John Stuart Mill's Theories of Wealth and Income Distribution

Although he was much influenced by David Ricardo when he wrote the classical part of his Principles , John Stuart Mill was not a Ricardian when he penned his theories of wealth and distribution. They are based on a triple foundation. First, a belief that economics is a moral discipline. Second a theory of custom-driven human behavior. Third, an empirically formed conviction that the institutions of state, education and business cooperate to structure the distribution of income. On the basis of these presuppositions, Mill formulated 1) an institutional theory of the formation of human and non-human wealth and 2) an even more institutional theory of distribution demonstrating how the aforementioned institutions malignantly skew the distribution of income to the advantage of the propertied classes and to the extreme disadvantage of the working class. As a social economist, Mill recommended institutional reforms designed to eradicate the poverty of the working class.     

Information infrastructure: Who builds broadband networks?

This paper examines the essential difference between the U.S. and Japan, when one considers information infrastructure. There are seven perception gaps between the U.S. and Japan concerning Information Infrastructure policies. These gaps must be understood in order to compare the countries' governmental policies in this area. In looking at the present circumstances, the essential question to answer concerns who is to build, own and operate the network(s) of the infrastructure. Liberalization is certain to be a central factor in the ongoing telecommunications debates. Now that customers have had a taste of the liberalized market-place, the movement toward more open markets will be difficult to stop. When considering options, it is necessary to pay close attention to standardized network access and the increasingly important role software plays. These issues are causing us to take a new approach to the traditional role played by regulators. They also force a closer look at the appropriate structure of utility companies. This paper addresses the above issues in hopes of stimulating dialog on the new telecommunications infrastructure paradigm.     

海岛地区产业演替及资源基础分析--以舟山群岛为例

改革开放以来,舟山市产业构成发生了显著变化,其经济发展过程可以划分为三个阶段。1992年前,是以产业结构渔业占绝对地位的单一结构阶段;1993—1998年,以旅游业为主的第三产业快速发展阶段;上世纪末以来,又进入了新一轮的经济发展时期,即工业产值比重快速增加阶段。根据海岛的自然资源基础和特点,在新世纪的经济发展过程中,舟山市应定位为生态型的港口旅游城市。以港口及临港工业为主导,以海岛旅游和海洋经济为特色,大力发展第二产业和第三产业。海岛地区的主导产业应体现海岛资源优势及区位优势,以集群性环保型产业为主。同时由于海岛地区淡水资源缺乏,主导产业也应着重选择低耗水型产业。     

风险视角下企业治理结构和研发创新——基于委托代理模型的研究

本文基于委托代理模型,从风险的视角研究企业治理结构对研发创新能力的影响。本文构建了一个包含创新活动的委托代理模型进行理论分析,利用动态DEA 模型测算创新能力,并使用2015-2018年我国上市制造业企业数据进行实证检验。实证部分检验了理论结论:委托代理问题不利于企业提升研发创新能力,且客观风险和主观风险厌恶会加剧该负面影响。基于此,本文认为上市企业应根据企业自身研发活动特点有针对性地改善企业治理结构,提出了适当延长代理人任期、推动股权激励计划、提升代理人的风险承担能力等建议。     

生物群落结构原型的仿生学模拟

模拟生命系统管理规律的科学即管理仿生学,是知识时代仿生学研究的新领域与前沿.基于模拟生物群落结构规律的研究目的,采用仿生学模拟的研究方法,以生物群落结构为原型,建立了仿生群落结构模型.结论为:垂直结构、水平结构、时间结构与交错区结构是支持生物群落生命活动的结构规律,以该规律为原型,推理建立了仿生分层结构、仿生优化结构、仿生动态结构与仿生相邻结构,四种仿生结构分别侧重于管理资源的分层管理、局部优化管理、动态过程管理、相邻关系管理,该模型为建立类似生物群落的人造管理系统即仿生群落管理系统提供了仿生结构模型.可以预测,该模型具有广泛的应用价值,能够推动管理仿生学的发展.     

