Distributional Effects of Public Investment when Wealth and Classes are Back

In developed economies, wealth inequality is high, while public capital is underprovided. Here, we study the impact of heterogeneity in saving behavior and income sources on the distributional effects of public investment. A capital tax is levied to finance productive public capital in an economy with two types of households: high income households who save dynastically and middle income households who save for retirement. We find that inequality is reduced the higher the capital tax rate is and that low tax rates are Pareto‐improving. There is no clear‐cut trade‐off between efficiency and equality: middle income households’ consumption is maximal at a capital tax rate that is higher than the rate which maximizes high income households’ consumption.     

Who Benefits from Trade Wars?

Even though economists keep on emphasising the benefits of international trade, protectionism is on the rise in many industrialised countries. The authors argue that a potential explanation for this phenomenon can be found in the short-run distributional effects of import tariffs: while protectionism hurts the economy from an aggregate perspective (i.e. GDP goes down), unskilled workers in import-competing sectors benefit in the short run and do not lose in the long run. They might therefore lend political support to protectionism.     

Utilizing low-wage labour for economic growth: A critical analysis of Bangladesh’s trade policy review

Critically analysing some suggestions of the WTO’s trade policy review mechanism (TPRM) on Bangladesh’s trade and labour policy, this article proposes that attention to the sustainable development (SD) objective of trade liberalization can redirect the review process. Amartya Sen’s capability-based perspective to SD is borrowed to argue that the TPRM can advise on some urgent social or distributional impacts of trade liberalization, or at least refrain from advising/encouraging economic growth based solely on utilizing low-wage labour. However, it argues that even with a broader approach the TPRM might be unable to address some crucial social or distributional issues: for example, it might not be possible to report on issues relating to semi-formal or informal workers and their life-threatening work conditions. Addressing these complex trade-related social concerns require effective coordination between mechanisms and forces operating at multiple governance frameworks.     

Ist die Energiewende sozial gerecht?

The transition of the German energy system towards renewable energy carriers triggers considerable costs for private households. Costs are passed through to households by a surcharge per kilowatt hour. This effectively leads to high cost burdens for poorer households relative to wealthier ones. The authors discuss the issue from the perspective of social justice and argue that costs are distributed in an unfair manner. In the light of the rising costs of renewable energy promotion, affordability of energy among the poorest should receive increasing attention. Measures of fuel poverty and deprivation with respect to energy could serve as adequate ex-post indicators of non-affordability and should be considered in Germany.     

Ersatz für die Grundsteuer: eine einfache,effiziente, kostengünstige und gerechte Lösung

The highest constitutional court in Germany recently declared that property tax is not in conformity with the constitution. A revision of the property tax laws needs to be undertaken but there is no consensus about a favourable solution yet. One of the main obstacles to a consensus is tackling the new assessments of over 35 million households and the ensuing wave of millions of lawsuits. This paper proposes avoiding those costs by slightly increasing the tax rates of the value added tax and income tax and giving the increased revenues to the municipalities as a substitute for the property tax. This procedure has at least two advantages: (1) It can take up and reflect the distributional effects of the property tax. (2) It is simple, efficient, economic and fair.     

Das Bedingungslose Grundeinkommen — ein tragfähiges Konzept?

The introduction of an unconditional basic income has been discussed in Switzerland for many years. Germany, however, takes a sceptical view of this idea. The authors of this ?Zeitgespräch“ express disparate opinions on how broadly the concept should be defined, but they agree on the motive behind the concept: respect for human dignity. Moreover, it may make many social policy rules obsolete. There are conflicting opinions concerning the reaction of labour supply to the unconditional basic income. Some authors fear that it will shrink substantially. But its financing will be the main problem. There are proposals to increase the value added tax rate. The economic impacts of funding it by income tax revenues are analysed using a macroeconomic model. Ultimately, the implementation of the concept will have distributional effects which are very difficult to predict.     

