Showing papers by "Robert M. Solow published in 1998"

An almost practical step toward sustainability

Abstract: It will be useful if I tell you in advance where the argument is leading. It is a commonplace thought that the national income and product accounts, as currently laid out, give a misleading picture of the value of a nation’s economic activity to the people concerned. The conventional totals, gross domestic product (GDP) or gross national product (GNP) or national income, are not so bad for studying fluctuations in employment or analyzing the demand for goods and services. When it comes to measuring the economy’s contribution to the well-being of the country’s inhabitants, however, the conventional measures are incomplete. The most obvious omission is the depreciation of fixed capital assets. If two economies produce the same real GDP but one of them does so wastefully by wearing out half of its stock of plant and equipment while the other does so thriftily and holds depreciation to 10 percent of its stock of capital, it is pretty obvious which one is doing a better job for its citizens. Of course the national income accounts have always recognized this point, and they construct net aggregates, like net national product (NNP), to give an appropriate answer. Depreciation of fixed capital may be badly measured, and the error affects net product, but the effort is made.

Work and Welfare

Abstract: IntroductionPreface to the LecturesLecture I: Guess Who Likes Workfare3Lecture II: Guess Who Pays for Workfare23Comment45Comment55Comment63Comment77Response to Comments85Contributors95Index97

What is labour-market flexibility? what is it good for?

Abstract: THE EARLIEST KEYNES LECTURES tended to be on Keynesian subjects, either Keynes himself or the parts of economics on which he was a major influence. More recently that habit of piety has weakened or disappeared. I intend to go back to it, but not in the sense that I will be concerned with what Keynes or later Keynesians thought about this or that. The connection is more abstract. The macroeconomic role of the labour market is at the very centre of all that current talk about high and persistent European unemployment and its sharp contrast with the recent experience of the United States. The macroeconomic role of the labour market is also at the heart of one version—more or less the standard version—of Keynesian economics. One legacy of The General Theory—much disputed—is the notion that the true source of excessive unemployment need not be some flaw in the labour market itself. In another standard version of the story, however, a lower nominal wage would correspond to higher employment, with the main chain of causation running through a lower price level, higher real money stock, lower interest rate, and higher aggregate real expenditure. In that story a higher nominal money stock would work just the same, without the need for deflation. From this angle, nevertheless, it looks as if nominal-wage-rigidity is the root of the problem. But other arguments, to be found in the General Theory itself, in Christopher Dow’s Keynes Lecture of a few years ago, and in more recent work by Frank Hahn and myself, claim that full nominal wage flexibility would bring with it enough other problems to make it a non-solution to the

Inflation, Unemployment, and Monetary Policy

Abstract: edited and with an introduction by Benjamin M. Friedman The connection between price inflation and real economic activity has been a focus of macroeconomic research--and debate--for much of the past century. Although this connection is crucial to our understanding of what monetary policy can and cannot accomplish, opinions about its basic properties have swung widely over the years.Today, virtually everyone studying monetary policy acknowledges that, contrary to what many modern macroeconomic models suggest, central bank actions often affect both inflation and measures of real economic activity, such as output, unemployment, and incomes. But the nature and magnitude of these effects are not yet understood.In this volume, Robert M. Solow and John B. Taylor present their views on the dilemmas facing U.S. monetary policymakers. The discussants are Benjamin M. Friedman, James K. Galbraith, N. Gregory Mankiw, and William Poole. The aim of this lively exchange of views is to make both an intellectual contribution to macroeconmics and a practical contribution to the solution of a public policy question of central importance.

Monopolistic competition and macroeconomic theory

Abstract: Introduction Part I. Some Macroeconomic Implications of Monopolistic Competition: Part II. A Macroeconomic Model with Imperfect Competition: Biographical Note for Chapter II Part III. Monopolistic Competition and the Multiplier.

Monopolistic Competition and Macroeconomic Theory

Abstract: Much of today's conventional macroeconomic theory presumes that markets for goods approach the state of perfect competition. Monopolistic Competition and Macroeconomic Theory assumes that markets are imperfect, so that sellers have some power over price, and must therefore form quantity expectations about the location of the firm's demand curve. The question is then about the macroeconomic implications of imperfect competition in goods markets. The first chapter is a brief survey of ideas proposed in economics including multiple equilibria. The second chapter describes a particular micro-based macro model that allows several families of equilibria. The third chapter shows how a standard locational model can be used to describe a sample macroeconomy when firms have close rivals. In this volume derived from his Federico Caffe Lecture, Nobel Laureate Robert Solow shows that there are simple and tractable micro-based models that offer the possibility of a richer and more intuitive macroeconomics.

Manifesto contro la disoccupazione nell'Unione Europea

Abstract: In this Manifesto, we make a set of proposals to fight unemployment in EU. We believe that the European unemployment problem needs to be attacked on two fronts: through a broad spectrum of supply-side policies and the de-mand management policy. The expansion of aggregate demand is necessary to increase both investment and employment. However, unless supply-side measures are also taken, demand expansion can result in more inflation in-stead of more employment, because of the mismatch between the demand and supply of labour. What is important to stress is that both demand- and supply-side policies must be adopted together by all European countries, in order both to avoid beggar-my-neighbour problems and, at the same time, to catch all the possible complementary effects of these policies. JEL Codes: E24, E60, J30, J60 Keywords:

The Computer Revolution: An Economic Perspective by Daniel E. Sichel

Abstract: script is not acceptable in form, style or content, the publisher can refuse to publish it and even demand that any advance be repaid. Professor Silverman recommends adding a clause referring disputes or disagreements to a third party such as The Ameri can Arbitration Association for binding judgement. He also strongly recommends an agreement with a co-author even though the co-author may be a friend and he includes a sample agreement of this kind. The book also provides some helpful hints about the actual engagement of the project includ ing where to write, establishing a daily writing schedule and takes the reader through every step of the production process. The book includes a mini lesson on book marketing as well, to help an author understand what the publisher is doing or what a self-publisher may have to do himself. In summary, Authoring Books and Materials for Students, Academics and Professionals is an invalu able resource to any potential author of a text or professional book. Professor Silverman's book is an excellent guidebook to take on the authorship

Rereading The Structure of the American Economy

Abstract: (1998). Rereading The Structure of the American Economy. Economic Systems Research: Vol. 10, No. 4, pp. 299-306.