A FRAMEWORK FOR REGIONAL ACCOUNTS: AN AUSTRALIAN PERSPECTIVE

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has recently published a set of experimental estimates of gross State product at factor cost and its income components for the States of Australia (1): The regular compilation and publication of the estimates is also commencing. In compiling the estimates, certain conceptual issues were confronted. Others were recognized but have not required final resolution as yet because they are beyond the scope of the estimates presently compiled.
This paper considers the development of a framework for regional accounts for countries with regional characteristics broadly similar to those of the Australian States by starting with the SNA framework that applies at the national Ievel. The difficulties that arise are highlighted and alternative approaches for dealing with specific issues discussed. These alternative approaches can have a significant impact on measured State relativities and performance over time. In some instances the choice between approaches may be narrowed because of practical considerations in the same way that the SNA is a conceptual framework that nevertheless has to take account of practicalities. The issues largely involve consideration as to whether or not to regard certain activities as extra-territorial in nature. If an extra-territorial concept is not adopted choices must be made on how to allocate data items related to such activities by State.     

COMMODITY BALANCES AND NATIONAL ACCOUNTS: A SAM PERSPECTIVE

This paper is concerned with the treatment of commodity and activity balances in a national accounts context. It makes use of a general method for reducing the size of a social accounting matrix (SAM) by apportioning the elements of one or more accounts to the rest. The national accounts are looked at in terms of their usefulness for policy analysis, not least analysis of the impact of price changes. The SNA convention of separately distinguishing activities and commodities is endorsed. However, in contrast to the SNA, it is argued that for analytic purposes commodity transactions should be recorded at market prices, with a separate account for each of the markets for a given commodity in which a distinct price prevails. The SNA SAM is shown to be a reduced form of the SAM resulting from this recommended treatment of commodity transactions, while a further round of reductions (apportionments) yields SAMs which are familiar from input-output analysis, in which activities and commodities are not separately distinguished. It is argued that no special effort would be required to produce SAMs in which commodity balances are recorded at market prices as recommended here (the necessary data are also required to produce the conventional SNA tableaux), and that all reduced form versions of such SAMs, including the SNA, are inferior as a basis for the analysis of price effects on the structure of production.     

PERCEPTIONS, PROBLEMS AND METHODS OF PREPARING LABOUR FORCE ACCOUNTS IN INDIA

The paper concerns the links between labour force accounts and national accounts. It first discusses the variation in the perception of labour force among countries which results in much disparity in recorded participation rates. This obviously makes international comparison difficult. Since benchmark labour force information is often tied to population censuses which are infrequent and vary in concepts and approaches, even comparisons within a country over time are difficult. Finally a discussion of the use of labour force data to estimate the unrecorded economy is followed by suggestions on the direction for future work.     

THE SOCIAL ACCOUNTS FROM A CONSUMER'S POINT OF VIEW

After a short introduction, the first part of this paper (section 3 through 9) provides an outline of the revisions proposed to the System of National Accounts (SNA) of the United Nations which are now under discussion. These proposals were considered by an expert group at the end of 1964 and were accepted by the Statistical Commission of the United Nations in 1965 as the basis for further work on the extension and revision of the SNA. The aim of the revision is to provide a fully integrated system of accounts and balance sheets in which input-output, flows-of-funds and sector balance sheets are incorporated in a generalised accounting framework. Whereas the real side of the economy has been studied analytically in many countries (input-output analysis, demand analysis and so on) much less experience is available on modelling the financial side of the economy, apart from econometric work on saving behaviour, which is fairly widespread. Accordingly, the second part of the paper (sections 10 through 14) contains a discussion of financial model-building in which a number of possibilities are explored. The final topic discussed (section 15) is demographic accounting, by which is meant a framework for recording and analysing human, as opposed to economic, flows and stocks. The development of such a system arose out of the emphasis placed by the expert group on the integration of demographic and economic information.     

A MACROECONOMIC PERSPECTIVE OF AFTA'S PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the impressive economic performance of most of its members have increased the weight of the region's views in world fora. However, ASEAN has been unsuccessful in fostering a regional integration arrangement (RIA) leading to an increase in intraregional trade and foreign direct investment. In January 1992, ASEAN launched the Asean Free Trade Area (AFTA) seeking to establish a free trade area (FTA) by 2008.
Market integration increases economic interdependence and thereby raises the need for policy integration and discipline. This paper argues that a number of difficulties that ASEAN faced in promoting intraregional trade are likely to continue to affect AFTA (e.g., low economic complementarity and macroeconomic imbalances requiring large changes in equilibrium real exchange rates). The experience of other RIAs suggests other potential problems.
AFTA's prospects of evolving into deeper forms of sustainable integration are remote. Some cooperation in areas of common interest seems likely.     

