贸易开放影响我国行业间工资差距的机制探讨——以制造业为例

制造业对外贸易对我国制造业的发展起着举足轻重的作用,同时也间接影响着制造业各行业的工资差距。贸易开放通过部门间劳动力市场分割效应、外贸结构的变迁效应、名义关税下降效应、发达国家的＂外购＂效应、技术偏向的技术进步效应、劳动生产率效应六个方面的传导机制间接影响中国制造业行业间工资差距。加大教育投入、发挥贸易对低收入行业劳动生产率提高的传递效应、打破行业劳动市场的分割、给予加工贸易相应的政策扶持、采用政府再分配手段等措施有助于缩小行业间工资差距。     

Distributional national accounts for the Netherlands and a comparison with 12 other countries

Most inequality studies rely on micro data that do not capture a substantial share of income identified in the national accounts. In the Netherlands, almost one fifth of household disposable income is missed by current inequality statistics. In this paper, we present inequality statistics for the Netherlands that capture all of household income, so-called distributional national accounts. Compared to the current inequality statistics, the Gini coefficient for disposable income increases substantially from 0.289 to 0.337. Cross-country comparisons show that such a change between Gini coefficients based on micro-data versus Gini coefficients based on distributional national accounts does not apply to all countries. The difference between both Gini coefficients varies not only between countries in the size, but also in the sign of the difference.     

On competitive balance in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League*

This article examines competitive balance in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League over the last two decades (1999/2000–2017/2018). Competitive balance is considered both before and after a competition. Have the groups been designed in such a way as to ensure similar levels of competitive balance ex ante? Have the demonstrated strengths (ex post competitive balance) of the different groups been similar over each season? What is the relationship between the competitive balance in the designed groups and that achieved in the same groups after the competition? Are the performance achieved in terms of ex post competitive balance similar to ex ante competitive balance levels? We found that, despite expectations, the groups' ex ante competitive balance was not homogeneous. Although ex ante competitive balance serves as a good predictor, on average, of ex post competitive balance, we observed significant differences at the levels of group and seasons. Therefore, it is possible to improve the design mechanism of the groups that make up the group stage of the champions so that they are composed homogeneously in terms of ex ante competitive balance.     

Age-specific entrepreneurship and PAYG: Public pensions in Germany

We present new empirical evidence on the distribution of earnings, income and wealth among entrepreneurs in Germany. We document that both earnings and income are more concentrated among entrepreneurs than among workers and describe a large-scale overlapping-generations model that replicates the age-earnings profiles of these two household types. As an application, we compute the equilibrium effects of a reform of the German pay-as-you-go pension system in which entrepreneurs must also contribute and receive a pension. We show that in the presence of mobility between workers and entrepreneurs, the expected lifetime utility of all newborn households unanimously declines due to the general equilibrium effects of lower aggregate savings, and welfare losses amount to approximately 0.7% of total consumption. In addition, the integration of self-employed workers into the social security system in Germany does not help to improve its fiscal sustainability, and only an increase in the retirement age to 70 years will help to finance pensions at the present level beyond the year 2050.     

Covariance formulas via marginal martingw

Prenctice and Cai recently introduced and studied the function C defined as the covariance function of the two marginal counting process martingales of a pair of dependent survival times (T₁, T₂ ). They show that the function C together with the marginal distributions determines the joint survival function F of (T₁, T₂ ). In this note we show how the key characterizing equation of Prentice and Cai yields a formula for the covariance of T₁ and T₂ in termsof the marginal mean residual life functions and C. The resulting formula generalizes a formula for the variance of a one-dimensional random variable Tdueto Pyke (1965). We also explore several generalizations of the covariance formula, and obtain a valid k-dimensional version of the Prentice and Cai formula.     

Limit theorems for multivariate discrete distributions

According to the usual law of small numbers a multivariate Poisson distribution is derived by defining an appropriate model for multivariate Binomial distributions and examining their behaviour for large numbers of trials and small probabilities of marginal and simultaneous successes. The weak limit law is a generalization of Poisson's distribution to larger finite dimensions with arbitrary dependence structure. Compounding this multivariate Poisson distribution by a Gamma distribution results in a multivariate Pascal distribution which is again asymptotically multivariate Poisson. These Pascal distributions contain a class of multivariate geometric distributions. Finally the bivariate Binomial distribution is shown to be the limit law of appropriate bivariate hypergeometric distributions. Proving the limit theorems mentioned here as well as understanding the corresponding limit distributions becomes feasible by using probability generating functions.     

The Effect of Sample Size on the Mean Efficiency in DEA with an Application to Electricity Distribution in Australia,Sweden and New Zealand

This study examines the effect of sample size on the mean productive efficiency of firms when the efficiency is evaluated using the non-parametric approach of Data Envelopment Analysis. By employing Monte Carlo simulation, we show how the mean efficiency is related to the sample size. The paper discusses the implications for international comparisons. As an application, we investigate the efficiency of the electricity distribution industries in Australia, Sweden and New Zealand.     

Do Australian companies manage earnings to meet simple earnings benchmarks?

Measurement error in unexpected accruals is an important problem for empirical earnings management research. Several recent studies avoid this problem by examining the pooled, cross–sectional distribution of reported earnings. Discontinuities in the distribution of reported earnings around key earnings thresholds may indicate the exercise of management discretion (i.e. earnings management). We apply this approach to the detection of earnings management by Australian firms. Our results generally indicate significantly more small earnings increases and small profits than expected and conversely, considerably fewer small earnings decreases and small losses than expected. These results are much stronger for larger Australian firms. We undertake an exploratory analysis of alternative explanations for our results and find some evidence consistent with management signalling its inside knowledge about the firm's expected future profitability to smooth earnings, as opposed to 'management intent to deceive' as an explanation for our results.     

我国市场化改革与收入分配

在市场化过程中我国出现收入差距不断扩大的趋势,从而出现了一些将其原因归结为市场化改革的错误认识。本文通过对我国改革开放以来收入分配格局变化的主要特点和导致收入差距扩大原因的实证分析,对一些模糊认识进行了澄清。在个人收入差距扩大的诸多因素中,传统计划体制遗留下来的一些制度和政策,在部门利益和地方利益驱使下新形成的有悖于市场体制规则的制度和政策,政府对市场缺失和市场扭曲采取的不作为态度,对资本节制和劳动保护的不足,成为了最为重要的因素。     

Global Trends and Issues in Value Added Taxation

Since the late 1960s, the VAT has become one of the mainstays of the tax systems in over one hundred countries. Apparently, its revenue raising and neutrality properties make it an attractive tax in a rapidly integrating, high-tax world. Following an overview of VATs throughout the world, this article examines various VAT structure and policy issues under the following headings: tax coverage features, tax base aspects, hard-to-tax sectors, rate structure issues, and interjurisdictional coordination problems. It is shown that the normative requirements of a good VAT are often met only in the breach.