The effects of probabilistic innovations on Schumpeterian economic growth in a creative region

We analyze the impact that stochastically occurring innovations have on Schumpeterian economic growth in a region that is creative in the sense of Richard Florida. Our analysis leads to four findings. First, we delineate the so called balanced growth path (BGP) equilibrium and then compute the BGP growth rate in our creative region. Second, we discuss why the lower limit of the support of the random variable that describes the outcome of innovation quality improvements, takes the value that it does. Third, we solve the social planner's problem and derive the Pareto optimal growth rate in our creative region. Finally, we compare the BGP and the Pareto optimal growth rates, we discuss when there is either too much or too little innovation, and we conclude by commenting on the implications of our findings for future research on Schumpeterian economic growth in creative regions.     

Creative capital,information and communication technologies,and economic growth in smart cities

ABSTRACT

We study aspects of economic growth in a stylized smart city with two distinct features. First, the modeled inhabitants of this city are smart because they possess skills. Using the language of Richard Florida, these inhabitants comprise the city’s creative class and hence they possess creative capital. Second, the city is smart because it uses information and communication technologies (ICTs) and we model one specific kind of ICT use. In this setting, we first derive expressions for three growth related metrics. Second, we use these metrics to show that the economy of smart city A converges to a balanced growth path (BGP). Third, we compute the growth rate of output per effective creative capital unit on this BGP. Fourth, we study how heterogeneity in initial conditions affects outcomes on the BGP by introducing a second smart city B into the analysis. At time t?=?0 two key savings rates in city A are twice as large as in city B. We compute the ratio of the BGP value of income per effective creative capital unit in city A to its value in city B. Finally, we compute the ratio of the BGP value of skills per effective creative capital unit in city A to its value in city B.     

Existence of an equilibrium with arbitrary tax schemes for financing local public goods

The existence of a public competitive equilibrium for any arbitrary (nondistortive) tax schemes (in particular, proportional taxes) for economies with local public goods, is proved. Allowing preferences to be both nontransitive and noncomplete enables an explicit introduction of the government as an (additional) agent in the economy. Moreover, we allow for “spillovers” of the public goods among localities, and for the production sets to depend on the amount of public goods produced in the economy. The only restriction on the tax system is that every individual is able to afford it and that the government's budget never runs a surplus. Since every equilibrium allocation is a Pareto optimum, every tax scheme is optimal (in the sense that its equilibrium allocation is a Pareto optimum).     

Human capital use,innovation, patent protection,and economic growth in multiple regions

We provide the first theoretical analysis of the effects of human capital use, innovative activity, and patent protection, on economic growth in a model with many regions. In each region, consumers have constant relative risk-aversion preferences, there is no human capital growth, and there are three kinds of manufacturing activities involving the production of blueprints for inputs (machines), the inputs themselves, and a single final consumption good. Our analysis generates four results. For any given region, we first describe the balanced growth path (BGP) equilibrium and show that the BGP growth rate depends negatively on the rate at which patents expire. Second, we characterize the transitional dynamics in our model. Third, we determine the value of the patent expiry rate that maximizes the equilibrium growth rate of a region. Finally, we show that a policy of offering perpetual patent protection does not necessarily maximize social welfare in a region.     

Discrete Walrasian exchange process

In an exchange economy, we define a discrete exchange process, which is Walrasian, since the trades are determined by the equilibrium allocation of the local equilibrium. We prove that this process attains a Pareto optimal allocation after a finite number of steps and the local equilibrium price then supports the Pareto optimal allocation. Furthermore, along the process, the allocation remains feasible and the utility of each consumer is non-decreasing.     

产业集群中知识溢出与区域竞争力提升研究

在知识经济时代,产业集群内知识溢出成为区域经济增长的主要内生变量,发挥着重要的作用,区域的竞争力也日益表现为对知识占有和利用之间的较量,研发创新、知识吸收与创新成为经济发展的内在动力源泉。本文分析了集群内知识溢出主要通过集群内企业间人员流动、集群内企业间观察模仿、集群内企业非正式交流及集群内企业衍生等途径来实现。探讨了集群内知识溢出和技术创新与区域竞争力的相互作用关系。提出了集群内知识溢出有利于集群企业的技术创新能力提升集群的知识积累水平,激活创新活力,增强区域的整体创新功能、有利于集群内企业降低创新成本与风险提升区域创新效率、有利于集群企业的人力资源的流动提升区域竞争力,从而形成集群区域独特的竞争优势。     

Information,trade and common knowledge

In any voluntary trading process, if agents have rational expectations, then it is common knowledge among them that the equilibrium trade is feasible and individually rational. This condition is used to show that when risk-averse traders begin at a Pareto optimal allocation (relative to their prior beliefs) and then receive private information (which disturbs the marginal conditions), they can still never agree to any non-null trade. On markets, information is revealed by price changes. An equilibrium with fully revealing price changes always exists, and even at other equilibria the information revealed by price changes “swamps” each trader's private information.     

