Keynes en de neoklassieken: Een herinterpretatie

Summary Following the examples of Hicks and Modigliani, most economists treat neoclassical and Keynesian theories as special cases of a more general model. In the opinion of Clower, Leijonhufvud and Shackle, Keynes differs from the neoclassics in assuming incomplete information. An analysis of non-tâtonnement pricing shows that the positive correlation between unemployment and real wage rates, still adhered to by Keynes, need not exist. With non-tâtonnement pricing and an-product economy, idleness of capital goods can be explained. The macro-economic production function, implying as it does a one-product, one-producer economy, is misleading.     

Confidence Management: On Interpersonal Comparisons in Teams

Organizations differ in the degree to which they differentiate employees by ability. We analyze how the effect of differentiation on employee morale may explain this variation. We characterize sufficient conditions for the manager to refrain from differentiation. She refrains from differentiation when employees are of similar ability, especially if absolute levels are high. Avoiding differentiation boosts the self‐image of employees. To limit the negative effects of differentiation, the manager's strategy often relies on the coarsest message set possible. The likelihood that the manager differentiates depends on the presence of synergies between employees and on the convexity of the cost of effort function. Finally, we show that in the absence of commitment no differentiation is chosen too often.     

HEALTH FACILITY CHOICE IN HIV- AND AIDS-AFFECTED HOUSEHOLDS IN TWO SOUTH AFRICAN COMMUNITIES

This paper analysed differences in the choice of health-care facility by ill individuals in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)- and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS)-affected households in the Free State province of South Africa. Secondary education, access to medical aid and household income were significant determinants of choice as were severity and type of illness, and type of health care required. Ill persons with HIV- and AIDS-related illnesses are significantly more likely to opt for public health care, although the strength of this preference declines as household income increases. Those with severe and particularly severe HIV- and AIDS-related illness, in turn, are significantly more likely to opt for private health care, especially at higher levels of income. The public health care sector therefore is likely to remain the backbone of health-care provision to those infected with and affected by HIV and AIDS, highlighting the need for equitable access to efficient, quality public health services.     

The probability approach to general equilibrium with production

We develop an alternative approach to the general equilibrium analysis of a stochastic production economy when firms’ choices of investment influence the probability distributions of their output. Using a normative approach we derive the criterion that a firm should maximize to obtain a Pareto optimal equilibrium: the criterion expresses the firm’s contribution to the expected social utility of output, and is not the linear criterion of market value. If firms do not know agents utility functions, and are restricted to using the information conveyed by prices then they can construct an approximate criterion which leads to a second-best choice of investment which, in examples, is found to be close to the first best. We are grateful to participants in the 2006 Public Economic Theory Conference, Hanoi, the 2007 CARESS/COWLES workshop on General Equilibrium at Yale University, the 2007 SAET Conference at Kos, Greece, the NSF/NBER 2007 Conference on General Equilibrium at Northwestern University, and seminars at Rice University, the University of Southern California, Indiana University, and U.C. Davis for helpful comments. We particularly thank Jacques Drèze and David Cass for stimulating discussions, and a referee for helpful suggestions for improving the paper.     

Conducting Online Surveys

The World Wide Web (WWW) is increasingly being used as a tool and platform for survey research. Two types of electronic or online surveys available for data collection are the email and Web based survey, and they constitute the focus of this paper. We address a multitude of issues researchers should consider before and during the use of this method of data collection: advantages and liabilities with this form of survey research, sampling problems, questionnaire design considerations, suggestions in approaching potential respondents, response rates and aspects of data processing. Where relevant, the methodological issues involved are illustrated with examples from our own research practice. This methods review shows that most challenges are resolved when taking into account the principles that guide the conduct of conventional surveys.     

Do Not-For-Profits Make a Difference in Social Services? A Survey Study

Summary This paper provides a survey of the empirical literature on the relative performance of not-for-profit (NFP) organisations for three specific sectors. In particular, we compare the quality and accessibility of services that are provided by hospitals, child care organisations and welfare-to-work (WTW) organisations. Various mechanisms may explain the comparative advantages and disadvantages of not-for-profit organisations, as well as the origins of NFPs. We link these explanations to the actual relative performance of NFPs and discuss the implications for the government in mixed markets, where both for-profit (FP) and NFP organisations are. Our general finding is that NFPs do not make a difference on performance outcomes vis-à-vis FP organisations. It seems that the degree of competition, as well as regulatory policies are more important determinants of market performance.      

European Nominal and Real Convergence: Joint Process or Rival Dynamics?

Recent empirical studies have revealed that the convergence speeds of nominal and real variables are fairly different. This paper studies the temporal evolution of the mutual influence between the convergences of a nominal and of a real variable. It refers first to σ-convergence analysis. In order to compare nominal and real paths, the evolutions of the cross-sectional variances of the two variables are connected. Then, nominal and real convergence processes are studied, as reciprocally conditioned within the same system. Nominal and real convergence were negatively correlated in the 1980s, while the 1990s have been characterized by a simultaneous convergence movement.