Endogenous timing in trade policy games: Should governments use countervailing duties?

Endogenous Timing in Trade Policy Games: Should Governments Use Countervailing Duties? - Trade policy under oligopoly is analysed in two multistage games with endogenous timing of trade policy. At the beginning of the games, the domestic and foreign governments choose whether to set trade policy at stage one or two. It is shown that in the subgame perfect equilibrium of both games, the domestic government will set its tariff (and production subsidy) at stage one and the foreign government its export subsidy at stage two. The domestic country commits not to use a countervailing duty in both games, and both countries are better off than when they set trade policy simultaneously.     

The effects of debt versus equity inflows on savings and growth in developing economies

Zusammenfassung Die Wirkung von ausl?ndischer Kapitalbeteiligung und Kreditfinanzierung auf Ersparnisbildung und Wachstum in Entwicklungsl?ndern. — Zur Bew?ltigung der internationalen Schuldenprobleme von Entwicklungsl?ndern wird h?ufig vorgeschlagen, die Struktur des Kapitalimports zugunsten von Forderungsarten zu verschieben, bei denen sich die Gl?ubiger am wirtschaftlichen Risiko beteiligen, wie dies etwa bei Direktinvestitionen der Fall ist. Die Wahl zwischen Kapitalbeteiligung und Kreditfinanzierung mag jedoch Risiko-Ertrag-Konflikte zwischen Einkommensstabilit?t und erwartetem wirtschaftlichem Wachstum involvieren. Diese Hypothese wird aus einem entscheidungstheoretischen Modell auf der Basis eines Benutzer-Eigentümer Verh?ltnisses abgeleitet und mittels einer L?nderquerschnittsuntersuchung regressionsanalytisch getestet. Es zeigt sich, da\ bei nichtkooperativen Beziehungen zwischen Schuldnern und Gl?ubigern kreditfinanzierte Kapitalimporte einen vergleichsweise starken positiven Einflu\ auf die Ersparnisbildung und das Wirtschaftswachtum im Schuldnerland ausüben. Kapitalbeteiligungen k?nnen deshalb nicht ohne weiteres als vorteilhaft angesehen werden und auch nicht allen L?ndern empfohlen werden, ohne zu bedenken, wie sich soziale Gruppen gegenüber dem Risiko verhalten.

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Résumé Les effets de l’influx de la dette et du capital propre sur l’épargne et la croissance en économies développantes. — L’élément commun des beaucoup de propositions données pour faciliter les problèmes de la dette extérieure des pays développants est l’intention de changer la structure des importations de capital vers l’augmentation du rapport des créances qui basent sur quelque forme de partager les risques, p.e. la participation en capital propre. Cependant, le choix entre le capital propre ou des influx des capitaux financés par des dettes peut induire un conflit de ?rendement-risque? entre la stabilité de revenu et la croissance attendue. Cette hypothèse est dérivée d’un modèle choix-théorique basé sur l’approche agent-principal et testée empiriquement en appliquant l’analyse de régression trans-pays. Les auteurs démontrent que, dans un cadre non-coopératif des relations débiteurcréditeur, des transferts financés par des dettes ont une influence plus positive sur l’épargne et la croissance économique. La participation en capital propre ne peut pas être évaluée supérieure sans ambigu?té et c’est pourquoi elle ne peut pas être recommendée pour tous les pays, indépendant des attitudes sociales envers le risque.

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Resumen El efecto del endeudamiento sobre el ahorro y el crecimiento eneconomías en desarrollo comparado con el de las inversiones directas. — En varias propuestas para aliviar el problema de la deuda externa de los países en desarrollo se sugiere alterar la composición de las importaciones de capital en el sentido de aumentar la proportión de derechos con participación en el riesgo económico, es decir, la participación de la inversión directa. La elección entre inversión directa y deuda considera la relación inversa riesgo-beneficio que existe entre la estabilidad del ingreso y el crecimiento esperado. Esta tesis se dériva de un modelo teórico de elección basado en el enfoque agente-principal, que es sometido a un test empírico de regresión sobre una muestra de países. Se muestra que en el marco de relaciones deudor-acreedor de tipo no cooperativas las transferencias de financiamiento por deuda ejercen una influencia positiva relativamente superior sobre el ahorro y el crecimiento económico. La participación directa en el capital no resulta superior en todos casos y por ello no puede ser recomendada para todos los países, independientemente de las actitudes frente al riesgo que prevalezcan.

     

An Empirical Test of Cognitive Style and Strategic Decision Outcomes*

abstract We examine how cognitive style, as measured by the MBTI, affects strategic decision outcomes. Executives participated in a simulated strategic decision making environment that allowed controlled collection of decision outcomes, including manager decisiveness, decision quality, and perceived effectiveness. We found that iNtuiting/Thinking managers used their intuition to make cognitive leaps based on objective information to craft more decisions of higher quality than other managers. In contrast, Sensing/Feeling types used time to seek socially acceptable decisions, which led to the lowest number of decisions and the lowest perceived effectiveness of all. We found no effect on decisiveness or perceived effectiveness based on a manager's preference for Perceiving or Judging. However, we found that others perceived Extraverted managers as being more effective than Introverted managers when, in fact, the Extraverts were no more decisive than Introverts. Thus, cognitive style influences actual decision outcomes as well as how others perceive one's decision performance.     

Burn or bury? A social cost comparison of final waste disposal methods

This paper evaluates the two well-known final waste disposal methods, incineration and landfilling. In particular we compare the social cost of two best-available technologies using a point estimate based on private and environmental cost data for the Netherlands. Not only does our comparison allow for Waste-to-Energy incineration plants but for landfills as well. The data provide support for the widespread policy preference for incineration over landfilling only if the analysis is restricted to environmental costs alone and includes savings of both energy and material recovery. Gross private costs, however, are so much higher for incineration, that landfilling is the social cost minimizing option at the margin even in a densely populated country such as the Netherlands. Furthermore, we show that our result generalizes to other European countries and probably to the USA. Implications for waste policy are discussed as well. Proper treatment of and energy recovery from landfills seem to be the most important targets for waste policy. Finally, WTE plants are a very expensive way to save on climate change emissions.     

BOOK REVIEW

Emerging Financial Markets, by David O. Beim and Charles W. Calomiris. McGraw‐Hill/Irwin, 2001, 364 pages, price $75.00.     

Health, Government, and Irving Fisher

A bstract    This paper provides a few historical notes on government involvement in health, followed by a summary of the theoretical arguments that economists offer in its support. Irving Fisher's views and recommendations about health are examined in the light of today's perceptions concerning health, health economics, and health policy. The wide variety of roles that the U.S. and other governments currently play in health is reviewed, and the ability of economics to explain these roles is assessed. The consequences of government involvement for the health of populations, for expenditures on health care, and for political and social stability are examined. The paper concludes with an overview of new worldwide trends in health policy and some probable explanations for these trends.     

The effect of exchange rate changes on trade balances in the short and long run

Using generalized impulse response functions, this study tests for the trade J‐curve for three transitional central European countries – the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland – in their bilateral trade with respect to Germany. Our findings suggest that for each country there are some characteristics associated with a J‐curve effect: after a (real or nominal) depreciation the export‐to‐import ratio briefly drops to below its initial value within a few months and then rises to a long run equilibrium value higher than the initial one.