Macroeconomic consequences of state fragility in sub‐Saharan Africa

Are poor macroeconomic outcomes primarily the result of economic policies, or of deeper underlying state fragility problems in sub‐Saharan Africa? We attempt to answer this question by using carefully specified dynamic panel regression techniques to show how state fragility conditions help to explain the differences in the macroeconomic performance of sub‐Saharan African economies, and to identify the most plausible mechanisms of transmission. We find that countries with greater fragility suffer higher macroeconomic volatility and crisis; they also experience weaker growth. When we disaggregate state fragility into its various components, we find that it is the security and social components that have the strongest causal impact on macroeconomic outcomes, while the political component is, at best, weak. Therefore, we conclude that it is state fragility conditions, and not necessarily macroeconomic policies, that are of first‐order importance in explaining the differences in macroeconomic performance for African countries. The knock‐on effects are mostly mediated through the fiscal channel, the aid channel, and the finance channel. Accordingly, we recommend that interventions in fragile states should best focus on exploiting the potential for using fiscal policy, aid, and finance as instruments to improve macroeconomic outcomes in sub‐Saharan Africa.     

Comments on the Brenner–Wood Exchange on the Low Countries

The exchange between Brenner and Wood on the Low Countries in the early modern period raises a number of theoretical and historical issues relating to the conditions for the emergence of capitalist social-property relations and their unique historical laws of motion. This contribution focuses on three issues raised in the Brenner-Wood exchange: the conditions under which rural house-hold producers become subject to 'market coercion', the potential for ecological crisis to restructure agricultural production, and the relative role of foreign trade and the transformation of domestic, rural class relations to capitalist industrialization.     

Taxation, growth, and the spirit of capitalism

This paper uses a general two-sector model of endogenous growth to examine how the spirit of capitalism affects the relation between public finance and growth. The spirit of capitalism is defined as acquisitive personal objectives. We find that if the spirit of capitalism is present, an increase in the share of government spending in output reduces the long-run growth rate. The negative relationship between fiscal spending and growth is consistent with empirical evidence.     

新技术革命与当代资本主义经济问题

这次新技术革命最初从美国开始，以后逐步扩展到西欧、日本和苏联，不仅在个别科学理论和技术领域里出现新的突破，而且在各个学科和技术领域里都发生深刻的变化；从而形成科技群，并出现一批含有高科技成分的产业群；新技术革命至今还在继续发展，她对当代资本主义经济有着全面而深刻的影响，使当代资本主义发生许多新的变化。     

Mechanisms for controlling expenditure in the Spanish Royal Household, c.1561-c.18081

The purpose of this article is to examine the accounting and auditing in the Spanish Royal Household between 1561 and 1808. The Royal Household was the third most important item of expenditure that the State Treasury financed, after the Army and Navy and the National Debt. On studying spending control in the Royal Household, we have rejected the idea, often advanced by historiography, that there was no spending control within this institution. On the contrary, treasurers and accountants were only able to release funds for expenditure purposes on the basis of prior authorization. However, the efficiency of spending control was very limited due to technical, administrative and, above all, social and political elements.     

Party alternation,divided government,and fiscal performance within US States

The literature on US state government fiscal performance has examined the role of institutional factors such as budget rules and divided government, but has largely ignored the impact of party alternation. This paper primarily focuses on whether party alternation in the governor’s office affects fiscal performance. Our hypothesis is that frequent party changes create a political environment that impacts fiscal performance. To further assess the impact of party alternation on fiscal performance, we consider our primary hypothesis in conjunction with the degree of division that exists between the governor’s office and the legislature. Using panel data from 37 states between 1971 and 2000 we test the hypothesis that frequent party alternation can be expected to affect fiscal performance and find strong support for the hypothesis. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 2005 Public Choice Society Meetings. The authors would like to thank the conference participants, William Shughart, Charles Register, Jocelyn Evans, John D. Jackson, Amihai Glazer, and two anonymous referees for their comments. We would also like to thank Craig R. Stiller for his help in the collection of data. Any remaining errors remain the responsibility of the authors.     

未来世界能否成为一个“大混合经济”

是否存在两个马克思主义，一个过时了，另一个才能指导当前实践？是否存在两个资本主义，一个已经灭亡，另一个还不会灭亡？未来世界是否会融合为一个“大混合经济”？这些问题关系到对马克思主义经济学的理解，以及对未来世界经济发展走势的分析，很值得认真探讨。     

国有公司财务监督问题研究

现行的国有公司财务监督中缺少真正代表国有资本所有者行使监督职权的机构和人员，董事会、监事会和财务人员管理体制的缺陷以及外部审计监督的不力使得国有公司经营管理者有机会违规获取个人利益，结果必然导致国有资产流失。应考虑建立国有公司出资者监督代表的再监督制度和对财务监督人员的激励约束制度，推行国有公司年报审计的公开招标制。     

改革现行会计委派制 建立会计代理制

对于国有企业(及国家机关部门和事业单位)来说,建立“外派”会计制度是内在的要求,应该坚持做好。“外派”会计是财务监督会计,与企业内部管理会计并行不悖。不过,现行的会计委派制确实增加了企业经理人员和委派会计人员或财务总监之间产生对立或合谋的可能性,某种意义上成为政府干预企业的新机制、新形式,这影响到会计委派制的实际效果。而由会计师事务所等中介服务机构来充当企业的财务总监的会计代理制却能较好地隔离政府与企业,并在两者之间形成适当的平衡。