On Sraffa's Standard commodity

The necessity of expressing the relative price of a commodityin terms of another commodity makes it impossible to distinguishthat part of any change that can be ascribed to the characteristicsof the commodity itself from the part of that change that isto be ascribed to the characteristics of the commodity of reference,i.e., the numéraire. Ricardo (1817) was the first topoint out this problem and the need to find an ‘invariablemeasure of value’, but he was not able to solve the problem.In 1960, Sraffa suggested using a bundle of commodities, thathe called ‘Standard commodity’, to accomplish thisfunction, claiming that it was a standard of value invariantwith respect to changes in the distribution of income. But inSraffa's book there is no explicit proof of this claim. Thisgave rise to many misunderstandings about the Standard commodityand its role as invariable measure of value. This paper proposesa proper definition of an ‘invariable measure of value’,and then proves that the Sraffa ‘Standard commodity’does fulfil the requirements of this definition.     

Against the current: Sraffa's unpublished manuscripts and the history of economic thought *

The paper throws some new light on Sraffa's contribution, using material from his yet unpublished papers. Attention focuses on Sraffa's rediscovery of the distinct character of the classical theory of value and distribution and his refutation of the Marshallian interpretation that it is only a special case of demand and supply theory, his reformulation of the classical theory, and his criticism of the alternative neoclassical theory.     

On Sraffa's Standard commodity: is its price invariant with respect to changes in income distribution?

In his 1960 book, Sraffa suggested using a composite commodity,which he called the ‘Standard commodity’, to solveRicardo's search for an invariable measure of value, i.e., astandard capable of isolating the price movements of any othercommodity induced by changes in income distribution. The absencein Sraffa's book of an explicit proof of the invariance propertyof this standard gave rise to many misunderstandings about itsmeaning and its role as an invariable measure of value. In orderto clear up these questions, Bellino (On Sraffa's Standard commodity,Cambridge Journal of Economics, vol. 28, 121–32, 2004)has proposed a ‘proper’ definition of an ‘invariablemeasure of value’, showing that Sraffa's Standard commoditydoes fulfil the requirements of this definition. He claims thatthe fulfilment of this property (but not the constancy of its‘nominal’ price) qualifies the Standard commodityas an invariable measure of value. In this paper, a proof ofthe invariance of the price of the Standard commodity with respectto changes in income distribution is given, and the equivalenceof this property with Bellino's definition of invariance isshown.     

人民币汇率制度的演进过程及改革走势

人民币汇率问题引起海内外广泛的关注，从人民币汇率制度的历史演进和改革方向我们可以推断出重点在于汇率形成机制的市场化过程。2005年的改革是内外因共同作用的结果，形成了基本上是国际上所说的“BBC”型汇率制度。我国近期不应以完全自由浮动为目的，而是重归真正的以市场供求为基础的有管理的浮动汇率制度；长期目标就是实现人民币完全可自由兑换，实行自由浮动汇率制。     

人民币实际汇率水平的合理性评估:1994-2008

本文基于行为均衡汇率模型,采用1994年第1季度-2008年第2季度的时序数据样本,运用自回归分布滞后模型测算了人民币均衡实际汇率,并对人民币实际汇率的合理性进行了评估.分析结果表明,经济基本面因素能较好地拟合人民币实际汇率的变化过程;人民币实际汇率经历了三次低估和三次高估,但失调程度并不严重.     

从贸易摩擦到汇率系统的国家利益冲突

本文由国际贸易理论中存在的多童均衡引发的国家利益冲突从而引起世界各国在国际贸易中面临国家竞争战略的机制这一论点出发,以美日两国国家竞争战略的机制选择为例,阐明汇率系统的冲突已经成为当前世界各国国家利益冲突的主要形式.这一研究结论为中国国家竞争战略的选择和制定提供了一种思路.     

Capital theory and the origins of the elasticity of substitution (1932-35)

Elasticity of substitution was introduced into economics duringthe early 1930s. It was discovered independently by Hicks inThe Theory of Wages and by Joan Robinson in The Economics ofImperfect Competition, and then was the centre of a polemicinvolving Kahn and Sraffa, among others. The debate focusedon imperfect competition and capital-theoretical issues. Someelements of the 1950s and 1960s capital theory controversy,such as the idea of capital as a Giffen good or the difficultiesof measuring capital, were already discussed at this early stage.     

偏向性技术变迁、习惯形成与中国经济周期特征——基于RBC模型的实证分析

本文构建了一个同时引入偏向性技术变迁与中性技术冲击的包含居民消费的习惯形成的随机动态一般均衡模型,并以此模型为基础,对1979-2009年间中国宏观经济进行实证检验。研究表明:模型的预测结果与中国的特征事实较一致;对中国宏观经济的解释力要强于未包含劳动的RBC模型、包含资本劳动的可分劳动RBC模型、引入居民消费的习惯形成的可分劳动RBC模型,说明这一模型更符合中国经济的特征事实;与正的中性技术冲击具有正财富效应相反,正的偏向性技术变迁冲击具有明显的负财富效应特征;我国1979-2007年间推行的降低劳动弹性的偏向性技术变迁工业化发展战略促进了我国居民消费的增加、资本积累与GDP产出的提高,故而认为,这个战略是成功的。     

Exchange rate volatility and the mixture of distribution hypothesis

This study sheds new light on the mixture of distribution hypothesis by means of a study of the weekly exchange rate volatility of the Norwegian krone. In line with other studies we find that the impact of information arrival on exchange rate volatility is positive and statistically significant, and that the hypothesis that an increase in the number of traders reduces exchange rate volatility is not supported. The novelties of our study consist in documenting that the positive impact of information arrival on volatility is relatively stable across three different exchange rate regimes, and in that the impact is relatively similar for both weekly volatility and weekly realised volatility. It is not given that the former should be the case since exchange rate stabilisation was actively pursued by the central bank in parts of the study period. We also report a case in which undesirable residual properties attained within traditional frameworks are easily removed by applying the log-transformation on volatilities.

