Estimating regional construction cost differences: Theory and evidence

The economic theory of cost functions is employed to derive geographic cost differentials for construction projects located across the United States. Assuming a Cobb-Douglas production technology, cost function estimates are obtained and used to calculate the regional cost differentials for major US cities relative to Washington, DC. Explanations are provided for adjusting these regional cost differentials according to additional information available on input prices or expected future inflation rates specific to particular locations.     

The influence of natural hazards on urban housing location

The effects of natural hazards on urban housing location are investigated, using as an example seismic damage. The seismic damage function is allowed to arbitrarily vary in two-dimensional (r, θ) space rather than the usual one-dimensional models of Mills, Muth, Alonso, etc. Damage is assumed to only affect capital inputs (i.e., the structure), not land. Under the influence of expected damage, the population and CBD (treated as a point) are seen to shift toward lower expected damage. It is found that the relative importance of damage increases as the capital productivity parameter (b) of the Cobb-Douglas production function increases.     

Efficiency measurement with multiple outputs and multiple inputs

This paper discusses modeling technical and allocative inefficiencies in both cost minimizing and profit maximizing frameworks with special emphasis on multiple inputs and multiple outputs. Both primal and dual models are considered for this purpose. In the primal approach we use a separable output and input function (the constant elasticity of transformation output function and Cobb-Douglas input function). The dual models assume translog cost or profit functions. Technical inefficiency is assumed to be random in the cross-sectional models, and fixed firm-specific parameter in the panel data models. Allocative inefficiencies are always treated as input-specific parameters. We derive exact relations linking technical inefficiency and allocative inefficiencies to cost and profit when the underlying technology is represented by a flexible functional form such as the translog. It is shown that appending a one-sided homoscedastic error term to model technical inefficiency, or neglecting technical inefficiency altogether in a translog profit tunciton results in model misspecification and inconsistent parameter estimates.     

Endogenous technology and sectoral productivity: Chile 1962–1982

The choice of sectoral productivity in Chile is studied within the choice of technique approach. The choice of production techniques is an economic problem in that the techniques implemented at any time reflect the prevailing economic environment, as well as its history. Incorporating this choice in the analysis adds another channel through which market conditions can influence productivity while neglecting this simple fact leads to a distorted view of the production process. This view of production is applied here to present an econometric framework for estimating sectoral production functions. The derived function has the form of a Cobb-Douglas function, but its coefficients are allowed to vary in response to the economic environment and to factor utilization. The results show the important effect that macro, external, and institutional shocks have on the level and cyclical behavior of productivity.The editor of this paper was Jaime de Melo.     

Numerical solution of urban residential land-use models

Many recent papers have made drastic simplifications in urban residential land-use models, presumably for analytic tractability. In this one, numerical solutions to models embodying varying assumptions of substantive importance are obtained. These solutions are compared with estimated characteristics of 1950 residential population density functions. The comparisons suggest that a CES production function for housing with an elasticity of substitution of land for structures of 0.75 agrees more closely with observed 1950 characteristics than does the Cobb-Douglas function so commonly used for analytic simplicity. Assuming a constant marginal transport cost for commuters at all distances from the Central Business District (CBD), however, yields results agreeing somewhat better with 1950 characteristics used for comparison than does the more complicated model embodying congestion in commuter transport.     

Explaining economic growth in the Soviet Union, 1950–86

Production function estimates are provided for Soviet industrial production and gross national product for the period 1950–86. A variety of alternative specifications is tested, including Cobb-Douglas, constant elasticity of substitution and variable elasticity of substitution production functions, and an error correction mechanism is used to investigate the long-run properties of the estimated equation. The structural stability of the estimates is also examined. Constant-returns-to-scale Cobb-Douglas production functions suggest that the rate of total factor productivity growth in the Soviet economy has declined steadily over time, becoming negative sometime in the period between 1970 and 1980. However the extensive statistical tests can doubt on the validity of any production function estimated on Soviet data.     

