or indirectly related to education. Section II assesses the likely effect of such distortions on social welfare. The final section discusses the role of government in education.     

THE VALUE OF HOUSEHOLD SERVICES: A SURVEY OF EMPIRICAL ESTIMATES*

This paper surveys the various estimates that have been made of the value of household services, summarizing the methods used and comparing the statistical results. It concludes that there is wide variability in the results obtained, much of which can be attributed to the differing methods. The highest values are obtained with methods based upon the opportunity cost of women in paid employment, lower with methods based upon the cost of a single housekeeper, and lowest with methods based upon pricing individual services performed. On the basis of time use studies, three factors are found to affect very strongly the value of services performed: family size, wife's market-work status, and age of youngest child. The value of total household services should include not only the wife's contribution, but also that of the husband and children, which may amount to as much as a third of the total. The increasing burden of more children, however, appears to fall mainly on the wife, with some relief from older children; the amount of time spent by husbands appears relatively invariant to number of children or work status of the wife.     

我国休闲农业发展现状与对策

休闲农业是以农业为基础,以休闲为目的,以服务为手段,以城市游客为目标,农业和旅游业相结合,第一产业和第三产业相结合的新型产业.休闲农业在我国先后经历了早期兴起阶段、初期发展阶段、规范经营阶段.文章在对休闲农业概念界定的基础上,分析了休闲农业功能、意义及其发展背景与市场需求,总结了我国发展现状与特点、发展模式与经营类型及典型省市休闲农业发展,指出了存在问题与发展对策,并对休闲农业发展前景进行了展望.     

经济快速发展地区的农业与农村特点及发展问题——以长江三角洲、珠江三角洲为例

长江三角洲和珠江三角洲是我国经济发展最快的地区,其经济区位、自然条件、科技、教育、文化均有优势,被誉为中国经济发展的引擎,在我国现代化建设中的地位举足轻重。两大三角洲,先后对外开放,大量引进外资、先进技术设备与管理经验,产业结构不断调整,工业生产超常规发展,区域内部的城乡建设进展迅速。文章分析了农业经营方式与生产结构的变化以及工业化、城市化的特点,由此带来农业与农村前所未有的发展和变革,阐述了农业、农村所面临的挑战。     

GOODS AND SERVICES IN EXCHANGE FOR GOODS AND SERVICES The Milhaud Plan

The following article, which forms the first of a series, is taken from the December, 1941, number of the English periodical "Export", the official journal of the Institute of Export (*) . It will be followed by all the other articles which go to make up the series. We thank the authors and the directors of the review for their kindness in giving us permission to reprint this series of articles. (Editor of the Annals .)     

THE SIZE OF HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTION: METHODOLOGICAL PROBLEMS AND ESTIMATES FOR THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY IN THE PERIOD 1964 TO 19801

Household production as well as other informal economic activities have received scant attention in economic science. In the last decade the view has been taken that there has been a big shift from formal to informal production. In order to examine this trend this article presents estimates for the size of household production for the Federal Republic of Germany which are based on time-budget data collected from 1964 to 1980. To show the sensitivity of the results two different estimating methods the Opportunity Cost Method and the Market Cost Method, are used. Since productivity growth took place not only in the formal economy but also in household production, estimates will be presented which take productivity growth explicitly into account. The article concludes with a comparison of estimates for other countries.     

TRUE HOUSEHOLD EQUIVALENCE SCALES AND CHARACTERISTICS OF THE POOR IN THE UNITED STATES

In this paper we deal with the question of which measures of economic well-being are adequate to identify those groups of households in the U.S. whose economic conditions justify public concern and assistance. We derive a utility based measure of economic well-being from the estimation of a complete set of consumer demand equations. The demand system is Lluch's Extended Linear Expenditure System (Lluch, 1973). Household characteristics are incorporated using the scaling method proposed by Barten (1966). Using the welfare indicator derived, we study the composition of the poorest part of the population, using data from the 1972–73 Consumer Expenditure Survey. We compare our results with those obtained using various other welfare indicators, including the official U.S. poverty line. We show that using different family composition adjustments significantly and systematically affects just who are considered to be at the bottom of the welfare distribution. We finally suggest that program designers therefore can improve their target efficiency by carefully selecting from among the acceptable indices of welfare when defining program eligibility.     

THE DISTRIBUTION OF INCOME AND WEALTH IN JAPAN

This paper reviews research on the distribution of income and wealth in Japan, identifies sources of data on income and wealth, and describes limitations of these data. Evidence that Japan's poorest income groups are relatively well-off is convincing, but there is less evidence that the overall distribution of income in Japan is more equal than in other OECD countries. Agricultural policy, social welfare policy, the tax system, trends in earnings differentials, and the role of the Japanese family are among the many factors that have shaped Japan's income distribution. The rapid appreciation of the stock market and land prices during the late 1980s led to greater inequality in the distribution of wealth. Rapid population aging is expected to lead to an increase in total national wealth relative to national income which may have an adverse impact on the distribution of income.     

湘南地区特色农业发展及其区域布局初探

湘南的农业自然生态环境、资源以及区位、交通、市场、原有农业基础等均具有发展特色农业的优势。但也存在着特色农业规模小、产品科技含量不高、品牌优势不突出等问题，今后必须以市场需求为导向，以区域比较优势为依托，以提高效益为中心，优化政策，加大投入，加强农产品精深加工，并调整好特色农业的布局和强化特色农产品基地建设。     

长三角城市旅游规模差异及其位序规模体系的构建

文章以长三角16个市1991年以来入境游人数为基础,运用变差系数(CV)、基尼系数(G)、首位度(S)、赫芬达尔系数(H5)4个指标分析了长三角城市旅游规模之间存在的差异,研究发现这种差异在波动中逐渐下降。既而在差异研究的基础上去探讨其背后的差异机制——规模分布。根据规模的变化,将长三角各市旅游发展划分为四类:平稳发展型、波动发展型、加速发展型和减速发展型。然后对14年的数据进行位序规模相关系数的回归分析,发现长三角城市旅游规模符合位序规模分布。在此基础上又分析了经济的发展水平、基础设施、服务设施、城市职能、资源分布对差异和规模分布的影响。文章将为各地方政府根据自身的旅游发展状况制定符合实际的政策提供参考。     

MEASUREMENT AND DETERMINANTS OF EFFICIENCY AND PRODUCTIVITY IN THE FURTHER EDUCATION SECTOR IN ENGLAND

This study uses data for nearly 200 further education providers in England to investigate the level of efficiency and change in productivity over the period 1999–2003. Using data envelopment analysis we find that the mean provider efficiency varies between 83 and 90 percent over the period. Productivity change over the period was around 12 percent, and this comprised 8 percent technology change and 4 percent technical efficiency change. A multivariate analysis is therefore performed, which shows that, in general, student-related variables such as gender, ethnic and age mix are more important than staff-related variables in determining efficiency levels. The local unemployment rate also has an effect on provider efficiency. The policy implications of the results are that further education providers should implement strategies to improve the completion and achievement rates of white males, and should also offer increased administrative support to teachers.     

浙江省循环农业发展的实践模式及其启示

发展循环农业,是促进农业增长方式转变和农产品竞争力提高的重要途径.浙江省在面临资源、环境的紧缺约束下,确定把发展高效生态农业作为全省现代农业建设的主攻方向,把发展循环农业作为实现高效生态农业的重要途径.具体介绍当前浙江省循环农业的发展现状和3种主要实践模式的基础上,通过对其模式产生的社会经济特征环境的分析,探讨了对我国发展循环农业的启示,提出了推进循环农业发展的相关政策建议.