The Precarious Fiscal Foundations of EMU

After a brief overview of the fiscal theory of the price level, we consider the insights it provides into monetary policy formation under certain kinds of deflationary and inflationary stress. Then we consider how the institutions of the EMU are equipped – or unequipped – to deal with such stress. The conclusion is that fiscal institutions as yet unspecified will have to arise or be invented in order for EMU to be a long-term success.     

Conditions for Optimality of a Currency Area

Two approaches to the theory of OCA are distinguished in this paper. The first, called the marginalistic approach, attempts to define the OCA from the point of view of a single country, and the second examines the optimality of a currency area of a given membership. The marginalistic approach and its limitations are discussed first. Then, the paper proceeds to the second approach which is discussed in the context of the cooperative game theory in characteristic function form; it argues that a currency area is optimal when the welfare functions of its constituent members are in the core. This implies that the welfare functions of all constituent members of the currency area are maximized and hence they are all better off with a common currency rather than with their own national currencies; hence, no member country has the intention to abandon the currency area. The paper concludes that the condition for the optimality of a currency area independently of the degree of economic similarity of its constituents requires that the characteristic function must exhibit non decreasing returns with respect to its size.     

Developing Countries and Environmental Protection: Contract Design in Perfectly Correlated Environments

I study the problem faced by an asymmetrically informed supranational governmental authority (SNGA) with limited funds that wishes to design an international environmental agreement (IEA) for less developed countries (LDCs). The SNGA cannot contract directly with polluting firms in the various LDCs, but it must deal with such firms through their national governments. I study this tripartite hierarchical interaction for two LDCs. My principal result is that despite the perfect correlation in the private information of the governments and the firms across the two countries, and in contrast with the result contained in Batabyal (1998a), the SNGA cannot implement a first-best IEA.     

Profitability and capital accumulation in British industry during the transwar period, 1913–1924

This article provides new information on profitability, taxation, and capital accumulation across the transwar period, based on an analysis of the accounting records of 30 companies in a range of industrial sectors. The main findings, that apparently high profitability in the war period was largely an illusion, and that the subsequent slump was very severe in its effects on business profitability, are consistent with views of the period as one of low capital accumulation. In effect, the generosity of the state's negotiating position towards capital owners during the war was cancelled out by the combined effects of inflation and of the severe postwar slump.     

个性化心理干预对老年2型糖尿病伴高血压患者治疗的影响

为探讨个性化心理干预对老年2型糖尿病合并高血压患者治疗的影响,文章将2012年6月-2013年6月本科确诊的老年2型糖尿病伴高血压患者收治的200例,随机平均分为研究组和对照组,2组患者均由2名以上医生根据患者病情给予正规降糖、降压口服药物治疗。研究组在正规药物治疗基础上,再根据患者不同年龄、文化层次采取个性化的心理干预。2组疗程12周,采用焦虑自评量表(SAS)和抑郁自评量表(SDS)评估患者治疗前后的焦虑、抑郁程度,同时观测治疗前后2组患者的血压、血糖、糖化血红蛋白、低密度脂蛋白、腰臀比指标的变化情况。结果显示:2组在治疗前SAS和SDS评分无统计学差异;12周后研究组患者不仅SAS、SDS标准分与对照组比有显著差异(P0.05),研究组血压、血糖、糖化血红蛋白、低密度脂蛋白、腰臀比与对照组相比差异显著(P0.05)。说明应用适当的心理干预,对于老年性2型糖尿病伴高血压患者的生活质量并有效控制血压、血糖具有良好效果。     

天空还会变蓝吗

英国广播公司(BBC)有时将自己描述为世界领先的公共新闻服务,其喜欢给人的印象是,拥有训练有素的记者,用进步的观点报道这个地球村上正在发生的所有事情。然而,伴随着这些日子英国大部分的服务,BBC面临着严重的资金短缺,那些拥有遍布全球的专业记者的日子早已不复存在。通常是,一旦一条消息出现,他们会立即在网上询问周围认识的人:你在X吗?看到什么冲突了没有?能发照片吗?这样得到消息会更快捷和更便宜。当然,这样的方式也会有不     

On the heterogeneous short‐term effects of minimum wages on labor demand

A strand of the literature documents no effects or even positive effects of a higher minimum wage on employment. This evidence is frequently linked to the existence of monopsonistic labor markets or search frictions. However, empirical studies show that these findings could be related to a low short‐term minimum wage–employment elasticity in a competitive labor market. We show that mixed theoretical employment effects of a minimum wage policy can be predicted in the short term in assignment economies with price‐taker agents and no search frictions.     

The political economy of Zimbabwean Urban informality since 2000 – A contemporary governance dilemma

ABSTRACT

The article explores the urban informality dilemma in Harare through the lens of a political economy theory. It examines the typologies of urban informality, the influence of political economy on urban informalities, and informs decision-making to address the urban informality dilemma. A qualitative approach was used where secondary data were collected through document analysis and primary data from interviews with 20 purposively selected key informants. Surveys and in-depth interviews were conducted with 585 individuals engaged in informal activities. It emerged that urban informality in Harare takes on different forms and aside from the economic crisis, politics played a role in the emergence and proliferation of urban informality. The article provides insight into, and raises awareness with regard to key areas of concern on how power influences decision-making relating to urban informality. Therefore, the article provides a basis for policy formulation and institutional reforms for effective measures to curb urban informality.