Showing papers on "Economic problem published in 2004"

Economic development by the creation of new sectors

Abstract: The basic theme underlying this paper is qualitative change taking place during economic development. These changes in the composition of the economic system should become one of the most important variables in models of economic growth and development. Our knowledge of the relationship between economic development and qualitative change, however, is still very limited. This paper at- tempts to shed light on some important aspects of the role played by qualitative change in economic development, by laying the foundations of a model in which changes in the composition of the economic system are endogenously generated by the evolution of the system itself and, in turn, affect its future development. The model has a strong Schumpeterian flavour in that the first entrepreneur entering a market enjoys a temporary monopoly. This temporary monopoly is eroded by the entry of imitators, that gradually increases the intensity of competition. The satura- tion is reinforced as the demand for what was a new product comes to be satisfied. In this way the adjustment gap initially created by the innovation is eliminated transforming a niche into a mature market, which becomes one of the routines of the economic system. As soon as a sector becomes saturated there is an increas- ing inducement for incumbent firms to exit and to create a new niche, where once more they will have a temporary monopoly. To put it in another, slightly different, form, we can say that economic development is a process in which new activities emerge, old ones disappear, the weight of all economic activities and their patterns of interaction change.

A Rational Choice Perspective in Economic Sociology

Abstract: The paper provides unusual approach towards the sociology of rational choice. The author discusses the possibility to apply the theory for the explanation of economic problems not the sociological ones. It means that the author takes the economic instruments considering sociological aspects and applies to solve the economic theory problems. This statement let us assume that it is possible to divide clearly the economic issues from sociological ones but it was shown that this difference is rather washed out in reality.

Work, leisure, time-pressure and stress

Abstract: The questions of whether people living in modern societies work longer or shorter hours or have gained or lost free time, and the implications of such trends, have been at the centre of sociological, social political and social economic discussion since the 1930s. John Maynard Keynes, in his essay ‘Economic possibilities for our grandchildren’, contemplated the future of humanity after the anticipated resolution of the economic problem of ‘scarcity’ and observed:For the first time since his creation, man will be faced with his real, his permanent problem – how to use his freedom from pressing economic cares, how to occupy his leisure, that science and compound interest will have won for him.

The politics of mobility in technology-driven commodity chains: developmental coalitions in the Irish software industry

Abstract: National production systems have been fragmented from above and below A� by emerging global production networks and regional systems of production. Increasingly, national systems of production do not sit between global and local but are formed out of them (Castells, 1997). Yet the relationship between global and local production networks is a tense one: while regional industrial systems enable more rewarding participation in global networks, participation in those networks simultaneously presents potential problems of the `hollowing out' of the region and of the `locking in' of the region at lower levels of the hierarchy of the international division of labour (O'Hearn, 2001). Strategic participation in global networks of production and innovation is crucial to developing strong regional systems. But in order to negotiate access to the upper reaches of the production and innovation hierarchy, a strong regional system is crucial. A dilemma presents itself for regions seeking to grow and develop industrially: how to use global networks to develop the very local systems that will enable regions to bargain their way into a more favourable position within those networks. The information technology industry in the Republic of Ireland is a useful case for exploring these industrial development dilemmas. Since the 1950s, industrial policy in Ireland has focused on the attraction of foreign investment. After initial growth in the 1960s and 1970s, an economy increasingly based on branch plants and transfer pricing ran into economic problems in the 1980s. Mass unemployment and emigration in the 1980s gave little sign of the economic boom to follow in the 1990s. Driven by foreign investment and governed by new `social partnership' institutions, the Celtic Tiger years of the 1990s represented a startling turnaround in economic fortunes so that Irish GDP outstripped the EU average by the late 1990s (OA� Riain and O'Connell, 2000). But if the economic growth of the 1990s is unquestioned, the extent and character of the industrial transformations underpinning it are more controversial. Some see the Celtic Tiger years as bringing industrial upgrading led by foreign firms, while others see the influence of foreign firms as more pernicious, with Ireland in the 1990s largely the beneficiary of enormous entrepot flows of international capital (Barry, 1999; O'Hearn, 2001). However, while there are striking entrepot characteristics to foreign firms in Ireland, significant industrial upgrading has occurred across a wide range of sectors. We see growth almost completely across the board in investment, R&D, employment, professionalization and productivity (OA� Riain, 2004a). Perhaps the central contradiction of Irish industrial development that has fostered the controversies of recent years is that entrepot activity and industrial upgrading occurred within the same sectors and even within the same firms. An intriguing aspect of Irish development is the emergence of local deepening and upgrading from within these non-productive flows of capital. This article uses these contradictions within the Irish industrial structure to explore the dilemmas of development in a world of global and local networks. Through a case study of the development of the software industry, the most dynamic sector of the Irish economy in the 1990s, the article explores how an industry and region that was `locked Volume 28.3 September 2004 642-63 International Journal of Urban and Regional Research A� Joint Editors and Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2004. Published by Blackwell Publishing. 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK and 350 Main St, Malden, MA 02148, USA in' to a dependent relationship of routine production within the global software production network managed to partially move up the production and technology chain to develop more sophisticated operations among foreign firms and an increasingly sophisticated Irish-owned sector. The analysis suggests that state strategies are central to the ability of firms and territories to integrate into particular niches in global production networks. Relations within production networks tend to become institutionalized and self-reproducing. Firms and territories tend to remain locked in to a particular niche, in the absence of a `development project' or coalition that mobilizes resources and cooperation to generate a push into a niche further up the network hierarchy. The push for moving up the network comes when a marginalized or vulnerable group within or on the edges of the network makes an alliance with supportive public agencies (OA� Riain, 2004b). Global production networks tend to institutionalize hierarchical relations, but this does not mean that it is impossible for developmental coalitions to mobilize around the connections and resources within those networks to enter new niches further up these hierarchies. In practice, this requires a concerted and ongoing state policy of industrial development and innovation promotion.

