2. A New Framework for Macroeconomics

Most forms of macroeconomics today, whether Keynesian or monetarist, presuppose that problems of economic instability can be treated as errors in financial management. Neither fiscal nor monetary policy recognizes the existence of systemic faults in the real economy that result in overinvestment in durable capital that turns over slowly, in contrast to forms of capital that interact more frequently with land and labor. Only by removing serious distortions in microeconomic relations can macroeconomic problems be resolved. The current global economic crisis exemplifies the limitations of policies that ignore distortions in the rate of turnover of investment capital.     

The Interest Rate Risk Exposure of Financial Intermediaries: A Review of the Theory and Empirical Evidence

The paper surveys current and previous research on financial institutions' interest rate risk exposure. The implications of such exposure are discussed and motivating insights are emphasized. Various theoretical frameworks and models are presented. For each one an overview of the studies and any relationship to each other is provided. In a cross‐industry analysis, other idiosyncratic risk factors are considered and their importance is delineated. A number of empirical relations are established. More specifically, there is an inverse relationship between interest rate changes and common stock returns of financial institutions. The intermediaries' apparent yield sensitivity is mainly attributed to the duration gap inherent in their balance sheet structure. Furthermore, the aforesaid equity sensitivity due to other possible dynamics such as dividend yield, unanticipated inflation and regulatory lags is also considered. Changes in economic regimes have altered volatility in market yields with a subsequent effect, positive or negative, on financial intermediaries' equity returns. The issue of the risk‐return compensation is further analyzed, and findings suggest that the interest rate risk is priced by capital markets. Finally, a few other issues are identified as avenues for future research.     

LOCAL TAXATION IN SOUTH AFRICA

"We are most of us profoundly uninterested in municipal affairs." Maud.
T his paper questions the rationale of the South African system of local taxation. It is argued that our system has too narrow a tax base-fixed property-to supply the needs of the modern city; that property taxation is iniquitous in its effects upon taxpayers; and that today it is being applied to finance categories of expenditure for which a tax on property was never intended. Some new thinking is required to devise a system that would supply a closer link between financial requirements and ability to pay.     

Mining redundancy

In the particular circumstances of a colliery closure the Redundancy Payments Act did not appear to accomplish the legislators' intentions or indeed to operate equitably. Nor did the apparently inconsistent decisions of the Industrial Tribunal provide guidance for employers in future cases of redundancy.     

The Social Ontology of Virtual Environments

This paper analyzes the ontological structure of institutional and other social entities in virtual environments. The emphasis is on institutional reality, which consists of entities (objects, events, etc.) like money, contracts, and chess pieces, which are constituted in part through collective agreements. It is studied how institutional entities are constructed in virtual environments, how they relate to institutional entities in the real world, and how they are recognized by users.     

Explaining Collective Intentionality

A BSTRACT . The Construction of Social Reality contains interesting suggestions about the ways in which phenomena of we-intentionality derive from beliefs and desires of social agents. This explanatory trust is in deep tension with Searle's general view that we-intentionality is a primitive phenomenon. I propose that we preserve the explanations and reject the general view, and argue for the proposal.     

小茶叶，大商机

具有保健功效的普洱茶除了可以饮用之外还具有收藏价值，所以被喻为能喝的古董，自然成为收藏有和茶叶爱好者的心头爱。