Effects of a Tax‐Time Savings Intervention on Use of Alternative Financial Services among Lower‐Income Households

Alternative financial services (AFS) such as check cashing and payday loans may help unbanked households meet transaction and credit needs, yet often at a very high price. Saving tax refunds can help low‐ and moderate‐income (LMI) households build emergency savings as a way to reduce dependence on AFS and cope effectively with irregular cash flows and financial shocks. This study examined the impact on AFS use of message‐based interventions encouraging LMI households to save their refunds when they electronically filed their federal income tax returns. We found that 3 out of 18 interventions resulted in statistically significant reductions in credit‐related AFS use with small effect sizes. None of the interventions resulted in reduced transaction‐related AFS use. Other factors—especially prior AFS use and financial shocks—were strong predictors of AFS. Financially vulnerable households may need additional opportunities and protections to reduce dependence on AFS.     

收入分配与工业化关系——基于墨菲等人工业化理论的协整分析

文章根据墨菲等人的收入分配与工业化关系理论模型,运用计量经济协整检验方法对我国城乡收入分配、市场规模与工业化关系进行了实证分析。分析表明,我国城乡居民收入水平提高与收入分配差距扩大是推动我国工业化水平提高的重要原因,居民特别是农民整体收入水平偏低、购买力不强仍然是阻碍工业化进程,导致有效需求不足的主要原因。为从根本上解决有效需求不足问题,必须大力发展生产力,加速二元经济向现代经济转变,努力提高低收入群体特别是农民的收入水平,促进合理要素价格的形成,建立有效的个人收入分配税收调控体系,完善社会保障制度。     

Lagrange Multipliers as Marginal Rates of Substitution in Multi‐Constraint Optimization Problems

This paper shows that, when a function is optimized subject to several binding constraints, some of the Lagrange multipliers in the dual problems can be interpreted as marginal rates of substitution among certain arguments in the generalized indirect objective function for the primal problem. It also shows how to calculate these Lagrange multipliers from observable price–quantity data. Three particular examples are discussed: a firm that minimizes costs subject to both fixed output and rationing constraints, a household that maximizes utility subject to both income and time constraints, and portfolio choice under uncertainty treated as a multiple constraint optimization problem.     

收入差距与商品住宅价格研究

近年来,我国的商品住宅价格一路攀升,与此同时,城镇居民也感觉到收入差距在逐渐拉大。探讨商品住宅价格与收入差距之间的关系很有必要。为此,在基于向量自回归模型的脉冲响应函数以及方差分解这一分析框架下,对我国商品住宅价格和收入差距之间的关系进行了实证研究。     

Retailers and Consumers: The Pass‐through of Import Price Changes

In this paper, we estimate pass‐through rates of import price changes to retail prices across retailers and consumers for apparel purchases in Germany for the period of 2000–07. We find that high‐price retailers do not pass through changes in the import price. Pass‐through rates for low‐price retailers are 53 per cent within three months. Consequently, pass‐through rates for low‐income households are 58 per cent, significantly larger than those for high‐income households. We then present one possible explanation for these observations in a theoretical model with endogenous vertical product differentiation due to bundling an ex ante homogeneous import goods with services. Following an import price change, retailers who sell a cheaper unbundled product change prices to a greater extent than retailers who sell a higher‐priced bundle of product and service.     

财政分权、房价与城乡收入差距--基于中国省际面板数据的实证分析

基于1999－2012年31个省际面板数据,采用面板向量自回归模型,实证考察了财政分权、房价和城乡收入差距三者之间的相互关系。研究结果表明：财政分权对房价的上涨和城乡收入差距的扩大均具有促进作用,且对两者的影响具有区域差异,具体表现为：财政分权对东部地区房价上涨的影响要大于对中西部地区的影响,财政分权对城乡收入差距扩大的影响由东部地区向西部地区依次递减;房价和城乡收入差距之间的相互影响具有区域差异性。     

Raising the Mandatory Retirement Age and its Effect on Long‐run Income and Pay‐as‐you‐go (PAYG) Pensions

In this paper we study the effects of raising the mandatory retirement age in the neoclassical growth model context. It is shown that postponement of the retirement age may be harmful for long‐run income and even for pensions. Our findings show that the retirement age might be reduced, thereby obtaining a higher income and even higher pension benefits. This suggests that the idea that a higher mandatory age of retirement is always beneficial in the long run for income and pension payments is theoretically controversial.     

