Showing papers in "Journal of Economic Literature in 2001"

From State to Market: A Survey of Empirical Studies on Privatization

Abstract: This study surveys the literature examining the privatization of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) We review the history of privatization, the theoretical and empirical evidence on the relative performance of state owned and privately owned firms, the types of privatization, if and by how much privatization has improved the performance of former SOEs in non-transition and transition countries, how investors in privatizations have fared, and the impact of privatization on the development of capital markets and corporate governance. In most settings privatization "works" in that the firms become more efficient, more profitable, and financially healthier, and reward investors.

Looking into the Black Box: A Survey of the Matching Function

Abstract: This paper surveys the microfoundations, empirical evidence, and estimation issues underlying the aggregate matching function. There is no consensus yet on microfoundations but one is emerging on estimation. An aggregate, constant returns, Cobb-Douglas matching function with hires as a function of vacancies and unemployment has been successfully estimated for several countries. Recent work has utilized disaggregated data to go beyond aggregate estimates, with many refinements and suggestions for future research. The paper discusses spatial aggregation issues, and implications of on-the-job search and of the timing of stocks and flows for estimated matching functions.

Education for Growth: Why and for Whom?

Abstract: This paper summarizes and tries to reconcile evidence from the microeconometric and empirical macro growth literatures on the effect of schooling on income and GDP growth Much microeconometric evidence suggests that education is an important causal determinant of income for individuals within countries At a national level, however, recent studies have found that increases in educational attainment are unrelated to economic growth This discrepancy appears to be a result of the high rate of measurement error in first-differenced cross-country education data After accounting for measurement error, the effect of changes in educational attainment on income growth in cross-country data is at least as great as microeconometric estimates of the rate of return to years of schooling Another finding of the macro growth literature--that economic growth depends positively on the initial stock of human capital--is not robust when the assumption of a constant-coefficient model is relaxed

Business and Social Networks in International Trade

Abstract: The first two main sections survey the roles of transnational networks in alleviating problems of contract enforcement and providing information about trading opportunities, respectively. The next section covers how domestic networks influence international trade through their impact on domestic market structure. Two overarching questions unify these sections: how do networks affect efficiency, and will networks grow or shrink in importance for international trade over time. The last main sections develop research agendas for two less studied areas: the role of intermediaries who can connect foreign agents to domestic networks and the ability of transnational production networks to facilitate technology transfer.

The Determinants of Earnings: A Behavioral Approach

Abstract: We survey the determinants of earnings and propose a framework for understanding labor market success. We suggest that the advantages of the children of successful parents go considerably beyond the benefits of superior education, the inheritance of wealth, or the genetic inheritance of cognitive ability. We suggest that noncognitive personality variables, such as attitudes towards risk, ability to adapt to new economic conditions, hard work, and the rate of time preference affect both earning and the transmission of economic status across generations.

The School-to-Work Transition: A Cross-National Perspective

Abstract: School-to-work patterns and issues are discussed for seven economies (France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States). The emphasis is placed on differences across countries in the current labor market position of young people and recent trends therein, along with the institutions that regulate youth education, training, and employment. The power of public policies--including labor market deregulation, labor market programs, vocationalization of education, and apprenticeship--to improve youth outcomes is discussed, drawing on national evaluation literatures. Evidence of extensive policy failure points up the need to develop nationally appropriate institutions to improve school-to-work transitions

Official Intervention in the Foreign Exchange Market: Is It Effective and, If So, How Does It Work?

Abstract: In this Paper we assess the progress made by the profession in understanding whether and how exchange rate intervention works. To this end, we review the theory and evidence on official intervention, concentrating primarily on work published within the last decade or so. Our reading of the recent literature leads us to conclude that, in contrast with the profession's consensus view of the 1980s, official intervention can be effective, especially through its role as a signal of policy intentions, and especially when it is publicly announced and concerted. We also note, however, an apparent empirical puzzle concerning the secrecy of much intervention and suggest an additional way in which intervention may be effective but which has so far received little attention in the literature, namely through its role in remedying a coordination failure in the foreign exchange market.

Promise and Pitfalls in the Use of "Secondary" Data-Sets: Income Inequality in OECD Countries As a Case Study

Abstract: This paper examines the role of secondary data-sets in empirical economic research, taking the field of income distribution as a case study. We illustrate problems faced by users of "secondary" statistics, showing how both cross-country comparisons and time-series analysis can depend sensitively on the choice of data. After describing the genealogy of secondary data-sets on income inequality, we consider the main methodological issues and discuss their implications for comparisons of income inequality across OECD countries and over time. The lessons to be drawn for the construction and use of secondary data-sets are summarized at the end of the paper.

Silver Signals: Twenty-Five Years of Screening and Signaling

Abstract: The theory of market signaling and screening is a cornerstone of the new economics of information. The last two and a half decades have not only witnessed a series of remarkable theoretical developments but also a wide range of applications. This essay examines the key theoretical issues and explores their use in three major fields: industrial organization, labor, and finance. Considerable emphasis is placed on attempts to test the theory in each of these fields.

Of hype and hyperbolas : introducing the new economic geography

Abstract: Reviewing The Spatial Economy by Fujita, Krugman, and Venables, this paper argues that the key contribution of the new economic geography is a framework in which standard building blocks of mainstream economics (especially rational decision making and simple general equilibrium models) are used to model the trade-off between dispersal and agglomeration. The approach thus gives a choice-theoretic basis for a "propensity to agglomerate."

