The Theory and Practice of Equalization

This paper presents a selective and non-technical survey ofthe role of intergovernmental equalization transfers as a devicefor achieving efficiency in the allocation of labor across regionsin a decentralized nation, and for achieving fiscal equity amongresidents of various regions. We discuss some of the issuesthat arise in attempting to put the principles of equalizationinto practice.(JEL H77)     

Adam Smith and the division of labour: is there a difference between organisation and market?

The paper claims that, in The Wealth of Nations, the divisionof labour refers simultaneously to two different things: a socialdivision of labour and an organisational division of labour.The central point is that the organisation of work (the organisationaldivision of labour) in the firm is the logical counterpart ofthe social division of labour, and that these reflect two inseparableaspects of the process of the division of labour. Smith is thusconcerned with organisations as well as with markets, each functioningaccording to the same principle. Hence, Smith does not believethat the organisational and the social divisions of labour arefundamentally different, although he does recognise some variationbetween them and describes different states of the divisionof labour within the firm, liberal and capitalist.     

Why Divorce Laws Matter: Incentives for Noncontractible Marital Investments under Unilateral and Consent Divorce

The Coase Theorem suggests that married couples will divorceif and only if doing so increases their joint surplus, regardlessof the legal rules governing divorce. This does not mean, however,that divorce laws only affect the distribution of rents. Becausethe distribution of rents affects each spouse's incentives fornoncontractible investments, divorce laws can affect the jointwelfare of the couple. This article analyzes the effects ofthe consent divorce regime and the unilateral divorce regimeon incentives for selfish and cooperative marital investments.Using these results, the article demonstrates how endogenouschoice of marriage with noncontractible investments can explainsome recent empirical results concerning the effects of theshift from consent divorce to unilateral divorce. (JEL C78,D1, D23, J12, J18, K3, K36)     

Hicks on monetary theory and history: money as endogenous money

Hicks was never tired of saying that monetary theory is in history.What he meant was that monetary theory is intrinsically relatedto real events, and more importantly that monetary issues needto be analysed in a dynamic sequential context in which timeplays an essential part. He went on developing a particularsequential analysis: the study of what happens within a singleperiod (‘single-period theory’) and the study ofthe linkages between a succession of those periods (‘continuationtheory’). It is suggested that this distinction providesa useful lesson for modern endogenous money theorists.     

Institutional individualism and institutional change: the search for a middle way mode of explanation

After noting the lack of enthusiasm of several well-known scholarsconcerning the adoption of both methodological holism and methodologicalindividualism in its several versions, this paper shows thatinstitutional individualism is a different mode of explanationfrom both of these and also that it is not the same thing asthe so-called Popperian programme of situational analysis. Institutionalindividualism is a mode of explanation that yields non-systemicand non-reductionist explanations at the same time as it allowsfor the incorporation into economic theories and models of themany formal and informal institutional aspects surrounding allhuman interactions, whether these interactions take place withinstable structures of legal rules and social norms or whetherthey attempt to change the said rules and norms. Finally, thepaper shows that it is possible for old institutionalists tomake institutional individualist analyses of institutional changeswhile retaining the remaining methodological assumptions ofthe school. The same is true for new institutionalists. Someexamples are offered from both camps.     

Notes and comments. 'History versus equilibrium' and the theory of economic growth, by Mark Setterfield: a comment

Setterfield criticised previous formal models of cumulativecausation (CC) for their determinism in which economic growthrates are simply a function of 'initial conditions'. Setterfieldargued these formal models accurately represented the work ofthe leading CC figure, Nicholas Kaldor. This paper argues that,on the contrary, Kaldor identified a number of endogenous mechanismsthat account for those stylised facts of economic history, whichare absent in formal models of CC.     

Accounting for the family in European income tax systems

Tax systems are expected to achieve many things at once andthis paper discusses the trade-offs involved in attempting toreconcile conflicting aims. It surveys the various instrumentsthat are used to take account of marriage and the presence ofchildren and describes the current systems in the 15 EuropeanUnion countries. The impact of alternative tax treatments ofthe family 'borrowed' from other countries is examined for theUK, using the tax-benefit microsimulation model, POLIMOD. Thepaper explores the implications of the alternatives for thetax paid by families of different types and for the work incentivesof individuals in different family situations.     

CORRECTION

In an earlier paper in this journal (Hughes and Kumar, 1984A)we presented estimates for aggregate concentration for a widevariety of measures of company size. After the article wentto the press it was discovered that the estimates for employmentconcentration in Table 3 contained an upward bias due to anerror in data preparation. (The employment totals in Table 4,the last line of Table 5, and the appendix tables correspondingto Table 3 were also affected.) This led inter alia to the useof world rather than UK employment figures for a number of largecompanies. The year 1975 was particularly affected. (None ofthe other concentration measures based on market valuation,world and domestic sales, exports, capital employed, profitsand wage bills was affected.) We have corrected our estimatesaccordingly and have also taken the opportunity to adjust thedenominators to take account of major official revisions ofthese data since our estimates were prepared. The correctedemployment concentration ratio estimates are shown in revisedTable 3. (Revised tables corresponding to Table 4 and to theappendix tables are available from the authors.) Revised Table 3. 100 company employment concentration ratiosin the UK economy: revised estimatesThe effect of these revisionsis in general to lower the estimated levels of employment concentration,and to reduce the substantial fall, between 1975 and 1980, inthe employment of the 100 largest private non-financial UK employersreported in the article. ¹Our conclusions about trends in concentrationover the period as a whole are in general less affected. ¹ For a discussion of the role of nationalisation, privatisation,merger and relative growth see Hughes and Kumar (1984B).     

