The Altrurian Economics of William Dean Howells

A bstract . In two of his novels , A TRAVELER FROM ALTRURIA and THROUGH THE EYE OF THE NEEDLE, William Dean Howells describes the ideal commonwealth of Australia where the production and distribution of goods and services do not occur in self-regulating markets such as those found in Western-world economies. Thus, traditional economic theories are limited in analyses of the Australian economy, and critics are hampered in their efforts to understand Howelis'Utopia. This study synthesizes Howells'criticisms of the harshness of 19th-century American capitalism as presented in the two novels and then analyzes the economic structure of Australia by using Karl Polanyi's framework for studying non-market societies. This framework includes the concepts of reciprocity, redistribution , and administered trade.     

Empirical regularities in black markets for currency

This paper develops a model of the black or parallel market foreign exchange rate. This rate is seen to depend upon the level of the official rate, the (unobserved) equilibrium rate, the premium offered for exchange sold through the black market, and government reserve-level policies. The model is then empirically estimated for 10 countries over a period from 1957 through 1983. The results generally support the model specified by theory. Additionally, the paper provides weak-form tests concerning the efficiency of the black market. The results cannot reject the hypothesis that the current black market rate incorporates all relevant historical price information.     

Quotas and the second best

This note makes two observations about trade restrictions on subgroups of commodities. First, unlike tariffs, unalterable quotas provide no second-best justification for general restrictions. Second, the optimal allocation of intra-subgroup trade depends on the form of restraint imposed.     

Research and development policy in the USA: Implications for satellite communications

Research and development in fields as diverse as microelectronics and space vehicles have profoundly affected the technologies of information transmission, as well as the way in which government regulates the communications and information service industries. This article focuses on R&D policy in the USA, drawing from 1984 OTA reports. The article focuses briefly on industry and universities and at greater length on government actions and policies, indicating possible implications for communication satellites.