边际分析、供求关系与劳动价值理论

<正> 一、单个厂商内部的平均劳动时间(个别价值)与边际劳动时间在马克思的价值理论中基本上不区分厂商的平均劳动耗费与边际劳动耗费。马克思用的“个别劳动小时”和“个别价值”概念实际上相当于单个厂商内部的平均劳动耗费。虽然他对资本过剩和级差地租的分析中已有边际利润和边际成本概念的某些内容,但边际利润下降只被视为一种由资本主义基本矛盾决定的市场现象,同边际劳动耗费没有关系;而与土地肥力差别相联系的劳动生产率变化在马克思那里也只是在分析农业生产时才有一定意义,他并不想把这种与资源约束有关的生产成本变化推广到一般产业。这表明马克思基本上接受了古典经济学的投入产出技术系数不随产量而变的暗含假定,这样,边际劳动成本与平均劳动成本的区别也就自然失去了意义。     

中国公共部门劳动生产效率实证研究

借鉴Karras(2007)的实证模型,本文利用中国1988-2007年30个省、市、自治区的面板数据,对公共部门的劳动生产效率进行实证分析,结果显示:(1)中国公共部门的劳动产出弹性为0.008;(2)中国公共部门的劳动边际产出高于非公共部门;(3)中国公共部门劳动人员的显性工资存在低估。虽然中国公共部门的劳动边际产出相对于非公共部门高,但其产出弹性仍处于较低水平。本文的政策含义是:加大劳动密集型公共品供给力度,有利于提高中国整个经济的产出水平;中国非公共部门需要改变劳动力粗放投入模式,地方政府应鼓励私人部门为员工提供多元化的职业培训与技能教育,以提高其边际产出。同时,优化公务员薪酬结构,将隐性收入逐步纳入正规货币工资范围之中。     

马克思的生产劳动学说

<正> 生产劳动和非生产劳动问题,是一个重大的理论和实践问题。六十年代初,我国经济学界就这个问题展开了热烈的讨论。这场讨论,持续了好几年,后来被“文化大革命”中断了。近年来,这个问题又成了热烈争论的对象。目前人们争论的焦点是:生产劳动包不包括非物质资料生产的劳动。而争论的双方都引用马克思关于生产劳动的论述作根据。因此,正确理解马克思的生产劳动学说,就成了一个十分重要的问题。     

中国的低人均资本存量与低资本边际产出之谜：人口问题的影响

资本边际产出是决定经济总供给、总需求以及金融层面利率水平、资产价格的关键变量。跨国比较研究显示,一个国家人均资本存量较低,则资本边际产出较高。但是,2010年后中国在人均资本存量依然较低的情况下,资本边际产出快速下滑到发达国家平均水平之下。对于中国面临的低人均资本存量和低资本边际产出的悖论,本文指出,这是因为人口问题——劳动人口增长率的快速下滑乃至劳动人口负增长。在单部门生产函数假设下,本文统计了79到91个国家从1982年到2019年的资本边际产出,跨国面板检验发现,劳动人口增长率的下滑对于资本边际产出有显著的负向冲击。进一步基于劳动力由农业部门向非农部门转移的两部门模型,我们发现,虽然单部门生产函数会高估中国非农部门实际资本边际产出下滑的幅度,但2010年后劳动人口增速的负面影响依然存在。不过,对于中国来说,一个好消息是中国二元经济的特征还未根本改变,未来劳动力从农业向非农部门的持续转移还将对中国的资本边际产出形成支撑。但毫无疑问的是,在转变经济发展方式的同时,稳定人口规模将是必然趋势。     

农户种植结构区域分异研究——基于江汉平原与太湖平原农户调查数据

研究目的:分析当前我国农户种植结构选择行为的决策逻辑,提出农户种植结构区域分异规律。研究结果:(1)根据不同农作物的劳动边际产出的差异,可将农作物分为两类,一类是劳动边际产出较高的农作物如水稻,一类是劳动边际产出较低的农作物如棉花;(2)农户心理劳动报酬是在要素市场不发育的条件下,农户对自身劳动价值的判断;(3)农户种植结构调整的行为逻辑为:农户倾向于选择劳动边际产出与其心理劳动报酬接近的作物。研究结论:经济较发达地区,农户生产环境较好,该地区农业种植结构倾向于劳动边际产出较高的作物;经济欠发达地区,农户生产环境较差,该地区农业种植结构倾向于劳动边际产出较低的作物。     

