The political economy of international trade and factor mobility

Abstract. Free trade in goods and factors is efficient. When we move away from economic theory and consider the policies actually followed by governments, we observe distortions being implemented both on goods and factors trades. It is natural then to question the relative merits of the two types of intervention, and the normative literature has provided only partial answers. We ask then why is the international flow of goods and factors not free, and the political economy literature has looked at the two issues only separately. In studying the determination of trade policy, a theoretical paradigm has emerged, focusing on the role of influence driven contributions. This approach has also found strong empirical support. The literature on the political economy of factor mobility, on the other hand, is fragmented. Distortions in labor and capital flows are typically the subject of different studies, and only recently a unified framework has been proposed. More work has to be done in this area as well as in integrating the political economy of trade and factor movements.     

Sounding the alarm: Impact of political instability on growth and fiscal health of the Indian economy

A noticeable change evident in the Indian political scenario since the eighties has been a sharp rise in the frequency with which governments have been ousted out of power. This augurs well for Indian democracy as it reflects a ‘political awakening’. Such changes in government, after an election reflect ‘orderly’: transfer of power and are inherent to the democratic form of governance. However, a close scrutiny of the political scenario at the state government level shows that there have been very frequent changes in government between elections. A high frequency of changes in government could be expected to result in frequent reversals or modifications in policy decisions and have a destabilizing effect on the economy. The present study is an empirical exercise undertaken at the level of state governments. It makes a first attempt to examine the impact of political instability on growth and on the fiscal health of the Indian economy. Received: September 25, 2000/Accepted: January 11, 2002 RID="*" ID="*" Sincere thanks to Professors Ajit Karnik and Abhay Pethe for their comments and suggestions. I would also like to thank the two anonymous referees for their insightful comments and suggestions, which have been of great help. The usual disclaimer applies.     

Political Instability, Uncertainty and Economics

This paper focuses on the relationship between political instability, policy–making and macroeconomic outcomes. The theoretical section explores various models that explain the effect of instability (and political uncertainty) on growth, budget formation, inflation and monetary policy. The empirical section discusses the evidence on the predictions generated by theoretical models. Preliminary to this discussion, however, is the analysis of a few general issues concerning the specification and estimation of econometric models with political variables. Some new results are then produced on the empirical relevance of theories of strategic use of fiscal deficit.     

Political market failure? The effect of government unity on energy technology policy in industrialized democracies

When do governments implement technology policies that allow society to solve social problems at a lower cost? Focusing on the case of energy, we argue that in industrialized democracies, severe social problems provoke an effective technology policy response when the government is unified. A unified government can easily strike the bargains required to secure political support for new technology programs. We test this theory against data on public energy research and development (R&D) in 22 OECD countries, 1980–2006. We find that as government fractionalization increases in a country, the sensitivity of public energy R&D to wasteful energy use, which presents economic and environmental difficulties to the society, declines. The analysis reveals a new reason for ineffective technology policies and contributes to the broad literature on political market failure.     

降低我国地区间能源强度水平政策研究

经济对能源的依赖性和能源的供需矛盾已经成为阻碍我国经济持续发展的瓶颈之一。如何提高能源利用效率,降低能源消耗成为摆在我国面前的首要问题。本文从价格、结构、技术进步和地方政府行为等多角度因素进行分析,提出降低我国地区间能源强度水平和其差异的相关政策建议。     

Explaining trade policy in the Middle East and North Africa

This paper examines the evolution of trade policy in the Middle East and North Africa (MNA) countries since the 1960s. It shows that contrary to the current popular perception, until the 1980s MNA countries were generally more open than the rest of the developing world. That situation changed in the 1980s and especially the 1990s as most MNA countries maintained their trade policies, while many other developing countries proceeded with liberalization. The paper develops and estimates a political economy model of trade policy to search for the factors behind the initial relative openness of the region and its reversal. The results show that the pattern is related to the rise and decline of the region's resource rents, which affected the political weight of domestic producers versus consumers. Other factors are also considered, but they all seem to have secondary effects.     

