THE PURCHASING POWER PARITY THEORY AND RICARDO'S THEORY OF VALUE

In this paper the Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) theory and itscriticisms are analysed. The majority of studies show that inmost cases, the PPP indicator is not a good predictor for nominalexchange rate changes, nor a good indicator of relative competitivenessbetween countries. Instead, orthodox and non-orthodox economistsuse relative labour costs to represent real exchange rates.This has interesting implications for the currently acceptedprice determination theory. In turn, this also allows us touse a Ricardian model as developed by Pasinetti to calculatethe ratio of real, vertically integrated unit labour costs betweencountries as a real exchange rate determination theory and asa sectoral relative competitiveness indicator as well.     

JAPANESE STUDIES OF RICARDO'S THEORY OF FOREIGN TRADE*

The standard interpretations of Ricardo's theory of foreign trade assume that money ˙is neutral and conclude that the terms of trade cannot be determined since reciprocal demands are not taken into consideration. In Japan, however, Kojima and Morita emphasized the role of non-neutral metallic money and insisted that Ricardo can determine the terms of trade without introducing the reciprocal demands. A model is constructed to show that their arguments using numerical examples are. justified and that Ricardo's theory has conditional determinacy of the terms of trade without explicitly considering reciprocal demands.     

民营企业的崛起与劳动价值论的深化

江泽民同志指出:我们应结合新的实际,深化对社会主义社会劳动和劳动价值理论的研究和认识。这不仅为深化对劳动和劳动价值理论的研究和认识,阐明了重要性和必要性,而且为对深化研究和认识指明了方向。历史证明:在不同的社会形态中,不同的经济体制下,准确界定劳动的性质,恰当估量劳动在价值创造中的作用,是马克思主义政治经济学的一个基本问题,是清醒认识社会经济关系和正确处理分配关系的理论基础。笔者试从民营企业的视角,谈一些粗浅认识。民企业主对马克思劳动价值论的直觉感悟众多民营企业创始人是由多方人士构成的新群体、新阶层。他们…     

COMPARATIVE ESTIMATES OF THE VALUE OF HOUSEHOLD WORK IN THE UNITED STATES FOR 1976*

This paper uses five valuation methods to derive aggregate and per person estimates of the value of household work in the United States. Two general questions are posed: (1) what is the relationship between the aggregate estimates and the valuation method used, and (2) how do per person estimates vary by sex and earnings? The main observations of the paper are as follows: First, the aggregate value of household work is sizable regardless of the valuation method used. Second, aggregate estimates are extremely sensitive to the method of valuation. For example, the highest estimate is $475 billion greater than the lowest estimate. Third, contrary to earlier findings, opportunity cost valuation methods generally produce significantly higher estimates than market cost valuation methods. Fourth, per person estimates vary significantly by sex and level of earnings across valuation methods. Generally, market cost estimates.     

THE AGGREGATE DEMAND FOR LABOUR IN AUSTRALIA: A META-ANALYSIS*

In this paper, meta-analysis techniques are applied to 34 studies of the aggregate demand for Australian labour. Inverse associations between the real wage and employment and demand and unemployment are established, and positive associations between demand and employment and the real wage and unemployment are established. The associations are stronger with respect to the real wage. The results suggest that at least two-thirds of the variation in estimates across studies is artifactual and is due to specification differences. It is argued in this paper that the available studies are of limited value to policy formulation. No single empirical study can provide definitive measures of a particular parameter. This guarantees that substantial numbers of empirical studies of the more important parameters describing labor demand will have been produced. (Hamermesh, 1993, p. 61)     

SEGREGATION IN THE AUSTRALIAN LABOUR MARKET*

An important measure of the success of immigration is the assimilation of immigrants into the labour force of the host country. This criterion is important from both the perspective of immigrants themselves and that of the host country. Conversely, concentration of migrants in a few sectors is undesirable because of its adverse socio‐economic consequences. Since the pattern of distribution of migrant employment influences the structure and outcomes in the labour market in various ways, it attracts public, academic and policymakers’ attention. The present paper employs various numerical measures to estimate the degree of immigrant segregation across occupations and industries in Australia. The results indicate that the occupational distribution of immigrants is very similar to the proportion of native workers employed in the various occupations. This similarity also characterises the industrial distribution of immigrant employment. Thus, contrary to popular perception and findings for the United States, evidence from the Australian labour market does not indicate the existence of widespread immigrant segregation.