GRANT EQUIVALENT EXPENDITURE ON INDUSTRIAL SUBSIDIES IN THE POST-WAR UNITED KINGDOM

ABSTRACT The paper constructs a consistent series for UK central government expenditure on industrial subsidies over the post-war period, valuing incentives in grant equivalent terms from the position of a firm undertaking investment appraisal. The analysis includes direct subsidy payments, as well as tax allowances, and provides a disaggregation between those subsidies available on a national, regional and sectoral or firm specific basis. A time-series analysis of the assembled data shows important differences between these components, with regional assistance performing a long-run distributive role, while other elements perform a stabilisation function. The short-run patterns are broadly constant across governments, but the long-run relationships exhibit structural breaks related to both political and economic events.     

PRODUCTIVE GOVERNMENT EXPENDITURE AND ECONOMIC GROWTH

Abstract.  We provide a comprehensive survey of the recent literature on the link between productive government expenditure and economic growth. We show that an understanding of the core results and the ensuing contributions can be gained from the study of their respective Euler equations. We argue that the existing literature incorporates many relevant aspects; however, policy recommendations tend to hinge on several knife-edge assumptions. Therefore, future research ought to focus more on idea-based endogenous growth models to check the robustness of policy recommendations. Moreover, the inclusion of hitherto unexplored types of government expenditure, e.g. on the 'rule of law', would be desirable.     

INTRAHOUSEHOLD INEQUALITY AT DIFFERENT WELFARE LEVELS: ENERGY INTAKE AND ENERGY EXPENDITURE DATA FROM THE PHILIPPINES*

ABSTRACTS This paper investigates the relationship between intrahousehold inequality and levels of household welfare. Under certain conditions it is demonstrated — with both the unitary model of the household and with some collective models — that the relationship between household welfare and inequality within the household can have an inverted u-shape. Using two sets of calorie adequacy data from a sample of 455 households in the Philippines, a spline analysis is used to test the hypothesis that inequality within the household first increases and then decreases as per capita household total expenditure increases. The two sets of calorie adequacy data are based on repeated 24- hour recalls of dietary intake, and on calorie requirements that are unadjusted and then adjusted for individual activity patterns. Results indicate that once activity patterns are accounted for, calorie intake shortfalls are borne fairly equally within the household at all per capita household total expenditure levels.     

MAXIMUM-LIKELIHOOD ESTIMATES OF A US MULTIREGIONAL HOUSEHOLD EXPENDITURE SYSTEM

This paper applies the maximum-likelihood equation to a model that produces US regional household expenditure estimates using national-level data on average expenditures by type of household and regional data on the number of households by type. Empirical results follow the analytical properties of the model and demonstrate an impressive capacity to recover regional statistics. These findings are useful in applied regional studies since they demonstrate a general framework to assess the input data and the overall estimation model.     

PUBLIC EXPENDITURE CUTS AND JOB LOSS: A UNION RESPONSE

This article is based upon the findings of a survey which was directed at assessing the response of a public sector union to job loss amongst its members. The study was prompted by the anticipated effects on the union of cuts in public expenditure announced by Mrs. Thatcher's Government in 1979 and 1980. The purpose of the survey was, first, to investigate the processes through which job loss occurred and, secondly, to examine the ways in which the union contested those managerial decisions that affected the job security of its members. The main conclusion of the paper is that union resistance has been relatively sparse and it is suggested that this may be in part explained by the way in which job loss occurred. Of particular importance in this context is the loss of jobs through what we have called ‘job erosion’.     

ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES TO MODELLING ZERO EXPENDITURE: AN APPLICATION TO SPANISH DEMAND FOR TOBACCO*

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to emphasise the importance of double-hurdle models in the estimation of tobacco demand equations. Using data from the Spanish Family Expenditure Survey (EPF), Tobit, P-Tobit and first hurdle dominance models are shown to be restrictive. This dataset also confirms the existence of separate individual decisions on participation and consumption. We propose to estimate a dependent version of a double-hurdle model, although independence is not restrictive once additional powers of total expenditure are included in the specification of the second hurdle. Several misspecification tests are also conducted among the different models.     

CGE EVALUATION OF A UNIVERSITY'S EFFECTS ON A REGIONAL ECONOMY: AN INTEGRATED ASSESSMENT OF EXPENDITURE AND KNOWLEDGE IMPACTS

In recent years many universities have commissioned studies of the effects of their institutions on their local economies. Typically, these impact studies have concentrated on the demand-side stimuli to the regional economy that the university generates. Normally, the studies are undertaken with comparative-static input-output models. The present study employs a dynamic multiregional computable general equilibrium model to investigate supply-side as well as demand-side effects. There are a range of supply-side effects that have been investigated in the spatial econometrics literature. The supply-side impacts of the university that we examine in particular are a rise in the average skill level of the local workforce, and successful R&D outcomes. CGE modelling allows simulation of the associated productivity effects, while the dynamic features of the model allow for consequent effects on a region's population and capital stock growth rates to be taken into account.