Swimming with the Tide: Solidary Wage Policy and the Gender Earnings Gap

This paper addresses the consequences of wage compression for the gender wage gap in Sweden during the period 1968–1991. We find that the effects of changes in the wage structure on women's wages have varied over time and have been partly counteracting. Changes in industry wage differentials have systematically worked against women, while changes in the returns to human capital and unobserved characteristics have contributed to reductions in the gender wage gap. Changes in the wage structure were particularly important between 1968 and 1974 when there was a dramatic reduction in overall wage inequality.
JEL classification : J 16; J 31; J 51     

特征尺度理论与企业发展战略的层级结构

本文根据系统学思想，首先论述了经济系统特征尺度的基本理论，给出了系统经济学关于短期和长期的严格定义。在此基础上，提出了企业发展战略的层级结构。根据时间区间的长短，区分了企业战略的五种不同情况，指出企业家在什么情况下应当关注自身企业管理，产业（行业）变化，区域经济变化，国家经济变化和全球经济变化等。同时，也指明了不同层次的企业战略所对应的不同经济学分支。     

On the use of measure-valued strategies in bond markets

We propose here a theory of cylindrical stochastic integration, recently developed by Mikulevicius and Rozovskii, as mathematical background to the theory of bond markets. In this theory, since there is a continuum of securities, it seems natural to define a portfolio as a measure on maturities. However, it turns out that this set of strategies is not complete, and the theory of cylindrical integration allows one to overcome this difficulty. Our approach generalizes the measure-valued strategies: this explains some known results, such as approximate completeness, but at the same time it also shows that either the optimal strategy is based on a finite number of bonds or it is not necessarily a measure-valued process.Received: November 2002, Mathematics Subject Classification: 60H05, 60G60, 90A09JEL Classification: G10, E43The first author gratefully acknowledges financial support from the CNR Strategic Project Modellizzazione matematica di fenomeni economici. We thank professors A. Bagchi, R. Douady and J. Zabczyk for helpful discussions. A special thanks goes to professors T. Björk, Y. Kabanov and W. Schachermayer for comments and suggestions which contributed to improve the final version of this paper.     

论国资委的"超政府性"和"准企业性"

本文从分析国有资产的特征及国有资产经营的内在合理性出发,借鉴西方较为成熟的中央银行机制和现代公司治理结构,揭示国资委在机构定位上的“超政府性”以及在治理结构和运行机制上的“准企业性”,试图为已组建的国资委的规范运作提供相应的理论支撑,从总体上规范国有资产经营管理体制及其运行。     

城市人口研究的视点

从城市人口的一个重要视点——“居住地”和“工作地”的人口概念出发 ,对城市中发生的许多现象进行了解释。对“工作地”和“生活地”的城市人口的研究 ,把人口学研究和社会学、经济学、地理学等多学科的研究结合起来 ,能丰富和拓展人口研究的内容。还介绍了“居住地”和“工作地”的人口资料来源     

Libor Market Models versus Swap Market Models for Pricing Interest Rate Derivatives: An Empirical Analysis

We empirically compare Libor and Swap Market Models for thepricing of interest rate derivatives, using panel data on pricesof US caplets and swaptions. A Libor Market Model can directlybe calibrated to observed prices of caplets, whereas a SwapMarket Model is calibrated to a certain set of swaption prices.For both models we analyze how well they price caplets and swaptionsthat were not used for calibration. We show that the Libor MarketModel in general leads to better prediction of derivative pricesthat were not used for calibration than the Swap Market Model.Also, we find that Market Models with a declining volatilityfunction give much better pricing results than a specificationwith a constant volatility function. Finally, we find that modelsthat arechosen to exactly match certain derivative prices areoverfitted; more parsimonious models lead to better predictionsfor derivative prices that were not used for calibration. JELClassification: G12, G13, E43.     

人类能最终战胜“人口魔鬼”吗？

界定了两种"人口魔鬼"的概念,并简单回顾了人类与"人口魔鬼"斗争的历程.在今后几十年或者稍长的时间里,世界人口总数不会无限增殖下去,人类有望战胜"过剩人口魔鬼".但在达到人口顶峰后,由于人口持续缩减,人类的未来不太乐观.     

从企业产权制度建设上推进企业治理结构的完善

公司治理结构从某种意义上可以说是公司法人产权制度的组织形式,公司法人产权的有效安排是公司治理结构有效性的基本前提。由于我国的企业改革基本上是沿着各种形式的委托－－代理思路展开的,现代企业制度的一个基本特征,即区别于通常所说的古典企业的突出特点,恰在于产权方面的委托－－代理,因而考察我国现代企业制度建设,把企业法人产权与企业治理结构统一起来加以分析,便有着重要的理论意义和实践价值。     

Social Security and personal saving: 1971 and beyond

Feldstein (1996, 1974) reported that Social Security in the U.S.A. reduced personal saving (“saving”) in 1992 (1971) by $416 ($61) billion. I reestimate his life-cycle consumption specification using data from the latest NIPA revision, correct his calculations, and find that the implied reduction in 1992 (1971) saving is now $280 ($22) billion, 48% (16%) of actual net private saving, with a standard error of $114 ($14) billion. If structural breaks around WWII and the 1972 Social Security amendments (which raised real per capita SSW by 22%) are allowed, and the market value of Treasury debt included in the specification, the reduction in 1971 and 1992 saving attributable to Social Security is at most 0.55 times its standard error, and 12% of net private saving. I then reestimate the preferred specification of Coates and Humphreys (1999), allowing for these structural breaks and relaxing other restrictions. The implied effect of Social Security on saving is again statistically zero. First version received: September 2000/Final version received: September 2001 RID="*" ID="*"  I thank Les Oxley for pointing out that correcting for AR(1) residuals is not a categorical imperative but a cultural relative, in which case common factor restrictions are crucial.     

Financing enterprise development in sub-Saharan Africa

This paper examines some critical gaps in the financial infrastructurein sub-Saharan Africa, which have contributed to the poor performanceof productive investment by private agents. It first analysesthe performance of financial systems, encompassing both formaland informal financial sectors, in relation to the changingpolicy environment, and key features of the financial marketstructure. It then identifies those gaps in financial servicesthat have been particularly detrimental to private investment,enterprise growth and transformation. Finally, the paper considerspolicy implications drawn from East Asian experiences with respectto financial policies, institutional arrangements and marketintegration measures for financing enterprise development.