A simple model of three economies with two currencies: the eurozone and the USA

This paper presents a Keynesian model which describes threecountries trading merchandise and financial assets with oneanother. It is initially assumed that all three countries haveindependent fiscal policies but that two of the countries sharea currency, hence the model can be used to make a preliminaryanalysis of the conduct of economic policy in ‘the eurozone’vis-à-vis the rest of the world—‘the USA’.The main conclusion will be that, if all three countries doindeed operate independent fiscal policies, the system willwork under a floating currency regime, but only so long as theEuropean central bank is prepared to modify the structure ofits assets by accumulating an ever rising proportion of billsissued by any ‘weak’ euro country.     

Rational drug design, the knowledge value chain and bioscience megacentres

This paper seeks to trace important shifts and cluster evolutionin the healthcare industry. Its key aim is to examine the implicationsof the rise of science-based clusters for economic geographyand related policies. A special focus is biosciences and therise of ‘biologics’ more generally at the expenseof fine chemistry in drug development. The old agglomerationsof pharmacy are no longer leaders in knowledge exploration,as universities, research laboratories and medical schools takeover research, they are beginning to lose prominence to dedicatedbiotechnology firms (DBFs) in knowledge examination, and retaintheir most important involvement as financiers and marketersof DBF exploitation knowledge. This has profound geographicalas well as industry organisation equilibrium effects. Over-concentrationof the bioscientific knowledge value chain has given rise tothe new spatial policy practice of developing regional sciencestrategies. Aspects of these are commented upon.     

Europe '92. Decentralizing environmental policy in the single market

The creation of the EC's internal market by the end of 1992 appears to necessitate a harmonization of environmental policies in the European Community. Against this background, the paper analyzes the options for decentralizing environmental policy in Europe and indicates some limitations of this approach.It is shown that, in the case of stationary sources, a harmonization is not required whereas, in the case of international spillovers and global environmental systems, a decentralization of policies is possible if countries can agree on international diffusion norms or national emission quantities, respectively. A harmonization seems to be unavoidable if product norms have to be applied, e.g. in the case of pollutants in consumption goods. Generally, however, price instruments should be used wherever possible, since they allow for a regional differentiation of environmental qualities without segmenting European markets.     

Competing at the frontier: The changing role of technology policy in Singapore's economic strategy

For an economy competing at the global frontier, an innovation-based growth strategy requires a well-developed technological infrastructure, a set of capabilities-focused technology policies, as well as an institutional environment that stimulates innovation and entrepreneurship. This paper examines the role played by science and technology policy in an economy's transition to an innovation-based growth strategy. We discuss the challenges governments face as they restructure economic institutions to deepen R&D capabilities and encourage technology creation. We review Singapore's experience in this regard and assess its ongoing efforts to remake itself to compete at the global frontier.     

University-level mechanisms supporting the creation of new companies: an analysis of Italian academic spin-offs

In this paper we address the role of university policies in the creation of academic spin-offs. We focus on university technology transfer units (UTTUs) in Italy and on the mechanisms they have implemented to support academic entrepreneurship. We gathered data relating to their strategies for technology transfer and to the mechanisms they had implemented to support new venture creation. Results show that the number of people dedicated to technology transfer activities, strong relationships that UTTUs have with external organisations involved in technology transfer activities, and finally support services provided by universities and UTTUs have a significant influence in fostering the generation of new ventures.     

Permanent On-The-Spot Job Creation—The Missing Keynes Plan for Full Employment and Economic Transformation

The paper rejects the conventional view that Keynes had an aggregate demand approach to full employment. Instead, it proposes that he advocated a very specific labor demand targeting approach that would be implemented both in recessions and expansions. Modern policies, which aim to “close the demand gap” between current and potential output are inconsistent with Keynes's work on theoretical and methodological grounds. There is considerable evidence to suggest that a permanent program for direct or (in his words) “on-the-spot” job creation is the missing Keynes Plan for full employment and economic transformation. The current crisis presents the social economist with a unique opportunity to set fiscal policy straight along the original Keynesian lines. The paper suggests what specific form such a policy might take.     

Capitalism and democracy in the 21st Century: from the managed to the entrepreneurial economy*

 This paper explains how and why the developed countries are undergoing a fundamental shift away from a managed economy and towards an entrepreneurial economy. This shift is shaping the development of western capitalism and has triggered a shift in government policies away from constraining the freedom of business to contract through regulation, public ownership and antitrust towards a new set of enabling policies which foster the creation and commercialization of new knowledge. The empirical evidence from a cross-section of countries over time suggests that those countries that have experienced a greater shift from the managed to the entrepreneurial economy have had lower levels of unemployment.     