Too Much of a Good Thing? The Economics of Investment in R&D

Research and development is a key determinant of long-run productivity and welfare. A central issue is whether a decentralized economy undertakes too little or too much R&D. We develop an endogenous growth model that incorporates parametrically four important distortions to R&D: the surplus appropriability problem, knowledge spillovers, creative destruction, and duplication externalities. Calibrating the model, we find that the decentralized economy typically underinvests in R&D relative to what is socially optimal. The only exceptions to this conclusion occur when the duplication externality is strong and the equilibrium real interest rate is simultaneously high.     

服务贸易出口、知识产权保护与经济增长

本文首先基于知识产权保护这一视角从理论上研究了服务贸易出口驱动经济增长的作用机理,并且认为,知识产权保护强化了服务业出口部门对其他部门所产生的外部经济溢出效应以及由此分解而来的要素配置效应和技术溢出效应。随后基于90个国家1998—2007年面板数据的经验研究表明:(1)技术与知识密集型服务业出口部门比劳动密集型、资本密集型服务业出口部门更加能够通过要素配置效应和技术溢出效应来促进经济增长;(2)相比于劳动密集型、资本密集型服务业出口部门而言,知识产权保护更加易于强化技术与知识密集型服务业出口部门的要素配置效应,但由于发展中国家的知识产权保护制度不够完善,这些国家服务贸易出口的要素配置效应未能得到强化;(3)不管对于发达国家还是对于发展中国家而言,知识产权保护均强化了劳动密集型、资本密集型、技术与知识密集型服务业出口部门的技术溢出效应。     

Intersectoral Spillovers,Relative Prices and Development Traps

Why is the economic growth rate so low in poor countries? This paper offers an explanation by using a simple two‐sector AK growth model with intersectoral linkages and high relative prices of intermediate goods. Intersectoral linkages lead to two balanced growth paths (BGPs). The high‐growth BGP is a source. The low‐growth BGP is a sink because it has a small final goods sector, small intersectoral spillovers from the final goods sector to the intermediate goods sector, and small marginal products in the intermediate goods sector, yielding high relative prices of intermediate goods. The low‐growth BGP is an attractor and thus development trap. To produce a big push effect, this paper analyzes the first‐best policy and finds that a subsidy to own consumption and a provision of public goods to the final goods sector can internalize the external effect and render the low‐growth BGP infeasible. As a result, there is only the high‐growth BGP.     

R＆D、R＆D溢出、内生增长和内生收敛

根据强调知识与技术创新、知识与技术溢出重要性的当代内生增长理论，本文建立了一个将R＆D和R＆D溢出与资本积累之间、R＆D和R＆D溢出与总产出增长之间直接关联起来的动态模型。面板数据协整检验实证分析结果表明R＆D和R＆D溢出与资本积累之间、R＆D和R＆D溢出与总产出增长之间分别存在显著的正面长期协整关联。进一步的分析表明，R＆D与资本积累之间、R＆D与总产出增长之间分别存在显著的长期双向格兰杰因果关系。由此观知，R＆D乃长期经济增长源泉之所在。另一方面，尽管资本积累或总产出增长并不格兰杰导致R＆D溢出，证据表明R＆D溢出格兰杰导致资本积累和总产出增长。这种由R＆D溢出到资本积累和总产出增长的单向格兰杰因果关系意味着尽管知识与技术的跨国传播并非必然发生。其实为世界经济增长的重要动力。     

On the second optimality theorem of welfare economics

To what extent does the second optimality theorem of welfare economics (every Pareto optimal allocation can be repesented as a Walras equilibrium allocation) remain valid when preferences are allowed to be locally satiated? It is always valid for an exchange economy, and is valid for a production economy if there is a consumer who is not locally satiated, but not in general for a production economy where all consumers are locally satiated. A generalized equilibrium is defined, which includes the Walras equilibrium as a special case. Every Pareto optimum can be represented as a generalized equilibrium allocation. Furthermore, every Pareto optimal utility distribution can be realized by a Walras equilibrium allocation.     

Ambiguity aversion and trade

What is the effect of ambiguity aversion on trade? Although in a Bewley??s model, ambiguity aversion always leads to less trade; in other models, this is not always true. However, we show that if the endowments are unambiguous, then more ambiguity aversion implies less trade for a very general class of preferences. The reduction in trade caused by ambiguity aversion can be as severe as to lead to no trade. In an economy with MEU decision makers, we show that if the aggregate endowment is unanimously unambiguous, then every Pareto optima allocation is also unambiguous. We also characterize the situation in which every unanimously unambiguous allocation is Pareto optimal. Finally, we show how our results can be used to explain the home-bias effect. As a useful result for our methods, we also obtain an additivity theorem for CEU and MEU decision makers that does not require comonotonicity.     