要素结构变迁对要素生产率的影响——技术进步偏态的视角

技术进步向来是内生经济增长理论关注的焦点,但文献普遍忽视技术进步方向和要素结构对经济效率的影响,其中产业技术进步方向更是本领域的研究空白。文章通过CES生产函数,采用三方程标准化系统法测算我国产业技术进步偏向性,并考察技术进步偏态下要素结构变迁及其对要素生产率的作用。结果发现:(1)我国各产业技术进步都呈偏向特征,要素禀赋不同引致技术进步方向呈阶段性变化趋势和产业差异,金融业与其他产业资本和劳动偏向交替变化特征不同,技术进步总体呈现劳动偏向性。(2)产业要素结构变化趋势及其动力来源差异明显,其中产业资本投资结构变动更多源于投资效益的变化,劳动力结构变动则主要来自投入效益和产业结构的共同作用。(3)将技术进步偏向性和要素结构对要素边际生产率的交互作用分解后发现,各产业资本与劳动相对边际生产率都在下降,这主要归因于要素结构效应的下降,且除金融业外,其他产业技术进步偏向性都具有提升资本与劳动相对边际生产率的作用。     

边际关系在经济决策中的应用

边际关系在经济决策中有重要意义,它可以把常量决策变为变量决策,把静态决策变为动态决策,把总量决策变为增量决策。从而克服了由常量决策、静态决策和总量决策中容易出现的错误。本文就边际关系在经济决策中的应用加以分析。一、边际关系的理论边际关系可以定义为某函数中因变量随着自变量的单位变化而来的变化。在总收入函数中,边际收入就是随着产量的一个单位变化而来的总收入的变化。设总收入R为产量X的函数R＝R（X）,则为边际收入。如果R＝R（x）在其定义域内的点x可导,则准确地测定了在任何特定产量水平x上的边际收入。也就…     

怎样估计国有企业中潜藏的剩余劳动

<正> 罗德明同志《国有企业潜藏的剩余劳动与经济发展》一文(载于《经济研究》1990年第10期以下简称罗文),把剩余劳动定义为“如果从总就业中撤出一部分劳动,总产量保持不变甚或增加,那么被撤出的劳动便是剩余劳动。”即“边际生产率为零甚或负数的劳动。”我认为这一定义对于研究分析中国国有企业劳动就业问题是不够妥当的。把边际生产率为零或为负数的劳动定义为剩余劳动最早出现在发展经济学的文献中,它     

中美生产率比较

<正> 一、1952—1979年中美生产率的比较从经济学意义讲,经济增长来源于资本、劳动等要素投入的增加及全要素生产率的提高。在目前尚缺乏更有效的方法来度量技术进步作用的情况下,一般把全要素生产率增长率等价于技术进步率。全要素生产率增长率在生产函数理论中被定义为产出增长率与各生产要素投入增长率加权和的差。我们采用美国哈佛大学乔根森(D.W.Jorgeusou)教授提供的方法论并结合中国具体实际,对1952—1990年期间中国经济增长和生产率变化进行了测算。我们对中国总量生产函数取为超越对数生产函数,即产出是资本投入、劳动投入和时间的超越对数型函数。因此本文给出的有关增长率或指数均系超越对数型。美国方面的数据则来自于乔根     

试论自然资源对工业与经济增长的贡献

根据生产函数理论,经济的增长是资本、劳动、自然资源与人为技术4方面要素的投入推动的。根据边际效用递减规律,任何要素的边际效用大小取决于这种要素的稀缺程度,某种要素越稀缺,其边际效用就越大。边际效用是什么?在市场经济社会,一种产品或服务的     

Health, Wealth, Fertility, Education, and Inequality

The authors use a new cross-country dataset to estimate the strength of the links between different dimensions of social and economic development, including indicators of health, fertility, and education, as well as material wellbeing. This differs from previous studies in employing data for different income groups in each country in order to provide direct evidence on factors driving inequality, and in using a unique measure of material wellbeing that does not rely on PPP comparisons.     

