The carbon tax game: Differential tax recycling in a two-region general equilibrium model of the European community

The Carbon Tax Game: Differential Tax Recycling in a Two-Region General Equilibrium Model of the European Community. —This paper examines how the impact of an EC-wide carbon/energy tax on the economic performance of one country is influenced by the way in which the tax is recycled in that particular country and in other countries. The paper utilizes a computable general equilibrium model of (West)Germany and the rest of the EC to analyze any pair-wise combination of four different ways of revenue recycling. A key finding is that the exports of Germany are strongly influenced by the recycling behavior of the rest of EC, and vice versa. These impacts carry over to the different sectors of the economy, depending on their exposure to international competition.     

Retail margins, price transmission and price asymmetry in urban food markets: the case of Kinshasa (Zaire)

Some African food markets can still seem to operate inefficientlyafter price liberalisation. This seems mainly due to the existenceof significant transaction costs because of small-scale operations,and is influenced by lack of grading, deficient infrastructureand information systems. It is shown in the case of retail marketsin Kinshasa that search, supervision and other difficult-to-measuretransactions costs are more important in the margin of foodproducts than the measurable marketing costs (e.g., storage,transport). It is also shown through time series analysis thatmost of the price transmission between wholesale and retailhappens in the same week and that price asymmetry, i.e., thedifferent transmission of price increases compared with pricedecreases, is present for most products. Products characterisedby relatively more standardisation and homogeneity are shownto have lower retail margins and to behave symmetrically. Amodel based on kinked demand curves and search costs might explainthis asymmetric price behaviour.     

What Are SEC Football Tickets Worth? Evidence from Secondary Market Transactions

Tickets to sporting events are highly differentiated—seat location, date and time of the game, and home‐team and opponent qualities make each ticket unique. Preferences also differ nontrivially across fans, all of which make the supplier's pricing problem complex. We examine strategies employed by Southeastern Conference (SEC) universities in pricing their football tickets and evaluate their effectiveness in extracting surplus from fans. We use hedonic analysis of data collected from online secondary market transactions to construct a synthetic season ticket, which we compare to prices actually charged by university athletic departments. We also compare quality premiums charged by universities for better seats with market evaluations of those quality differences.     

德国、日本、韩国政策性银行的运作

现代各国银行体系的构成,一般均以中央银行为首,以商业银行为主体,辅以各种专业性银行.政策性银行是各种专业性银行的重要构成部分,其鲜明的性质、独特的地位,在国民经济中往往起到不可替代的作用.当前,中国加入世贸组织、全面提高对外开放度的新形势,为国内政策性银行提供了更加广阔的发展空间.中国政策性银行有必要借鉴国外先进银行的管理技术和方法,找出与国际标准的差距,采取有效措施,加快与国际接轨的步伐.     

日德财政分权体制对地方经济发展的影响

财政分权体制与地方经济发展的关联性在理论界并没有达成共识。目本、德国“二战”以采财政分权体制在促进地方经济发展中都采取了较为合理的制度安排,不同程度地促进了国家、地区间的经济发展,但是也存在着有待改进的方面。两国的经验对深化和完善我国财政分权体制同样具有启示意义。     

Underlying Demand for Licensed Childcare Services in Urban Japan*

There is growing concern regarding the problem of children waiting for licensed daycare services in Japan's metropolitan areas. In addition to the large number of children on the publicly announced waiting lists, there is an even larger group of underlying demanders, who would otherwise choose to apply for licensed childcare services if the waiting lists were not so long. The present paper attempts to use the contingent valuation method to estimate the underlying demand for licensed childcare services in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area. As a result, we find that the underlying waiting rate for licensed childcare services is much higher than the publicly announced waiting rate; that the shortage of service supply for children aged below 1 year old is especially prominent; and, that the total number of children (age ≤ 3) in the status of underlying demand even exceed the present enrolment considerably.     

Profit margins in Japanese retailing

Using a rich data source, we explain differences and developments in profit margins of medium-sized stores in Japan. We conclude that the protected environment enables the retailer to pass on all operating costs to the customers and to obtain a relatively high basic income. High service levels are positively related with high profit margins, illuminating the importance of service in Japan. Small store competition does not affect performance of medium-sized stores, because small stores operate under circumstances different from those of medium and large stores.     

