BUILDING AN EFFECTIVE TRADE PRACTICES COMMISSION: THE ROLE OF PROFESSOR ROBERT BAXT, AO

Bob Baxt, the third chairman of the Trade Practices Commission, served for a single three-year term from 1988 to 1991. He followed Bob McComas, who had deliberately adopted a non-litigious approach to preserving the competitive process. Baxt was far more proactive and sought to push the frontiers of investigation and precedent, and perhaps, more significantly, to influence opinion about the need to expand the coverage of the Trade Practices Act. This article examines Baxt's role in teaching his interdisciplinary Trade Practices Workshops, the political context of his tenure, and his handling of the Queensland Wire case.     

PROFESSOR REEKIE AND MARKETS: HEALTH CARE AND HIGHER EDUCATION

In this intriguing book Duncan Reekie goes to the very basis of the economic order. ¹ He discusses the views of the ancient Greek and later writers, and in doing so, moves outside the confines of modern economic analysis. One is reminded of what Schumpeter once wrote: the economist pursues the study of cause and effect until he finds the causal role of a variable to be non-economic. We must then "give place to other disciplines". ² Reekie's analysis reverses the order: it starts with the very general concept of the Natural Law in the works of ancient Greek and many subsequent writers, and then shows how they addressed questions that are still relevant today: questions on property and individual freedom.     

阳光下、草地上的高尔夫之旅

高尔夫球场可用“风景如画”四个字来概括,它大部分是运用自然起伏的地形所规划出来的。位于中国东部沿海的山东有着优势的地质地貌和自然风光,阳光充沛、空气清新、绿色植被覆盖面大都给山东创造了良好的天时和地利,高尔夫运动因此在山东得以迅猛崛起,成为新兴的时尚休闲方式。韩国现在有500多万人喜欢打高尔夫球,今年71岁的韩国观光协会中央会会长郑云,每周至少打两个下午。现在韩国国内有200多个球场,平均每个球场要接待2万多人,早已不能满足需要。而且一场球打下来,非会员要消费25万韩元,约合人民币2400元,是个不折不扣的高消费活动。山东的青岛、烟台、威海等地这几年建成一批球场后,有条件的韩国人宁愿坐飞机到那里去打高尔夫。每年都有大批韩国游客登陆青烟威,享受他们的高尔夫之旅。     

MIGRATION,LABOR MARKET FLEXIBILITY,AND WAGE DETERMINATION IN CHINA: A REVIEW

This paper reviews economic studies on rural‐urban migration issues in China. The paper focuses on four issues: the household registration system in China, the profile of the migrants, explanations for rural‐to‐urban migration, and the interaction between migration and labor market evolution, with special reference to labor market segregation, labor market flexibility, and wage differentials. The paper concludes with suggestions for further research topics.     

DETERMINISTIC, STOCHASTIC, AND SEGMENTED TRENDS IN AGGREGATE OUTPUT: A CROSS-COUNTRY ANALYSIS

This paper examines whether output per capita in 126 countriesis better described as trend or difference stationary, usingappropriate finite-sample critical values. Depending upon whetherone uses solely a test with a trend stationary null, or solelyone with a difference stationary null, very different conclusionsare obtained. This outcome suggests that it is useful to considerthe tests complementary, rather than competing. We find thatwhen a definite characterization of GDP can be made, it is verylikely to indicate a difference stationary process. However,the likelihood of making definite conclusions does vary positivelywith both income level and data quality.     

TAX REFORMS IN EAST ASIAN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: Motivations, directions, and implications

This first presents an overview of the level and structure of taxation in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand. It then briefly reviews the available literature on tax reform, country by country. It finally gives a comparative analysis, focusing primarily on tax mix and tax structure, and the importance attached to tax administration.