Introduction to financial frictions and debt constraints

This is an introduction to the special section on financial frictions and debt constraints.     

Computing equilibria of GEI by relocalization on a Grassmann manifold

An algorithm is described to compute equilibria of the general economic model with incomplete asset markets, that is, of GEI. The algorithm is based on the existence of a route of zeros of a homotopy whose domain includes the price simplex and a Grassmann Manifold. This route is followed, in effect, by localizing and following diffeomorphic pieces in Euclidean space, and by relocalizing as is necessary.     

资产泡沫与经济增长之间关系的实证研究

将资产泡沫分为生产性资产泡沫和非生产性资产泡沫,前者是促进经济增长的,而后者是抑制经济增长的。在现实中,生产性资产泡沫表现为股市泡沫,非生产性资产泡沫表现为房地产泡沫。分别以美国和日本为例进行了实证研究,并得到了支持其结论的结果。     

A stochastic dynamic model of trade and growth: Convergence and diversification

There is a growing literature that studies the properties of models that combine international trade and neoclassical growth theory, but mostly in a deterministic setting. In this paper we introduce uncertainty in a dynamic Heckscher-Ohlin model and characterize the equilibrium of a small open economy in such an environment. We show that, when trade is balanced period-by-period, the per capita output and consumption of a small open economy converge to an invariant distribution that is independent of the initial wealth. Further, at the invariant distribution, there are periods in which the small economy diversifies. Numerical simulations show that the speed of convergence increases with the size of the shocks. In the limit, when there is no uncertainty, there is no convergence and countries may specialize permanently. The paper highlights the role of market incompleteness, as a result of the period-by-period trade balance, in this setup. Through an analytical example we also illustrate the importance of country specific risk in delivering our results.     

Financial Markets, Development and Economic Growth: Tales of Informational Asymmetries

Abstract.  The development of financial systems is very often characterised by the development of innovative financial contracts which allow a more efficient allocation of resources and a higher level of capital productivity and economic growth. By exploiting the microeconomic theory of the optimal financial contract under asymmetric information, economists have recently managed to shed new light on the well studied issue of the relationship between financial market development and economic growth. This paper reviews the most recent progress of this literature which shows that the amount of information asymmetry in the credit market and the degree of heterogeneity between borrowers (typically firms) and lenders (typically workers or savers) determine the nature of the financial system. Differences in endowments and in the level of information distribution can give rise to very different financial contracts which affect, and in turn are affected, by capital accumulation and growth.     

The effects of age structure on economic growth: An application of probabilistic forecasting to India

During recent years there has been an increasing awareness of the explanatory power of population age structure variables in economic growth regressions. We estimate a new cross-country regression model of the effects of age structure change on economic growth. We use the new model and recent probabilistic demographic forecasts for India to derive the uncertainty of predicted economic growth rates caused by the uncertainty in demographic developments.     

The economic meaning of Data Envelopment Analysis: A ‘behavioral’ perspective

We reconsider the motivation of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), the non-parametric technique that is widely employed for analyzing productive efficiency in academia, the private sector and the public sector. We first argue that the conventional engineering motivation of DEA can be problematic since it often builds on unverifiable production axioms. We then provide a dual viewpoint and highlight the ‘behavioral’ interpretation of DEA models. We start from a specification of the production objectives while imposing minimal structure on the production possibilities, and construct tools to meaningfully quantify deviations of observed producer behavior from optimizing behavior. This brings to light the economic meaning of DEA, provides guidelines for selecting the appropriate model in practical research settings, and prepares the ground for instituting new DEA models. We also provide an empirical application that demonstrates the practical relevance of our arguments. We hope that our insights will contribute to the further dissemination of DEA, and stimulate public sector applications of DEA that build on its behavioral interpretation.     

On the path-dependence of economic growth

The cumulated growth of an economy during a period of time depends on the whole economical history during this period and not only of the situation at the beginning and at the end of the interval. However, if some constraint is made on the set of possible economies, this phenomenon of history-dependence may disappear. We give a simple necessary and sufficient condition on the constraint for this to happen, generalizing results of Samuelson–Swamy and Hulten. Our approach is different, based on differential and symplectic geometry. We also solve the same question for a subsector of the economy.     