中央银行的宏观监管职能:经济效果与影响因素分析

文章以跨国数据为基础,对中央银行是否应分离银行监管职能这一问题进行了系统的实证分析。结果表明,在中央银行未分离或未完全分离银行监管职能的国家,其金融稳定性通常更高,经济增速更快,而且未出现明显的"通货膨胀倾向"。这意味着金融监管的独立性并不是简单地将监管职能从中央银行分离的问题,中央银行的独立性也并不必然排斥其继续实施金融监管职能。通过将货币政策和金融监管的兼容性置于政治经济学框架下加以解读,文章发现真正影响金融监管实际独立性的并非监管主体的设置问题,而是更广泛地依赖于不同的政治制度条件。上述结论表明,如何在既定的政治制度和政策框架下切实加强货币政策和金融监管的协调与配合才是问题的核心和关键。     

Planning through the Socialization of Property Rights: The Community Reinvestment Act

This paper reassesses themes developed in the authors' Economic Abundance: An Introduction (Dugger and Peach 2009) in the context of the so-called "Great Recession." In this paper, we make several arguments. First, there is always a substantial gap between actual production and the capacity of the economy to produce. Second, the great recession widened the production gap, but did not change the basic relationship. Third, the anti-recessionary policies, adopted during the recession, were anti-abundance policies, for the most part. Fourth, almost by definition, short-term (cyclical) fiscal and monetary policy regimes do not address longer-term structural issues or the creation of widely shared abundance. Last, but not least, despite the great recession, and the myopic policy responses it generated, the abundant economy — based on a largely undamaged joint stock of knowledge — remains a genuine possibility.     

中央银行在应对经济危机中的作用及局限——马克思的论述及其当代价值

马克思以英格兰银行为例,深入地研究了中央银行在应对资本主义经济危机中的作用,其主要思想可以概括为三个方面.一是中央银行具有国家货币管理机构和信用枢纽的双重性质,这决定了中央银行有应对经济危机的内在职能.二是存在两种货币危机,即货币资本运动引发的"特种危机"和"任何危机的一个阶段".针对"特种危机",中央银行的应对措施既...     

Encouraging Environmentally Sustainable Growth: Experience in OECD Countries

This paper presents an overview of OECD analysis of progress and policies in ``enhancing environmentally sustainable growth' in a number ofcountries. The focus of the paper is on how countries succeed in conducting cost-effective and consistent policies in the environmental and natural resource areas, not on environmental policy or outcomes per se. The chapters were tailored to focus on a small number of interesting or important themes in each country, rather than aiming at a comprehensive coverage. Four common themes nevertheless emerged: a definite trend in recent years towards the use of market-based instruments; competitiveness and distributional issuesas obstacles to policy implementation; certain sectors where policies make environmental objectives harder or more costly to achieve; attempts to design institutions or processes to achieve co-ordination across policies and sectors. These arediscussed and illustrated in turn in the paper.     

Flexicurity Labour Market Performance in Denmark

Unemployment is at a low and stable level in Denmark. This achievementis often attributed to the so-called flexicurity model combiningflexible hiring and firing rules for employers with income securityfor employees. Whatever virtues this model may have, a low andstable unemployment rate is not automatically among them sincethe basic flexicurity properties were also in place during the1970s and 1980s where high and persistent unemployment was prevalent.Labour market performance has changed due to a series of reformsduring the 1990s, the main thrust of which was a shift froma passive focus of labour market policies to a more active focuson job search and employment. The policy tightened eligibilityfor unemployment benefits and their duration as well as introducedworkfare elements into unemployment insurance and social policiesin general. Thereby, policy makers attempted to strengthen theincentive structure without taking resort to general benefitreductions. We argue that the workfare policies have playedan important role running primarily via motivation/threat andwage effects. However, active labour market policies are resourcedemanding, and although the workfare reforms have improved costeffectiveness, there is still an issue as to whether the resourcesgoing into active labour market policies are used efficiently.(JEL codes: J30, J40, J60, H53)     

The economics of New Labour: policy and performance

This paper reviews the foundations of New Labour's economicpolicies and the performance of the economy since 1997. It arguesthat New Labour's policies have evolved from Thatcherism andthat it has largely embraced the tenets of neo-liberalism. NewLabour has rejected most aspects of Keynesianism and its policieshave eschewed the use of active demand management policies.But it has been the high levels of demand—in particularconsumption expenditure—that have driven economic growthin the UK and which have ensured that (as yet) New Labour hasnot faced the problems of dealing with a major economic downturn.     

