Economic Integration and Union Power

The standard utility-maximizing model of the trade union in a closed economy is reformulated for an environment where economic integration is under way or expected to occur soon. In the (European) realistic setting of union-dominated labor markets, domestic wages are shown to be affected by labor market developments abroad. This article provides an explanation of the international transmission of inflation and disinflation     

“新土改”激荡经济变革

美国金融海啸让全球股市急速下跌,国际大宗商品价格全部回软,全球经济前景飘忽不定,对整个世界及中国经济的影响不可低估.在这样的经济环境下,中国经济如何才能独善其身,较快走出美国金融海啸影响的阴影,将成为中央政府最为关注的大问题.     

欧盟蔬菜市场与中国欧盟蔬菜贸易分析

中国是世界上最大的蔬菜生产国,欧盟是最大的蔬菜贸易区域.两者间蔬菜贸易发展迅速.本文运用显示性比较优势指数、贸易强度指数、产业内贸易指数和出口产品相似度指数等分析了中国与欧盟蔬菜贸易的互补性和竞争性.研究结果表明中国与欧盟在主要蔬菜出口市场上的竞争性不强,双边蔬菜贸易存在单向的互补性.中国应加强与欧盟在农业领域的合作以获得更多贸易以外的利益.     

Technological diffusion and the Union blockade

This paper answers the following question. If returns from smuggling cotton and contraband through the blockade of Confederate ports during the American Civil War were significantly lower than earnings from alternative investments, why did private firms so quickly adopt costly purpose-built steam ships in the face of the strengthening Northern blockade? First, we note that the rate of diffusion of steam ships, specially designed to run the blockade significantly exceeded any reported for innovations from the late 19th or early 20th century. Second, we correct an error in Stanley Lebergott's (1981) seminal work and conclude that that returns to infamous steamer, the Banshee (I) of 700% to be quite plausible. This finding of high returns is confirmed by two other historical sources, which have not been previously used. Additionally, we calculate that investors in the one of the leading blockade running firms, known as the Bee Company, earned in excess of 86% return on their investment, over double the profits previously reported. Finally, we demonstrate that adoption of purpose-built ships, significantly decreased the arrival rate of capture, thus increasing expected profits.     

A nash equilibrium model of campaign spending

Conclusion This paper has presented a Nash equilibrium model of campaign spending. The equilibrium is always stable and it possesses sensible comparative static properties. Spending in equilibrium depends on the scale parameter of the vote-share production function and on the intensities of preference for marginal vote share by the two candidates. Thus, campaigns which turn into spending wars are characterized by large values of both candidates' intensities of preference for vote share.     

Explaining rising regionalism and failing multilateralism: consensus decision-making and expanding WTO membership

The beleaguered progress of the Doha Development Agenda of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) presents something of a puzzle for economic theory: if multilateralism is an effective forum for liberalisation (as it has been in the past), then why have the current round of talks faltered amid the proliferation of preferential trade agreements (PTAs)? This paper builds a ‘hub and spoke’ version of the Maggi (Am Econ Rev 89(1):190–213, 1999) model of trade negotiations to shows that the combination of the WTO single-undertaking and consensus decision-making principles with an expanded and more diverse membership can render multilateralism less desirable for hub countries than bilateralism. It is argued that these principles give spoke countries de facto veto power meaning that their threat point during WTO negotiations is a reversion to PTA negotiations between all parties. Accordingly, spoke countries with relatively less to gain from the WTO can use their veto power to extract gains from those that would benefit substantially. If an expanding WTO membership has increased the number of such countries, then the benefits of multilateralism versus regionalism from the perspective of hub counties may have been diminished to such an extent that they are no longer willing to wait for the conclusion of the Doha round before engaging in PTA negotiations.     

Macroeconomic impacts of European union membership of central and eastern European economies

This paper examines the impact of an eastern enlargement of the European Union. This is modeled as an increase in total factor productivity and a decrease in the risk premium for the central and eastern European countries (CEECs). In particular, a multicountry model of the world economy is used to assess the direct effects and spillovers of these changes. Inflation targeting for the euro zone by the European Central Bank and alternative scenarios with respect to fiscal policy behavior in the CEECs are considered. According to these simulations, productivity effects are stronger than risk premium effects, and spillovers are small.     

Campaign contributions from corporate PACs

Conclusion This paper provides a theoretical model of the optimal level of campaign contributions by business firms. The model shows that market structure variables are key determinants of the level of campaign contributions. Furthermore, the empirical results support the model's assertion that a reduction in government involvement in an industry could substantially decrease the level of campaign contributions from firms in that industry. Also, reductions in industry concentration through antitrust enforcement could, in fact, increase the level of campaign contributions. This research was funded, in part, by a Villanova University Summer Research Grant. All errors and omissions are the authors.     

乡镇工会在辖区企业工会建设中的作用研究

我国乡镇工会随着乡镇企业的出现而建立,随着乡镇经济的壮大而发展。乡镇工会与辖区企业工会存在着紧密关系,研究乡镇工会在辖区企业工会建设中的作用,改善乡镇工会的工作环境,是我国工会现实而紧迫的重大课题。     

走进东盟 互惠互利

东盟国家地处东南亚,是我国友好邻邦,与中国有着传统的友好往来。自上世纪90年代中叶以来,中国与东盟各国在政治、经济、贸易、科技、文化等领域合作发展迅速,发展中国与东盟的友好关系,至少有以下意义:1.从政治层面看,体现了中国“与邻为善、以邻为伴”的周边外交方针。有助于     

Monetary Union and the Interest-Exchange Rate Trade-off

By using a multi-country simulation model this paper analyzes the qualitative effects of joining a monetary union. The transition to EMU (European Monetary Union) is shown to produce interest and exchange rate changes with substantial and countervailing effects on the real economy which can be traced through the model. Observable anticipation effects in the wake of the EMU are substantiated; and some policy recommendations for joining any monetary union are derived. It is also shown that fixing conversion rates at last-day market rates produces a unique outcome and not exchange rate indeterminacy as argued by De Grauwe (1997), Obstfeld (1998), and others.     

An analysis of PAC contributions and legislator quality

This paper empirically examines the influence of three legislator attributes on political action committee campaign contributions. In particular, the study investigates the roles that committee assignment, committee leadership, and majority party membership play on campaign contributions from political action committee representing firms from the four well-defined industries of aerospace, airline, automobile, and oil. The empirical results indicate that committee leadership is a key variable that drives contributions. However, membership on a seemingly relevant committee does not appear to carry as much weight. Furthermore, majority party membership appears to have a significant influence over the level of contributions. These patterns appear to be consistent over the eight election cycles studied.This paper was presented at the International Atlantic Economic Conference, Philadelphia, PA, October 9–12, 1997. The author wishes to thank Steve Goldman, Omar Azfar, and Beck Taylor for their helpful comments. This paper also greatly benefitted from comments by Jack Barron, Jim Moore, and an anonymous referee. The author is responsible for any remaining errors.