Inward Investment and Technical Progress in the United Kingdom Manufacturing Sector

This paper investigates the impact of direct investment by foreign‐owned companies on technical progress and hence labour productivity in the UK manufacturing sector. Using an industry‐level panel data set we find that foreign‐owned firms have a significant positive effect on the level of technical efficiency in domestic firms. There is evidence of significant intra‐industry and inter‐industry spillovers from inward investment. These findings remain robust even when other factors such as imports and domestic R&D expenditures are allowed for. Inward investment appears to be a much more important source of technical progress than foreign trade.     

The Measurement of Poverty in Australia: 1981–82 and 1985–86

In this paper I discuss indices used to measure the level of poverty in Australia among demographic groups and over time. The strengths and deficiencies of indices in current use are noted and alternative indices are presented. The theoretical properties of the indices are compared and discussed. The discussion is extended to include a brief review of poverty lines paying particular attention to the method used to update them. Poverty is measured for 1981–82 and 1985–86 for broad demographic groups. Differences between groups in each year and trends over time are noted and discussed. The performance of alternative indices are compared.     

Cross-Sectoral Patterns of Efficiency and Technical Change in Manufacturing

This article uses data from 11 countries for 19 years to investigate the forces driving output change in 6 manufacturing sectors. A flexible model is adopted that allows for the decomposition of output changes into three types of change: technical, efficiency, and input. This framework allows, among other things, for the investigation of (1) the relative roles of the three components of output growth in each sector, (2) the manner in which efficiency change moves over the business cycle, and (3) potential technical spillovers from one sector to another.     

POLARIZATION BY SUB-POPULATIONS IN SPAIN, 1973–91

We use an extension of the Esteban and Ray (1994) approach to polarization in order to analyze the role of different household characteristics in the formation of groups in Spanish expenditure distribution, e.g. educational level, position in the labor market, and region. According to a first approach we assume that groups are determined by a characteristic that their members share, and we study which gives rise to a higher level of polarization. In a second approach we can also investigate which characteristics better explain an observed level of polarization, assuming that income proximity determines the group to which one belongs. In both cases we take into account the effect of social stratification on polarization.     

CHANGES IN INCOME INEQUALITY: AUSTRALIA, 1968–69 TO 1973–74

The period 1968–69 to 1973–74 saw a redistribution of incomes in Australia. This is evidenced first by declining differentials between dissimilar persons and secondly by changes in two measures of income inequality, the Gini and Theil coefficients.
The inequality coefficients are decomposed into components which distinguish between that part of total inequality due to income differences between dissimilar persons and that part due to inequality between similar persons. It is found that the reduction in inequality was due to the reduction in differentials between dissimilar persons and that inequality between similar persons probably did not change over the period.     

The effect of the Troubles on GDP in Northern Ireland

This paper explores the effect of conflict on GDP in Northern Ireland. A synthetic control region constructed as a weighted average of other UK regions provides an estimate of counterfactual ‘no-conflict’ GDP. Comparing this with actual per capita GDP suggests a negative impact of up to 10%. Excluding the increased grants provided in response to the conflict, a 15–20% reduction is evident. Most forms of terrorist activity had negative effects over the period 1969–1997. Deaths attributable to Republican paramilitary groups or to the State appear to have a greater and more lasting impact on GDP than deaths attributable to Loyalist paramilitaries.     

Financial Returns and Price Determinants in the Australian Art Market, 1973–2003*

In this study, 37 605 paintings by 60 well-known Australian artists sold at auction over the period 1973–2003 are used to construct a hedonic price index. The attributes included in the hedonic regression model include the name and living status of the artist, the size and medium of the painting and the auction house and year in which the painting was sold. The resulting index indicates that returns on Australian fine-art averaged 7 per cent over the period with a standard deviation of 16 per cent. The hedonic regression model also captures the willingness to pay for perceived attributes in the artwork, and this shows that works by McCubbin, Gascoigne, Thomas and Preston and other artists deceased at the time of auction, works executed in oils or acrylic, and those auctioned by Sotheby's or Christie's are associated with higher prices.     

A SIMPLIFIED MODEL FOR SOCIAL WELFARE ANALYSIS: AN APPLICATION TO SPAIN, 1973–74 TO 1980–81

Most of the literature on income distribution has concentrated on inequality. In this paper we introduce a concern for efficiency in a social welfare model. We propose a simple but useful specification which combines three features: (i) the selection of measurement instruments in the relative and the absolute case on the grounds of their properties for applied work; (ii) a procedure to make welfare comparisons across households with different needs, in a model in which equivalence scales depend only on house-hold size; and (iii) the use of household specific statistical price indices to make intertemporal comparisons in real terms. The methodology is applied to the study of the role of prices and demographic effects in the evolution of the standard of living in Spain from 1973–74 to 1980–81.     