有关国家可再生能源促进政策及其启示

为应对能源短缺和环境问题,各国都高度重视可再生能源的发展,本文介绍了英国、德国和美国的可再生能源促进政策的最新进展。在党和政府的高度关注下,我国近年来可再生能源事业获得了巨大的发展,但仍存在一些限制性问题,学习国外的有关经验,对我国可再生能源促进政策的制定具有重要的借鉴意义。     

我国能源生产与消费存在的问题及对策

随着我国工业化经济的发展,能源服务需求不断增强,能源生产与消费总量不断增加。然而,能源生产与消费的高速增长却带来了能源资源浪费及生态环境恶化等一系列问题。本文从我国能源生产与消费的现状出发,分析了我国能源生产与消费过程中存在的问题,进而提出解决能源利用矛盾的对策与建议。     

我国温室气体减排立法的制度建构重点

气候变化应对立法具有典型的政策框架法的特征,因此,从法律与政策的关系维度考量我国温室气体减排立法的制度设计具有非常重要的意义。未来的气候立法,一方面要确认和固化现有政策体系中的规划和计划、目标责任制、地方低碳发展促进制度等一系列政策措施,以推动政策的长期化;另一方面需要通过立法引入碳排放权交易制度、气候环评制度、碳金融制度等一系列新的制度,通过法律的力量推动政策的创新和发展。     

生产要素理论新论——兼论数据要素的共性和特性

新经济下的生产要素已经不局限于传统的劳动、资本和土地,数据已然成为数字经济的核心生产要素。以往的经济学对此讨论不多,且存在不少似是而非的观点。本文从生产要素理论入手,重新界定包括数字要素的生产要素基本概念,总结生产要素优化配置规律,分析生产要素贡献评价中的难题与误区,最后讨论数据要素的特点及相关政策问题。本文的主旨是针对生产要素理论面临的新问题,尝试给出新的理论解释,及时推动生产要素理论的发展。     

中国页岩气产业化发展政策体系构建研究

中国页岩气产业化发展所具有的优化能源结构、促进社会可持续发展的多重效应属性决定了页岩气产业政策体系构建的必要性。目前,我国页岩气产业化发展进入到一个新的发展阶段,面临着核心技术缺乏、投资主体单一、政策体系不完善等问题,制约了其产业化发展。本文在系统分析页岩气产业化发展的技术、投资主体、政策有效性三重困境的基础上,从技术政策、市场政策、财税政策和支撑性政策四个方面构建了中国页岩气产业化发展政策体系。     

充分利用矿井废气实现安全生产效益最大化

为解决矿井瓦斯正常抽放和瓦斯利用问题,唐山矿业公司在调研论证分析的基础上,拟建瓦斯发电站,其位置在唐山矿业公司风井工业广场2号回风井北侧,唐胥公路与唐岳公路之间。     

气候变化的减缓和适应研究

为了应对气候变化带来的不利影响,提出了一系列应对气候变化的措施,主要包括能源、生态、生产方式、交通方式和生活方式等。     

住宅建筑节能探析

随着人们生活水平的不断提升,人们对居住条件和质量的要求逐渐提高,住宅对能源的占有逐渐增大。而目前世界能源供应紧张,要求合理和利用能源、减少能源消耗的呼声日益加大,节约能源迫在眉睫。文章就住宅的建筑规划设计、建筑维护结构设计及建筑节能政策进行分析,以提高人们的节能意识,使住宅建筑节能更完善。     

运用瓦斯抽采保障煤矿安全生产

八连城矿是2006年末建成投产,煤层瓦斯含量大,一直困扰安全生产,通过采用煤层瓦斯抽采,解决了瓦斯超限问题,保证了安全生产。因此,瓦斯抽采是煤矿安全生产的保障。