The Welfare Cost of Autarky: Evidence from the Jeffersonian Trade Embargo, 1807–09

The United States came close to complete autarky in 1808 as a result of a self‐imposed embargo on international shipping from December 1807 to March 1809. Monthly prices of exported and imported goods reveal the embargo's striking effect on commodity markets and allow a calculation of its welfare effects. A simple general‐equilibrium calculation suggests that the embargo cost about 5 percent of America's 1807 GNP, at a time when the trade share was about 13 percent (domestic exports and shipping earnings). The welfare cost was lower than the trade share because the embargo did not completely eliminate trade and because domestic producers successfully shifted production toward previously imported manufactured goods.     

Walking up the Down Escalator: Public Investment and Fiscal Stability

When growth-promoting spending is cut so much that the presentvalue of future government revenues falls by more than the immediateimprovement in the cash deficit, fiscal adjustment becomes likewalking up the down escalator. Although short-term cash flowsmatter, too tight a focus on them encourages governments toinvest too little. Cash-flow targets also encourage governmentsto shift investment spending off budget by seeking private investmentin public projects, irrespective of its real fiscal or economicbenefits. To deal with this problem, some observers have suggestedexcluding certain investments (such as those undertaken by publicenterprises deemed commercial or financed by multilaterals)from cash-flow targets. These stopgap remedies may help protectsome investments, but they do not provide a satisfactory solutionto the underlying problem. Governments can more effectivelyreduce the biases created by the focus on short-term cash flowsby developing indicators of the long-term fiscal effects oftheir decisions, including accounting and economic measuresof net worth, and, where appropriate, including such measuresin fiscal targets or even fiscal rules. JEL codes: O23, E62, H60, H54     

Relationship management for innovation: the central role of communication in australia's participation in two hi-tech industries

Individuals make decisions about whether innovations are adopted and transferred to new uses or locations. This Paper argues that relational competence Is critical for innovation management and technology transfer and that personal communication, formal and informal, is the core component in such competence. It shows how “close ties” and communication are critical to innovation, particularly given the changing nature and role of technolop management in the context o f rapidly increasing globalization. This is illustrated with reference to the communication in he mindset and practice of technology partnering in Australia's participation in the aerospace and telecommunications industries.     

Nested identities as cognitive drivers of strategy

Research Summary: Organizations face tensions to conform to industry norms for legitimacy yet differentiate for competitive advantage when implementing strategies. We suggest this tension is due to and resolved through organizations’ cognitive negotiations of multiple levels of identity. Through an inductive study in the recreational vehicle industry, we find that organizations concurrently draw on identities at the organizational, industry, and strategic group levels to formulate and enact specific competitive actions. Specifically, we find that organizational identity relates to decisions on product offerings; industry identity relates to downstream strategy; and strategic group identity relates to upstream strategy, firm boundaries, and expansion mode. Our findings highlight the importance of strategic group identity and inform a grounded model describing how organizations draw upon different levels of identity to influence strategy. Managerial Summary: Many managers experience tensions of differentiating their firms’ competitive actions from rivals, while conforming with industry norms and practices. In this article, we argue that a manager can navigate these tensions by understanding their firm, strategic group, and industry identities and how these identities interrelate. Through a qualitative case study of the U.S. recreational vehicle industry, we show that each level of identity influences different competitive actions, with firm identity connected to product offerings, industry identity related to managing downstream distribution, and strategic group identity related to firm boundary and acquisition strategies. Overall, strategic group identity is the most critical for managers as this level filters how they view competitors and provides the rules of competition.     

ANTI-POVERTY EFFECTIVENESS OF THE MINIMUM LIVING STANDARD ASSISTANCE POLICY IN URBAN CHINA

Since its inception 15 years ago, the Minimum Living Standard Assistance (MLSA) has served as a last resort for China's urban poor. Using national household survey data, this study provides updated evidence on the participation rate, receipt amount, and anti-poverty effectiveness of MLSA. Families eligible for MLSA make up 2.3 percent of the urban population, but only about half of them are actual beneficiaries. City MLSA generosity and household entitled benefit amount both positively correlate with participation rate and household receipt amount. MLSA lowers the poverty rate somewhat, but substantially reduces the poverty gap and severity for its eligible participants. Nevertheless, the poverty reduction role of MLSA is restricted by its partial coverage and delivery. Consequentially, poverty remains a serious problem for MLSA's target population. The anti-poverty effectiveness of MLSA can be strengthened by full coverage and delivery of benefits and by paying special attention to disadvantaged subgroups.     

Confessions of a Telephone Regulator: The FCC's AT&T Investigation of 1972–1977

Review of Industrial Organization -     

TERMS OF TRADE AND ECONOMIC GROWTH IN NINETEENTH CENTURY BRITAIN *

International trade and economic growth have been considered intimately linked in nineteenth century Britain. Conventional estimates of Britain's gross national product, however, fail to account for changes in the terms of trade and may be misleading indicators of changes in real income. Revised figures that incorporate terms of trade changes are presented here. One finding is that conventional estimates of GNP overstate growth in real income early in the century when the terms of trade deteriorated.