人力资本结构对重工企业技术效率的影响研究

基于2002-2010年上市重工公司面板数据,采用随机前沿法(SFA)研究了人力资本结构与企业技术效率的关系。研究发现技术效率较低,全部样本企业的各年度的总平均值为0.594,存在较大的提升空间。从演化过程来看,效率值呈现上升态势,企业间的效率差异较大且具有较强的波动性。人力资本结构对企业技术效率存在显著影响,提高本科和专科教育程度员工的比例,能够显著改善技术效率,增加中学以下教育程度员工的比率抑制技术效率。重工企业具有规模收益递增的特性,人力资本比物质资本对产出的贡献略高。建议企业增加人力资本投资与开发,优化人力资源配置,促使企业发展方式从依赖物质资本转向依靠人力资本的内涵式增长。     

The Economic Effects of North Sea Oil on the Manufacturing Sector

This paper analyses the economic effects of the oil and gas sector (energy booms) on manufacturing output in two energy producing countries: Norway and the UK. In particular, I investigate whether there is evidence of a 'Dutch disease', that is whether energy booms have had adverse effects on manufactures. In addition to energy booms, three other types of structural disturbances are identified; demand, supply and oil price shocks. The different disturbances are identified by imposing dynamic restrictions on a vector autoregressive model. Overall, there is only weak evidence of a Dutch disease in the UK, whereas manufacturing output in Norway has actually benefited from energy discoveries and higher oil prices     

Structural Change, Competition, and Job Turnover in Swedish Manufacturing, 1964–96

The rate of interindustry job turnover in Swedish manufacturing seems to be driven by the dispersion of profit changes among industries. Shifts in international competitiveness among industries played a central role for explaining this pattern. The rate of intraindustry job turnover among plants has been higher in industries with many small plants, low profit margins, and high import penetration.     

Grant Assistance and Small Firm Development in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland

Small business support is an important element of industrial development policy in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. This paper examines the effect of grant support on small business performance from 1991–94. Around 50% of small businesses in Northern Ireland and 30% of small businesses in the Republic of Ireland received financial support over this period. In Northern Ireland, three clusters of assisted companies were identified who received support for marketing, training and capital investments. In the Republic of Ireland, two assisted clusters of firms were identified who received marketing and training grants. In each case, firms in the assisted clusters grew faster, tended to be more profitable, were more active in terms of sales and market development and adopted more ambitious strategic directions than those in the non‐assisted clusters. Selection models are used to explore whether these differences are due to differences in the characteristics of the assisted and non‐assisted groups or can be directly attributed to the effect of government financial support. In the Republic of Ireland there is no evidence of any effective targeting of assistance at better performing firms. In Northern Ireland, there is some evidence that assistance was targeted at firms with higher productivity growth. Grant aid had no effect on either the turnover growth or profitability of small businesses in either area. It did, however, boost employment growth. This is good‐news for job creation but has potentially worrying implications for firms' longer‐term competitive position through its negative effect on productivity.     

公共部门管理范式的演进与创新

本文试图从实践的角度探讨公共管理运动的起因;介绍新公共管理理论的核心内容－内部市场理论,并对其做出评价;在此基础上,探讨公共行政与公共管理两种理论范式之间融合与互补,继承与创新的相互关系。     

An Economistic Interpretation of the Northern Ireland Conflict

Tullock (1971) demonstrated that the causes of political rebellion are perhaps more to do with private expected utility than collective discontent. There is much to suggest that pecuniary motivation plays a large part in the Northern Ireland (NI) conflict given the substantial amount of 'black market' activity which is present. This paper therefore puts forward an economic model of the NI paramilitaries blending their gangster and political activities which are commonly geared to earn revenue. From this model an explanation from an economic perspective emerges as to why a cease-fire may occur and why it is unstable. The implications of the model are then investigated, with particular reference to conflict solutions arising from the economic model rather than political diplomacy.     

The Evolution of Individual Male Earnings in Great Britain: 1975–95

I study the dynamic structure of male wages in Great Britain using the New Earnings Survey Panel from 1975–95. Computing auto-covariances of individual wages by cohort I find evidence of a permanent component of earnings that increases over the life cycle and a highly persistent, serially correlated transitory component. In addition, the estimated variances of both these components have risen over this period, each explaining about half the rise in inequality. Using individual's occupation at age 22, I split the sample into four skill groups. I find some differences across these groups, with the rise in the permanent variance most important for the manual groups.     

竞争战略、技术效率与公司绩效——来自中国制造业上市公司的经验证据

笔者基于283家中国制造业上市公司1999年～2006年的面板数据,利用因子分析,识别出上市公司低成本和差异化这两种竞争战略,并在此基础上考察了竞争战略、技术效率与公司绩效三者之间的关系。研究结果表明,低成本战略与技术效率、公司绩效之间呈显著正相关关系;差异化战略与公司绩效显著正相关且短期内与技术效率呈显著负相关关系;技术效率与公司绩效之间呈显著正相关关系;低成本战略通过技术效率作用于公司绩效的传导机制作用显著,而差异化战略是否通过提升技术效率改进公司绩效的机制未得到证实。     

Charges in the Industrial Water Sector: Comparison Between Ireland and Spain

The European Treaty supports the application of the polluter pays principle in all environmental policies including the Water Framework Directive. This paper assesses the efficiency of water-charging systems in two European regions. The regions examined are the South west region of Ireland and the Navarre region in Spain which were selected because they are similar in terms of economic indicators but different in terms of water pricing structures. The paper describes the development and application of a simple model to analyse data on water-charging systems from these two regions. We present the results of a detailed scenario-based investigation illustrating the differences between experience, composition and basis, impact and constraints on the application of water charges for both regions. The key findings are that existing water charges do not provide incentives for users to use water efficiently and thereby do not contribute effectively to the environmental objectives of the Water Framework Directive.     

The Regional and Industrial Effects of FDI on Chinese Manufacturing Sector

This paper investigates the regional and industrial effects of FDI on Chinese manufacturing sector since China entered WTO. We find that FDI plays a different role in the development of different areas and industries through a comparison with state-controlled industrial enterprises in China. More establishments of smaller foreign funded enterprises and less foreign capital with a high level of management should promote the competition to stimulate manufacturing growth in eastern area, while fewer establishments of foreign funded enterprises with a large capital should make a great stimulus to the western manufacturing development. Both foreign capital and the establishment of foreign industrial enterprises have a great effect on the whole manufacturing sector by industry.