The Biological Basis of Economic Behavior

Abstract: This paper first considers the implications of biological evolution for economic preferences. It analyzes why utility functions evolved, considers evidence that utility is both hedonic and adaptive, and suggests why such adaptation might have evolved. Time preference and attitudes to risk are treated--in particular, whether the former is exponential and the latter are selfish. Arguments for another form of interdependence--a concern with status--are treated. The paper then considers the evolution of rationality. One hypothesis examined is that human intelligence and longevity were forged by hunter-gatherer economies; another is that intelligence was spurred by competitive social interactions.

Economics of Alliances: The Lessons for Collective Action

Abstract: This essay provides an up-to-date summary of the findings of the literature on the economics of alliances. We show that the study of the economics of alliances has played a pivotal role in understanding and applying public good analysis to real-world applications. We establish that the manner in which alliances address burden sharing and allocative issues is related to strategic doctrines, weapon technology, perceived threats, and membership composition. Past contributions are evaluated, and areas needing further development are identified. The theoretical and empirical knowledge gained from the study of alliances is shown to be directly applicable to a wide range of international collectives.

The Taxing Task of Taxing Transnationals

Abstract: Financial and real investment flexibility, tax competition, and superior economic information by transnationals both create a rationale for corporate income taxation and limit the effectiveness of such taxation. While these factors have led to a variety of transnational tax policies, such as deferral, double taxation, apportionment, and trade rules, very few of these institutional features have been integrated into tax competition and agency models. In this paper, I show how the integration of investment flexibility, tax competition, and agency issues is crucial to our understanding of corporate tax policies.

Perfect Competition and the Creativity of the Market

Abstract: From the perspective of the Walrasian general equilibrium model, entrepreneurial and opportunistic behavior seems foreign. Can the model be refashioned so that it can accommodate such behavior? Many would say no, but we argue the contrary. Indeed, we present a reformulation of the model that serves as a gateway to, rather than a detour from, such contemporary issues as innovation and incentives. The trick is to reexamine what perfect competition means. Starting with an historical summary of general equilibrium, we sketch an image of the perfect competitor as an active market opportunist, seeking out profit potentials wherever he can.

Review of de Soto's The Mystery of Capital

Abstract: In The Mystery of Capital, Hernando de Soto promotes his explanation of why formal capital markets function poorly in developing countries. De Soto argues that much of the population of developing countries lacks access to credit, not because they lack assets, but because ownership of their property is secured informally, which prevents the use of property as collateral. The inability to convert assets into capital keeps the developing world from benefiting from capitalism.

A Ricardo-Sraffa Paradigm Comparing Gains from Trade in Inputs and Finished Goods

Abstract: Here is how the 1817 Ricardo comparative advantage trade benefit analysis has to be modified to take account of post-1960 Sraffian benefits from capital-using technologies. By bringing J. S. Mill's demand model up to date in terms of its implicit geometric-mean money-metric utility, specific measurements for real net national product are calculated to partition sources of welfare gains (from output enhancements and taste-preference accommodations) in scenarios of (1) trade between equals, (2) trade between poor and rich nations, and (3) for biased inventions that enable a poor country to take over production of items in which formerly the rich place enjoyed comparative advantage. History of economic doctrine is mined to advance today's frontier of scientific knowledge--a forward-looking function for "Whig history."

Fitness and Age: Review of Carroll and Hannan's Demography of Corporations and Industries

Abstract: The Demography of Corporations and Industries (2000) by Glenn R. Carroll and T. Michael Hannan is a welcome addition to a body of empirical analysis of firms and industries that studies the effects of technological change and other changes that occur over time. The book contains a wealth of facts, and some new insights too. It will make useful secondary reading in some graduate courses in economics, and I would recommend it to anyone whose research relates to the concept of creative destruction.

The School-to-Work Transition: A Cross-National Perspective: Corrigendum

Abstract: School-to-work patterns and issues are discussed for seven economies (France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Sweden, UK and US). The emphasis is placed on differences across countries in both the current labour market position of young people and recent trends therein, along with the institutions that regulate youth education, training and employment. The power of public policies − including labour market deregulation, labour market programmes, the vocationalisation of education, and apprenticeship − to improve youth outcomes is discussed, drawing on national evaluation literatures. Evidence of extensive policy failure points up the need to develop nationally appropriate institutions to improve school-to-work transitions.

A Review of Monetary Policy Rules

Abstract: This article reviews Monetary Policy Rules, edited by John Taylor. The book evaluates the Taylor rule, a policy rule that specifies changes in the central bank's interest rate according to what is happening to two variables, real output and inflation. Questions are raised about (a) how well the models fit the data; (b) the validity of the assumption that there has been clear improvement in monetary policy; and (c) the rule's microfoundations.

An Early Application of the Average Total Cost Concept

Abstract: E BEGAN to conceptualize average total cost functions during the early decades of the twentieth century. But a century before, a German music publishing firm calculated and used in its internal decision making output-dependent average cost estimates for two methods of printing sheet music. This note describes that early experience and juxtaposes against it the relatively late emergence of the ATC curve in the formal literature of economics.

Review of Meritocracy and Economic Inequality Edited by Kenneth Arrow, Sameul Bowles, and Steven Durlaf

Abstract: The twelve essays in this volume deal with the definition of meritocracy and equality of opportunity, the causes and consequences of intelligence, schooling and inequality, and equal-opportunity policy options. They emphasize the importance of education and race, relative to IQ. Collectively, they argue that it may be possible to both reduce inequality and improve efficiency by reducing the market imperfections that contribute to inequality.

Utility of Gains and Losses by R. Duncan Luce

Abstract: Reviews the book "Utility of Gains and Losses: Measurement-Theoretical and Experimental Approaches," by R. Duncan Luce.