Headship rates and the household formation process in Great Britain

"This paper looks at the changes in headship rates in Great Britain over the period 1960-1979, and attempts to explain them in terms of economic variables, such as real income and the real cost of housing. Such variables are found to be significant for some household types, but not for others. Notably, young single person household formation appears to be more supply constrained and to respond to appropriate supply variables." Furthermore, "some comparisons are made with similar studies done on similar data from the USA and France. These studies reveal a number of features in common, but also some differences, and these are commented upon."     

Indian women: well-being and survival

The authors examine sex differentials in sustenance and survival in developing countries using the example of India. Lower female life expectancy at birth and the declining ratio of females to males are discussed as evidence of female deprivation. Consideration is given to the feeding, survival, and neglect of female children, to differences in use of medical facilities by sex, and to regional differences by state. This pattern of discrimination is found to persist even in urban areas.     

Von Neumann-Morgenstern solution social choice functions: An impossibility theorem

Recent literature has made significant progress in characterizing those social choice functions that can arise, or be “implemented,” as the equilibria of an underlying noncooperative game. This paper studies the implementability of social choice functions via cooperative games. Specifically, we show that if a social choice function arises, in each environment, as a Von Neumann-Morgenstern solution of an underlying cooperative game, whose dominance structure is monotonic and neutral, then the social choice function is essentially oligarchic, in exactly the same sense that “core” selecting choice functions are oligarchic.     

Estimated elasticities from regulated and unregulated cost functions

Estimates of the Allen partial elasticities of substitution (AES) for a regulated cost function [Smith (1981)] are compared with those obtained from an unregulated cost function. The AES for capital and variable inputs are reasonably similar, but those between variable inputs differ significantly.     

A BALANCE OF PAYMENTS ANALYSIS OF THE LATIN AMERICAN DEBT CRISIS

In this paper we offer a definition of a country "debt crisis" based upon the amount of new borrowing relative to the cost of servicing past debt. Policy implications for both debtor countries and their creditors are examined. An empirical application is made to Latin American countries, 1978–82. The causes of the debt problems created during this period are investigated with respect to the extent they were the result of rising interest rates vis à vis increased borrowing.     

Using the Murphy Model to Provide Short-run Macroeconomic Closure for ORANI

A macro model incorporating rational expectations in financial markets (the Murphy Model–MM) is used to endogenize the macroeconomic environment for a comprehensive general equilibrium model (ORANI). The interface exploits the existence of variables which are endogenous to both models, calibrating on a shock to government spending. Prospective benefits include: (1) to the numerous policy oriented users of ORANI, a facility allowing the macroeconomic environment to be determined by a macrodynamic model such as MM; (2) to these users, reassurance that ORANI's short-run translates in calendar time to about two years; (3) to the clientele of a macro model, the possibility of much more detailed projections.     

Market penetration by entry-exit dynamics

A generic characterization of the dynamics of market penetration by technological artifacts is here formulated on the basis of entry rate and exit rate considerations. It is shown that low-order reductions lead to the biologically based logistic dynamic, which—by empirical fit—has been found to be in very good agreement with numerous specific cases. In addition to the derivational justification of the logistic for artifact market penetration, we find that but a small number of parameters are involved in these autonomous characterizations suggesting therefore that market penetration may well be reduced to a similarly small number of dominant operative processes. Some nonautonomous extensions are also discussed.     

Economics of compatibility standards and competition in telecommunication networks

The pro- and anti-competitive implications of technical compatibility standards are introduced in general terms and then applied to current issues in telecommunications policy. The demand and supply for standards under regulated monopoly and the transition to deregulation and competitive entry create a tradeoff between the traditional goal of achieving positive externalities from interconnection and the alternative goal of providing enhanced service offerings that may involve sacrificing universal connectivity. We argue that this tradeoff has affected the utilization of data communication networks in the U.S. and Europe. In addition, we identify problems of competing interests that complicate the European approach to standards “harmonization” in the case of telecommunications. We conclude by noting that the nature of standards and standard-setting process can have marked effects on the incentives to conduct private research and development.