Technology, the Technology Complex and the Paradox of Technological Determinism

This paper examines the working definitions of the term 'technology' across a range of disciplines such as industrial relations, organizational behaviour, operations management and development economics. The precise 'subdefinition' of technology in use depends on the disciplinary problematic. We develop a conceptual device called the technology complex to reveal the pattern that is observable when a large number of subdefinitions are compared. The technology complex is a list of the distinctive 'elements' that comprise the disciplinary subdefinitions of technology and it orders this list of elements from the 'physical' to the 'cultural'. The technology complex captures the idea that a working definition of technology will be some selection from the elements of the complex. The technology complex also captures the idea that in its most general sense 'technology' is 'knowledge related to artefacts'. We apply the technology complex to the issue of determinism in technological and social change using the examples of aircraft design and robotics. We argue that there is not an 'either—or' issue between the social and the technological influences on change since the terms are not distinct: 'technology' always includes some aspect of the social. We show how what appears to be 'technological determinism' in the examples of aircraft design and robotics use can be understood through the technology complex.     

Worker Cooperatives in the Theory of the Firm: Marx and Veblen on Technological Determinism

This article contends that, in their treatments of worker cooperatives, the predominant theories of the firm adhere to the logic of technological determinism, and can accordingly be evaluated using the ideas of Thorstein Veblen and Karl Marx. Invoking these patriarchs’ respective distinctions between instrumental and ceremonial institutions and between the technical and social relations of production, the article argues that, contrary to contemporary theories of the firm, worker cooperatives possess an inherent but often latent advantage in implementing bureaucratic organizational structures, enjoying their instrumental/technical benefits for technology and coordination without incurring their ceremonial/social drawbacks for behavior and cooperation.     

The Gift Paradox: Complex Selves and Symbolic Good

Generous unemployment benefits are a conventional explanation of the high rates of unemployment in many OECD countries. However, this perception has been challenged on the basis that cross-national evidence comes only from regression analyses of unemployment on the OECD's gross replacement rate but that results are not robust to improved, multidimensional measures of generosity. In this article, I conduct a detailed empirical analysis of how social welfare programs affect unemployment in 17 OECD countries, from 1975 to 2000, using a detailed concept of labor “decommodification” to make cross-national comparisons of generosity. The results show that unemployment benefits remain an important, robust determinant of unemployment even when the new measure is used.     

信任、不信任与民主制的悖论

本文论述了信任与不信任产生的条件.一个全面的信任模型至少要包含三个方面,即"被信任者的可信度"、"信任者的基本信任倾向"以及催生信任的文化因素.信任文化的产生既有结构原因,又有历史原因.本文认为民主秩序是孕育信任的重要力量.     

“以市场换技术”IJV的技术溢出预期及其悖论

“以市场换技术“战略下的IJV联盟生产被落后国家或地区企业经常采用,旨在获得IJV联盟生产中的技术溢出效应,以便在短期内低成本提升其竞争力。然而,由于技术保护或者只以非核心技术投入IJV,落后国家或地区企业不但不能实现预期目标,反而失去了对市场资源的控制能力,使其竞争力相对下降。     

Networks,Law, and the Paradox of Cooperation

There is a tension between libertarians' optimism about private supply of public goods and skepticism of the viability of voluntary collusion (Cowen 1992, Cowen and Sutter 1999). Playing off this asymmetry, Cowen (1992) advances the novel argument that the free market in defense services favored by anarcho-capitalists is a network industry where collusion is especially feasible. The current article dissolves Cowen's asymmetry, showing that he fails to distinguish between self-enforcing and non-self-enforcing interaction. Case study evidence on network behavior before and after antitrust supports our analysis. Furthermore, libertarians' joint beliefs on public goods and collusion are, contrary to Cowen and Sutter (1999), theoretically defensible.     

