Structural change and assimilation of new technologies in the economic and social systems

Through generating a set of hypotheses about the inter-relationship between diffusion of new technologies and economic development, the author seeks to identify the causal mechanisms of the depressions in the trough of the Kondratiev long wave. A model of the capitalist economy and an analysis of its structural patterns and processes are proposed, and from an examination of the technoeconomic and socio-institutional characteristics of the fourth Kondratiev, some institutional requirements for the next upswing are elaborated.     

Quantifying the employment effects of micro-electronics

The paper attempts to quantify some of the compensatory effects on employment which may offset the direct displacement effects of faster technological change. It is argued that technological change will not necessarily increase unemployment levels. There are a number of compensating effects which may reduce and even outweigh any initial displacement effects. The study uses simulation techniques with a detailed model of the UK economy. One conclusion is that, even if the UK does not innovate as fast as its major competitors, a more rapid rate of diffusion of new technology may result in higher employment than would otherwise be the case.     

New technology and banking employment in the EEC

Retail banking is traditionally highly labour-intensive and employment in the industry has been rising steadily for many years. However, new technology is now being introduced which is beginning to have an impact on levels of employment. In the European Economic Community it is likely that productivity will increase only slightly faster than demand up to 1990 and that employment will not fall substantially. After that date, it will almost certainly fall faster. Negotiations between management and unions, at a national and international level, should ensure that the introduction of new labour-saving technology be complemented by reductions in working time and the creation of more stimulating, labour-intensive positions.     

Foreign direct investment and employment: host country experience

This study investigates the effect of foreign direct investment (FDI) on employment creation and wages in Ghana. A simultaneous panel regression model is used in estimating the effect FDI has on employment and wages. The results of this study indicate that FDI has a statistically significant and positive effect on employment levels in Ghana, but has an insignificant effect on wages. FDI can greatly augment domestic efforts by creating more jobs in the economy. The results clearly demonstrate that FDI flows affect employment quantitatively, but not necessarily qualitatively. The study identifies other factors including, productivity, wages, sub-sector, and location as important in influencing employment levels. Also, productivity, labour union, firm size, sub-sector, and location are noted as significant in affecting wages in Ghana. The main value of this paper is in respect of the fact that it provides insight into the effects of FDI flow on employment from a host country perspective. The study recommends that FDI should be considered as an integral part of the Ghanaian economic policy in order to spur on economic growth.     

Technical change,employment, and international competition

The prospects are gloomy for employment in most industrialised countries, but especially in the UK, given the continued attrition of the international competitiveness of British manufacturing industry. There are policies that would ameliorate the problem over the long term, but they would aggravate it in the short term and/or entail political objections. Many studies show that technical change (one source of job loss) is not handled well in Britain.     

Scientific and technical change in the USSR

The rapid development ot science and technology, a historical Soviet goal, would bring radical changes—for which the leadership may be unprepared. The complex programme, an ambitious forecast and plan for the period 1980–2000, is nearing completion. Its measures are designed to relieve a potential labour shortage, to ensure energy and resource supplies, to increase agricultural productivity, and to raise living standards. Success depends on major structural changes, which in turn require the adoption of more flexible organisation, the extension of planning horizons beyond the traditional five-year term, and the acceleration of technical innovation. There is considerable scope for international collaboration and the creative potential of the Soviet economy should not be underestimated.     

Systems theory and technological change

This paper offers a different approach to the analysis of technological change traditionally offered by neo-classical economists. Using a general systems approach, changes in technology are described by the process of adaptation of technologies to their external environment, similar to the concepts of homeostasis and self-regulation in biological and electronic systems.     

Headquarters,office employment,and the wave of urbanization in the New York City region

Hierarchical theory suggests that high-density office activity, such as corporate headquarters, epitomizes the concept of agglomeration. This research tests whether office employment in a metropolitan area agglomerates around suburban nodes of specialized office and corporate headquarter activity or if office employment change shifts in response to the wave of urbanization. The location of the Fortune 500 manufacturing and service headquarters and the ratio profiles of office employment within each county are used in the test. We conclude that headquarters are not located in specialized office employment nodes. Rather, the office employment becomes specialized as the county becomes more urbanized.     

Investment-specific technological change and growth accounting

Greenwood et al. [1997. Long-run implications of investment-specific technological change. American Economic Review 87(3), 342-362; and 2000. The role of investment-specific technological change in the business cycle. European Economic Review 44, 91-115] and Hercowitz [1998. The ‘embodiment’ controversy: a review essay. Journal of Monetary Economics 41, 217-224] have claimed that the Jorgenson form of growth accounting is conceptually flawed and severely understates the importance of technological progress embodied in new capital goods for explaining growth. To the contrary, this paper shows that in its technology aspects their model is a special case of the Jorgensonian growth accounting model. What they call investment-specific technological change is shown to be closely related to the more familiar concept of total factor productivity (TFP) growth: statements about the one can be translated into statements about the other. Empirically, differences between their conclusions and those of growth accounting studies about the extent to which embodiment explains US economic growth are found to relate more to data than to methodology.     

