THE NATURE OF COOPERATIVE VALUES AND PRINCIPLES

ABSTRACT * : Members' transaction costs decrease as a consequence of cooperative principles and cooperative values. The members' cooperative values reduce their uncertainty in relation to each other and in their relationship to the business environment. Thus, there are two categories of values: social values and sovereignty values. The cooperative principles are characteristics of the cooperative organization that aim to reduce transaction costs in the members' relationships with the cooperative. Thus we find two types of principles: business principles and society principles. Business principles state how relationships between the cooperative enterprise and the members should be designed. Society principles reduce transaction costs for members in their interactions.     

异质性企业贸易理论的起源与发展

本文旨在系统性地探究异质性企业贸易理论的起源与发展过程。首先对促使该理论诞生的实证挑战从企业的选择性出口、市场进入成本、资源再分配三个方面进行了综述;然后指出该理论发展的两条脉络和各自的理论基础,并在此基础上从平均生产率和贸易利得两个角度阐述了异质性企业贸易理论和新贸易理论之间的紧密联系,二者最大的差别便在于对边际生产成本的处理上,前者以边际成本的异质性替代企业的异质性,后者则忽略了企业之间的异质性。同时,针对国内学者的一些认识,本文也提出了自己的看法。     

SOLVING THE UNDERINVESTMENT AND DEGENERATION PROBLEMS OF WORKERS' COOPERATIVES

ABSTRACT ** : The workers' cooperative sector has been hampered by underinvestment and degeneration. To solve both problems, 'NOVARRS' are proposed, which are a new kind of tradable share. They: are NOn-voting; receive a specified fraction of Value-Added Residual (=sales – all non-labour costs); are Renewable after a specified period – the cooperative must buy back at face value if a new fraction (VARF) cannot be agreed; and carry a right to a Share of net assets on liquidation, and to information and 'voice' at general meetings. The renewal feature allows markets to reset the VARF. Reinvestment is by part-paying workers with adjustable face value NOVARRS. 'VOWVARRS' (NOVARRS with VOtes whose Weights are agreed at issue and renewal) are proposed as a transitional mechanism and to fund capital intensive firms with highly specialized physical capital.     

THE ALLOCATION OF RESOURCES TO COOPERATIVE AND NONCOOPERATIVE R&D*

The precompetitive R&D literature has viewed cooperative and noncooperative R&D as substitutes. In this paper a more realistic approach is taken, where both cooperative and noncooperative R&D are performed in parallel. In the first stage, firms determine the optimal investments in both types of R&D and in the second stage they compete in output. It is found that information sharing between cooperating firms contributes not only to cooperative R&D, but also to noncooperative R&D. The two types of R&D reinforce each other. The level of cooperative R&D may be higher or lower than noncooperative R&D. In a Cournot duopoly, the share of cooperative R&D lies between 20% and 80% of total R&D and this share increases with spillovers and information sharing. It is always optimal to subsidize half the costs of cooperative R&D, while the subsidy to noncooperative R&D is unchanged from the standard model. Consumers prefer intermediate levels of spillovers and information sharing, while firms prefer higher levels of spillovers, which entail lower levels of information sharing.     

中国经济改革的经验与启示

中国经济改革最根本的经验就是发展社会主义市场经济,社会主义基本经济制度与市场经济相结合,实现国有经济的市场化与发挥国有经济的主导作用相结合,国家的宏观调控与市场机制的基础作用相结合,提高效率与促进公平相结合,坚持独立自主同参与经济全球化相结合,坚持公共部门的公益性与利用市场运作相结合。中国经济学的建设与发展要坚持以马克思主义为指导,建设具有中国特色的经济学理论,走自主发展的道路。     

ADVANCING THE THEORY OF THE COOPERATIVE ORGANIZATION: THE COOPERATIVE AS A TRUE HYBRID

ABSTRACT: What is a cooperative? Is it a form of vertical integration, an independent organization or an intermediate form of governance between the market and the hierarchy? This paper contributes to the economic theory of the cooperative organization by examining it from a comparative economic perspective. Departing from Williamson's one‐dimensional continuum of governance structures, the paper adopts the view that governance structures exhibit multiple dimensions and true hybrids are market‐like on some of these dimensions while hierarchy‐like on others. I show that the cooperative blends market‐like attributes with hierarchy‐like mechanisms and thus should be viewed as a true hybrid rather than as an intermediate form. The paper concludes with a discussion about the usefulness of this approach and potential avenues for future research.     

FINANCE,DISTRIBUTION AND THE ECONOMIC OBJECTIVE OF FINANCIAL COOPERATIVE INSTITUTIONS

This paper proposes a model where the structure rather than the size of the financial sector explains its influence on income distribution. Because of information asymmetries, a financial sector dominated solely by profit‐maximizing financial intermediaries will increase income and wealth inequality as it gives preferential access to credit for high‐income agents, whereas a diversified inclusive financial sector with alternative models of finance, like cooperatives, will reduce the inequality gap. No full convergence in income distribution can be realized through finance only and there is still a need for redistribution policies. Accordingly, an objective function for cooperative financial institutions should define a desired pricing behaviour that can increase the income of members at a rate higher than the average growth rate of the economy.     

公共征信机构建立的供求契机及境外实践

征信机构是重要的金融基础设施。结合若干经济现象与经济理论,本文研究表明,对于原生的建立机制而言,后工业化背景下的政府干预是一国建立公共征信机构的供给因素;金融体系的银行主导型特征为需求因素;而爆发重大经济、金融问题则是建立公共征信机构的触发点。公共征信机构是否与私营征信机构并存则主要取决于二者在市场定位、功能定位上的差异程度。当前中国坚持公共征信机构为主导的征信模式有其经济上的必然性、合理性。     

关于可持续发展理论与实践的若干思考

可持续发展理论与实践的深入有赖于在四个方面的重新认识：首先，可持续发展是观念性、战略性实践性的统一；其次，可持续发展是层次性与阶段性的统一；第三，可持续发展是区域性与综合性的统一；最后， 制度变革与创新是影响可持续发展的关键因素。     

西方政治经济周期理论的演进及新进展

本文在总结西方政治经济周期理论的内涵和要素的基础上,以其中对政党动机要素的不同假设和不同结论为脉络,分析了该理论不断演进的过程。同时,该理论在解释财政赤字的原因上取得了新进展,本文也分析了这一新进展。最后,对西方政治经济周期理论进行了总结和评价。     

产业集聚的识别理论与方法研究

文章对当前国外关于产业集聚识别研究中的四种主要理论和方法———产业理解法、主成分因子分析法、多元聚类法和图论法进行了较为详细的概述,并讨论了各种方法的特点和在应用中存在的问题。