The institutional dimension of business ethics: An agenda for reflection research and action

The current discussion of business ethics is nothing new. In fact it has been a topic of common interest to both researchers and top managers since the mid fifties; the focus adjusting to issues and problems of the times. The authors of the article list four themes they believe to be of relevance for future discussion. First, ethics as an instrument of business behavior is entering a new dimension due to negative side effects of economic activities, which are even observed on a global scale and where it is doubtful that governments can adequately manage this complex environment. From this view, ethics becomes a decisive component of efficiency and requires a new way of thinking on the development of the market system and on a new delineation of responsibilities between government and markets. Second, in the process of transformation of the East-European states it seems to be all the more important to emphasize the ethical characteristics which are part of the concept of competition — the gains to the consumer due to the plurality of search and discovery procedures, the capability to correct and absorb wrong decisions, and the specific distributional ethics. Third, business ethics as an element of the firm's “guiding vision” has to be incorporated into its corporate culture, which will foster an institutional ethic of the firm — the joint effect of individual ethics within the history of the firm coupled with time and experience. Fourth, conflicting business philosophies must be judged with reference to the process of communication of business ethics. Summing up business ethics has a micro and macro component and is related to the individual firm as well as to the structure of the economic and social order. Ethics will, however, have a limited effect if it is not accompanied by the change in goals, structures and processes.     

Do consumers act in a sustainable way using their refrigerator? The influence of consumer real life behaviour on the energy consumption of cooling appliances

Over recent decades, energy savings and resource conservation have become increasingly important issues for debate, and this includes the residential sector. Since the introduction of the European Energy Label, the energy consumption of appliances has decreased drastically. Additionally, a number of guidelines have been published to assist the consumer in adopting more energy‐saving behaviours. Refrigerators and freezers in particular are covered by these recommendations because they are large energy consumers in domestic households. In order to understand the influence of consumers' real life circumstances and their behaviour in relation to the energy consumption of refrigerators, a web‐based survey was carried out. A total of 1011 participants in four European countries completed a questionnaire to allow the researchers to gain information about refrigerator characteristics and consumer behaviour in relation to refrigerator use. As well as demographic and socio‐economic characteristics of the participants, data were collected on refrigerator configuration and specification, ambient conditions (ambient temperature, position near any heat sources), and consumer behaviours such as shopping frequency, loading of the refrigerator, door opening and food consumption. The study has shown that recommendations on energy efficient usage are not always observed. A major finding of the present study is that for 25% of refrigerators, correct operation is not ensured as these appliances are operated outside the temperature ranges specified according to their climatic classes. This suggests a lack of consumer information on this topic. Consequently, guidelines and recommendations will have to be revised and their dissemination to be improved in order to ensure the sustainable and safe use of domestic refrigerators.     

The Way into Bankruptcy: Market Anomie and Sacrifice Among Portuguese Consumers

Portugal ranks among the EU27 countries with higher levels of consumer indebtedness. Contrary to the trend observed in countries with similar indebtedness rates, Portugal has one of the lowest rates of consumer default. Previous studies (e.g., Frade et al. 2006) have identified three strategies that have contributed to keep levels of credit default low: reliance on savings, financial support from relatives and friends, and cuts in household expenses. These strategies have been widely used for the last decade and have been strained since the very beginning of the global financial crisis in 2007. We argue that these three strategies are near to collapse and consequently the levels of consumer default will rise steeply in the next years. The savings rate in Portugal has been declining over time, and the social networks are limited in their action due to the current crisis that affects everyone. In this article, we advance the hypothesis that sacrificing living standards is rooted on collective beliefs about the current economic crisis in Portugal and trust in political and market agents in line with the Theory of Market Anomie (Karstedt and Farrall 2006). The conclusions are based on macroeconomic statistics and on the results of a Web survey of 1244 Portuguese households, which focuses on attitudes towards the financial crisis, trust in political and economic institutions, and strategies to cope with the crisis. The results show that trust in financial companies (banks and insurance companies) and in the European Parliament promotes a sense of empowerment to contribute to the country economic restoration. This attitude induces citizens to avoid default by sacrificing living standards. But in the current austerity context, with low levels of trust in political institutions and detachment of the economy, consumers will be less prone to sacrifice. In this scenario, credit default and insolvency is expected to rise especially in those households most exposed to unemployment and to cuts in social benefits. This reality puts a huge and growing pressure on bankruptcy procedure, civil courts, and economic and social policies. Some adjustments should be made to the Portuguese Bankruptcy Code by facilitating and simplifying the bankruptcy regime in order to accommodate the increase in insolvency cases. But the improvement of the insolvency procedure will not resolve the situation of financial distress if the structural causes persist, such as unemployment and deterioration of salaries, and cuts in social benefits. A reform of the Bankruptcy Code facilitating and simplifying the bankruptcy regime should be coupled with measures that boost the economy and stimulate the labour market. Otherwise, Portuguese households will not have the resources necessary to benefit from the bankruptcy process and regain the control over their financial lives.     

