On the causes of the changes in income shares: Some reflections in the light the United States experience

The last 30 years have witnessed a dramatic change in the distribution of income, with the wage share falling in all major industrialized countries. Main-stream analyses, including New Keynesian ones, which retain the notion of factor substitution leading to a “factor intensity” inversely related to its rate of return, have encountered some difficulties in the interpretation of this change. Nonmainstream approaches present an advantage in the explanation of the phenomenon, consisting in the fact that they entail no a priori connections between the changes in distribution and the changes factor proportions. Hence if a change in institutions or in the bargaining strength of the parties affects distribution, income shares may vary significantly (i.e., changes in wages need not be accompanied by changes in labor to output ratio in the opposite direction as in mainstream analyses). Yet empirical observation may question also some of the analyses that have been advanced outside the mainstream. The article will explore the ways in which nonmainstream approaches have interpreted the described changes in distribution, and assess them from an analytical viewpoint and with reference to U.S. data. The purpose is that of pointing at some open questions and problems.     

Investigating the distribution of personal income obtained from the recent U.S. data

This study considered the conservation of money in a closed economic system. In such system, the probability distribution of money is exponential, and similar to the Boltzmann-Gibbs function in a closed energy system. The theoretical concept of econophysics is compared here with empirical data. The current work analyzes the recent data with regard to personal income distribution obtained from United States Census Bureau for the years 2006, 2007 and 2008. The data was best fitted with the exponential function, which supports the theoretical assumption for the income of the majority of the population. This study also investigates this distribution for a population with high personal income.     

发达国家食品安全监管体系及对中国的启示

一些发达国家或地区为了加强食品安全管理,建有食品安全预警机制、明确的监控机制、迅速有力的应急机制、全面配套的法律体系、科学健全的标准体系、严格及时的食品追溯与召回制度和食品安全的责任追究及惩罚制度。在分析美国、欧盟、加拿大、日本等发达国家食品安全监管体系的基础上,结合当前我国食品安全监管体系中存在的一些问题,提出：我国应当借鉴发达国家食品安全监管体系的成功经验,积极探索和建立一套适合中国国情的食品安全监管机制和法律制度。     

Can Empathy Explain Gender Differences in Economic Policy Views in the United States?

This paper shows that different levels of empathy of men and women explain the well-documented gender differences in interventionist government economic policy views in the United States. Using the Davis Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) to measure empathy, the study finds that more empathic people support more interventionist policies. While greater empathy leads both men and women to support more government action, there is no gender difference in the effects of empathy on policy views. When policy views are separated by area, gender differences on policies concerning poverty, inequality, and social welfare disappear once empathy is accounted for, though they persist in views on free markets.     

Inequality and growth in the United States: is there asymmetric response at the state level?

A previous study that tried to assess the impact of economic growth on income inequality in the U.S. used state-level data and an ARDL panel model to conclude that economic growth worsens income inequality in the U.S. In this article, we use the same data set but an ARDL time-series model applied to each state in the U.S. to show that the above conclusion is only valid in 20 states. Additionally, we use a nonlinear ARDL approach to show that the effects are asymmetric in the short run as well as in the long run. Significant long-run asymmetric effects reveal that in 28 states both an increase and a decrease in real output have worsened income distribution.     

美国贸易壁垒浅析

作为世界经济与贸易大国,美国在倡导贸易投资自由化、相对开放本国市场的同时,实施一整套严格的旨在保护本国企业利益的进口管理体制和相关贸易投资措施,涉及关税、非关税措施、技术性贸易壁垒、服务贸易、知识产权等诸多领域。对美国贸易壁垒的研究有助于我辩证地把握全球化趋势,应对加入世界贸易组织的挑战,扩大机遇。     

The Role of Governments in Aligning Functional Income Distribution with Full Employment

Demand is an incentive for investment. The latter is necessary to create employment. If demand lags behind supply, then unemployment and underemployment rise. Persistent unemployment and underemployment indicate a dysfunctional price mechanism. Then, only governments can stimulate demand. They may equalize ex ante saving and investment by public investment, income redistribution, or market regulation.     

