Keep up with the winners: Experimental evidence on risk taking,asset integration,and peer effects

The paper reports the result of an experimental game on asset integration and risk taking. We find some evidence that winnings in earlier rounds affect risk taking in subsequent rounds, but no evidence that real life wealth outside the experiment affects risk taking. Controlling for past winnings, participants receiving a low endowment in a round engage in more risk taking. We test a ‘keeping-up-with-the-Joneses’ hypothesis and find that subjects seek to keep up with winners, though not necessarily with average earnings. Overall, the evidence suggests that risk taking tracks a reference point affected by social comparisons.     

与改革开放的时代同行——读刘诗白《体制转型论》

最近,由三联书店出版社出版的马克思主义经济学家刘诗白教授的<体制转型论>一书,真实的记录了1978年改革开放以来30年问我国经济体制改革的最重大的理论与实践问题,集中体现了刘诗白教授长期坚持以马克思主义基本理论研究当代实际问题的学术风格.综观全书,刘诗白教授理论研究的特点鲜明地体现在三个方面:一是全方位探讨经济体制改革;二是立足实践,立足国情;三是理论观点有说服力.对社会主义市场经济的论述是本书的一个重要内容.刘诗白教授最早提出了要发展社会主义商品经济与利用市场,全面论述了社会主义市场经济的概念,深刻论证了市场经济与公有制的"兼容"问题,坚持在改革的大方向上不能动摇.     

对社会主义本质的认识要与时俱进

十一届三中全会以来 ,我党对社会主义本质的认识 ,是一个随着我国改革开放的实践不断发展和创新的过程 ,也就是与时俱进的过程。邓小平的社会主义本质论是对马克思科学社会主义理论的与时俱进 ;第三代领导集体对社会主义本质论有许多深刻的阐发 ;“三个代表”重要思想是社会主义本质论的与时俱进。     

与时俱进才能保持党的先进性

江泽民同志在党的十六大报告中指出:贯彻“三个代表”要求,关键在于与时俱进,核心在于坚持党的先进性,本质在于坚持执政为民。什么是党的先进性?十六大提出,党的先进性是具体的、历史的。所谓具体的,就是说先进性必须放到推动当代中国先进生产力和先进文化的发展中去考察,放到维护和实现最广大人民根本利益的奋斗中去考察,归根到底要看党在推动历史前进中的作用。所谓历史的,就是说一个时代有一个时代的主题,党的先进性就体现在能够及时适应不同时代的要求,解决时代课题,肩负起历史的使命。革命战争年代,时代的主题是推翻三座大山,共产党员…     

理论联系实际也要与时俱进

大力弘扬理论联系实际的马克思主义学风,是我们党的优良传统,是党的十五届六中全会提出的改进学风的基本要求。坚持理论联系实际,就是要反对教条主义、本本主义,坚持一切从实际出发,解放思想,实事求是,与时俱进。坚持理论联系实际与时俱进,首先要看到教条主义的新表现     

创建中国特色发展经济学

人口最多国家、发展中国家、经济转型国家、社会主义国家等四大基本国情特征决定中国在发展过程中会碰到许多特殊问题;西方发展经济学最主要的不足是不完全适合中国国情,落后于中国经济发展的实践,不能很好说明和解决中国经济发展中的问题;中国在改革开放中不断创新经济发展理论,全面充实和发展了发展经济学;中国是经济学最肥沃的土壤,应该而且必将成为发展经济学研究的重要基地;中国特色发展经济学是以中国经济发展为主要研究对象的发展经济学,具有中国内容、特点、风格、气派。     

与时俱进是中国共产党的优良作风

与时俱进作为中国共产党的优良作风 ,既是由中国工人阶级政党的阶级特质决定的 ,也是由党的马克思主义理论特性决定的。在长期革命和建设实践中 ,中国共产党坚持与时俱进 ,形成了自己的优良作风。党的第三代领导集体关于与时俱进思想的理论概括 ,对全党保持和发扬与时俱进的优良作风具有重要的指导作用。     

Relative backwardness and technology catching up with scale effects

Controlling for capital accumulation from per capita income growth, this paper shows robust scale effects on total factor productivity growth. The estimated speeds of technology catching up are around 2 percent per year. In addition, the empirical analysis confirms the catching up theory, in which the initial relative backwardness and policy variables conducive to technology adoption are statistically significant. RID="*" ID="*" This is a revised part of Ph.D. thesis at Stanford University. I would like to thank the committee members, Charles I. Jones, Anne O. Krueger, and Paul Romer as well as Ronald Findlay, Ronald I. Mckinnon, Yasuyuki Sawada, Robert Sinclair, a referee and seminar participants at Stanford University, the Pacific Rim Allied Economic Organizations Conference, the East Asian Economic Association Conference, and the 8th World Congress.     

Endogenous fertility and growth in a model with old age support

Summary. This paper examines the interrelationship between capital accumulation, fertility, and growth by introducing an endogenous fertility decision into Diamond's (1965) neoclassical growth model. Under the assumptions that children provide old age support and that individuals incur a variable time cost of raising children, it investigates the potential for cyclical fluctuations in the capital-labor ratio and fertility, as well as for development trap phenomena to be observed. It is shown that when capital and labor are highly substitutable in production, there is a unique steady state equilibrium, and either damped or undamped oscillations in fertility and the capital-labor ratio may occur. However, when the elasticity of substitution between capital and labor is less than one, two steady state equilibria may exist; one with a high capital-labor ratio and a high rate of population growth, and the other with a lower capital-labor ratio as well as a lower population growth rate. The former is a saddle, while the latter may be either a source or a sink. In the latter case development traps are possible. Received: June 16, 1997; revised version: December 18, 1997