The case for ethical technology assessment (eTA)

New technologies often give rise to previously unknown ethical problems, and it often takes many years to fully integrate them in society. We propose a new form of technology assessment that will focus on the ethical implications of new technologies; ethical technology assessment (eTA). Ethical technology assessment will serve as a tool for identifying adverse effects of new technologies at an early stage. It should be undertaken in dialogue with technology developers and have the form of a continuous dialogue rather than a single evaluation at a specific point in time. eTA can be conducted on the basis of a check-list that refers to nine crucial ethical aspects of technology; (1) Dissemination and use of information, (2) Control, influence and power, (3) Impact on social contact patterns, (4) Privacy, (5) Sustainability, (6) Human reproduction, (7) Gender, minorities and justice, (8) International relations, and (9) Impact on human values. Ethical technology assessments should not be committed to any particular moral theory. Instead they should be open to different perspectives and solutions.     

Argument-based decision support for risk analysis

The calculation of statistical expectation values is a most useful tool in risk analysis, but it is not a panacea. Valuable additional decision support can be obtained from argument-based tools, i.e. rigorous tools based on conceptual distinctions and logical reasoning. If the decision problem is not well defined, then argument-based tools can be used to analyse the uncertainties involved and provide a more well-reasoned presentation of the problem. If the available information is insufficient for a reliable quantitative analysis, then argument-based tools can partly replace it as guidance for the decision-making process. Argument-based tools can be grouped into three main categories: (1) tools used to determine the impact of alternative structurings of decisions and to make an informed choice among them, (2) tools used for the evaluation of decision options, and (3) tools used for the choice among such options in terms of the relative strengths of the arguments that speak for and against each of the options.     

FDI,taxes and agglomeration economies in the EU15

This article provides an empirical analysis of the impact of tax differentials and agglomeration economies on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). The article departs from most previous work on FDI and tax competition in a number of ways. First, it incorporates several measures of agglomeration in order to investigate whether agglomeration economies mitigate the downward spiral in tax rates. As the strength of agglomeration economies may vary with the degree of integration, we use a panel of bilateral FDI flows for a highly integrated region including countries with similar economic structure – the EU15 – from 1986 to 2004. Second, the empirical analysis explicitly deals with the problem of selection bias by using the Heckman sample selection approach. Also, by focusing on the EU15, we are able to provide additional information on the determinants of FDI between similar, higher-income countries. The empirical analysis provides some evidence of corporate marginal effective tax rates having an impact on FDI. This result, however, is sensitive to the inclusion of agglomeration economies. In particular, we find both Marshall types of technological externalities and overall concentration of economic activity to have an influence on FDI flows and, moreover, mitigating the negative impact of taxes.     

International specialization and structural change in the Swedish Manufacturing Industry, 1969–1992

International Specialization and Structural Change in the Swedish Manufacturing Industry, 1969–1992. — The increasing trade orientation of Swedish manufacturing 1969–1992 was mainly caused by increasing intraindustry specialization with most industries. Intraindustry specialization was found to be related positively to the skill intensity of the industry and negatively to average plant size and the incidence of trade barriers. The paper evaluates the links between specialization and inter-as well as intraindustry structure. It was found that changing patterns of relative international competitiveness among industries accounted for more than half of the total interindustry structural change in employment in 1969–1992. The mean plant size tends to increase with intraindustry specialization.     

Note sur l'incertitude du risque

Abstract

En examinant les résultats de la mortalité des exercices successifs, le mathématicien d'une compagnie d'assurances sur la vie peut constater des fluctuations considérables. Dans une certaine mesure, ces variations doivent dépendre des différences réelles de la composition de la masse sur laquelle agit la force de mortalité, par exemple par rapport à l'âge atteint des assurés. Cependant, on a l'impression que ces variations, lorsqu'il s'agit d'une affaire continuelle, ne peuvent pas jouer un grand rôle. D'autre part, les fluctuations dues au hasard proprement dit, constituant le sujet propre de la théorie du risque mathématique, se mêlent, dans les résultats pratiques, aux fluctuations provenant de différences réelles de la force de mortalité d'un exercice à un autre. Pour pouvoir former un jugement plausible sur l'importance économique delà théorie stochastique du risque, il nous faudrait isoler les effets du hasard. C'est ce qui offre bien des difficultés, nous le savons. Dans ce qui suit, nous allons publier quelques calculs tout-à-fait élémentaires sur le sujet.     

Tax policy and entrepreneurship: empirical evidence from Sweden

This paper examines the relationship between income taxes and the decision to become self-employed using data from Sweden. By making it possible to track a large number of individuals over extended time periods and across a number of tax rate changes while controlling for important additional determinants, available tax-return information from Sweden allows for statistical estimation of the influence that income taxes have on the probability of becoming self-employed. The changing tax rate structure combined with the fact that the Swedish tax system does not provide additional tax benefits to small-business entrepreneurs compared with those who work as employees provides a powerful setting through which to examine the tax rate structure’s influence on individuals’ choice to become self-employed. Contrary to many earlier studies based on US data, this paper finds that both average and marginal taxes have a negative impact on the decision to become self-employed.     

Do firms learn by exporting or learn to export? Evidence from small and medium-sized enterprises

Using a matching approach, we compare the productivity trajectories of future export-entrants and matched nonentrants. Future exporters have higher productivity than do nonentrants before entry into international markets, which indicates self-selection into exports. More interestingly, we also observe a productivity increase among export-entrants relative to nonentrants before export entry. This might be explained by higher investments in physical capital prior to export entry. We find no evidence that the productivity gap between export-entrants and nonentrants continues to grow after export entry. Our results suggest that learning to export occurs but that learning by exporting does not. In contrast to previous studies on Swedish manufacturing, we focus particularly on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).     

Socialization and altruism

An important problem in theoretical biology is to explain how altruism can have positive selection value. We model socialization as a costly public good that raises altruism and we study evolution equations for altruistic preferences. Stable cultural (social) equilibria exist in which socialization is supplied privately and property rights exist without civil government. In equilibrium, agents are altruistic in ways not explained by traditional biological theories. The theory essentially formalizes the story in Adam Smith'sTheory of Moral Sentiments.