Spillover feedback loops and strategic complements in R&D

This paper studies, in a two‐period model, the effects of knowledge spillovers among product market competitors on R&D levels. It argues that when firms' R&D decisions are strategic complements, in industries in which spillovers increase the marginal productivity of a firm's R&D, both incoming and outgoing spillovers spur R&D in equilibrium. Outgoing spillovers can foster innovation even in a homogeneous‐product industry. In these industries, the intellectual property law should be such that facilitates knowledge diffusion. If firms have power in deciding the level of knowledge spillovers, we show that a firm will choose to disclose its knowledge to its product market competitors.     

An Allocation Rule with Wealth-Regressive Tax Rates

We introduce a public good allocation rule whose direct implementation by asking agents their endowments leads to Nash equilibrium outcomes—always Pareto dominating voluntary contributions outcomes. Although the Nash equilibrium allocations induced by this rule are not Pareto optimal in general, they are so in two-person economies.     

Behavioral spillovers in coordination games

Motivated by problems of coordination failure observed in weak-link games, we experimentally investigate behavioral spillovers for minimum- and median-effort coordination games. Subjects play these coordination games simultaneously and sequentially. The results show that successful coordination on the Pareto optimal equilibrium in the median game influences behavior in the minimum game when the games are played sequentially. Moreover, this positive, Pareto-improving spillover is present even when group composition changes across games, although the effect is not as strong. We also find that the precedent for uncooperative behavior in the minimum game does not influence play in the median game. These findings suggest guidelines for increasing cooperative behavior within organizations.     

Barriers to knowledge spillovers and regional convergence in an evolutionary model

This paper will present a multi-region/multi-country model in which inter-regional knowledge spillovers determine the growth of regions. Key parameters in the model are the learning capability of a region and the rate of knowledge generation (R&D). The intensity of spillovers depends on geographical distance between regions. The model is investigated by means of simulation techniques. What results is a core-periphery situation, the exact form of which depends on the assumed spatial structure. The impact of economic integration is investigated by introducing barriers-to-knowledge-spillovers in the model in the form of borders between countries. Contrary to the popular belief and some economic theories, we find that removing such spillover barriers may result in larger disparity of income levels between regions.     

R&D Spillovers and Growth: Specialization Matters

We explore the relationship between openness and growth by taking a closer look at trade‐related knowledge spillovers at the industry level. First, we estimate the relation between sectoral R&D expenditures, trade‐related spillovers, and growth. Next, we incorporate these R&D linkages in a computable general‐equilibrium model for the world economy. We simulate trade liberalization in the model with R&D spillovers and compare the effects on GDP in different regions with a non‐R&D‐based model simulation. We find that the GDP effects of trade liberalization are magnified considerably by R&D spillovers for some regions—notably Japan and Southeast Asia. In other regions, such as China, the additional GDP effects are modest. These findings can be traced back to changing specialization and import patterns.     

Tariff,Growth, and Welfare

We develop a two‐country (Home and Foreign) by two‐good (consumption good and investment good) by one factor (capital) endogenous growth model with international knowledge spillover to study the relationship between an import tariff and economic growth and welfare. First, unlike the past literature, we do not need to make an assumption such that the growth rates between countries are identical in a balanced growth path (BGP). Second, we show that there exists a unique and saddle‐point BGP with both countries being incompletely specialized. Third, a higher import tariff on the consumption good in the domestic country may boost (reduce) the rate of economic growth when the foreign (domestic) country has an absolute advantage in the investment good. Finally, a rise in the tariff rate by one country may improve world welfare under some parameter spaces.     

知识溢出理论的研究进展与述评

知识溢出的提出最早可以追溯到Marshall对外部性的讨论,自新经济地理理论以来,知识溢出更成为了近年来研究区域经济学增长、产业集群创新等领域不可缺少的变量。首先,通过回顾国内外学者对知识溢出的研究,发现知识的非竞争性和部分排他性是知识溢出现象发生的根本原因,产业内知识溢出和产业间知识溢出在产业发展的不同阶段具有程度各异的影响;其次,因地理距离和社会距离的存在,限制了局部区域知识的外溢,知识溢出具有空间局域性特征。在一定范围内,人力资本流动、商品贸易、FDI、合作研发、非正式交流等活动均成为了知识溢出的途径。尽管知识溢出是无意识的行为,但知识在流动中留下了可追溯的痕迹,并可通过知识生产函数法、专利引用文献法、C-H模型进行测量。最后,文中还展望了知识溢出在解释企业创新决策行为、产业集群创新、区域经济增长等方面的应用,并指出下一个研究方向。