日本与德国新能源产业结构转型的比较分析

福岛核危机作为新世纪发生的一起7级核事故,对整个世界核能工业的发展乃至新能源产业的发展都造成了巨大的影响。在核事故后,无论是发达国家还是发展中国家对待核能发展的态度可以分为弃核与核改两派。而即使是在同一阵营内部,如同为弃核派的日本和德国,也由于地理、历史以及经济的原因出现了不同的发展方向。日本在减少核能的同时,将重点转向了节能和对传统能源的再开发上,而德国则加强了其他可再生能源的比重。目前来看,这两种方式都可以在一定程度上缓解由于关闭核电站所带来的能源短缺。但从长期的发展来看,德国的方法代表着未来能源发展的方向,具有更加美好的前景。     

英日德低碳硬约束对我国的启示

英日德三国发展低碳经济各有特色,经验较为全面,其中最有效最具有共性的,在于制度的硬约束,包括普遍建立的基本法律体系,实施完整的支持措施和强有力的执行机制,在一定程度上揭示了低碳经济发展的客观规律。借鉴这些经验,我国在促转变中推进低碳经济应加强立法和政策配套,改革干部管理和考核制度,建立富有激励性的金融和财税制度。     

TESTING PROFIT AND STRUCTURE RELATIONSHIP IN THE EUROPEAN BANKING MARKETS USING EFFICIENCY MEASURES

This paper provides a comparison between the developed and developing European countries through investigating the profit–structure relationship in the banking industries. The reduced‐form profit equations are estimated for each group of countries for the period 1995–2006. The results suggest that the inclusion of X‐efficiency and scale efficiency directly in the reduced‐form profit equation is crucial in explaining the bank profit–structure relationship in the European banking markets. When we control for direct measures of efficiency, the market share and concentration coefficient become insignificant in all regressions. The results support the efficiency versions of the efficient‐structure hypothesis over the relative market power and structure–conduct–performance hypothesis. For the developing economies of Europe, the findings of the paper indicate that efficiency is a crucial factor for establishing a sound banking system and the banks in these countries should increase their scale of operations to attain an optimal profit level.     

ON THE OPTIMAL QUANTITY OF PUBLIC GOODS AND RELATED ISSUES

This paper seeks to reopen a discussion on what the profession has considered settled and closed, namely the issue of the optimal quantity of a pure public good. We argue that determination of the optimal quantity by the intersection of the collective willingness to pay curve and the supply curve is inappropriate because it exaggerates the aggregate demand for the public good, thus giving rise to misleading supply decisions. The reason lies in the basic properties of pure public goods, in particular that of non‐rival consumption (joint supply). The paper submits that the optimal quantity of a public good is the largest quantity demanded by any single consumer (individually or as a collective). The individual demand curves are required in the analysis only for the purposes of determining the optimal benefit taxes and an equitable cost sharing formula. We show that under such a formula, based on benefit shares, the budget will be balanced, and since the tax burden is smaller than the benefits, less resentment to taxation could be anticipated under this framework.     

美、日、德中小企业政策比较

中小企业的存在和健康发展,对于抑制垄断、保护市场的有效竞争起着重要作用,并在促进经济增长、提供就业机侩、推动技术创新、带动地区发展、保持社会稳定等方面发挥了不可替代的作用,以至美国人把中小企业称为"美国经济的脊梁",日本人把中小企业誉为"日本经济活力的源泉".但中小企业规模小、筹资难、竞争能力弱、人才与信息匮乏,这些困难阻碍了中小企业的健康发展.因此,大多数国家普遍对中小企业给予高度关注,制定了各有偏重的中小企业政策予以扶持.本文试就代表三种不同类型的市场经济国家美、日、德的中小企业政策进行比较分析,以期对促进我国中小企业的发展有所稗益.     

以德日两国为例谈后起国工业化的四个要点

经验表明，农业、技术创新、金融体系以及政府干预是工业化过程的重要环节，尤其对于后发展的国家而言，在这四个方面进行的制度设计将影响其工业化的进程。本文以德国、日本为例对这一问题进行考察，并在此基础上分析发展中国家的未来前景。     

Retail Payments in the Netherlands: Facts and Theory

Summary Over the last decade, the Netherlands observed a rapid shift from cash and paper-based payment instruments toward electronic payment instruments. Banks are well aware that transaction pricing can speed up the shift to low-cost electronic payments. But payment pricing is a complex matter, due to strong network externalities. Recent theory on two-sided markets has led to a better understanding of the payment industry, in terms of optimal payment pricing and payment network competition. Under two-sidedness, it is shown that payment pricing is not just a question of choosing the right price level but rather of choosing the right price structure.The author would like to thank Lex Hoogduin, Rein Kieviet, Carlo Winder and two anonymous referees for critical comments and valuable remarks. Obviously, the usual disclaimer applies. Views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect official positions of De Nederlandsche Bank or the European System of Central Banks.