NEW CLASSICAL MACROECONOMIC THEORY AND FISCAL RULES: SOME METHODOLOGICAL PROBLEMS

This paper evaluates the theoretical basis of New ClassicalMacroeconomics (NCM) in general, and in particular the basisof one of NCM's main policy conclusions, namely fiscal rules.We analyse NCM in terms of its assumptions of market clearingand rational expectations formations and show how its call forfiscal rules is derived. We argue that NCM is describing a staticworld with no uncertainty. Indeed, we argue that fixed fiscalrules can only make sense in such a world. In view of NCM'sinstrumentalist position, its predictions are then discussedin light of the empirical evidence. The results are discouragingfor proponents of NCM. Our conclusion is that NCM has low explanatoryand predictive power and, as such, does not provide a strongbasis for determining economic policy.     

区域创新视角下大学衍生企业发展的影响因素——以日本为例

在以信息化、全球化、网络化为特征的新经济时代,技术和产品的生命周期越来越短。与传统的区域发展要素相比,科学技术知识流动的效率和方向成为了一个国家或区域竞争力高低的决定性要素。因而,大学衍生企业作为知识扩散和应用的结合体近年来备受区域政策制定者的青睐。文章从区域创新的视角出发,从宏观、中观、微观三个层面研究大学衍生企业发展的影响因素。研究表明,大学衍生企业的发展首先受到国家创新战略引领的制约;其次,受到区域技术人才来源环节的畅通及外部支持网络的影响;再次,大学衍生企业的可持续发展最终取决于与其它创新主体之间的网络互动化程度。     

生产要素视角的中国旅游经济发展区域差异研究

从生产要素视角,以旅游业要素投入、旅游收入等为测量指标,采用变异系数、基尼系数、DEA相对效率等量度法对我国的旅游业发展差异进行了研究。以1993—2009年的统计数据测算了我国旅游经济区域差异,结论表明:①产业的要素投入和产出从不均衡走向均衡,区域差异逐渐减小;②当前区域差异处于良性水平;③旅游业的投入—产出效率总体水平有待提升,区域差距突出;④政策推动对西部旅游产业发展效果明显;⑤提高产业效率是我国旅游业面临的关键问题。并对差异产生的原因进行了探讨,尝试性给出了解决区域差异的对策。     

刍议中国西部发展及其对策——从区域调控机制谈起

西部大开发掀起了学术界的研究热潮。本文在全面综览西部发展研究成果的基础上,重点讨论了西部发展的三种调控手段,对西部调控机制现状进行了初步的分析。根据这三种调控方式对西部地区发展提出一些设想。     

JAPAN IN THE NEW WORLD CONFRONTATION: A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE*

In terms of the history of modern economic growth the major axis of world confrontation has always been between early and late comers to industrialization. Severe confrontation arises typically when a late-comer is believed to have developed a model of economic development capable of allowing it to catch up with or even overtake the economic power of the countries that industrialized early. Rises and falls of the various catch-up models in the modern history are examined. In this historical perspective the characteristics of confrontation are identified between the system of developmental market economies in Japan and Asian NIES and the system of liberal market economies in Western countries.     

THE SIZE OF HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTION: METHODOLOGICAL PROBLEMS AND ESTIMATES FOR THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY IN THE PERIOD 1964 TO 19801

Household production as well as other informal economic activities have received scant attention in economic science. In the last decade the view has been taken that there has been a big shift from formal to informal production. In order to examine this trend this article presents estimates for the size of household production for the Federal Republic of Germany which are based on time-budget data collected from 1964 to 1980. To show the sensitivity of the results two different estimating methods the Opportunity Cost Method and the Market Cost Method, are used. Since productivity growth took place not only in the formal economy but also in household production, estimates will be presented which take productivity growth explicitly into account. The article concludes with a comparison of estimates for other countries.     

面向公共政策制定的区域规划--国外区域规划的编制对我们的启示

我国的区域规划经过50多年的发展历程,形成了一个比较庞大的内容体系和一套比较完整的技术程序。但技术性仅仅是区域规划属性之一,政策属性才是区域规划的本质属性,区域规划的科学性是为政策性服务的,新时期的中国区域规划改革应该首先确立和实现区域规划的公共空间政策属性。文章分析了我国区域规划当中政策缺陷及其影响,从公共政策的角度出发,介绍和分析了国外区域规划中的综合性与微观性、规划地位的法定性、规划行政程序的开放性、规划实施手段的多样性,并阐述了国外区域规划对于我国区域规划改革可供借鉴的个人观点。     

空间政策:由区域倾斜到产业倾斜

空间政策具有阶段性的特征,区域倾斜为主是空间政策发展的初级阶段,产业倾斜为主是空间政策发展的高级阶段。我国建国以来无论是实施区域均衡发展战略、非均衡发展战略、还是非均衡协调发展战略,都采取了区域倾斜为主的空间政策来进行空间调控。但是,区域倾斜的空间政策存在着效率与公平时空错位、对市场调控机制的损害和区域一刀切的弊端。产业倾斜可实现提高效率、区域公平和环境友好三大目标的统一,是我国今后空间政策的发展取向。主体功能区划将推进区域倾斜和产业倾斜的结合,是由区域倾斜为主向产业倾斜为主的过渡,在我国空间政策转换阶段,应更多运用产业倾斜的政策手段。