The relative importance of campaign expenditures: An application of production theory

In an election campaign a politician attempts to combine the resources at his disposal so as to maximize the percent of the votes he receives. This behavior is consistent with an economic model of production where the producer combines inputs in order to maximize output. In this paper the concept of an election campaign as a production process is applied to elections to the U.S. House of Representatives. The three inputs were campaign expenditures, years of tenure in office, and the percent of registered voters in candidate's party. Cobb-Douglas and CES versions of the production function are estimated. Each estimation indicated that the marginal productivity of campaign expenditures was very low. Further, the CES estimation indicated low elasticity of substitution between campaign expenditures and other inputs. This means that it is difficult for a candidate who faces a disadvantage—either because his opponent is an incumbent with several years experience, or because he belongs to a minority party—to overcome this disadvantage by simply spending more money.     

The productivity effects of stock option schemes: evidence from Finnish panel data

In this study we investigate the productivity effects of employee stock option schemes. We estimate Cobb-Douglas production functions by using new panel data for all Finnish publicly listed firms during 1992–2002. The data enable us to distinguish broad-based option plans, for which all employees are eligible, from those selectively allocated to particular employees. For both type of schemes, our baseline fixed effects estimators consistently find statistically insignificant associations with firm productivity. When endogeneity of production inputs and option-schemes are taken into account we continue to find no evidence of a link with firm productivity. Our main findings are consistent with hypotheses that predict negligible effects of option plans for enterprise performance, such as those based on free riding, psychological expectancy theory, accounting myopia, or rent-seeking. We consider reasons why our empirical findings on the impact of broad-based options differ from those found in earlier studies.     

A comment on gasoline prices and urban structure

The effect of higher gasoline prices on urban concentration and aggregate work travel is investigated with a simple closed-city general equilibrium model used by Robson and Scheffman. Their approximate solution is shown to be invalid at reasonable parameter values; for the case of a Cobb-Douglas utility function, numerical solution indicates a long-run reduction in average trip length of 1.4% to 2.9% from an increase in transportation cost of 0.5 cents per mile. It is noted that this is still much larger than estimates obtained by other means.     

Ethnic enclaves in the classroom

We use data on elementary-school students to investigate how the home language and other characteristics of a student's same-grade schoolmates influence that student's academic achievement. We exploit the availability of multiple cohorts of data within each school to control for endogenous selection by incorporating school fixed effects in the model. We also exploit the longitudinal structure of the data to estimate value-added models of the educational production function. We find that attending an “enclave” school provides a slight net benefit to Chinese home-language students and a large net cost to Punjabi home-language students. The results are consistent with a simple peer effects mechanism in which the academic achievement or behavior of peers is much more important than their home language.     

我国工程造价咨询事务所内部治理结构问题研究

传统简单的内部治理结构显然无法适应我国造价咨询事务所大规模发展的需要,本文借鉴国外大型会计师事物所成熟的内部治理结构经验,以帮助我国中小型造价咨询公司构建合理的内部治理结构,从而为我国的造价咨询事务所大规模发展提供借鉴.     

新李嘉图模型:古典定律的当代复兴与拓展构想

新李嘉图模型研究的兴起推动了生产率核心范式重返比较优势问题讨论的视野。然而,当代生产率承载比较优势的新机理,却受到非完全竞争因素和要素禀赋结构异质性及动态化的双重影响。本文一方面探讨开发完全竞争假设改变后新李嘉图模型构造的新古典化处理的技术路径,改进基于产品品种考虑的生产率测度方法;另一方面,鉴于经典的C-D生产函数及其衍生模型难以准确反映开放经济中要素禀赋结构异质性及动态化的现实,借助对Uzawa两部门模型的讨论,建立用来表达要素密集性异质分布和动态变化的影响参数,设定面向经典生产函数的一阶约束条件,首次实现Rybczynski效应的可计算模型化及其同经典生产函数的整合。     

中国特色社会主义工会发展道路与高校工会的工作创新

坚定不移地走中国特色社会主义工会发展道路,深入了解国内外和高校新动态,认真研究学校和教职工的实情,创新工会工作观念,加大工会思想宣传工作力度,创新维护教职工合法权益机制,推动高校民主政治建设,创新工会自身建设机制,开创高校工会工作的新局面。     

Adapting Productivity Theory to the Quadratic Cost Function. An Application to the Spanish Electric Sector

In this article we have adapted productivity analysis to the case of a cost model using a quadratic cost function and discrete data. The main theoretical result is a productivity index that can be decomposed into modified versions of the contribution of technical change and the effect of the variations in the scale of production. This framework has been applied to the study of the Spanish electric sector from 1985 to 1996, during which relevant regulatory changes were introduced in order to increase productivity. For this, a normalized quadratic cost function was estimated. The results show important productivity gains with both technical change and scale effect playing important roles.     