Vicarelli,Keynes, and the unstable nexus between investment,liquidity, and finance

The goal of this article is to reconstruct Keynes’s vision of the unstable nexus between investment, liquidity and finance, as set out by the Italian economist Fausto Vicarelli (1936–1986). As argued in the article, one of Vicarelli’s main contributions consists of explaining the inherent instability of financially sophisticated capitalist economies in terms of the interaction (and double dissociation) between investment, saving, and stock-holding decisions, within a Keynesian framework characterized by the presence of fundamental uncertainty. While Vicarelli’s interpretation of Keynes is best understood in the context of the post-Keynesian literature, its relevance goes beyond that, as its sheds light on current issues related to the post-2008 financial crisis and its policy implications.     

Private information, money, and growth: Indeterminacy, fluctuations, and the Mundell-Tobin effect

We introduce an informational asymmetry into an otherwise standard monetary growth model and examine its implications for the determinacy of equilibrium, for endogenous economic volatility, and for the relationship between steady-state output and the rate of money growth. Some empirical evidence suggests that, for economies with low initial inflation rates, permanent increases in the money growth rate raise long-run output levels. This relationship is reversed for economies with high initial inflation rates. Our model predicts this pattern. Moreover, in economies with high enough rates of inflation, credit rationing emerges, monetary equilibria become indeterminate, and endogenous economic volatility arises.     

Complementarity, growth, and trade

We consider an endogenous growth model with international trade in complementary capital goods. The model possesses several distinct, balanced growth solutions, which we classify using stability under adaptive learning. Some of the equilibria can involve growth rates much higher than others. We show that, in addition to a small (usually positive) effect on a given equilibrium, an expansion in trade may sometimes yield a much larger, sudden jump in growth. The small effect on the initial equilibrium may reduce growth if the opportunity cost of capital rises very fast as growth accelerates. JEL Classification: F12, F15, O41
Complémentarité, croissance, et commerce international. Les auteurs utilisent un modèle de croissance endogène en présence de commerce international de biens capitaux complémentaires. Le modèle possède plusieurs solutions de croissance équilibrée distinctes que les auteurs classifient en utilisant des mesures de stabilité avec apprentissage adaptatif. Certains de ces équilibres peuvent impliquer des taux de croissance plus élevés que d'autres. Il appert qu'une expansion du commerce international, en plus d'avoir un petit effet (habituellement positif) sur un équilibre donné, peut parfois engendrer une augmentation plus forte et soudaine de la croissance. Le petit effet sur l'équilibre initial peut réduire la croissance si le coût d'opportunité du capital augmente rapidement à proportion que la croissance accélère.     

Ecosystems,externalities, and economies

This paper incorporates an ecosystem model into a model of a simple economy. The decisionmaking agents in the ecosystem are individual organisms aggregated to the species level. A species may provide utility directly to humans, or it may provide utility indirectly because it is used either as a raw material in goods fabrication or as sustenance for other species. We describe a comparative static equilibrium of the ecosystem where species' demands for other species are equal to the supplies of those other species, and energy is conserved. The ecosystem is then embedded in the economy so that the effects of human intervention can be traced through both the ecosystem and the economy. Human intervention creates ecosystem externalities such that ecosystem equilibria are shifted and the new equilibria affect the utility or the production processes of other humans. This framework allows us to describe in principle which ecosystem services can be efficiently usurped by humans, which waste flows can be efficiently allowed into ecosystems, and which ecosystem organisms and physical attributes can be efficiently maintained.     

Anarchy, efficiency, and redistribution

This paper develops a contractarian theory of the state and the existence of redistribution. The existence of rules of redistribution is explained without any recourse to the risk-aversion of agents. No veil of ignorance is needed. This avoids obligational problems inherent in most other contractarian theories of justice. Hence, this paper departs from the standard legitimization of redistribution as fundamental insurance and interprets it as stemming from a principle of reciprocity in trade. Since this paper deals with an anarchic society, the implementation of redistributional rules is constrained by the assumption of self-enforcement. We show that this assumption changes the interpretation of the state: the state is characterized by a particular design of equilibrium strategies, not by the existence of enforcement agencies.     

Min, Max, and Sum

This paper provides characterization theorems for preferences that can be represented by U(x₁, …, x_n)=min{x_k}, U(x₁, …, x_n)=max{x_k}, U(x₁, …, x_n)=∑ u(x_k), or combinations of these functionals. The main assumption is partial separability, where changing a common component of two vectors does not reverse strict preferences, but may turn strict preferences into indifference. We discuss applications of our results to social choice. Journal of Economic Literature Classification Numbers: C0, D1, D6.