Why rationality may be a consequence of Hume's theory of choice

Facing R. Sugden's criticism of our interpretation, it is shown in this paper that rationality appears as a possible consequence of Hume's theory of choice. We first argue that Sugden's dismissal of the preference relation from the type of rationality through which Hume's theory is apprehended, is highly disputable, from the point of view of both standard choice theory and Hume's theory of passions. Nonetheless, Sugden's criterion of rationality might be restated in Humean terms as a condition of non-revision of preferences in the dynamics of passions. But, since the process of choice that we have described explicitly takes into account the revision of preferences, and shows that, when this last is no longer required, rationality occurs as an outcome of this process, it is not really concerned by Sugden's criticism.     

Team Dynamics Where Followers Have Illusion about Guide

A team is assigned to accomplish a task in each infinitely-repeated period. The guide of the team and his followers are allowed to have asymmetric productivity; also the followers have either a hostile or favorable illusion toward the guide. Respective efforts and the followers’ illusion are private information. At the end of each period, the output of the joint task emerges and the followers evaluate the guide. The analysis shows (1) that potential for an unreasonable evaluation suppresses the guide’s effort down to an average level; (2) letting the followers inform the guide of their illusion in advance increases both sides’ payoffs; (3) abolishing the evaluation reduces both sides’ payoffs in general; and (4) however, if the magnitude of the followers’ hostile illusion weighted by its relative probability is enormous, abolishing the evaluation increases the output and the guide’s payoff.     

US Hegemony and the Origins of Japanese Nuclear Power: The Politics of Consent

This paper deploys the Gramscian concepts of hegemony and consent in order to explore the process whereby nuclear power was brought to Japan. The core argument is that nuclear power was brought to Japan as a consequence of US hegemony. Rather than a simple manifestation of one state exerting material ‘power over' another, bringing nuclear power to Japan involved a series of compromises worked out within and between state and civil society in both Japan and the USA. Ideologies of nationalism, imperialism and modernity underpinned the process, coalescing in post-war debates about the future trajectory of Japanese society, Japan's Cold War alliance with the USA and the role of nuclear power in both. Consent to nuclear power was secured through the generation of a psychological state in the public mind combining the fear of nuclear attack and the hope of unlimited consumption in a nuclear-fuelled post-modern world.     

Dress to impress: Brands as status symbols

We analyzed the market for indivisible, pure status goods. Firms produce and sell different brands of pure status goods to a population that is willing to signal individual abilities to potential matches in another population. Individual status is determined by the most expensive status good one has. There is a stratified equilibrium with a finite number of brands. Under constant tax rates, a monopoly sells different brands to social classes of equal measure, while in contestable markets, social classes have decreasing measures. Under optimal taxation, contestable markets have progressive tax rates, while a monopoly faces an adequate flat tax rate to all brands. In contrast with extant literature, subsidies may be socially optimal, depending on the parameters, in both market structures.     

中国传统管理思想的逻辑层次

本文将中国传统管理思想分为3个层次,认为对基层员工管理的中心在于法字,从经济学和管理学的角度分析了法的作用;对中层干部管理的中心在于忠字,中国人并不忠于专业和企业,而是忠于自己的信念。要使中层干部忠于上级,儒家用德治而法家则用权治;而高层领导管理的中心则是一个道字,道体现了中国企业家做人和做企业的合一,以及对提升人格境界的追求。高层领导团体管理的关键在于志同道合。     

大型体育赛事中的口译应用技巧研究——哈尔滨第24届世界大学生冬季运动会反思

随着中国北京奥运会和哈尔滨第24届世界大学生冬季运动会的成功举办,国内对于体育英语翻译人才的需要也达到了一个空前的高潮。大型体育赛事中的国际交流,外宾接待,新闻媒介等均对高级口译人才提出了很高的要求。而在这样的大型比赛中,大学本科生占了志愿者很大的比例。根据笔者在哈尔滨大冬会组委会外联部任职VIP口译随员的相关经历经验和培训,以及对外联部相关口译资料的搜集整理,对于在本科生阶段怎样在短时间内根据大型体育赛事的要求成为合格的口译翻译进行了总结和探究。     

