How effective could sanctions against the Soviet Union be?

Zusammenfassung Wie wirksam k?nnten Sanktionen gegen die Sowjetunion sein ? — Der Zweck dieses Aufsatzes ist es, zun?chst optimale Strategien zu untersuchen, die nicht-kausale Wirkungen zulassen, wie sie in einem dynamischen und unbeschr?nkt nicht-kooperativen Spiel impliziert sind. Au\erdem soll die Bedeutung des Einwands der “Nicht-Kausalit?t” in der Praxis beurteilt werden. Wir verwenden ein Optimierungsverfahren, um optimale westliche Handelssanktionen gegenüber der Sowjetunion zu bestimmen. Unsere Ergebnisse deuten darauf hin, da\ die sowjetische Wirtschaft tats?chlich mehr von einer wirtschaftlichen Entspannung, die den Handel verst?rkt, zu befürchten hat als von einem Handelsembargo. Aber die Hauptwaffe ist die Drohung eines zukünftigen Embargos, die deshalb wirksam wird, weil die optimalen sowjetischen Reaktionen auf dieses erwartete Risiko zu einer rapiden Verschlechterung der laufenden Handelsbilanz führen. Der Handelsbilanz kommt ein hoher Stellenwert zu, weil die Entwicklungsstrategie zum Erreichen der sowjetischen Ziele einer Erh?hung von Wachstum, Produktivit?t und Konsum von der Einfuhr ausl?ndischer Güter stark abh?ngt und daher automatisch der westlichen Seite ein wichtiges Pfand in die Hand gibt.

---

Résumé Quelle efficacité pourraient avoir des sanctions contre l’Union Soviétique ? — Le but de cet article est, premièrement, d’examiner des stratégies optimum qui considèrent les effets non-causaux implicitement contenus dans un jeu dynamique et sans restriction non-coopératif et, deuxièmement, de donner une estimation de l’importance de la critique ?non-causalité? en pratique. Nous appliquons une procédure d’optimisation pour désigner des sanctions commerciales optimum d’ouest contre l’Union Soviétique. Nos résultats suggèrent que l’économie soviétique en effet devrait craindre plus une détente économique qui augmente le commerce extérieur et moins un embargo commercial. Mais l’arme principale est la menace d’un embargo futur parce que les réactions soviétiques optimales à ce risque anticipé causent une détérioration très rapide de la balance courante de commerce extérieur de l’U.R.S.S. Cette balance est très importante parce que la stratégie de développement pour atteindre le but soviétique d’augmenter la croissance, la productivité et la consommation implique des demandes supplémentaires à la balance commerciale.

---

Resumen Cuál es el grado de eficiencia de las sanciones contra la Unión Soviética? — La intención del trabajo es en primer lugar el examinar estrategias óptimas que tengan en cuenta efectos no causales implícites en un juego dinámico no cooperativo sin restricciones y en segundo lugar el presentar una valoración de la importancia de la critica de ?falta de causalidad? en la práctica. Se emplea un procedimiento de optimización para dise?ar sanciones comerciales óptimas contra la Unión Soviética. Los resultados ponen de manifiesto como la Unión Soviética ha de temer más una paz económica que incremente el comercio que un bloqueo comercial. El arma principal es sin embargo la amenaza de un bloqueo futuro, su efectividad debida a que la mejor reacción Soviética ante este riesgo anticipado origina una rápida deterioración de la balanza exterior por cuenta corriente. La estrategia de desarrollo para los fines soviéticos de mayor crecimiento, productividad y consumo, supone demandas adicionales sobre la balanza exterior lo que por fortuna supone automáticamente un importante rehén en manos de Occidente.

     

Accounting for retail land sales: Analysis of a mandated change

This study assesses the stock market's reaction to a series of events leading up to a mandated change in accounting for retail land sales. Evidence is found to support the conclusion that the market reacted to some of these events in a manner consistent with the effects of the accounting change on debt annagement contracts. A distinctive aspect of the analysis is the efficient use of security returns data to detect market reactions and to derive empirical distributions of test statistics employed. The analysis is extended by a model for grouping regression equations known as seemingly unrelated regressions. However, the gains from this extension are modest.     

Outlook for the grain market

With all the indications suggesting that the current imbalance between supply of and demand for grain will continue for the foreseeable future, and with a steady surplus both keeping prices down and forcing on governments measures to reduce output and stocks, attention is turning to South East Asia, a region which, due to the rapid growth of both its population and per capita income, seems to offer the best prospects of medium and long-term increases in demand. How realistic are the hopes that South East Asia will be able to absorb a substantial part of the world's grain surplus?     

From Bermondsey to Canary Wharf: The Social Context of Change in Industrial Relations, 1880–2000

This paper presents evidence on some of the key variables that have determined the economic status of different groups in the working population. Economic status is set by the level and security of real income and consumption. These are themselves determined by access to resources in the areas of the labour market, public services and social security, and in housing. The paper reviews the period between 1880 and 1990, and puts forward the likely situation in the year 2000. The century began with an agenda set by the problems of falling real incomes and poverty. It is likely to end with the problems of economic and demographic ageing as the main focus.     

FORECASTING AND POLICY EVALUATION IN ECONOMIES WITH RATIONAL EXPECTATIONS: THE DISCRETE TIME CASE*

Several techniques for solving dynamic rational expectations models have been proposed. This paper puts forward an alternative method for discrete time models, which is significantly simpler to use in practice. That solution is used to derive and compute optimal policy selections (incorporating ‘noncausal’ effects) which, by exploiting the discrete time framework, are also time consistent when sequentially reoptimized. Those decisions are shown to contain an optimal open loop component plus an innovations dependent correction mechanism. A numerical example is used to verify these properties, and to demonstrate the superiority of this policy selection technique over recursive methods (e.g. dynamic programming).     

Optimal stockpiling in a high-risk commodity market the case of copper

Economists recognise the need for making decisions which are sensitive to risk, but they have been unable to compute the decisions which satisfy the von Neumann-Morgenstern theory of choice under risk in a multivariable dynamic context. This paper explores sequential decision rules which optimise a second-order approximation to von Neumann-Morgenstern utilities, with arbitrary probability distributions and intertemporal stochastic dependence. These rules are used to generate optimal stockpiling rules for stabilising the price in a high-risk commodity market. A clear trade-off emerges between the ambition and security objectives of market management.     

Tests of functional form in dynamic econometric models: Some empirical experience

Econometric theory has provided several rival tests of functional form specifications in economic relations, but there is little empirical experience in using many of them. This note reports some practical applications, and compares the performance of various tests, in specifying dynamic econometric models.