International Cooperation Behind the Veil of Uncertainty – The Case of Transboundary Acidification

The complexities of international environmental problems are only poorly understood. Hence, decision makers have to negotiate about abatement measures even though they do not know the 'true' model of the ecological system and have only a rough idea about the costs and benefits of their action. It will be analysed to what extent this kind of 'model uncertainty' – where players do not only have incomplete information about the payoff functions of the other players, but also about their own payoff function – affects the prospects of international cooperation. Using a simple game-theoretic model, it is shown how countries can use the veil of uncertainty to hide their distributional interests. The arguments are based on a deviation from the common prior assumption, which seems particularly questionable in a setting comprising various countries with different cultural and scientific backgrounds. Finally the model will prove useful to quantitatively and qualitatively illustrate the central role of model uncertainty in the negotiations of the first Sulphur Protocol signed to combat transboundary acidification.     

The Veil of Uncertainty Unveiled

A central assumption of constitutional economics is that in the process of constitutional decisionmaking the players' uncertainty about their post-constitutional positions (veil of uncertainty) serves the useful purpose of making unanimity and fairness at the constitutional level more rather than less probable. The paper argues that this assertion is false if the conventional assumption holds true that social contracts are threatened by a prisoners' dilemma incentive structure. By means of a simple two-person game-model it is shown that, if players are fully aware of all their partial interests, agreement on a Pareto-efficient rule will be the iterated dominance equilibrium of the game played at the constitutional level. A veil of uncertainty cannot do better. It may, however, induce disagreement or discrimination, if the prisoners' dilemma violates the cardinal property often assumed. This raises the question why the choice of rules which typically takes place in full knowledge of the players' post-constitutional positions poses so many problems although, from a theoretical point of view, unanimity seems so easy to achieve. Finally, it is examined, if there is any salutary role the veil of uncertainty is able to play in view of a post-constitutional prisoners' dilemma.     

Piercing the Veil of Uncertainty in Transboundary Pollution Agreements

This paper addresses the question of how uncertainty in costs and benefits affects the difficulty of reaching a voluntary agreement among sovereign states. A measure of difficulty is constructed related to side-payments necessary to make an agreement a Pareto-improving move. Using a simple model, it is shown that uncertainty actually makes agreement easier.JEL classifications: Q5, H4, D7, D8An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Conference on Risk and Uncertainty in Environmental and Resource Economics, Wageningen, The Netherlands, June 2002.     

A Comment on Müller's “Unveiling of the Veil of Uncertainty”

This comment replies to the assertion by Müller (1998) that a rational and self-interested individual faced with a thick veil of uncertainty may not, as a result, vote for a fair rule. It is argued that if such an individual is reasonably assumed to behave as if he/she were risk-averse then he/she is more likely to vote for such a rule.     

再读《牧师的黑面纱》

<牧师的黑面纱>是霍桑具有影响力的短篇小说之一,小说中的黑面纱是罪恶的象征.笔者从善与恶、罪与非罪的角度对胡珀牧师和他的黑面纱进行分析研究,指出牧师佩戴黑面纱是因为他觉察到了自己道德上的不足和缺陷,这是他达到灵魂的拯救和安宁的一种方式.     

45天速成鸡撕开食品伦理一角

饲养周期为45天的速成鸡曝光后,国家农产品现代物流工程技术研究中心副主任王国利说自己并不吃惊,他说:我早说过,企业滥用抗生素早晚要出事.据了解,全国每年大概有9.7万吨抗生素流入食品养殖加工企业,食品安全已经成为每年3·15的主题,中国是抗生素使用大国,也是抗生素生产大国.卫生部合理用药专家委员会委员肖永红教授曾做过调查,近年来每年生产抗生素大约21万吨,除出口3万吨外,其余均在国内自用,人均年消费量达到138克左右,是美国人均用量13克的十倍.而这之中就有超过1/3是通过鸡鸭鱼肉等肉食性食品进入人体.这还不包括激素和其他药物.     

打开"无知之幕"--正义原则与社会稳定性

罗尔斯的正义原则主要依赖于"无知之幕"的假设."无知之幕"打开之后,罗尔斯的正义原则立即面对着正义原则的可行性问题,即社会的稳定性问题.为此,罗尔斯在<自由主义>中提出了三个关键概念,即"正当的优先性"、"公共理性"和"部分共识".本文对这三个概念进行了分析,揭示出罗尔斯的正义理论从"正义的可欲性"到"正义的可行性"的变化.     

