The U.S. Phillips curve: The case for asymmetry

Recent statistical rejections of convexity in the Phillips curve have been uninformative because researchers have employed measures of business cycle gaps that are inconsistent with the implications of convexity. The paper shows that identifying convexity in the Phillips curve will become even more difficult if policymakers are successful in avoiding large boom and bust cycles. To the extent that convexity in the Phillips curve is used as a rationale for stabilization policy, our findings present an interesting conundrum because successful policymakers will further weaken the empirical evidence on which such policies are based.     

The Anti-Benthamism of J. M. Keynes: Implications for The General Theory

A bstract Keynes severely criticized the "Benthamite tradition," the overvaluation of the "economic criterion" He found "the love of money" corrosive of community and esthetic values and an encouragement to reckless exploitation of places that should be in the public domain In "Art and the State," he proposes the rebuilding of large sections of modern cities to rekindle popular feelings of beauty and community values
One of the factors behind this philosophy was G E Moore's Principia Ethica (1903) It criticizes Bentham for committing "the naturalistic fallacy" of confusing means with ends and idealizes two "goods" in themselves, the pleasure of human relations and the enjoyment of beauty in nature and art These ideals Keynes saw undermined by the Benthamite tradition
Such criticism is the "moral-political paradigm" on which The General Theory is erected Minute calculation of advantages and disadvantages, on which classical economics is based, is rejected Behind consumption and investment functions are sociological and psychological factors, "animal spirits," and the like Calculation prevails in the stock and bond markets ( liquidity preference )–to everybody's sorrow The proposed slow elimination of institutions that make liquidity preference possible, and of the rentier , follow logically Econometrics , viewed as the tool of the overvaluation of the economic criterion, is also rejected. In many articles Keynes aimed at much more than revolutionizing political economy , he aimed at weaning England from Benthamite utilitarianism and raising the cultural values of the populace By 1938 he knew that he had failed.     

The Cost of the C.A.F

Membership of the Common Market has raise the costs of some food to almost 5 times as much as comparable world prices. Why should the British housewife or taxpayer continue to subsidise inefficient continental farmers?     

Recent PH.D. Theses in The Netherlands

Statistica Neerlandica has decided to encourage the reporting on theses in probability, statistics, biometrics, econometrics and operations research, submitted to Dutch universities. The main purpose of this section is to inform the reader briefly of the nature, the practical and theoretical importance, the methods used and the results presented in recent theses. It is understood that contributions to this section meet with the approval of the supervisor(s) of the thesis.     

Recent Ph.D. Theses In The Netherlands

Statistica Neerlandica has decided to encourage the reporting on theses in probability, statistics, biometrics, econometrics and operations research, submitted to Dutch universities. The main purpose of this section is to inform the reader briefly of the nature, the practical and theoretical impostance, the methods used and the results presented in recent theses. It is understood that contributions to this section meet with the approval of the supervisor(s) of the thesis.     

The geographical efficiency of education and research: The ranking of U.S. universities

This paper proposes to study the American efficiency of educational diffusion and research productivity following two distinctions: urban vs. rural areas and public vs. private universities. Following this geographical consideration, knowledge diffusion seems to be homogeneous over the American territory, whereas research productivity is more heterogeneous: American research efficiency decreased of 7% points, due to some rural university localizations. Universities in urban areas favor educational quality through high student selection criteria, contrary to those located in more rural areas. Third, public universities present higher educational efficiency, in favoring educational quality over research productivity: the lesser research efficiency of public institutions comes from difficulties in the management of several campuses, by comparison with the private institutions which are all single-campus.     

The development and appraisal of nuclear power. Part II. The role of technical change

The process of technology development is examined, the importance of learning-by-doing, economies of scale and standardization is assessed, and strategies for RD&D and technology transfer and diffusion are compared. A pragmatic view is adopted of what can be considered a product or a technology. As in Part I of this series, the nuclear power programmes of the U.S.A., Canada, France and F. R. G. are used to illustrate the arguments.