Optimal Privatization and Economic Growth in a Schumpeterian Economy

This paper analyzes the growth and welfare effects of the privatization of public firms in a Schumpeterian growth model. Two alternative definitions of privatization are proposed in our model. The first is the ratio of mixed R&D firms’ equity shares owned by the household, which is dubbed vertical privatization. The second is the number of unmixed R&D firms, which is called horizontal privatization. We find that, under both definitions, privatization is beneficial to economic growth while the effect of privatization on social welfare is ambiguous. Accordingly, our analysis reveals that a partial privatization could be an optimal policy. Moreover, we also discuss how the extent of patent protection is related to optimal privatization.     

Equilibrium portfolios in the neoclassical growth model

This paper studies equilibrium portfolios in the standard neoclassical growth model under uncertainty with heterogeneous agents and dynamically complete markets. Preferences are purposely restricted to be quasi-homothetic. The main source of heterogeneity across agents is due to different endowments of shares of the representative firm at date 0. Fixing portfolios is the optimal equilibrium strategy in stationary endowment economies with dynamically complete markets. However, when the environment displays changing degrees of heterogeneity across agents, the trading strategy of fixed portfolios cannot be optimal in equilibrium. Very importantly, our framework can generate changing heterogeneity if and only if either minimum consumption requirements are not zero or labor income is not zero and the value of human and non-human wealth are linearly independent.     

The extensive margin,sectoral shares,and international business cycles

Abstract This paper documents some previously neglected features of sectoral shares at business cycle frequencies in OECD economies. We find that the non‐traded output share is as volatile as aggregate GDP and for most countries is countercyclical. While the standard international real business cycle model has difficulty in accounting for these properties of the data, an extended model that allows for sectoral adjustment along both the intensive and the extensive margins does a much better job of replicating these statistics. The model also matches better the correlation between relative consumption growth and real exchange rate changes, a key measure of international risk‐sharing.     

Optimal military spending in the US: A time series analysis

This paper extends previous work on the optimal size of government spending by including nested functional decompositions of military spending into consumption and investment. Post World War II US data are then used to estimate nested non-linear growth models using semi-parametric methods. As expected, investments in military and non-military expenditure are both found to be productive expenditures with respect to the private production. Moreover there is little evidence to suggest that current military spending is having a negative impact on economic growth in the US, while civilian consumption only tends to have only a weak impact. This does not imply that society will necessarily benefit from a reallocation of more spending to the military sector, nor that it is the best way to achieve economic growth.     

我国经济转型过程中的合理投资规模

在梳理现有文献的基础上,运用局部调整模型且从经济转型过程中工业化和城市化的视角,以及运用自适应预期模型且从预期经济增长率的视角,分析了我国经济转型过程中的合理投资规模。通过实证分析,得到两个不同的投资率,即局部调整投资率和自适应预期投资率;并分析了实际投资率、局部调整投资率和自适应预期投资率的关系,从而得出经济转型过程中自适应预期投资率、局部调整投资率分别是合理投资率的上、下限的结论。据此,提出宏观投资调控的目标是使实际投资率位于合理的投资规模区间内,以实现转型过程中经济的平稳发展。     

产业集聚与经济增长质量——基于全球82个国家和地区面板数据的实证分析

本文通过五个维度构建了国家层面的经济增长质量指标体系,采用熵值法测算了全球82个国家和地区的经济增长质量指数,并在此基础上实证研究了产业集聚与经济增长质量的关系。研究发现：制造业集聚与服务业集聚水平的提高有助于改善一国的经济增长质量,但两者对经济增长质量的影响渠道有所不同。服务业集聚对经济增长质量的影响在不同类型国家之间存在异质性,即服务业集聚程度的增加能够明显改善非OECD国家和地区的经济增长质量,但对OECD国家和地区的经济增长质量影响不显著。此外,FDI对制造业集聚与一国经济增长质量的关系以及对服务业集聚与一国经济增长质量的关系,分别具有正向调节效应和负向调节效应,而人力资本水平对制造业集聚和服务业集聚与一国经济增长质量的关系均具有正向调节效应。本文的研究结论对于如何制定相关产业政策以推动经济高质量发展具有重要的参考价值。     

The animal spirits hypothesis and the Benhabib–Farmer condition for indeterminacy

This paper provides a self-contained review of the introduction of the animal spirits hypothesis into the infinite horizon optimal‐growth model. The analysis begins with an economic discussion of Pontryagin's maximum principles. Thereafter, I develop a version of the increasing-returns Benhabib–Farmer model by showing the possible sub-optimality of the central planner solution and deriving the bifurcation condition for indeterminacy. Moreover, I give some insights on how to model intrinsic and extrinsic uncertainty. Finally, analyzing the equilibrium condition of the labor market, I provide an intuitive rationale for the mechanism that in this model might lead prophecies to be self-fulfilling.     