以内生经济增长为导向的政府财税政策取向

新的内生经济增长理论提出知识积累、技术创新是导致一国经济实现长期持续增长的源泉。目前,我国经济增长存在着严重的技术约束,限制了我国实现内生增长的路径,为此,政府必须出台切实有效的财税政策,培育实现内生增长的知识积累和技术创新的条件。     

Impulse and diffusion in the study of technical change

A common model of innovation diffusion is extended to incorporate the interaction of demand growth and capacity growth, building in part on work by Kuznets and Burns on industrial growth and retardation. It is shown how price and production cost evolve during a diffusion process, and how Schumpeter's theory of the transient nature of innovator's profits has a natural place within the analysis of diffusion. The framework is intended to assist future analysis of the links between the diffusion and the evolution of a given technology, taking account of, eg, learning by doing, production bottlenecks and the inducement to innovation, and producer/adopter interaction to improve technological performance.     

Public service motivation and public sector employment preference: Comparing Italian and British students

ABSTRACT

Previous research has suggested that an individual’s public service motivation (PSM) is positively linked to a preference for public sector employment. The authors explore this link using a sample of British and Italian undergraduate students. They found a positive relationship between PSM and public sector job preferences among Italian students but not with the British students. The UK has implemented more NPM-style reforms than Italy and this could be impacting on public sector recruitment. Implications for recruitment and retention the public sector are discussed.     

Corporate employment,red flags,and audit effort

U.S. regulatory agencies and congressional oversight committees have expressed concerns that auditors often neglect red flags embedded in the operating characteristics of firms that misstate their financial reports. This study examines whether labor employment decisions, a major part of a firm’s operations, help predict accounting improprieties and consequently play a role in audit planning and pricing. We find that negative abnormal employment changes are associated with a higher likelihood of subsequent financial restatements, accounting irregularities, and lawsuits related to accounting fraud, and generally require greater effort from auditors as manifested by higher audit fees and longer audit report lags. Positive abnormal employment changes are associated with subsequent restatements and longer audit report lags, but not associated with fraud or audit fees. Taken together, the results are consistent with auditors recognizing the individual misstatement risks pertaining to companies’ employment decisions. These results suggest that standard setters, regulators, and practitioners should devote more attention to operational statistics to identify potential red flags.     

城市网络视角下金融中心性与区域技术创新

基于当前城市网络和金融地理研究,应用社会网络分析法构建城市金融中心性指标以衡量金融发展水平,并运用中国2005-2019年285个地级及以上城市面板数据对金融中心性和区域创新能力的关系进行实证研究.结果表明:金融中心性指数的增强显著提升城市创新能力,且这种促进作用呈现明显的"边际效应"递减的非线性特征;城市金融中心性的提高不仅能直接作用于区域创新能力,而且可以通过加快生产资本形成、促进产业结构升级以及加大外商投资力度产生积极影响;中、西部区域创新系统将从城市金融中心性提升中获益更多,金融危机前后城市金融中心性的提高对创新能力的影响明显不同,危机后的作用效果上升明显.     

缘起·方法·终归——社会科学方法论的争议与解答

关于社会科学研究的原因与条件、可能与现实、目的与手段、方法和结果、价值与意义,社会科学共同体内部既有某种程度的共识,也存在着较大的争议。针对社会科学研究中的分歧与争议,本文试图从社会科学研究的缘起、方法、终归的线索做出解答。     

就业视角下资环专业实践教学体系优化

实践教学是资源环境与城乡规划管理专业教学体系的重要组成部分,直接决定毕业生质量。基于高校毕业生就业难的问题,以资源环境与城乡规划管理专业为例,分析实践教学体系存在的问题,即专业特色不突出、定位不准确,实践课程薄弱,师资学科背景差异大。提出实践教学体系优化建议,即改革教学体系,突出专业特色,把握专业发展方向,强化技术课程,完善师资引进方案及培训体系,提高师资实践教学能力,加强实践教学研究。     

金融支持促进技术创新的区域性差异研究

运用三阶段DEA分析法,考量中国“十二五”期间金融支持对东、中、西部区域的技术创新效率的影响,结果显示:控制金融支持变量前后东、中、西部地区创新效率的绝对水平较低且存在较大的差异;控制金融支持变量后,东、中、西部地区创新效率依次下降,东、中、西部地区创新效率下降幅度依次增大.鉴此,应完善技术创新金融支持体系,加快技术创新的配套条件建设,完善人才引进与激励机制.     

The contribution of product mix versus efficiency and technical change in US banking

Similar to a Du Pont analysis, this paper divides the changes in returns on assets of US commercial banks for the period from 2000 to 2005 into conventional measures of bank performance. The contribution of product mix is significant and offsets losses from technical change and operating efficiency. Banks respond to changes in the business environment by switching towards more lucrative traditional and nontraditional products. Large banks are found to benefit more than community banks from the switch to an optimal output portfolio mix including new products spawned by recent financial innovations and deregulation.     

金融发展、技术进步与海洋经济发展

海洋经济已经成为拉动国民经济发展的有力引擎.文章对沿海地区海洋经济发展影响因素的面板数据进行了经验研究,结果表明：（1）劳动仍然是当前拉动海洋经济发展的主要要素;（2）金融发展和技术进步对海洋经济的作用相对较弱;（3）金融发展对海洋经济的支持既有直接影响,也有通过与技术进步的相互作用所产生的间接影响.为此,需要通过金融创新,构建适应海洋经济发展的多元化、多层次的现代金融服务体系.     

金融发展、对外开放与区域科技创新

金融发展通过解决信息不对称、降低研发成本、提供个性化服务等方式促进科技创新,而对外开放通过示范效应、溢出效应以及拉动有效需求等方式促进科技创新.从全国层面看,金融发展与对外开放均对我国区域创新具有推动作用.在经济发展水平较低的地区,金融发展对科技创新具有显著的促进作用,而对外开放对科技创新的作用并不显著;在经济发展水平...