中国城镇居民家庭住房支付能力问题研究——基于房价收入比指标

从房价收入比变动趋势及其所处区间范围的视角对全国1998年～2010年的城镇居民家庭住房支付能力问题进行了研究,结论表明,中国城镇居民家庭住房支付能力逐步上升且趋于合理,这一结论与社会现实中的普通购房者"望楼兴叹"现象似乎构成了一对难以解释的矛盾,原因在于城镇居民家庭间收入差距巨大,导致60%的城镇居民家庭住房支付能力不足、部分热点城市特别是一线城市房价收入比过高及保障性住房的历史供应不足。     

要素价格变动、技术创新效率偏向与劳动收入份额

基于诱发创新理论检验了要素价格变动对技术创新效率偏向与劳动收入份额变动的影响效应，研究发现要素相对价格变动产生了技术创新效率偏向。在生产要素互补条件下，技术创新效率偏向资本要素时，劳动收入份额趋于下降；技术创新效率偏向劳动要素时，劳动收入份额趋于提高。进一步研究发现，中国1978-2017年总体技术效率处于劳动增进型演化路径，但1978-2004年期间存在技术创新偏向资本效率阶段，这解释了劳动收入份额转折的现象，同时也验证了要素价格诱发创新理论在中国的适用性。     

A note on endogenous competition mode with managerial‐unionized firms

We analyse the endogenous choice of the competition mode (price vs. quantity) in a duopoly model with managerial delegation and unionized labor markets. Depending on the unions' relative bargaining power and the degree of product differentiation, the set of possible outcomes proves to be very rich, including alternatively a unique quantity or price equilibrium as well as multiple asymmetric‐type equilibria.     

Targeting Financial Management Training at Low‐Income Audiences

While interest in financial management training programs for low‐income persons has grown in recent years, the specific training needs of low‐income consumers have not been well articulated. This article describes needed training content for such audiences, based on review of previous research and the authors’ experiences in evaluating the Financial Links for Low‐Income People (FLLIP) program. We also illustrate how the choice of financial management training models can seriously impact the subgroups of the low‐income population who attend training, as well as the success of programs in recruiting and graduating participants. The implications of these findings both for financial management curriculum development and for the selection of program models are presented.     

我国化肥价格波动与农民收入关系的实证分析

本文利用1978～2008年的时间序列数据,运用脉冲响应函数和方差分解技术考察化肥价格波动与农民收入之间的关系,发现化肥价格的波动与农民收入变化之间存在着双向的因果关系,即化肥价格的上涨导致农民增收缓慢,而化肥价格上涨的根本原因在于＂需求拉动＂和＂成本推动＂。今后必须从需求和供给两方面采取对策：一方面通过建立化肥直接补贴制度和化肥储备制度,从需求上控制化肥价格上涨;另一方面通过采用新型化肥生产技术和给予化肥生产企业生产用能以优惠政策,从供给上控制化肥价格上涨。     

Why price‐level dispersion went up in Europe after the financial crisis

Persistent price differences across euro area countries are an indication of incomplete economic integration. We analyse long‐ and short‐run developments of price‐level dispersion in the euro area and compare the results with price dispersion across US cities. We find that monetary and economic integration in Europe has been successful in establishing a major downward trend in price‐level differences across countries since 1960. After the Global Financial Crisis and the European Sovereign Debt Crisis, diverging economic conditions across euro area countries led to higher income dispersion, which contributed to a widening of price‐level differences again.     

A SIMPLE MEASURE OF PRICE‐LABOUR VALUE DEVIATION

This paper constructs a measure of price‐labour value deviation that leads to an algebraically simple expression and provides a transparent separation between the effects of income distribution and of the technical conditions of production.     