An independent central bank faced with elected governments

The literature argues that the benefits of an independent central bank accrue at no cost to the real side. In this paper, we argue that the lack of correlation between monetary autonomy and output variability is due to the proactive role of fiscal policy when faced with rigid monetary objectives. Few of the attempts to measure these correlations actually allow for a changing fiscal role. Yet, when an independent authority handles monetary policy, fiscal and wage/social protection policies remain instruments in the hands of elected governments. We find that, so long as the two authorities pursue their goals independently of each other, a conflict arises that becomes stronger as preferences diverge. We also find that the establishment of a conservative central bank encourages more divergent preferences among the public (as reflected in the government that is elected). The election of more interventionist governments then makes it harder for either authority to reach its own preferred objectives, unless cooperation is possible.     

科技政策对企业创新的作用机制研究——以广东省为例的实证分析

科技创新是立国之本、强国之路。政府在不同阶段制定相应的科技政策,以求持续激励企业参与创新活动、提高企业核心竞争力、促进产业结构转型升级。基于广东省2005-2017年上市公司数据,采用计数模型实证分析了地级市政府科技政策对企业创新的影响及作用机制。研究表明：科技政策力度越大,越能提高企业的创新水平;科技政策的激励作用主要通过研发强度这一中介变量产生;科技政策不仅能促进企业的策略性创新行为,同时也会导致企业的实质性创新行为;直接激励类型的政策对企业创新并无显著影响,而营造创新氛围的间接激励类型政策则对企业创新有着显著的正向影响;政策激励对非国有企业、非高科技企业的正向作用更加明显。     

浅析稳健的货币政策

2011年12月举行的中共中央政治局会议定调2012年继续实行稳健的货币政策。理解稳健的货币政策,分析其实行效果已成为当务之急。归纳了稳健货币政策的演化史,分析了该货币政策的特征,并总结了其实行效果与面临的挑战。稳健货币政策的运行方式是逆向操作的相机抉择。该货币政策难以对CPI进行精确的控制,难以有效抑制经济过快发展。为提高货币政策的实施效果,央行应当增加基准利率调整频率,并减少对央行票据的依赖。     

对我国商业银行流动性过剩问题的再探讨

从经济、制度、技术和国际层面分析了我国出现流动性过剩的原因,以及这种流动性过剩所带来的潜在风险;在此基础上给出了我国商业银行应对不断深化的流动性过剩的措施：提高风险定价能力,拓展新的贷款业务、尝试与非银行金融机构进行合作,开展混业经营以及加快金融创新,增强商业银行管理能力。     

中国货币状况指数的构建及对货币政策效果的验证

货币状况指数是利率和汇率相对于基期变化的加权和,是一个纳入了利率和汇率对货币环境影响的综合指数。考虑到银行信用对中国货币政策实施的特殊作用,本文基于VAR模型对权重的估计,计算了中国货币状况指数;并通过考察货币状况指数与经济增长间的关系,对1990年以来中国货币政策的执行效果进行了验证。结果表明,货币状况指数变化是中国货币环境“松紧”的一个良好指示器,是经济增长波动的葛兰杰原因;中央银行有必要估算并公布中国货币状况指数,以作为政府适时有效地实施宏观调控的一个参考指标,减少货币政策决策的失误。     

The employment effect of changes in the composition of fiscal consolidations

This paper assesses the magnitude and nature of fiscal consolidation policies and their impact on employment. In particular, in an attempt to address fiscal imbalances in the near term, countries have been faced with the delicate challenge of doing so without damaging recovery prospects and thus, counter to their original aim, worsening further public finances. In this regard, the paper reviews recent austerity measures adopted by governments and discusses how prolonging fiscal consolidation measures in their current form could be counterproductive for guaranteeing debt sustainability. Moreover, the article shows how poorly designed fiscal cuts – directly or indirectly affecting labour – seem to have been dampening job prospects. The paper sheds light on how fiscal and employment goals can be achieved together. More specifically, it finds that a fiscally-neutral change in the expenditure and revenue composition of fiscal consolidation can boost job creation. In this sense, the paper shows that it is imperative to find the right policy mix and recommends countries to be mindful of the nature and pace of consolidation.