Alternative econometric approaches for studying the link between economic systems and economic outcomes

Econometric studies on the link between economic systems and economic outcomes have relied on two approaches. In the forecasting approach an estimated relationship for Western countries is used to generate hypothetical outcomes for Eastern countries, which are then compared to actual outcomes. In the dummy-variable approach a single relationship is estimated for Eastern and Western countries, using dummy variables to test for differences in Eastern and Western performance. The forecasting approach is shown as flawed; a more complete version of the dummy-variable approach is shown as far superior. A study of energy consumption in some Eastern and Western countries illustrates these approaches.     

Policy perspectives on economic investment in professional nursing education

Costs of nursing education and practice, usually seen as separate spheres, are in fact interrelated. This article describes cost models and policy implications for their use, nursing education costs to universities and students, and benefits and costs to clinical service agencies.     

Topology of economic systems

An economic topology can have many uses to the academician, student and practitioner. Refining a topology of economic systems helps to bring together seemingly disparate characteristics and to point out potential long run trends. The progression of economic systems over time and also brief explanations of each system are given. We argue that most modem economic systems have some remnants of earlier forms, that is, most economies today are some mixture of what might be considered pure systems. Measurable characteristics to identify a particular system are developed that allows progress to or from a particular classification to be charted for individual countries.     

Gaming-simulation of the functioning of economic systems

This article attempts to provide a structure-functional analysis of economic activity and propositions based on this analysis about applications of gaming-simulation for an institutionalist study of the functioning of economic systems. Modern institutionalism in contrast to neoclassical economics, which is to a great extent mathematicized, does not actually use any quantitative methods and models. Simulation games represent such models that can be designed and promote the implementation of research in the spirit of neoinstitutional economics. In this sense, gaming-simulation may be considered as institutional modeling. In this work we shall, first be concerned with a ‘static’ structure of economic activity deriving from the three-level scheme by Parsons. Next, a ‘dynamic’ structure of economic activity will be analyzed in terms of the concept of limited rationality by Simon. In the final section, we characterize the methods of reflection of different components of economic systems in gaming simulation models, as well as ways of implementing the research on such models.     

经济转轨进程中的政府治理:几个理论视角

制度之间具有互补性,市场化改革要求政府治理进行相应的改革.本文总结了几个决定政府治理性质的理论视角:政治经济纵向一体化的视角、公共选择理论的视角和市场结构理论的视角,更根本地,我们可以从人力资源配置的视角来看待一个社会政府治理的性质及其变革.对人力资本的重视是关于政府治理变迁理论的最新进展.     

Alternative targets and economic efficiency of selecting protected areas for biodiversity conservation in boreal forest

We examine the relative merits of alternative forest biodiversity targets, which give different weights to species according to their conservation status and abundance. A site selection framework is used for choosing the habitat-protection strategy that maximizes biodiversity subject to an upper bound on funding with six alternative conservation goals. By using Finnish data on old-growth forests, we found that alternative conservation goals yield different benefit-cost tradeoffs. Goals relying on complementarity between protected stands result in great marginal costs at a high conservation level. Therefore, under these conditions it may not be economically efficient to establish a large conservation network to protect all species in a given area. In contrast, a large conservation network is more likely to be justified when the habitat-protection strategy focuses on species abundance. The trade-offs between alternative objectives are explicitly measured by incrementally varying the weights given to the species. We found that the targets for all species representation and species abundance can largely be met simultaneously. Protecting red-listed species reduces overall species coverage and species abundance particularly at low budget levels.     

On the optimality of limit cycles in dynamic economic systems

The purpose of this paper is to derive conditions for the optimality of a limit cycle in a dynamic economic system and to interpret them economically. A fairly general two-state continuous-time nonlinear optimal control problem is considered. It turns out that for this class of models three different economic mechanisms can be identified as the possible source of limit cycles. One relates to an intertemporal substitution effect expressed in terms of complementarity over time, the second one is a dominating cross effect between the state variables of the system (i.e., the capital stocks in our model), and the third one is positive growth at the equilibrium.We acknowledge the helpful comments by William A. Brock, Gerhard Sorger, Franz Wirl, and two anonymous referees. The research was partly supported by the Austrian Science Foundation under contract No. P6601.     