一种新的考虑全要素生产率的成本函数估计法

研究目标：探索全要素生产率异质性对成本函数模型估计的影响。研究方法：简要归纳出各类成本函数族和基于半参数法的生产函数改良思路,将以往用于生产函数估计的Olley-Pakes（OP法）运用到成本函数估计中,构建了一个基于半参数估计的成本函数计量模型。研究发现：通过与最小二乘法、固定效应、随机前沿的回归结果对比发现,OP法用于估计成本函数能够在一定程度上控制同步性问题以及样本选择偏差问题,并能测算与分解企业间异质的全要素生产率。研究创新：通过改良成本函数估计方法以控制全要素生产率的异质性和同步性问题。研究价值：对该方法论的探讨有助于成本函数在经济统计、计量经济模型估计、政策效应评估等领域的推广与改良。     

Industrial and Spatial Spillovers and Productivity Growth: Evidence from Taiwan High-Technology Plant Level Data

The purpose of this paper is to recognize the importance of innovation networks and incorporate various types of knowledge and spatial spillovers and their associated adjustments on productivity growth. We explore the temporal, spatial, and industrial/sectoral spillovers using a dynamic external spillover model that assumes each firm derives an optimal plan such that the expected present value of current and future cost streams is minimized. The goal is to measure and evaluate various types of spillover mechanisms, which allow us both to quantify their cost effects and evaluate the contribution of such inter-dependencies on productive performance.JEL Classification: D2, L6, O3     

全要素生产率与人力资本--基于中国经验数据的实证研究（1979-2010）

本文旨在运用中国数据（1979-2010）检验全要素生产率与人力资本之间存在的经验关系,其研究价值在于首次以较完整数据来总结两者30年来的互动发展。首先运用Malmquist指数法和Cobb-Douglas生产函数推导法估算出该期间中国全要素生产率的贡献率,然后以社会平均教育年限及公共教育经费占GDP比重作为人力资本代表指标,运用计量方法进行实验检验。结果发现,社会教育年限的提高有助于全要素生产率的增加,公共教育经费规模也是影响全要素生产率的重要因素。     

关于我系如何培养高素质团总支、学生会学生干部的思考

系团总支、学生会中的学生干部是系学生中的突出群体,在服务同学、协助学校管理、构建和谐校园的各项工作中具有十分重要的作用,是系人才培养和各项建设的重要部分。加强团总支、学生会学生干部队伍的素质培养,是系精神文明建设、系风学风建设和学生思想政治教育工作的重要环节。本文结合作者实际工作体会,分析了系团总支、学生会学生干部的特点,指出存在的问题,探索了培养高素质团总支、学生会学生干部的方式方法,对系学生干部的培养和校园文化建设具有积极的现实意义。     

The impact of embodied and disembodied technical progress on productivity gaps—An applied general equilibrium analysis for Germany and Spain

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of disembodied and of capital embodied technical progress on the closing of international productivity gaps. Within the framework of a partial equilibrium model the direct effect of technical progress on the change of productivity gaps can be calculated directly. However, since the two types of technical progress affect unit costs of industries differently, and hence the system of relative prices, an applied general equilibrium model is required in order to measure the indirect effect of technical progress on the change in productivity gaps. We employ variable cost functions with quasi-fixed effective capital, depending on the rate of embodied technical change, in order to generate a system of prices. Based on similarly structured applied general equilibrium models for Spain and Germany, we quantify the effects of sectoral embodied or disembodied technical change on reduction in national inflation as well as the effect on closing productivity gaps.     

校园网办公系统中公告通知模块的设计与实现

网络办公系统正在逐步取代传统的办公模式,它不但可以提高整体办公效率、降低办公成本,同时也是学校信息化建设的重要组成部分。因此开发一个符合单位实际情况的网络办公系统有着重要的意义,文章对现有办公系统体系结构的局限性进行了分析,提出了基于B/S模式的系统设计方案,并以公告通知模块为例详细介绍了设计与实现的方法,在实际应用中大大提高了公告的传递效率,应用效果良好。