技术并购与技术创新

本文通过中外案例剖析研究了基于并购视角的企业自主创新能力形成路径,指出在发展早期的技术依赖阶段,从单纯的技术购买转向通过并购获得技术许可,是企业提高技术能力的一个重要手段。当企业技术能力积累到一定阶段,从模仿创新到自主创新,战略性技术联盟和技术并购就成为企业技术能力成长的有效途径,可实现技术创新的超常规发展。同时大量实证研究也表明技术并购已成为企业技术能力提升的主要来源和趋势,技术并购对企业自主创新能力提升和形成起到了极大的推动作用。尤其是我国企业的跨国技术并购通过取得的研发资源与自身要素相结合,获得技术上的协同效应来进行消化吸收和再创新以培育企业自主研发能力,从而实现技术的跨越和企业核心竞争力的提升。以上研究对我国企业技术并购与技术创新实践提供了借鉴与启示。     

适宜技术、技术选择和发展中国家的经济增长

在本文中，我们认为一个国家最适宜（优）的技术结构内生决定于这个国家的要素禀赋结构。如果一个发展中国家选择与其要素禀赋结构相一致的技术结构，那么这个发展中国家和发达国家之间在全要素生产率以及每个劳动力的人均产出上的差异就会变得最小。进一步地，如果发展中国家选择最适宜的技术，那么由于发展中国家在技术变迁的成本上比发达国家低，因此，发展中国家的经济增长速度可以超过发达国家的经济增长速度，从而，我们可以得出发展中国家可以收敛到发达国家的结论。     

人性、爱情及共感受的悖论——解读昆德拉

他与先哲们或尚存的大师们的共通之处告诉我们,抓住当今人类精神真实的存在,一是要避开昔日辉煌的金字塔,从一个个毫不起眼的蜂窝中见人所不见,发掘所谓现代和后现代社会多元的真理;二是应不辞艰辛地走进人的精神世界,包括内心最隐秘的角落,不仅要认识人类共同的精神体验,尤其要深入自己往往无法走进的自己的精神世界,从那里寻求真正的非物质的“生命之轻”。     

人工智能、索洛悖论与高质量发展:通用目的技术扩散的视角

在生产网络中对新一代通用目的 技术——人工智能的采用和扩散是实现中国技术进步和高质量发展的关键所在.但在通用目的 技术扩散初期,劳动生产率增长将经历较长时间的低迷阶段,这被称为"索洛悖论".本文在对比信息时代和人工智能时代典型事实的基础上,将人工智能在生产网络中采用和扩散的过程内生化,构建了一个通用目的 技术扩散影响劳动生产率增长的动态模型,揭示了"索洛悖论"形成及其演化背后的经济机制,并进行了参数校准与仿真模拟.模型模拟结合基于中国产业面板数据的实证研究发现:无论是用研发投入与SG&A费用,还是以上市公司股票估值溢价所衡量的无形资本对生产率增长的影响都呈现出短期抑制作用,但在长期将有效提升生产率.此外,由于生产网络中的上游产业传导效应并不显著,提高下游产业传导效应和激发企业家精神是提高短期和长期劳动生产率,实现高质量发展的重要途径.     

Percolation Processes, Technological Externalities and the Evolution of Technological Clubs

Technological cooperation has become more widespread in recent years. Percolation processes have been studied in physics as the outcome of four classes of forces termed as density, external pressure, connectivity and receptivity. In this paper the methodology of percolation processes has been adapted to interpret the dynamics of knowledge flows within innovation networks as communication systems and to understand the evolution of technological cooperation among firms both within and among industries.     