Borrowing Capacity and Financial Decisions of Low‐to‐Moderate Income First‐Time Homebuyers

This study documents the extent to which first‐time homebuyers seeking a mortgage accurately estimate their borrowing capacity and how this is associated with their decisions regarding mortgage debt and the take‐up of a free offer of financial coaching. We find that consumers who underestimate their nonmortgage debt (31.5% of the sample) also take out larger mortgages relative to income. Consumers who underestimate or overestimate their total debt as well as their monthly debt payments are more likely to accept the offer of financial coaching. Moreover, overconfidence in financial matters reduces the take‐up of financial coaching. These biases in perceived financial status appear to be systematically related to behavior among a group of relatively inexperienced consumers. These findings suggest that efforts to extend homeownership may need to include debiasing mechanisms to help less informed consumers accurately assess their current debt levels and ability to make ongoing mortgage payments.     

提高农产品价格对促进农民增收作用的有限性研究

尽管农产品价格上涨对农民增收存在种种促进效应,但实践证明,提高农产品价格对促进农民增收的作用是有限的,而且靠提高农产品价格来刺激农业生产供给和提高农民收入的办法越来越难以为继。因此,要解决农业比较利益偏低的问题,必须通过农业的发展,形成农产品价格优势的经济效益基础。     

On the Systemic Fragility of Finance‐Led Growth

The paper sets up a model of economic crisis by investigating the role played by movement in asset price as a driver of the dynamic interaction between the real and the financial sectors. Such movement influences income determination in the real economy in the short period through aggregate demand leading to the emergence of two macroeconomic regimes. A short period flow model, underpinned by the stock flow consistent accounting framework, is developed to formalize the dynamics of interaction between real and financial sectors mediated by movement in asset price, generates bistability, abrupt crashes, and systemic fragility in the macroeconomic regimes.     

Transiting to Work: The Role of Private Transportation for Low‐Income Households

This study examines the role of reliable vehicles in facilitating employment, using a new data set, the Iowa Transportation and Employment Survey. The empirical results document significantly higher levels of transportation problems and human capital barriers among low‐income households compared to other households and among low‐income nonworking adults compared to their employed counterparts. The multivariate analysis of low‐income households shows that employment and reliable transportation are related. Respondents without access to a reliable vehicle are less likely to be employed; those employed are more likely to have access to a reliable vehicle. Residence in an area adjacent to a metropolitan area has a positive effect on working.     

Discovering the variables that influence new home‐buyer service satisfaction

While home builders traditionally think of customer service in terms of upgrades and mortgage options, home buyers are thought to view the quality of service on a much broader basis. Previous research has identified five dimensions of service quality: appearance, reliability, timeliness, knowledge, and empathy. Home‐buyer satisfaction with service quality is then the result of home builders providing services that are perceived as meeting or exceeding buyer expectations. Although much research has been done regarding home‐buyer satisfaction with service quality, there is still a gap between builders' and home buyers' perception of the quality of service. Builders need to identify and understand home‐buyer needs in order to constantly improve service quality. This paper describes an exploratory study that focused on customer satisfaction with service quality. The objective of this study was to assess the correlations between various factors on home‐buyer expectations and their perceptions of service quality. Demographics considered in this study included age, gender and household income, while transaction characteristics included purchase price, number of occupants and house size. Characteristics such as higher income, higher purchase price, and larger house size appeared to value dimensions such as reliability most highly. Characteristics such as lower income, lower purchase price and smaller house size appeared to value dimensions such as empathy and appearance most highly. Gender, age and household size did not have significant associations with expectations or relative importance, but age and household size were associated with actual perceptions of service dimensions. Understanding the influence of these variables on customer satisfaction with service quality can positively impact home builders through improved reputation and increased local referrals.     

A tariff on a productive factor and import competing supply

A tariff on an imported factor of production such as energy or capital reduces the import as well as output in the general equilibrium of a small open economy. The present paper shows real income may rise, however, due to an increase in the import competing quantity supplied. The present competitive economy produces a single exported output with two factors of production, one purely domestic. The import competing price elasticity, shares of income and output, and factor substitution determine general equilibrium adjustments to a tariff on the imported factor.