The Meritocratic Elite vs. the Common Man: Income Inequality in the Affluent OECD Countries

Our goal is to highlight the relationship between vested interests of the meritocratic elite and the deteriorating situation of the common man. We provide an example of rising income inequality in selected OECD countries over the past thirty years. Income inequality is growing, despite the increase in labor productivity based on technological progress, which we prove by using robust panel regression models. Our findings could be explained by the effect of “extreme meritocracy” that describes a situation in which wages for “the working rich” are growing faster than their productivity, and creating wage stagnation for the middle-class workers.     

论提高全民的收入水平

提高全民的收入水平，是我国今后在收入分配制度方面的改革重点和目标，即实现扩大中等收入阶层的比重，提高低收入者收入水平，消灭贫困人口。为此，在收入分配理论方面要实行一系列创新和突破；实践上，中等收入者的扩大，只能或主要来自于中低收入者收入水平的提高。消灭贫困其实质是提高广大农民的收入水平问题。     

FDI的技术外溢性与我国的可持续发展

可持续发展对科技创新提出了更高的要求,实证分析表明FDI为了保持技术上的垄断地位提高了新技术进入的成本,使我国的技术被锁定在了低水平的陷阱中。从产业分布可以看出,FDI对外输出的是高耗能、高污染的生产能力,阻碍了技术外溢。我国可持续发展所依存的技术条件必须通过自我有意识投资的提高来实现;同时,只有贯彻科学的发展观,提高利用FDI的质量和水平,优化其产业布局,才能最终实现发展的可持续性。     

现代国际贸易理论对中国对外贸易发展的启示

萨缪尔森认为在全球化进程中,中国在美国原来具有比较优势的领域里的技术进步,会导致美国贸易条件的恶化和福利的下降。但从现实数据看,中国在劳动密集型产品的出口扩大恶化了中国的贸易条件。从长远看,中国基于廉价劳动力为基础的纵向对外贸易的比重将逐步下降,而基于规模经济为基础的横向贸易的地位将逐渐上升。     

中国古代收入分配思想中的市场意识--兼论经济意识与制度演进的关系

尽管处在前市场的经济体制中,中国古代提出或主张由市场决定收入分配的仍不乏其人,他们还从实际的生活体验中感悟到:要使由市场决定的收入分配真正实现,确定和稳固的产权制度必不可少。中国古代收入分配思想中已经具有明显的市场意识,却没有对实际政策发生积极的影响,这表明具有科学内涵或较强解释力的经济思想要转化为现实的制度安排,取决于制度变迁的多重复杂因素。     

中国居民收入分配格局中的阶层变动分析

通过分析16个社会群体的收入水平与人口比重对应关系,研究中国阶层收入分配格局演变趋势与规律。在中国居民收入分配格局经历的两次重大变迁过程中,第一次使得农民阶级分化出农民工、私营企业员工、乡镇企业职工、个体劳动者及私营企业主等阶层;工人阶级分化为白领工人、个体劳动者、国有企业职工、其他企业职工、离退休人员、民营企业职工、城镇集体职工和企业经营者等主要阶层;知识分子则发展为企业经营者、自由职业者、公务员和部分白领工人。第二次变革使得其他企业职工、国有企业职工和个体劳动者先后进入中产阶层范畴,公务员则进入上产阶层。现阶段,其他企业职工、国有企业职工、个体劳动者和白领工人四个阶层属于中产阶层;上产阶层由公务员、自由职业者、企业经营者和私营企业主四个阶层构成。     

Wealth,Capital and the Theory of Distribution: Some Implications for Piketty’s Analysis

Thomas Piketty’s Capital in the Twenty-First Century (2014) has been spectacularly successful. One reason for this is that while it often challenges received views and supports a non-apologetic interpretation of capitalism, at the same time it relies on mainstream economics. This theoretical framework, however, is not always conducive to consistency and interpretative accuracy. This paper points out some of the book’s analytical weaknesses and shows that some empirical evidence, a clearer distinction between wealth and capital, and a different theoretical perspective, could lead to questioning some of the book’s claims. In particular, it argues that the increase in the wealth-to-output ratio (but not the capital-to-output ratio) cannot explain the observed changes in income shares. It also contends that non-mainstream perspectives on income distribution and growth suggest that changes in income distribution are due more to policy and power relations than to the factors Piketty identifies.     

中印ODI的发展阶段和本土技术进步效应比较

根据Dunning的对外投资五阶段理论和国际生产折衷理论(OLI理论),比较中国和印度两个发展中大国ODI所处的发展阶段;根据两国1984年到2006年间对外投资增长率、劳动力增长率和技术进步增长率方面的数据,检验上述三个变量之间的关系,得出中国和印度的ODI是本土技术进步的原因、但是在作用程度和时滞方面却存在差别的结论.     