Notes and comments. A re(in)statement of the labour theory of value: a comment

The aim of this paper is to show that the main conclusions inMohun's (1994) paper rest on an implicit assumption: the compositionof net output has to remain constant. When this is removed,some paradoxical results are obtained.     

我国汇率与存款利率的关系研究：2000.1-2007.8

本文通过对2000年1月到2007年8月期间的人民币汇率与利率的关系进行了格兰杰因果检验,并采用单位根检验,建立VAR模型,通过脉冲响应函数和方差分解分析了二者的关系。结果表明,汇率变动影响着居民储蓄存款利率的变化较为显著,而居民储蓄存款利率影响汇率变动的力度较弱。我国存在着阻碍汇率利率联动的制度、经济等因素。     

中国农村医疗保障制度:一项基于异质性个体决策行为的理论研究

This paper is aimed to provide some responses to the following three hotly debated issues regarding China’s new rural cooperative medical system (NCMS), which was launched at the beginning of 2003. Firstly, how many people would join the system voluntarily? Secondly, can the system be self-balanced? And thirdly, would the lump-sum tax benefit the rich more than the poor? We build a decision model with heterogeneous agents and we compute the implications of NCMS and find under certain conditions, the balanced-system can be sustained and the rate of participation could be higher than 90%. Moreover, it is the unhealthy poor that benefit more from NCMS.     

关于降低我国失业率的构想

从我国失业率的变化趋势看，城市登记失业率、真实失业率都呈上升趋势。究其原因，主要是劳动力供给过剩所使然。而失业率过高，无论是国家还是居民家庭都会为此付出巨大代价。为了减少失业、降低失业率，我们必须从劳动力供求两个方面努力，一方面要积极发展经济，扩大劳动力需求；另一方面尽可能地缩小劳动力供给。     

On the importance of institutions and forms of organisation in Piero Sraffa's economics: the case of business cycles,money, and economic policy

Abstract

This paper is based on an investigation of the Sraffa Archives and tries to characterise Piero Sraffa's approach to business cycles and economic policy. It includes two parts. The first part of the paper shows the importance of economic institutions and social conventions in Sraffa's contribution to economics and their relation with social conflicts. The second part of the paper shows how this importance permits to understand better business cycles and economic policy but also indirectly contributes to a re-interpretation of Sraffa's contribution to economics.     

Information and the persistence of private-order contract enforcement institutions: An experimental analysis

We study an experimental market in which some sellers are prone to moral hazard, and in which a private-order contract enforcement institution exists that can mediate trade and prevent sellers from reneging on their contractual obligations. Using the institution to resolve the moral-hazard problem is costly. We demonstrate that in this market, the utilization of the private-order contract enforcement institution may make public and private market signals uninformative and inhibit learning. We study whether this potential information externality can limit adaptation away from the private-order institution when it is efficient to do so. Consistent with theory, we find inefficient persistence when the institution is used, but by contrast, efficient adaptation in other situations. Providing information to individuals who are using the private-order institution allows them to partially adapt.     

我国商业银行利率风险管理系统构建

文章分析了我国商业银行利率风险的表现形式，并借鉴国外商业银行利率风险管理的经验。在此基础上，提出构建有效的利率风险管理系统的建议。     

我国利率市场化改革的难点及对策分析

利率市场化是金融市场实现资源合理配置的重要内容，是加强金融间接调控的关键，对于推进建立现代企业制度及改革其他相关制度，优化资金配置、调整国民经济结构都具有极其重要的作用。近些年来，我国的利率市场化水平有了很大的提高，利率机制时市场的导向作用也在不断加大。结合利率市场化改革的进程，深入细致地分析并制定出行之有效的应对之策，对于我国利率市场化改革的进一步深化无疑具有积极的推动作用。     

试论中国现行汇率制度与利率市场化之间的关系

本文首先回顾了关于利率与汇率关系的经典理论，在此基础上分析了不同经济体制下，利率与汇率的联动性，指出中国尽管已经开始改革汇率和利率，但实质上仍然实行的是固定汇率制、外汇管制较严格、利率还未完全市场化，正是在这种情况下，中国的利率与汇率机制传导不顺畅。本文基于此，实证检验了人民币汇率制度与利率的关系，发现改革开放前中国的利率与汇率之间相关性不明显；自1978年以来，人民币汇率与利率之间逐渐发生了相互作用。由此认为无论是在改革汇率制度方面，还是继续推行利率市场化方面，国家都必须考虑国内外金融市场的密切关系。     

From correlation to dispersion: geometry of the price-value deviation

This paper deals with the problem of measuring the deviation between different vectors of prices. We analyse both conditional and unconditional measures of the price-to-price deviation by using the geometry of least squares as an auxiliary tool. We discuss two fundamental types of measure: the correlation between two different sets of prices, and the dispersion in a set of ratios between pairs of prices. We show that none of these measures can be used to estimate the actual degree of disequilibrium in a real system of prices, due to a problem related to the selection of measurement units.