Globalization and labour rights: the case of Korea

In this contribution the background of Korean industrial relations (IR) is reviewed, followed by analysis of more recent changes with a special focus on globalization issues. We argue that globalization has both positive and negative effects on IR issues in Korea. There was a positive side of globalization in terms of worker rights, hence basic labour rights have been improved to meet global labour standards. However, there was a negative side to it as well in terms of working conditions and employment practices, which brought substantial setbacks for unions and rapidly eroded their power base. This negative side has more clearly appeared after the recent economic crisis.     

Consumer voices: adoption of residential energy‐efficient practices

The purpose of this research is to identify constraining variables that may impinge on adopting energy‐efficient practices, materials, equipment and technology in households. The intent is to uncover relationships of attitudes, beliefs, knowledge and other resource constraints to: (1) existing housing adaptations and adjustments for energy efficiency; and (2) more efficient use of energy in homes. A second objective is to identify existing practices used to reduce energy use and the adaptations made to the existing structure, materials, equipment and technology for energy efficiency as well as their intentions to make future adaptations. Constraint variables include knowledge of existing energy‐efficient practices and technology; economic constraints (household income, cost as a problem, financial need and existing energy costs); obstacles to making changes (lack of information, assistance, time, cooperation, trained persons and the condition of home); and demographic variables (age, education level and urban/rural). Attitude and belief constraints include measures of felt responsibility for energy use‐related actions that impact the natural resources and environment, and measures of concern. These constraints may impinge on or contribute to making energy‐efficient changes in residential households. Questionnaires were mailed to a random stratified sample of 800 households in Nebraska (US state) in April and May of 2008, resulting in a 29% return rate. The analysis indicates that the research produced information about constraining factors that impact the existing energy‐efficiency levels of households. The use of energy‐efficient equipment and technology, and behaviour practices that reduce energy use are related to those barriers. However, residential energy use and behaviour change result from a range of psychological and contextual influences on behaviour. Behaviour is often inconsistent with attitudes because of the presence of various constraining factors that preclude consistency with behaviour. Educational programmes have a challenging task if they are to alter attitudes and norms to overcome situational constraints. It may be more fruitful to educate and to remove the constraints impinging on those who already have a positive attitude about the need to increase energy efficiency for whatever reason.     

Money,Comfort or Environment? Priorities and Determinants of Energy Efficiency Investments in Irish Households

Energy efficiency is an effective strategy to reduce household energy consumption. Investments in energy efficiency measures (EEMs) result in reduced energy bills and increased comfort for households, while also contributing to national environmental targets. This article examines an energy efficiency scheme in Ireland and investigates the factors that determine investments in energy efficiency measures and the motivations of Irish households to participate in energy saving programs and adopt EEMs. The paper investigates three key research questions: the determination of investments in EEMs, with special focus on motivations and their relative importance; the consistency of motivations over the course of the decision-making process; and the consistency of determinants and motivations for investments in EEMs across different measures. The paper studies the implementation of seven energy efficiency measures in residential houses throughout Ireland. Results indicate that the decision to ultimately apply and invest in EEMs is mainly driven by monetary or economic factors such as gains in energy savings and the private cost of the measures. Comfort gains are found to be a secondary factor and environmental benefits of EEMs are found to be of little concern when making investment decisions. Finally, we suggest focusing on providing information about the benefits of the EEMs on energy savings and improvements in comfort in order to increase the adoption of EEMs by households in Ireland.     

民航飞行员适当自动化任务转换模式的认知神经科学研究思考

民航飞行员适当自动化任务转换模式的认知神经科学研究可以采用脑电能量分析、心率分析和事件相关电位分析技术,探讨与任务相关的EEG能量参数以及ERP脑波成分和脑激活情况,为人机分配任务提供客观依据。研究建立在认知工作分析基础上的具目标导向性的领域知识的表征结构和内容显现出极大的优越性,对于人与自动化系统的地位、人与自动化系统的交流、人对自动化系统的干预等问题的认识有极大的参考价值,并且能够以此来充实培训材料和飞行手册。     

The overselling of globalization

Globalization was oversold. Politicians and some economists wrongly argued for trade agreements on the basis of job creation. The gains to GDP or growth were overestimated, and the costs, including adverse distributional effects, were underestimated. There have been important political consequences of this overselling, including the undermining of confidence in the elites that advocated globalization. The failures of globalization and the misguided backlash against it contain many lessons: about the importance of science and learning in society, the importance of the shared acceptance of facts, the dangerous consequences of deliberately misinforming the public, and the folly of ignoring the distributional consequences of economic forces just because they may lead to growth. The new protectionism advocated by the administration of Donald Trump will only worsen the plight of those already hurt by globalization. What is needed is a comprehensive system of social protection. After cataloguing the failures of globalization and explaining how they led to our current political mire, this paper outlines a set of policies that could put the economy and our politics back on a better path.     