外国直接投资、技术许可与技术创新

本文以经济全球化条件下 ,以包括中国在内的发展中国家努力向发达国家通过FDI(国外直接投资 )和LICENSING(技术许可 )的渠道进行技术引进以达到自主技术创新从而推动本国经济持续增长的目标为背景 ,建立了一个技术引进与经济增长的扩展模型。本文的主要结论是 :对于包括中国在内的发展中国家 (LDC)而言 ,技术许可比FDI所带来的技术外溢更有效 ,LDC或者依赖FDI,或者依靠技术许可作为其技术引进的主要来源。没有相应管制时倾向于依赖FDI。考虑制定何种政策以达到社会福利的最优化时 ,人力资本的水平起到了决定性作用。     

复杂产品技术能力增长机理研究

本文首先从知识观角度对企业技术能力的增长进行了细致分析,建立了企业技术能力增长的一般过程模型。在此基础上,对复杂产品技术能力增长的几个主要特殊问题作了详细的探讨,初步揭示了复杂产品技术能力增长的基本规律。     

理性恐慌，流动性黑洞和国有股减持之谜

一个具有吸收态的状态转化模型表明国有股减持政策诱使股市状态转向所谓的“流动性黑洞”；同时，在股市行情大跌时追逐流动性的假说没有足够证据支持，因而股市大跌是整个市场的宏观现象。在这些实证结果的基础上，我们构建一个微观市场结构的理论模型来解释“国有股减持之谜”：它并非是一场简单的由消息所引发的股市行情大跌。其根源在于中国股市的功能缺陷，这进一步支持了我们先前关于“中国股票市场达不到弱式有效”的结论。     

非线性系统的决定论与非决定论

非线性系统的决定论问题是科学领域内的一个十分复杂的问题。非线性科学表现出的许多特征使决定论面临巨大冲击,动摇着经典科学基于简单性信念的世界图景,引发持续不休的论争和困惑。基于当代力学学科所具有的普遍非线性特征,结合当代科技革命所带来的新的变化和新的要求,首先对非线性系统进行了区别于数学形式上的非线性定义,力求突破通常对决定论与非决定论的简单二分。在对决定论与非决定论概念重新界定和分析的基础上,给出了态的哲学定义,进而提出了态决定论的观点,指出：非线性是对严格决定论的彻底否定,但不是对非决定论的肯定,因此,并不必然导致科学的非决定论。态决定论的非线性、外部扰动、多因素耦合、结构和参数不确定性或时变性等多因素作用,使对非线性系统的研究呈现出新的科学图景,     

城乡差距、数量悖论与政策偏向

中国转型以来的城乡分化趋势根源于渐进式道路中城乡二元体制的留存。通过引入集体行动逻辑的博弈分析,本文认为这种“落后”制度得以维持的原因是因为在影响政策偏向的竞争中,与城市部门相比,农村部门存在数量悖论。最后,文章从政府目标、城市化道路和二元体制改革次序等方面详细讨论了扭转政策偏向的可能动力来源。     

技术制度的创新与软技术

本文从软技术角度阐述了制度的实质，技术创新和制度创新的关系，指出软技术是制定相应制度的依据和内容，软技术的创新就是相关制度创新的依据和内容；有意识地、系统地进行软技术创新和偶然地或单项的激励是不同的。进而，论述了技术制度的特点以及加强技术制度创新的必要性。     

技术选择、技术替代与技术创新战略选择

技术创新是目前推动经济增长的最主要因素,高新技术中小企业要在技术选择和技术替代中,根据我国高新技术产业技术创新的特点和企业自身资源优势,选择合适的技术创新战略,推动企业发展.     

The Executive Veto: Purpose, Procedure, and Paradox

American governments, federal and state, leave a gap in legislative representation: global majorities are practically silent compared with local ones. An executive veto can right the balance. But prevailing procedural designs are fraught with paradox. I offer a simple new design that avoids paradox, can be instituted without constitutional amendment, and enhances both legislative and executive responsibility.     

On the Gibson Paradox

This paper uses recent developments in the theory of nonstationary regressors to investigate empirical relationships previously taken to support the Gibson paradox, using quarterly data over the 1957:1–1994:4 period on nominal interest rates and prices for eight European Union countries—Belgium, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, and The Netherlands. Using the methodology suggested by Kydland and Prescott, it is shown that the (relevant) cyclical nominal interest rate—price level contemporaneous correlations are weak, thereby punching a hole in the Gibson paradox. Evidence is also presented, based on the integration properties of the data, that standard Gibson paradox regressions are spurious.