在“郎顾斗法”的背后

在2004年的一桩惊动中国学术界和企业界的公案中,论辩双方各执一词,也有国家主管机关出面澄清相关问题。国资改革作为中国经济体制改革的重点难点,势必要在争论和不断的革新中推进和寻求突破。我们认为,争论是有益的,并且这种争论还将持续下去。本刊编发的这三篇稿件不属于同一声音,但体现的都是一种期待规范的初衷。     

What is the Theory Behind?

Book reviewed in this article:
Utz-Peter Reich, Review of National Accounts and Economic Values—A Study in Concepts     

Behind methodological individualism

The unit is not an individual but a social individual, one whohas a place in the social order... To understand the individualwe must study him in his group setting; to understand the groupwe must study the individuals whose interrelated actions constituteit' (Solomon Asch, 1952, p. 257).     

Symmetric Tax Competition under Formula Apportionment

This paper compares property taxation to a corporate income tax based on formula apportionment in a model where identical countries compete to attract capital. We find that if countries can pair a residence–based capital tax with a property tax (source tax on capital) the tax equilibrium is efficient. In contrast, the use of a 2–factor FA scheme based on sales and capital combined with a residence–based capital tax leads to an inefficient outcome.     

"揭开公司面纱"的会计技术探讨

“揭开公司面纱”是新公司法采纳的一项重要制度,该制度对于保护交易安全,兼顾社会发展的效率与公平,维持正常经济秩序都具有非常重要的意义,是对公司股东有限责任制度的完善和补充。本文基于会计技术的角度,探讨了“揭开公司面纱”的若干情形,为在特定情况下追究股东对公司的偿债责任,保护债权人利益,提供了可资借鉴的依据。     

企业可持续成长的动因解密

企业各种成长理论从不同视角对企业持续成长的机制进行了解释,但企业持续成长的动因至今存在争论,没有统一的结论,其成长机理也并不清楚,长期来企业持续成长的机制问题成为一个黑葙.本文试图从企业动态能力的研究视角阐述导致企业可持续成长的动因和机理,揭秘企业可持续成长的黑箱,从企业动态能力的角度提供一个企业可持续成长机制的整合分析框架,并为测度企业可持续成长性奠定相关理论基础.     

协同创新的风险分摊与利益分配问题研究

协同创新利益分配问题是保持协同创新关系持续稳定发展的关键。综观国内外对利益分配的研究多是在不考虑协同各方所承担的风险基础上进行的,这是当今研究的一个空白点。首次提出投石效应的概念,并针对此问题对"Shapley值"进行修正,在此基础上提出新的利益分配方法,实例分析表明此方法克服了Shapley值法的不足,使利益分配的结果更具合理性和可行性。     

农业制度变迁成本累增效应与分摊方式的创新

制度变迁成本分摊关系到制度变迁能否顺利进行。制度变迁的决策者总想在改革的初期以较少的摩擦和较少的成本，使相关利益主体尽可能的从新制度中获益，以求得最大可能的支持。这就使制度变迁成本有一种向后累积增加的效应。本文先分析了制度变迁成本的累增效应，然后提出了化解和规范累增成本的一般方式，并以农业制度变迁累积成本为例进行了相应的实证分析。     

Formula Apportionment and Transfer Pricing under Oligopolistic Competition

This paper demonstrates that under conditions of imperfect (oligopolistic) competition, a transition from separate accounting (SA) to formula apportionment (FA) does not eliminate the problem of profit shifting via transfer pricing. In particular, if affiliates of a multinational firm face oligopolistic competition, it is beneficial for the multinational to manipulate transfer prices for tax–saving as well as strategic reasons under both FA and SA. The analysis shows that a switch from SA rules to FA rules may actually strengthen profit shifting activities by multinationals.     

The Distributional Impact of Public Goods Provision: A Veil of Ignorance Approach

The "veil of ignorance" approach is used to consider the redistribution implied by different tax-benefit systems. Assuming a (hypothetical) ex-ante situation in which individuals lack any knowledge about their future income, redistribution from rich to poor can be seen as a form of insurance. Taking redistribution and insurance as synonymous, the analysis derives cases of redistributionally neutral systems of taxation and public good provision.
JEL classification : H 23; D 30;, H 41