Denmark’s Agricultural Institutions: An Instrumental Evaluation

This paper begins with a tax and a specially organized commission proposed by John R. Commons. Commons made his proposal because high tariffs were not benefiting workers. The paper contends that his proposal also applies to a current problem - the failure of trade agreements to improve working conditions. The paper bases its argument on data, standard economic reasoning, and Commons’ approach in “constructive research” to wage transactions, public purpose, limiting factors, and power imbalances.

The paper argues that Commons’ proposal could improve the evolution of American labor law and that it could ameliorate power imbalances created by laws that give corporations and trade associations a bargaining advantage over nations and organizations such as the International Labor Organization (ILO). It concludes that economic discourse could benefit from consideration of the belief behind Commons’ proposal - that costs of production passed on to consumers should include the cost of good working conditions.     

Dutch Disease,factor mobility,and the Alberta Effect: the case of federations

Do reduced costs of factor mobility mitigate Dutch Disease effects to the extent that they are reversed? The case of federations provides an indication they do. We observe resource blessing (curse) effects at the provincial (federal) level, and argue the difference in outcomes stems from the difference in factor mobility costs. We construct a simple tax competition model which shows that if factor mobility costs are sufficiently low, a resource‐boom triggers an Alberta Effect that mitigates, and possibly reverses, Dutch Disease symptoms. The paper concludes with empirical evidence for the main implications of the model.     

Effects of Transport Regulation on the Oil Market: Does Market Power Matter?

Instruments used to regulate the consumption of oil in the transport sector include fuel taxes, biofuel requirements, and fuel‐efficiency standards. However, the effects that these have on oil consumption and price vary. If market power is present in the oil market, the directions of change in consumption and price might contrast with those in a competitive market. As a result, the market structure affects not only the effectiveness of the policy instruments used to reduce oil consumption, but also the terms of trade and carbon leakage. In particular, reduced oil consumption, as a result of increased fuel‐efficiency standards, will unambiguously increase the price of oil under a monopoly.     

Buying a Home with a Resale Value: Location,Location, Location*

We develop a dynamic multiregion model, where a household's choice of housing location depends on its current wealth and its current type, and involves both consumption and investment considerations. The relative strength of the consumption motive and the investment motive determines the equilibrium pattern of residential sorting. A strong investment (consumption) motive implies sorting according to household type (wealth). The model predicts that large house‐price fluctuations are associated with a low degree of sorting by type. This prediction is consistent with evidence from US metropolitan areas when income, education, and age are used as proxies for household type.     

新加坡公共研发投入体系变革及其启示

为适应经济社会发展和应对未来挑战,新加坡不断加大公共研发投入规模,同时调整公共研发投入体系。近年来,新加坡更加注重部门与统筹投入兼顾,全方位支持创新活动和关注研发与经济社会关系,并通过新设或改造公共部门实施这些变革。这些做法促进了新加坡通过公共研发投入实现国家目标,对我国当前财政科技投入从分配到协调的转变具有重要借鉴意义。我们应该：适应国家经济发展,不断调整投入重点;既要强调自由研究,也要进行科学评估;建立多环节协调机制,营造良好的创新环境．     

不对称R＆D活动下的市场绩效分析——基于有差异产品的寡头市场

为了研究在Stackelberg寡头竞争模型下企业在产品市场是否合作对市场绩效的影响,建立了寡头市场中面向R＆D工艺的两阶段博弈模型。采用逆向归纳法求出了产品市场合作与不合作两种情况下的古诺-均衡解。研究表明,从促进技术进步的角度来看,对于R＆D效率不太高的R＆D项目,产品市场合作策略优于产品市场竞争策略。从提高企业利润的角度来看,对于R＆D效率较高的R＆D项目,当产品差异不大时,产品市场合作策略优于产品市场竞争策略;当产品差异较大时,产品市场竞争策略优于产品市场合作策略。对于R＆D效率较低的R＆D项目,产品市场竞争策略优于产品市场合作策略。从提高消费者剩余以及改善社会福利的角度来看,对于R＆D效率较低的R＆D项目,产品市场竞争策略优于产品市场合作策略。     

Growth,Convergence, and Social Cohesion in the European Union

The aim of this paper is to analyze the economic and social cohesion in the European Union. There are different factors to explain the convergence process and besides, empirical findings are not conclusive. To the European Union, GDP per head interregional differences have decreased for certain periods but it has remained unchanged or even increased for others periods. The second report on the economic and social cohesion indicates that some decades are necessary to eliminate regional differences. These differences in regional GDP are mainly explained by differences in their productive structures, degree of innovate activity, communications structures, which depend on the relative level of transport infrastructures, and manpower qualifications. This analysis allows us to obtain some conclusions to the economic policies and the social cohesion. A preliminary version of this paper was presented in the 57th International Atlantic Conference, held in Lisbon, Portugal, March 10–14, 2004.     

REGIONAL GDP IN BRITAIN, 1871–1911: SOME ESTIMATES

The paper builds on a method proposed by Geary and Stark for estimating regional incomes in Victorian Britain. This is modified by using tax data to allocate non‐wage income across regions. The results suggest that the coefficient of variation of regional GDP per head was rising rapidly prior to World War I in similar fashion to the late 20th century such that its level in 1901 and 2001 was about the same. In both episodes of globalization there were big winners and big losers among British regions.     

人民币汇率非线性特征研究——基于R/S分析法的实证检验

以2005年7月21日~2008年3月12日银行间外汇市场六种货币兑人民币汇率数据为样本,采用R/S分析法对其日收益率序列进行了研究,结果表明:六种货币兑人民币汇率日收益率序列均不服从正态分布,普遍地表现为有偏的随机过程;六种货币兑人民币汇率均具有非线性特征,表现为较强的正状态持久性,其波动存在明显的非周期循环。     

基于4R理论的海外旅游专业硕士课程设置的思考

现代旅游业的国际化需要大批具有丰富行业管理经验的应用型、外向型人才．美国教育专家多尔的建构性4R理论为解决我国高等旅游教育课程设置中存在的问题提供了理论依据．在分析4R理论的基础上,对10多个国家及地区旅游专业硕士课程进行比较研究,并以西安外国语大学为例,结合其办学特色,从国际化、应用性、职业化人才培养视角,探索旅游管理专业硕士课程建设问题,以期使课程结构体系及内容符合市场要求．并随着旅游教育目标群体及教育者群体多样化拓宽,使高等旅游教育大众化走向完善,实现就业意义上的“供给创造需求”。