Entry into Swedish Retail and Wholesale Trade Markets

This paper examines, using a zero-inflated negative binomial regression model, what determined entry into the Swedish retail and wholesale trade markets between 1990 and 1996. According to the results, high returns on equity and low sunk costs seemed to attract more entry into retail trade industries, while recent entry and higher total industry sales were associated with more entry into both retail and wholesale trade local markets.     

农户的金融需求及其解决途径——焦作市农户金融需求调查

通过对焦作市农户金融需求状况调查发现,农户对正规金融的融资意愿和承受能力偏低,满足其金融需求的方式主要是非正规金融。因此,地方政府和金融监管部门对非正规金融应积极引导,加强监管。而作为担当“支农主力军”角色的农村信用社应充分利用天时、地利、人和的优势,不断增加新的金融产品和金融服务,加强客户细分和市场营销工作,以满足农民多样化的金融需求。     

Integration of FSU/economies in transition into the World Trade Organization1

Membership of the World Trade Organization is a goal for many transition economies. This paper discusses what is involved in WTO membership, the information required and the commitments imposed upon members. After reviewing the accession process in general, the topic is illustrated by the recent example of Bulgaira and Mongolia.     

消费税结构的优化

本文从绿色贸易壁垒的理论基础及其表现形式出发 ,分析了绿色贸易壁垒对我国外贸的影响 ,最后从绿色技术指标体系、绿色法律制度、加强国际磋商与合作三个方面提出了相关法律对策。     

Distinguishing between Equilibrium and Integration in Spatial Price Analysis

This article introduces a new spatial price analysis methodology based on maximum likelihood estimation of a mixture distribution model incorporating price, transfer cost, and trade flow data. This method permits differentiation between market integration and competitive market equilibrium and derivation of intuitive measures of intermarket tradability, competitive market equilibrium, perfect integration, segmented equilibrium, and segmented disequilibrium. One can also use these estimates to derive semiparametric measures of time-varying regime probabilities to track changing market conditions. An application to trade in soybean meal among Pacific Rim economies demonstrates the usefulness of the method.     

Rent-seeking in a unionised monopoly

A unionised monopoly firm, benefitting from some kind of anti-competitive regulation, and its corresponding trade union have a common interest in spending resources to protect the monopoly rents created by the regulation. In the present paper, a situation in which the unionised monopoly is challenged by a consumer organisation fighting for deregulation is analysed as a standard Tullock rent-seeking contest. With unequal sharing of monopoly rents, the free-riding incentives among the rent-defending players turn out to be overwhelming, in the sense that the unique Nash equilibrium is characterised by zero effort contribution by the player with the lower valuation of the contested prize. This implies that being “strong”, in terms of bargaining strength, is not necessarily an advantage for neither player in a unionised monopoly that is threatened by deregulation. Received: June 2000 / accepted: January 2001     

论美国多轨制对外贸易政策的形成与经济效应

20世纪70年代初,经济实力相对衰弱迫使美国对外贸易政策更加务实,构成了美国实行多轨制对外贸易政策的主要原因。实行多轨制对外贸易政策以来,美国经济结构进一步软化和其他国家的贸易摩擦进一步增加。多轨制对外贸易政策的实质是全面的贸易保护,其目的在于保护本国弱势部门,发展本国强势部门,是一种以绝对优势作为制定对外贸易政策基础的贸易管理方式。     

International monetary policy cooperation in economies with centralized wage setting

We consider a standard two-country monetary policy game with fixed nominal wage contracts. The policy regime is either non-cooperative or cooperative. We extend conventional analyses by deriving the natural rate of employment endogenously through monopoly union decision-making. As unions attempt to affect the real exchange rate, wages are set inefficiently high. Such attempts are shown to be strongest under monetary cooperation. Therefore, in comparison with non-cooperation, employment is lowest, and, in effect, consumer price inflation is highest, under monetary cooperation, i.e., international monetary cooperation is disadvantageous.     

Fiscal policy independence in a European Monetary Union

Do plans for a monetary union in Europe call for limits on the freedom of the country members of the union to use fiscal policy? In order to provide a tentative answer, we simulate the IMF model MULTIMOD, given various shocks, in the case of a European Monetary Union consisting only of France and Germany. The results clearly indicate the possible value of allowing unfettered use of fiscal policy in both countries. The reasons lie partly in differences in the initial position of the two, partly in differences in their preferences. We also examine the change in the policy significance of the current account in the monetary union. Current account imbalances clearly cease to have the same significance in a monetary union; but they do not therefore become irrelevant.