禀赋不均、信任水平与财富增长——来自实验经济学的证据

财富分配的严重不均会引发一系列社会问题,其中容易被忽视却非常重要的一个是社会信任水平的下降,而信任水平的下降不利于社会发展与财富增长。本文运用实验经济学方法,通过在动态的信任博弈实验中引入一个真实努力任务,研究了不同来源和不同程度的禀赋不均对信任水平的影响,进而考察了不同形式的禀赋不均是否通过信任传导机制造成了不同速度的财富增长和新的财富分布。本文的实验结果发现,相比于完全平等的初始禀赋分布,当初始禀赋分布存在较低程度的不平等时,平均信任水平较高且财富增长较快。但初始的禀赋不平等达到一个较高的程度时,平均信任水平和财富增长速度会显著下降。同时,当初始禀赋存在不平等时,基尼系数会自发地降低,当按劳分配的机制造成的初始禀赋差距过大时,就会抑制基尼系数的自发调节。当且仅当初始禀赋差距过高时,禀赋不平等的来源会影响财富差距的调整。     

How German Labor Courts Decide: An Econometric Case Study

Abstract. Courts are an important element in the institutional framework of labor markets, often determining the degree of employment protection. German labor courts provide a vivid example in this regard. However, we know relatively little about court behavior. A unique dataset on German labor court verdicts reveals that social and other criteria like employee characteristics, the type of job, local labor market conditions and court composition influence court decisions. At least as striking is that workers' chances to win depend on where and when their cases are filed. This generates considerable ex ante uncertainty about outcomes.     

Budget impact of netupitant/palonosetron for the prevention of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting

Background: Chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) are among the most common and debilitating side-effects patients experience during chemotherapy, and are associated with considerable acute care use and healthcare cost. It is estimated that 70–80% of CINV could be prevented through appropriate use of CINV prophylaxis; however, suboptimal CINV compliance and control remains an issue in clinical practice. Netupitant/palonosetron (NEPA) is a fixed combination of serotonin-3 (5-HT₃) and neurokinin-1 (NK₁) receptor antagonists (RAs), respectively, indicated for the prevention of acute and delayed nausea and vomiting associated with highly emetogenic chemotherapy (HEC) and moderately emetogenic chemotherapy (MEC). Phase 3 clinical trials showed a significantly higher complete response rate in both acute and delayed CINV in chemotherapy-naïve patients receiving NEPA compared to patients receiving palonosetron.

Objective: The objective of this study was to estimate the budgetary impact of adding NEPA to a US payer or practice formulary for CINV prophylaxis.

Methods: A model was developed to estimate the impact of adding NEPA to the formulary of a hypothetical US payer with 1.15 million members, including 150,000 (13%) Medicare beneficiaries. The model compared the annual total costs of CINV-related events and CINV prophylaxis in two scenarios: base year (no NEPA) and comparator year (10% and 5% NEPA usage in HEC and MEC patients, respectively). A univariate sensitivity analysis was conducted to explore the effect of variability in model parameters on the budget impact.

Results: A total of 2,021 patients were eligible to receive CINV prophylaxis. With NEPA, CINV prophylaxis costs increased by 0.7% ($3,493,630 vs $3,518,760) while medical costs associated with CINV events decreased by 3.9% ($15,118,639 vs $14,532,442), resulting in a net cost saving of $561,067 (3.0%) for the health plan ($18,612,269 vs $18,051,202), or Background: Chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) are among the most common and debilitating side-effects patients experience during chemotherapy, and are associated with considerable acute care use and healthcare cost. It is estimated that 70–80% of CINV could be prevented through appropriate use of CINV prophylaxis; however, suboptimal CINV compliance and control remains an issue in clinical practice. Netupitant/palonosetron (NEPA) is a fixed combination of serotonin-3 (5-HT₃) and neurokinin-1 (NK₁) receptor antagonists (RAs), respectively, indicated for the prevention of acute and delayed nausea and vomiting associated with highly emetogenic chemotherapy (HEC) and moderately emetogenic chemotherapy (MEC). Phase 3 clinical trials showed a significantly higher complete response rate in both acute and delayed CINV in chemotherapy-naïve patients receiving NEPA compared to patients receiving palonosetron.

Objective: The objective of this study was to estimate the budgetary impact of adding NEPA to a US payer or practice formulary for CINV prophylaxis.