Distributional effects of environmental taxes on transportation: evidence from Engel curves in the United States

Indirect taxes on transportation activities that pollute can correct externalities and close the gaps between private and social costs. However, policy makers often find such Pigou taxes difficult to implement because of political resistance due to possibly adverse affects on equity. For this reason it is important to assess the distributional aspects of environmental levies. This article estimates properties of the demand for transportation in parametric and non-parametric analyses of Consumer Expenditure Surveys for the United States and finds patterns in the resulting set of Engel curves. Private transportation using air flights and new cars has Engel elasticity above unity while public transportation via mass transit has Engel elasticity below unity. The findings can be interpreted in an important way since they show that a differentiated scheme of environmental taxes on transportation may function progressively. A Pigou scheme with larger taxes on modes of transportation that pollute more appears to coincide with larger levies on luxury modes preferred by richer households.     

Distributional issues in the context of the economic crisis in Europe

This article takes a step back from the debate on the precise causes of the crisis and the detailed steps needed to resolve it. It focuses on distributional issues and discusses the ways in which widening income inequality in most European countries has been linked to factors that lie behind the crisis. It then considers distributional effects of current efforts to resolve the crisis and explains why crisis-resolution policies need to address distributional concerns. Finally it proposes measures, many of which require coordination at least at the European level, to address the distributional crisis that otherwise awaits us in coming years and that will ultimately help to establish a new, more economically and socially balanced growth model.     

Residential energy behaviour: does generation matter?

In this study we tested the relevance of the generational hypothesis, that is, whether the era in which household members grew up matters when understanding and predicting their behaviour, on a sample of 600 Swedish households. These households participated in a survey where they answered questions about their own energy‐related residential energy behaviour. The answers were analysed for differences between age groups, between different attitudes to environmental issues, between income levels and between dwelling types. The results showed that age was as good an indicator as the other parameters. In several areas, older households had a more energy‐efficient residential behaviour than younger ones. Examples are laundry practices and indoor heat regulation. According to the generational hypothesis, this finding implies higher energy use in the future. The study also shows that there is a broad scope for improving residential energy behaviour in Swedish society by implementing changes in laundry avoiding practices, dishwashing behaviour and indoor temperature regulation.     

我国企业家成长的内在障碍与消除路径

企业家被誉为＂经济增长的国王＂。能否形成一支健康的企业家队伍将直接关系我国经济社会发展战略目标的实现与否。影响我国企业家成长的因素很复杂,但企业家队伍自身存在的问题是阻碍企业家成长的关键,这些问题集中体现在企业家精神、企业家道德素质和现代管理能力素质的缺陷上。造成这些缺陷的原因可以从我国的教育体制、企业家成长的基础和企业家成长目标及评价标准的不足等方面去寻找。我们必须对症下药,深化教育体制改革、构建科学的企业家成长目标和评价标准体系、优化企业家成长环境,从根本上消除我国企业家成长的障碍。     

A Model of Household Grocery Shopping Behavior

The shopping trip to the grocery store is one of the most basic elements of consumer behavior. The authors seek to provide an understanding of the factors that account for variations in shopping behavior across households. They present a model of shopping behavior that assumes that households seek to minimize the travel cost associated with shopping and the cost of holding goods in inventory. As in the classic EOQ model, observed shopping behavior reflects the manner in which households balance these costs while meeting their consumption needs. A number of propositions derived from the model are tested using data on shopping trips made by households over a one-year period. The results support the model and indicate that the relationship between household characteristics and shopping behavior can be fairly complex: for some households shopping may have a recreational aspect while for others it may compete directly with wage-earning activity.     

Economics in a Major Bank

Objective analysis of the economic outlook is the core of Silvia’s work at Wells Fargo. Success requires frequent revision because small changes can have big consequences. This requires taking advantage of data processing power that was unavailable even a short time ago and the ability to disseminate results fast to those who use them. Good analysis, however, is not sufficient: it is also necessary to understand the institution in which one operates in order to be effective. In Silvia’s position, effective media relations are also important, with the team members who are most informed about the issue at hand dealing with media issues. Finally, there is a crucial role for continuing education.