The Correspondence Principle: A Superfluous Tool of Economic Analysis

I analyze the evolution of trout recreational fisheries with the objective of identifying possible factors that might be driving current controversies in biodiversity policy reforms on the governance of alien and invasive species. Findings suggest that trout species have attained a cultural status, which makes it difficult to have them eradicated without facing stiff resistance from the trout-dependent sector. Results suggested that a process of leisure augmentation through environmental greed underpinned the introduction and continuance of spreading trout. With this process came also the development of a complex set of institutions that protected trout since they served an honorific role. My findings also suggest that the Ayresian thesis that all ceremonial systems are past-binding could be relaxed because ceremonial interests also envision alternative futures that can entrench and further protect ceremonial systems. To that end, these ceremonial interests facilitate path-breaking, but harmful institutional change. I extend Paul Dale Bush's concept of institutional spaces by assigning faces to the concept, resulting in expansion of possible institutional adjustment configurations. I find that this reorganization of Bush's concept tells the historical evolution of institutions of the leisure class in South Africa in a more dynamic way.     

国际垂直专业化对发展中国家的影响与启示

二战以后,在国际垂直专业化迅速发展的过程中,发展中国家越来越多地被卷入全球化生产的链条。作者应用相关理论模型,分析了国际垂直专业化对发展中国家国际分工、收入分配以及技术进步等方面的影响,并在此基础上就包括中国在内的发展中国家如何应对国际垂直专业化的发展趋势提出政策建议。     

技术变化与收入分配

本文以20世纪70年代的信息技术革命为背景,运用美国商务部经济统计局生产率数据库,在此较五,六十年代和七、八十年代工资结构的基础上,提出了一个简单的技术变化模型。通过模型以及与经验观察相一致的实证研究,指出技术变化引起工人工资不平等的两种渠道;直接的途径是对于既定的资本劳动力比率来说,新技术能生产更多的产量;间接的途径是资本从非技能工人流向技能工人,从而使得前者的人均资本在技术变化前变得更少,本文的结论是：运用革命性的新技术对传统行业进行改造,构成了经济增长的最终主体,人力资本水平之高低越来越影响到最终经济的财富的总量。     

马克思制度变迁理论述评

基于对诺思主义制度变迁理论的回应和体制转轨的现实诉求,国内学者尝试构建马克思制度变迁理论体系,并沿四大主线展开：一是系统比较及认知深化;二是原典溯源及寻求依据;三是理论批判及回应诘问;四是理论建构及指引实践。这一研究从历史唯物主义出发,系统地剖析了马克思制度变迁理论体系的相关命题,但是却忽略了劳动价值论和剩余价值论在制度变迁中应有的理论地位,也很少谈及制度变迁的社会价值倾向。因此,原有的理论体系应在一个广义的视角下加以拓展。     

基于主体视角的国民收入分配格局研究——对中、日两国的实证比较

国民收入在居民、企业和政府之间的分配格局合理与否决定着居民福利水平的提高、企业的持续发展和公共服务的持续发展能否协调共进。中国与日本的国民收入分配格局存在着明显的差异。与日本相比,在国民收入初次分配和再分配中,中国住户部门的所得份额明显偏低,而企业部门和政府部门所得份额明显偏高,中国的国民收入分配格局存在着明显的向企业和政府倾斜的倾向。这对国内消费需求的增长、居民生活水平的提高和产业结构的升级都产生了不利的影响,应该采取提高劳动者报酬收入在国民收入初次分配中的比重、减轻居民税收负担、增加政府对居民的转移支出、放松对企业向职工提供补助和福利的管制等措施,提高居民在国民收入分配中的比重。     

政府财政行为对劳动收入占比的影响——基于2004—2011年中国省级面板数据的实证分析

运用广义矩估计法(GMM)并利用2004—2011年中国省级面板数据,考察了中国政府的财政收支行为及其他相关因素对劳动收入占比的影响,并对实证结果进行了稳健性检验。研究结果表明:政府的财政支出行为与劳动收入占比的关系曲线呈显著的倒U型,在样本观察期内两者正相关,引入时间虚拟变量后政策效果更加明显;政府的财政收入行为对劳动收入占比的影响为负;第三产业占比、资本深化、劳动保护等因素对劳动收入占比具有正向影响,人力资本、对外贸易等因素对劳动收入占比具有负向作用。     

Income Inequality and Technological Adoption

We relate technological adoption (of different technologies) with income inequality. In the process, we discover that some technologies, such as aviation, cell phones, electric production, internet, telephone, and TV, are skill-complementary in raising inequality. We construct standardized indexes of skill-complementary technological adoption for modern information and communication technologies (ICT), older ICT, production and transport technologies. We find strong evidence that older ICT and transport technologies (and less frequently modern ICT) tend to increase inequality. Additionally, we discover that results are much stronger in rich countries than in poor ones. Our results are quite robust to a series of changes in specifications, estimators, samples, and measurement of technology adoption. These results may bring insights into the design of incentive schemes for technology adoption.