Commentary. An alternative stability pact for the European Union

This paper proposes an alternative stability and growth pactto the one which accompanied the introduction of the euro inJanuary 1999. The latter is part of the third stage of economicand monetary union and, will govern the economic policies ofthe member countries which have joined the single currency andstrongly constrain the policies of those who do not join. Thealternative proposed in this paper is a Full Employment, Growthand Stability Pact and would have a number of features, themost important of which is the creation of new institutionalarrangements, including the creation of an investment bank.     

National Policy Interests in the Duty-Free Market

In 1999 the EU abolished duty-free on intra-EU travel. OtherEuropean countries and many countries outside Europe still retainduty-free shopping for international travellers, as does theEU in relation to external travel. This paper looks at nationalpolicy interests in the retention, or further abolition, ofduty-free. We note that these will relate closely to the structureof competition in the duty-free market, and to the tax levelson high-street sales in different countries. The existence ofduty-free trade requires that countries have reasons both toadmit duty-free goods and to permit their sale to departingpassengers. We argue that low-tax countries might be more likelyto perceive gains from unilateral abolition of duty-free salesto departing passengers, while high-tax countries would onlybenefit from concerted action to abolish duty-free. (JEL D4,H2, H87)     

West African Currency Unions: Rationale and Sustainability

Drawing on the recent literature and experience of monetaryintegration in Europe, the paper examines the rationale forestablishing regional currency unions in western Africa. Despitedramatic economic, political and historical differences betweenthe two regions, the analysis indicates that monetary unificationmight well be beneficial for a number of the member states ofthe Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Themain reason is that the costs stemming from the loss of monetaryautonomy are often more than offset by the gains originatingin the (partial) separation of monetary and fiscal powers. However,large countries with relatively ambitious public expenditureobjectives would not be attractive partners because they wouldbe expected to pressure the common central bank, creating excessiveinflation in the entire union. Hence, the desirability and sustainabilityof a currency union critically depends on fiscal disciplineamong its members. We also explore the vulnerability of regionalmonetary institutions to country-specific disturbances. Overall,the desirability of an ECOWAS monetary union requires a strongfiscal surveillance procedure both in the transition phase andafter the establishment of the union. (JEL E58, E61, F42)     

Harmonisation of Old-age Security Within the European Union

Not sufficiently harmonised national pension systems withinthe European Union distort the allocation of labour and endangerredistributive activities. This paper identifies the most decentralisedlevel of harmonisation which guarantees efficient allocationand enables redistribution. For this, we build on theoreticalresults from the literature to evaluate the realised distributionof the legal power between the European Union and the MemberStates and the resulting level of harmonisation. We find thatharmonisation is sub-optimally low. Binding rules guaranteedby the European Union are needed implying that the Member Stateshave to concede more fundamental responsibilities to the EuropeanUnion. (JEL F22, H55, K33, N34)     

Matching Bankruptcy Laws to Legal Environments

We study a model of optimal bankruptcy law in an environmentwhere legal quality can vary along two dimensions: the expertiseof judges and the quality of contract enforcement. We analyzea model in which a judicially influenced bankruptcy processcan enhance the efficiency of incomplete contracts by conditioningthe allocation of control rights in bankruptcy on firm quality.We consider the optimal balance of debtor and creditor interestsas a function of the legal environment and show that the optimaldegree of "creditor-friendliness" in the bankruptcy code increasesas judicial ability to recognize firm quality falls and as thequality of contract enforcement deteriorates. Our model showsthat a bankruptcy law that attempts to preserve going-concernvalue, such as US Chapter 11, requires judicial expertise tobe effective. Where such expertise is unavailable, a law thatfocuses more on creditor recovery is preferred. (JEL D86, G33,G34, K22)     

Computation and the Theory of Customs Unions

This paper reports on research that uses computational techniquesto assess whether or not various propositions that have beenadvanced as plausible in the literature on the theory of customsunions actually hold. This research blends theory and numericalsimulation to get insights into the likelihood that\ varioustheoretical propositions proposed in the customs union literaturehold. (JEL F10, F13, F15}     

Political Participation of Mobile Citizens and the Size of the Welfare State

This paper deals with the implications of personal mobilityfor political participation of citizens and for the resultingsize of the welfare state. We show that mobility of citizensmay influence the individual decision to participate in thepolitical process and thereby may change policy outcomes. Ifcitizens who prefer a larger public sector are relatively immobile,the size of the welfare state may increase with mobility. (JELD72, J61)     

Partisan Roll Rates in a Nonpartisan Legislature

Credible tests of hypotheses about power require credible measuresof power. Roll rates purport to measure the relative power ofthe parties in legislatures. This article develops and employsa baseline model to assess roll rates. Although on the surfaceroll rates have some intuitively satisfying properties, beneaththe surface they have several previously unrecognized shortcomings.Analysis based on stochastic, strictly preference-governed votingwithin nominal but behaviorally inconsequential parties suggeststhat inferences based on roll rates overstate party influenceand exaggerate the influence of the majority party relativeto the minority. Analysis of data from the U.S. House of Representativesproduces findings consistent with the nonpartisan model.