新贸易理论及内生与外生比较利益理论的新发展:回应

我们在"新贸易理论、比较利益理论及其经验研究的新成果:文献综述"(见《经济学季刊》第1期)中,评述了否定赫克歇尔-俄林禀赋比较利益说(简称 H-O 定理)的文献,并用3个反例证明流行的比较利益说并不具有一般性。梁琦和张二震两位教授在"比较利益再探讨"(以下简称"比文")一文中对我们的文章提出批评。我们感谢他们认真地读我们的文章,并检验我们文中的计算。但是,对于他们提出的批评,我们却不能同意。第一,关于能否事先假定要素密集度逆转不出现的问题。对于一个代表     

民营企业的崛起与劳动价值论的深化

江泽民同志指出:我们应结合新的实际,深化对社会主义社会劳动和劳动价值理论的研究和认识。这不仅为深化对劳动和劳动价值理论的研究和认识,阐明了重要性和必要性,而且为对深化研究和认识指明了方向。历史证明:在不同的社会形态中,不同的经济体制下,准确界定劳动的性质,恰当估量劳动在价值创造中的作用,是马克思主义政治经济学的一个基本问题,是清醒认识社会经济关系和正确处理分配关系的理论基础。笔者试从民营企业的视角,谈一些粗浅认识。民企业主对马克思劳动价值论的直觉感悟众多民营企业创始人是由多方人士构成的新群体、新阶层。他们…     

THE MEASUREMENT OF INEQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY: THEORY AND AN APPLICATION TO LATIN AMERICA

Building on the existing literature, this paper constructs a simple scalar measure of inequality of opportunity and applies it to six Latin American countries. The measure—which captures between‐group inequality when groups are defined exclusively on the basis of predetermined circumstances—is shown to yield a lower‐bound estimate of true inequality of opportunity. Absolute and relative versions of the index are defined, and alternative parametric and non‐parametric methods are employed to generate robust estimates. In the application to Latin America, we find inequality of opportunity shares ranging from one quarter to one half of total consumption inequality. An opportunity‐deprivation profile that identifies the worst‐off types in each society is also formally defined, and described for the same six countries. In three of them, 100 percent of the opportunity‐deprived were found to be indigenous or Afro‐descendants.     

SHORT-TERM CONTRACTS REGULATIONS AND DYNAMIC LABOUR DEMAND: THEORY AND EVIDENCE

We present a dynamic labour demand model where we evaluate the impact of employment regulations on permanent and temporary employment. We consider three different kinds of regulations, namely firing costs, hiring costs and a constraint on temporary contracts. These regulations differently affect the size and composition of employment. The theoretical results are interpreted and questioned on the basis of empirical evidence on the employment effects of the regulation reforms that occurred in the major European countries in the period 1983–1999. The empirical analysis is based on a new set of time‐varying indicators on permanent employment protection, fixed‐term contracts and temporary agency work regulations. We find evidence in support of the hypothesis that fixed‐term contracts have been effective stepping‐stones to permanent jobs during the period under observation. On the contrary, flexible temporary agency work regulations seem to induce a substitution of permanent with temporary contracts.     

THE INTERNATIONAL DEMONSTRATION EFFECT AND THE DOMESTIC DIVISION OF LABOUR: A SIMPLE MODEL

Abstract.  The implications of the international demonstration effect (IDE) for the development of underdeveloped economies have long been studied and debated. Yet few formal analyses exist in the literature, especially regarding its implications for the growth of domestic markets and the division of labour in developing economies. We offer an analysis of endogenous specialization under the IDE, the first of its kind, showing that, far more complicated than the scenario held by conventional wisdom, the IDE makes more difficult the emergence of the market underpinning the domestic division of labour, but facilitates the expansion of the market once it has been developed.     

FACT AND FALLACY IN LABOUR MARKET ANALYSIS: A REPLY TO MR. LANDO*

Mr. Mordechai E. Lando has devoted his entire ‘Comment’ to one paragraph in my article, ‘Full Employment and the New Economics’, which ran to 36 paragraphs. Despite this rather narrow concentration, Mr. Lando has seriously misstated my argument in that one paragraph, and he has supported his criticisms by misstatements of fact and errors in analysis. Since his criticisms go to the heart of a thesis that I have developed in some detail during the past decade, I think that I should answer them rather fully.