The convergence of economic systems and the M-form

This paper draws together two areas of economic theory: Williamson's transactional analysis of the capitalist corporation, and the role of technology in comparative economic systems. It considers the M-form as an organizational innovation under capitalism, central planning and self-management, and comes to the conclusion that this new technology does not seem to have promoted the convergence of economic systems. Rather, the M-form's experience suggests that new technology has an impact consistent with Ambivalence theory, which sees new technologies as being adapted to suit the status quo.     

Modeling economic and agro-environmental dynamics of potato production systems

Crop rotation and other input management practices are of particular interest for their potential impacts on economic and agro-environmental components of potato production. Although crop yield and experimental impacts of rotations of grains, oilseed and legume crops have been published for several experimental studies in Canada there are few models related to the economic and environmental dynamics of potato production. We describe a dynamic model which integrates environmental and economic processes in potato production. The potato rotation model consists of interconnected modules of irrigation and precipitation, soil characteristics, soil erosion, soil water, phosphorus, nitrogen, soil organic matter, farming operations, crop yield and the related calculation of economic return. While not all aspects of crop production have been interlinked, including nitrogen carry-over, this model is the first step in the analysis of experimental data for irrigated potato rotations conducted in southern Manitoba.      

Some sensitivity aspects of optimal control calculations for economic systems

In this paper we consider the problem of minimizing a quadratic welfare cost function constrained by a linear macro-econometric model. First we formulate the optimal control problem in a suitable form and specify the solution. Then we consider the sensitivity of the optimal control to changes in the targets and the weights of the welfare cost function. It is shown that the targets should not be selected without reference to the selection of the weights. Next, some simulation experiments, comparing open-loop versus closed-loop controls, are briefly reported on. The effects of changes in the lag structure are also mentioned.     

The concept of maturity and the transformation of economic systems

In economics, ‘maturity’ essentially means that an economic system (or part of a system) is ripe to be transformed into something else or heading towards decline. In Josef Steindl's economic thinking the concept of maturity, by which he means a stage of development where the economy becomes unable to fully realize its output potential, occupies a central place. Whereas for Steindl the main causes of such maturity are endogenous, other economists such as Schumpeter, Sombart, Hilferding, Keynes, and Hansen consider stagnation to be caused primarily by exogenous factors. Various concepts and causes of maturity are compared. Contrary to expectations based on these concepts, economic development after the Great Depression has not been characterized by stagnation or transition to planned economy. Instead, the dynamics of innovation were strong enough to prevent the economy from becoming ‘mature’. It appears that the actual course of events can be better explained within Steindl's concept of maturity.     

Economic theory and comparative economic systems: A partial literature survey

This paper surveys the more abstract literature on the newly developing theory of economic systems. Works from both pure economic theory and comparative economics are discussed. The principal thesis is that, while these two literatures have developed rather independently, they share an amazingly similar framework. What is emerging is a full-fledged theory of economic systems. Emphasis is placed on the three component structures of economic systems—the information, decision-making, and incentive structures–and the normative evaluation of economic systems. J. Comp. Econ., Dec. 1978, 2(4), pp. 355–381. Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan. Journal of Economic Literature Classification Numbers: 024,053.     

A comparison of alternative incentive structures for centrally planned economic systems

This paper addresses the problem of incentive compatibility in a centrally planned economy with a stochastic environment. A relatively decentralized planning procedure is analyzed in which the planner allocates certain scarce resources and enterprise managers make all other decisions. It is found that the New Soviet Incentive Model loses its desirable incentive properties when resource allocation is introduced. However, the traditional Soviet quota-bonus reward schemes can be modified to achieve incentive compatibility. The requisite modification consists in a specific formula for quota setting and in deletion of the lump-sum bonus for quota fulfillment.     

Comparative responses to the energy crisis in different economic systems: An extensive analysis

In this paper we present an extensive analysis of the responses of different economic systems to the quadrupling of the world price of crude oil since October 1973. The results of government energy policies are determined by comparing the actual responses to the energy crisis in each country with those that would have occurred given market-clearing actions on the part of suppliers and demanders. The analysis indicates that the responses to the energy crisis were affected less by the type of economic system than by the magnitude of domestic crude-oil productive capacity.     

On the asymptotic local stability of autonomous economic systems with nonnegativity conditions

A system of differential equations with nonnegativity conditions—a system of the type used to model price adjustment processes—is proved to be asymptotically locally stable if a subsystem without the nonnegativity conditions is asymptotically locally stable, provided a simple (mathematical) condition prevails.