我国城市经济增长效率与城市化效率比较分析

利用数据包络分析的曼奎斯特指数方法测算了2000-2008年我国248个城市的经济增长效率和城市化效率,比较分析了不同区域、不同等级城市的效率表现。研究发现,我国城市经济增长效率持续提高,但城市化长期处于低效率状态,严重滞后于经济增长;地级市两种效率的初始领先地位已逐渐被直辖市所取代;东部地区城市的效率表现优于其他地区,但不同等级城市之间差异较大,城市化严重滞后和轻微滞后的城市数量都比较多。认为通过合理的空间规划和产业引导,提高城市化效率、促进城市化与国民经济增长协调发展,是下一阶段城市发展要解决的关键问题。     

浅谈如何提高经济效益加快煤炭企业内部铁路运输公司的发展

企业经济效益,是企业一切经济活动的根本出发点。文中结合实际。从增加收入、降低成本、安全管理及人力资源开发四个方面简要探讨如何提高经济效益,加快煤炭企业内部铁路运输公司的发展问题。     

浅析加强企业管理对提高经济效益的作用

当今市场需求多样化,新技术不断出现,消费者的需求个巨更加明显;企业经济效益提高与利润合理分配关系方面也出现许多亟待妥善解决的矛盾。如何才能正确处理好上述矛盾和问题,确保企业生产、经营正常运行,企业经济效益不断提高,这就需要企业管理者运用智慧和实践经验,探索出一套符合本企业的管理制度,文章对此进行了分析。     

房地产:解释目前经济现象的核心线索

1998年的住房分配货币化,极大地改变了中国宏观经济的景观,作者在进行了一系列分析后指出,目前这次房地产增和不是经济发展带动的,而是相反,近年来的经济增长是房地产带动的.中国经济处在一个下降的周期里,通过制度改革启动了房地产高潮和新一轮经济的增长.     

浅析加强企业管理对提高经济效益的作用

当今市场需求多样化,新技术不断出现,消费者的需求个性更加明显;企业经济效益提高与利润合理分配关系方面也出现许多亟待妥善解决的矛盾：如何才能正确处理好上述矛盾和问题,确保企业生产、经营正常运行,企业经济效益不断提高,这就需要企业管理者运用智慧和实践经验,探索出一套符合本企业的管理制度,文章对此进行了分析。     

析双重转型时期中国城市规划制度

城市规划制度的建立和发展受到社会经济制度和文化传统的影响和制约,双重转型时期"双轨制"的过渡性制度安排和复杂的社会经济背景使城市规划制度在改革过程中也出现了一些不协调.分析了这一特殊时期城市规划制度短缺与异化的具体现象及其根源,进而提出了城市规划制度改革的努力方向.     

由库兹涅茨“倒U字”假说引发的思考

西蒙.库兹涅茨的倒U字型理论认为,发展中国家在经济起飞时期往往经历收入差距先扩大,而后随着工业化的推进而逐步缩小的过程。我国正处于全面建设小康社会、加快推进现代化建设的关键阶段。在这一关键阶段,需要坚持“效率优先、兼顾公平”的原则,通过增加国家对教育的投入,完善税收制度,建立社会保障体系等措施,促进我国经济社会的健康协调发展。     

高新技术产业对我国经济增长贡献率的测算

文章给出了我国高新技术产业对经济增长作用的数学模型,测算出了高新技术产业对我国经济增长的贡献率。     

Linking green purchasing capabilities to environmental and economic performance: The moderating role of firm size

This study identifies firms’ green purchasing capabilities, classified into operational capabilities and dynamic capabilities, and measures their effects on the environmental and economic performance of a firm. We developed instruments to measure operational green purchasing capabilities and dynamic green purchasing capabilities. This study also investigates the moderating effect of firm size on the relationship between green purchasing capabilities and firm performance. The structural equation model (SEM) is used to analyse 239 responses from Japanese manufacturing companies. The results indicate that their green purchasing capabilities positively affect environmental and economic performance. Operational capabilities and dynamic capabilities have different levels of effects on green purchasing performance. A further analysis of the moderating effect of firm size shows that the high economic performance of green purchasing relies on the level of dynamic capabilities rather than firm size.     

基于比较优势理论的中小企业成长的实现途径

文章以中小企业比较优势的理论解释和实况分析为基础,指出了中小企业目前存在的比较优势和劣势,归纳了适合中小企业成长的5种实现途径,旨在为中小企业步入良性发展轨道提供有价值的参考和指导。