Squatting as a transition problem in South Africa

This paper applies principles of transition to land tenure and squatting in South Africa. Political transition in South Africa reassigned political property rights, which produced contestable, and rent‐seeking incentives for squatting as a means to privatize land and redistribute wealth. Government failure to establish and protect private property rights in a squatter camp resulted in common‐pool problems that resisted private and public resolution with consequent rent dissipation and social loss. In response to this retreat from duty, informal agents emerged to claim their own share of the prize. Without enforceable rules of capture, the growth of squatter camps in South Africa will continue. JEL classification: D7, H8, K1, K4, R1, R4.     

A Critique of the Legal and Philosophical Case for Rent Control

Rent control is an economic abomination. It diverts investments away from residential rent units, it leads to their deterioration, it is responsible for urban decay such as in the South Bronx, it does not help poor tenants, it is a horrendous means of income redistribution. Yet this economic regulation is beloved of intellectuals (hot beds of pro rent control sentiment are Berkeley, Ann Arbor and Cambridge) particularly in the legal and philosophical communities. The present article is dedicated to an exploration and rejection of the arguments in behalf of rent control which emanate from this source.     

关于增加湖北省中等收入者比重的调查与分析(下)

我国中等收入阶层的形成和壮大，是同无数中等收入的形成和壮大联系在一起的，也与我国经济社会体制的不断跃迁、不断完善密切相关，特别是中等收入的特质及其影响力，是与我国经济社会体制改革的效率和整个社会的福利水平呈现一种正相关关系的。扩大中等收入比重，提高低收入收入水平，这是在新的历史条件下对我国传统收入分配制度的一个新的注解。     

Vacancies and Rent Dispersion in a Stochastic Search Model with Generalized Tenant Demand

I model imperfect information, derive a downward sloping market demand curve, and explain vacancies in a partial equilibrium model of a rental housing market. Tenants can be completely described by an exogenous demand curve, perhaps arising from differences in income, preferred location, or tastes, and view vacant units based on a stochastic arrival of rental information. Free entry of these landlords induces excess rental housing capacity (equilibrium vacancies). I determine the equilibrium distribution of rents for vacant units, show that this rent distribution may be discontinuous, and explore the equilibrium vacancy rate to changes in exogenous parameters. The resulting characterization of equilibrium distributions of rents may be amenable to econometric modeling exploring the relationship between market rents and vacancies.     

中国的潜在产出、产出缺口及产量--通货膨胀交替关系--基于"Kalman滤波"方法的研究

本文介绍并运用“Kalman滤波”方法估计1979-2004年间我国的潜在经济增长率和产出缺口，然后根据这些结果检验了我国经济增长与通货膨胀率之间的交替关系、社会的通货膨胀预期对经济的影响、决定产出缺口大小的影响因素等，最后利用研究结果对我国2005年的经济发展进行了预测。     

潜在产出估计的文献综述

通过对国内外有关潜在产出的计算方法进行综述,指出目前国外普遍认同的方法是以经济理论为依据的生产函数法,而我国采用的是统计分解方法。统计分解方法有主观性和偏差性较大的缺点,应加以改进。     

行业间工资差异和垄断租金分享

以产业门类为基准测算的中国行业间工资差异明显且自1988年以来呈现逐步上升趋势，随着产业细分，行业间工资差异进一步提高。对劳动市场工资决定的理论分析表明，行业间工资差异主要源于各行业就业人员的人力资本差异和可能的垄断租金分享。实证研究中发现，就业人员性别、年龄和教育等就业人员特征只能解释行业平均报酬变差系数的60％左右，其余部分源于垄断行业的租金分享。其中，技术／知识型市场垄断行业租金分享比例不高，但非竞争性垄断行业普遍获得了超额报酬，约占其行业高工资的50％以上。后者超额报酬和超水平高福利主要源于相关行业无偿或低成本的自然资源占用和国有资产经营、攫取消费者福利、成本膨胀亏损的财政或社会公众补贴，因此要从其垄断机理和初次分配制度上改革以建立公平收入分配秩序。     

关于增加湖北省中等收入者比重的调查与分析(上)

我国中等收入阶层的形成和壮大，是同无数中等收入的形成和壮大联系在一起的，也与我国经济社会体制的不断跃迁、不断完善密切相关，特别是中等收入的特质及其影响力，是与我国经济社会体制改革的效率和整个社会的福利水平呈现一种正相关关系的。扩大中等收入比重，提高低收入收入水平，这是在新的历史条件下对我国传统收入分配制度的一个新的注解。     

当前若干促进农民增收措施的效果与未来取向

当前,我国各级政府为了促进农民增收相继出台了一系列的政策措施,但这些措施实施的效果并不尽如人意.我国农民收入增长缓慢的根本原因在于农民人均可耕种面积太小,过多的农民拥挤在有限的土地上,使得很多促进农民增收的措施效果不明显.因此,解决农民增收问题,必须加快城市化步伐,把农民从土地上解放出来.     

缩小城乡居民收入差距的财政思考

缩小城乡居民收入差距的关键在于提高农村居民的收入增长速度。要实现农村居民收入的较快增长,必须通过一定财政政策的支持,积极发展农业经济,改善农业经济结构,提高农业经济质量,增强农业的竞争力。通过农村税费改革,切实减轻农民负担。加快农村剩余劳动力从农业生产领域向非农产业领域的转移、从农业劳动力过剩地区向劳动力短缺地区转移,藉以提高农业劳动生产率,增加农民收入。