Wealth inequality,democracy and economic freedom

Using a novel panel data set from the Credit Suisse on the top wealth shares for 46 sample countries spanning 2000–2014, this paper empirically investigates to what extent wealth inequality influences economic freedom and whether this relationship is affected by the level of democracy. Economic freedom is measured by the Fraser Institute's economic freedom summary index as well as its five major sub-indices, such as government size, property rights, access to sound money, freedom to trade, and regulations. Wealth inequality is measured by the top wealth shares. Trade union density is used as an instrument for wealth inequality. Empirical results suggest that the rising wealth inequality significantly hampers overall economic freedom, property rights protection, freedom to trade, soundness of money and regulatory environment. Furthermore, this negative effect of wealth inequality is reinforced at a lower level of democracy. These findings are robust to alternative measures of wealth inequality, economic freedom, treatment for endogeneity, and model specification.     

Parameter Uncertainty in CGE Modeling of the Environmental Impacts of Economic Policies

Political and economic factors usually determine the harvest sharesallotted to heterogeneous fisher groups harvesting upon the same fishstock. Given that the fishers harvest upon different segments of a fishstock with, for instance, cannibalistic tendencies, the shares allottedmay have considerable effect upon the well-being of the stock and theeconomics of the fishery. This paper analyses an existing allocationrule defining harvest shares allotted to two vessel groups (trawlers andcoastal vessels) in the Norwegian cod fishery. We apply a model with twointeracting age groups within a single fish stock, where the interactionhas both biological and economic implications. Requiring a first bestapproach to an optimal stock size results in no harvest in the firstyears studied. In order to ensure harvest amounts close to the historicharvest, we design a second best model giving optimal biological sharesin the build-up phase of the stock, and bioeconomic optimal shares atthe optimum fish stock level. The second best model recommends that foran increasing stock size the trawlers should obtain decreasing shares.We find that the actual allocation rule functions in a manner oppositeto the second best model, since this rule allocates an increasing shareto the trawlers for an increasing stock size.     

A nonsmooth, nonconvex model of optimal growth

This paper analyzes the nature of economic dynamics in a one-sector optimal growth model in which the technology is generally nonconvex, nondifferentiable, and discontinuous. The model also allows for irreversible investment and unbounded growth. We develop various tools to overcome the technical difficulties posed by the generality of the model. We provide sufficient conditions for optimal paths to be bounded, to converge to zero, to be bounded away from zero, and to grow unboundedly. We also show that under certain conditions, if the discount factor is close to 1, any optimal path from a given initial capital stock converges to a small neighborhood of the golden rule capital stock, at which sustainable consumption is maximized. If it is maximized at infinity, then as the discount factor approaches 1, any optimal path either grows unboundedly or converges to an arbitrarily large capital stock.     

Viable Ramsey economies

The Ramsey model of economic growth is revisited from the perspective of viability theory. The Ramsey model, augmented with minimal consumption and sustainability criteria, becomes a viability problem. The framework allows for a clear picture of optimal viable, optimal non‐viable, and viable non‐optimal paths. The drastic sacrifices in terms of present consumption required by the implementation of Brundtland sustainability are visualized, the rich countries bearing the major part of the burden. The econometric analysis of viability sets enhances the role of technological progress in ensuring Brundtland sustainability. Preference parameters such as the pure time preference rate are statistically non‐significant.     

ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE AND PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE: AN APPLICATION TO GREEK MANUFACTURING

To comprehend the impact of public infrastructure on economic performance this paper provides a measure of productivity growth as derived from duality theory. This productivity growth is decomposed into the components of technical change, returns to scale and the effects of public infrastructure, the variable of our interest. In an application, we opt for Greek manufacturing so as to investigate whether the decline in its growth rate is partly explained by public infrastructure. Despite some variation in the estimation results of shadow shares across industries, public infrastructure asserts a cost saving effect in most industries, though it also appears that traditional labour‐intensive industries with lower level of technological advancement do not benefit from the provision of public infrastructure. The estimation results further demonstrate that while public infrastructure enhanced productivity growth over the sample period for most industries, low infrastructure investment in the 1970s and the 1980s undermined productivity growth.     

(In)determinacy, increasing returns, and the optimality of the Friedman rule in an endogenously growing open economy

This paper sets up a monetary endogenous growth model with Benhabib–Farmer production externalities for an open economy, and then uses it to investigate the possibility of indeterminacy. Moreover, the paper examines how the monetary authorities will set its optimal anchor of the money growth rate from the viewpoint of welfare maximization. Several main findings emerge from the analysis. First, when investment does not involve adjustment costs, the monetary equilibrium is locally determinate regardless of the strength of the labor externality and the extent of world capital market imperfections. Second, in the presence of investment adjustment costs, the monetary equilibrium may exhibit indeterminacy when the aggregate increasing returns-to-scale in production is sufficiently strong. Third, in the presence of world capital market imperfections, the Friedman rule of a zero nominal interest rate fails to be optimal. Fourth, in the face of perfect world capital markets, the optimal nominal money growth rate is maintained at the rate that is conformable to the Friedman rule, regardless of whether investment involves adjustment costs or not.     