Methods: A model was developed to estimate the impact of adding NEPA to the formulary of a hypothetical US payer with 1.15 million members, including 150,000 (13%) Medicare beneficiaries. The model compared the annual total costs of CINV-related events and CINV prophylaxis in two scenarios: base year (no NEPA) and comparator year (10% and 5% NEPA usage in HEC and MEC patients, respectively). A univariate sensitivity analysis was conducted to explore the effect of variability in model parameters on the budget impact.

Results: A total of 2,021 patients were eligible to receive CINV prophylaxis. With NEPA, CINV prophylaxis costs increased by 0.7% ($3,493,630 vs $3,518,760) while medical costs associated with CINV events decreased by 3.9% ($15,118,639 vs $14,532,442), resulting in a net cost saving of $561,067 (3.0%) for the health plan ($18,612,269 vs $18,051,202), or $0.04 per member per month. This was equivalent to saving $5,011 per patient moved to NEPA. Among all 5-HT₃ RA?+?NK₁ RA regimens, NEPA was associated with the lowest CINV-related costs, leading to the lowest total cost of care.

Conclusions: Adding NEPA to a payer or practice formulary results in a net decrease in the total budget due to a substantial reduction in CINV event-related resource utilization and medical costs, and an increase in pharmacy costs <1%, saving over $5,000 per patient.     

How beliefs influence behaviour: Confucianism and innovation in China

Previous studies have analysed how religious beliefs may affect economic activity. We extend this literature by examining how Confucianism is linked to innovation activity at the firm level in China. We analyse the relationship between Confucianism and several proxies for input and outputs of innovation activities. Our results show that Confucianism is significantly related to lower levels of innovation activity regardless of which measure for firm-level innovation we use. We also find that the nature of ultimate ownership influences this relationship, with innovation among state-controlled firms being significantly more affected by Confucianism. This study thus adds to the understanding of how traditional belief systems influence behaviour among economic actors.     

On Liu estimators for the logit regression model

This paper introduces a shrinkage estimator for the logit model which is a generalization of the estimator proposed by Liu (1993) for the linear regression. This new estimation method is suggested since the mean squared error (MSE) of the commonly used maximum likelihood (ML) method becomes inflated when the explanatory variables of the regression model are highly correlated. Using MSE, the optimal value of the shrinkage parameter is derived and some methods of estimating it are proposed. It is shown by means of Monte Carlo simulations that the estimated MSE and mean absolute error (MAE) are lower for the proposed Liu estimator than those of the ML in the presence of multicollinearity. Finally the benefit of the Lie estimator is shown in an empirical application where different economic factors are used to explain the probability that municipalities have net increase of inhabitants.     

Equality, Evolution and Partnership Law

Equal sharing in partnership law is an ancient rule that has never been adequately explained. An informal model utilizing Nash bargaining solutions and basic statistical principles suggests that it may be the transactions-cost minimizing rule. Evolutionary game theory also suggests how psychological dispositions favoring equal sharing may evolve. Psychological dispositions such as risk aversion are a familiar part of economic analysis of commercial law. However, other evolved dispositions, such as egalitarianism in certain settings, can also fit into economic legal analysis. Dispositions toward equal sharing and consensual governance in small productive groups may have evolved during the long period in which humans produced and shared food in small bands. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The long-run impact of new medical ideas on cancer survival and mortality

ABSTRACT

We test the hypothesis that the arrival of new medical ideas played a major role in the long-run increase in US cancer survival and decline in cancer mortality, by investigating whether the types of cancer (breast, colon, lung, etc.) subject to greater penetration of new ideas, measured using the MEDLINE/PubMED database, had larger subsequent survival gains and mortality reductions, controlling for changing incidence. The 5-year survival rate is strongly positively related to the novelty of ideas in articles published 12–24 years earlier; evidence from case studies that it takes a long time for research evidence to reach clinical practice. Between 1994 and 2008, the 5-year observed survival rate for all cancer sites combined increased from 52.1% to 61.2%. The estimates suggest that about 70% of this increase may have been due to the increase in the novelty of medical ideas 12–24 years earlier. The number of years of potential life lost from cancer before ages 80 and 70 and the number of cancer deaths are inversely related to the novelty of ideas in articles published 12–24 years earlier, conditional on the number of patients diagnosed 1–10 years before and their mean age at time of diagnosis.