Antimerger policy in the United States: History and lessons

This paper reviews the history of US antimerger policy. This history is divided into three periods: a period in which there was almost no effective antimerger policy at all from 1890 up to 1959, a period of vigorous antimerger policy from 1950 up through 1973, and a period of lax enforcement from 1974 to the present. The paper accounts for these shifts in antimerger policy and discusses their effects. After reviewing the logic and consequences of US antimerger policy, a critique of its permises is offered, particularly as these premises apply to the recent era of lax enforcement. The paper closes with suggestions for an alternative approach to antimerger policy that is consistent with the empirical evidence on why mergers occur and their effects.     

2009财年美国农业部预算概况

2009财年,美国政府农业部预算为970亿美元,比2008财年增长了5．1％。营养援助和农作物保险部分的增长幅度最大,自主支配部分为210亿美元,比上年增长了1．6％;自然资源保护、研究以及农村发展预算有所减少;畜牧业、植物保护和食品安全计划预算南所增加。     

美国促进自主创新的特点和基本经验

虽然各国国情和科技发展水平存在着种种差异,推动创新的发展模式也不尽相同,但是,美国在促进自主创新方面积累了大量的经验和实践,并取得了一系列良好成效,值得我们学习借鉴。美国自主创新的特点和基本经验,主要体现在:突出科技的战略地位,私营部门是自主创新的主体,不断加强产学研等创新行为主体间的联系与合作,政府在促进自主创新过程中发挥重要作用,注重创新环境的构建等。美国的繁荣永远不会依靠低工资或低价格,而是依靠开发新产品和生成新行业,在科学发展和技术创新中充当世界引擎。     

中、美政府在物流发展中的作用比较

从20世纪90年代开始,物流受到中国政府的高度重视,尤其是进入21世纪以来,中国政府出台了一系列的政策法规来促进中国物流的发展,对物流产业起到了积极的推动作用。但是,学习和借鉴美国政府在物流发展中的经验可使我们取长补短,实现跨越式发展。     

美国《第三次气候变化国家评估报告》解读及其启示

2014年5月,美国发布《第三次气候变化国家评估报告》,报告内容包括美国的气候变化事实,气候变化对水资源、农业、林业、能源、交通等主要经济部门的影响,气候变化对美国十大区域的影响,以及美国应对气候变化的战略等四大部分。该报告是美国迄今最全面、权威和透明的气候变化评估报告。通过对报告的内容、发布背景及特点进行介绍和分析,从我国国内气候变化科学研究、基于风险的气候变化决策、加强气候变化科普宣传以及中美气候变化合作等方面,提出了相关政策建议。     

美国消费者权益保护刍论

美国是世界上消费者权益保护思想萌发最早、消费者权益保护措施及实践最为完备的国家,对美国消费者权益保护机构、消费者权益保护立法、物价控制、消费争议解决方式、消费者权益保护特色进行探析,对我国消费者权益保护的进一步完善将具有重要的借鉴意义。     

充电式混合动力汽车成为美国汽车业研发重点

本文分析了美国能源部近年来汽车领域的研发动态,指出充电式混合动力汽车已成为未来汽车业的发展方向。美国政府通过与企业建立合作伙伴关系,形成创新激励机制,推动企业解决PHEV产业化的瓶颈技术。本文探讨了这些瓶颈技术及其主要研发企业,随着这些问题的解决,PHEV有望在2016年实现产业化。     

向空间要能源——空间太阳能离我们多远

伴随着全球能源与环境以及气候变化的问题日益突出,空间太阳能重新引起美国等国家的兴趣。本文简要分析了空间太阳能的意义和可行性、美国空间太阳能的预研情况以及空间太阳能的前景。