财政分权与经济增长

对H.Davoodi,D.Xie,and H.Zou的两篇文章中的内生增长模型进行了改进;把地方财政决算支出占国家决算支出的比重看作衡量财政分权的指标,并利用1986-2004年间的数据对财政分权对我国经济增长的作用进行了两组回归分析。发现在1986-1990年间我国的财政分权的比重过高阻碍了我国的经济增长;在1991-2004年间我国的财政分权程度与我国的最大化经济增长相符。最后,对得出的统计结论进行了充分的解释。     

On Impatience, Economic Growth and the Environmental Kuznets Curve: A Dynamic Analysis of Resource Management

The paper presents a dynamic analysis of natural resource management and investigates some key factors that affect optimal management and resource conservation.Using a recursive specification of time preferences, we show how endogenous discounting and impatience can affect the motivation for both capital investments and environmental preservation. We examine the relationships between economic growth and environmental quality. Endogenous discounting provides new insights in the economic dynamics underlying the environmental Kuznets curve. By treating growth as endogenous, we examine how externalities and economic growth interact with each other. We investigate how economic development can contribute to an increased demand for environmental preservation. As an important new result, we also show how poverty can contribute to environmental degradation.     

Implications of happiness research for environmental economics

Using happiness data to study economic issues is a burgeoning field in recent economic literature. This paper shows that happiness research has considerable potential for environmental economic analysis. The paper discusses some implications of happiness research for environmental policy analysis, specifically with respect to the level of socially optimal environmental quality. It discusses evidence that consumer choice may be not utility maximizing and systematically distorted away from intrinsically motivated options, especially environment-friendly consumption. Finally, the paper describes how happiness data can be used in a novel approach to the monetary valuation of environmental quality and discusses the associated benefits and problems in relation to conventional methods.     

以产业结构为中介的创新影响中国经济增长的机理*

本文基于熊彼特创新思想，借鉴Aghion创新模型分析方法，揭示创新通过产业结构调整影响经济增长的内在机理，并运用中国1998—2015年间的省际面板数据，采用3SLS法和联立方程模型对创新、产业结构调整与中国经济增长的关系进行经验检验。研究结果表明：（1）创新通过产业结构调整“中介作用”影响经济增长的机制是存在的；（2）中部、西部地区经济增长对创新的影响强度较大，东部地区所处的创新阶段更加领先，进一步突破前沿技术，容易遭遇瓶颈；（3）理论和实证的政策性意义在于中国长期经济增长需要进一步突出创新的主体地位，加大对产业内部技术创新的投入，促进技术创新对产业结构高级化作用的有效发挥。     

Relational Incentives and Moral Hazard in Teams

This paper studies moral hazard in teams using a model where efforts are promoted via the combination of profit shares and relational contracts. The focus is on how these two forms of incentives interact. According to the degree of effort observability and the importance of future interaction, the optimal allocation of profit shares can range from a wide dispersion across players to a full concentration of shares in the hands of a single player. When shares are sufficiently concentrated, the corresponding residual claimant can also adopt the role of administering all relational contracts, therefore serving as an endogenously chosen principal.     

Fixed investment and economic growth: new results on causality

This study re-examines the issue of causality between investment shares and economic growth. A methodology is applied based on Arellano and Bond (1991), and Holtz-Eakin, Newey and Rosen (1988) to quinquennial panel data on growth and investment shares for the post war period and shows that, contrary to previous results in the literature, causality between fixed investment and growth runs in both directions. Investment shares Granger-cause growth rates and growth rates Granger-cause investment shares. Granger causality from investment shares to growth rates is found to be negative. The result is in contrast with a capital fundamentalist view which sees fixed investment as the key to long run growth, but is fully consistent with the predictions of Solow-type growth models.     

Are prior restrictions on factor shares appropriate in growth accounting estimations?

Several studies make different prior assumptions on the magnitude of factor shares and scale of production when accounting for economic growth. The initial Solow estimations for instance assumed a capital share of 0.3 and constant returns to scale. Most authors have subsequently used the same restrictions just because they were used in previous studies even when production in the countries under study may not necessarily be taking place under constant returns to scale and capital share may be a value not any close to 0.3. This is likely to distort growth accounting estimation results. This study investigates whether these prior restrictions on factor shares and scale of production as commonly used in the literature are appropriate and whether the Solow assumptions are likely biased even in developed countries. Using Kenyan data and structural vector autoregressions, the main findings are; first, in all cases of the unrestricted estimations, the share of physical capital is less than 0.16. An estimation which imposes 0.3 as the share of physical capital in this case would therefore not be in line with the data generating process leading to biased results. Secondly, in all cases, the explanatory power of the model decreases when the restrictions are imposed implying that the restrictions are not appropriate in growth accounting exercises. The paper further disputes the “styled fact” in growth studies that the Solow assumptions may be relevant for developed countries but not developing countries and concludes that the Solow assumptions may be biased even in developed countries.