The new common sense of education: Advocacy research versus academic authority

Abstract: Current education policy is increasingly controlled by partisan politicians and the corporate interests that speak through them. Attacking American education and blaming economic troubles on failing schools and low standardized test scores coalesces the rhetoric of the right and draws attention away from fundamental social and economic problems. Add to this political opportunity the economic fact that attacking K–12 education leaves this market of $732 billion vulnerable to development by corporate America. Though such attacks have been with us since A Nation at Risk, an increasingly broad array of cultural and institutional forces are at work creating a new ‘‘common sense’’ of education that maligns or manipulates the corpus of educational research and attacks promising practices and reforms. In addition, a new type of education scholarship has emerged that is delivered in alternative ways, funded through unorthodox sources, motivated by nonacademic purposes, and supported through direct access to media and political organizations, including the federal government. This article examines the details of the new commonsense policy and rhetoric and considers what is being lost and what educators need to do to restore to public education its position of civic and moral leadership in our society.

Qinghai and the emergence of the West: Nationalities, Communal Interaction and National Integration

Abstract: Qinghai is one of China's poorest provincial-level jurisdictions, least internally integrated and least integrated with the rest of the People's Republic Its social complexity and fragile environment repeatedly created significant political and economic problems during the first half-century of the PRC, which were then exacerbated by policies that rapidly proved over-simplistic and counter-productive Since January 2000 the PRC government's new policy initiative to develop the Western Region – the call to “Open Up the West” – has provided the provincial leadership with the opportunity to resolve some of the province's long-term difficulties through adopting markedly different perspectives on development A more gradual approach has emerged, concentrating on the development of the province's infrastructure and environmental sustainability Nevertheless, there remains a danger that in concentrating on economic solutions to the province's problems its inherent political, social and cultural contestations may be ignored to the detriment of the leadership's wider goals

Wealth from waste: local and regional economic development and the environment

Abstract: Sustainable economic development strategies promote mutually-beneficial environmental, social and economic progress. Such strategies now form an essential basis for local and regional development. Various models of sustainable economic and environmental industry development have been introduced in recent years, some of which have proved to be of particular value. The theory and practice of sustainable economic development has made rapid progress, and this approach to local and regional development is now generally accepted as offering the opportunity to solve a range of environmental and economic problems and to promote new economic activities that can generate jobs in socially excluded communities.

In the Lobby of the Energy Hotel: Jevons's Formulation of the Postclassical "Economic Problem"

Abstract: In the closing chapter of the first edition of his Theory of Political Economy (TPE), William Stanley Jevons (1871, 254) argued that within the terms of his marginalist theory of value and distribution, the “great problem of Economy” could be summarized as follows: “Given, a certain population, with various needs and powers of production, in possession of certain lands and other sources of material: required, the mode of employing their labour so as to maximise the utility of the produce.”1 Historians of economics have noted that this summary marked an analytical break with the work of his predecessors, such as John Stuart Mill and John Elliott Cairnes, in two ways. The first was to remove the Malthusian “doctrine of population” from the domain of a theory of value and distribution. Although Jevons did not “in the least doubt its truth and vast importance,” the doctrine was “conspicuously absent” from TPE because “it forms no part of the direct problem of Economy” (255). Population size, like the quantity of natural resources and capital,

Explaining growth in burundi: 1960-2000 ♠

Abstract: This study analyses Burundi’s economic performance over the period 19602000 and finds that it has been catastrophic. The usual economic factors explaining growth are endogenous to political decisions, suggesting that it is politics not economics that explains the dismal performance. This picture particularly limits the relevance of textbook models that rely on the assumption of a competitive resource allocation rule. When cronies rather than qualified managers are running the economy, when priority is given to investment projects in function of their location rather than the objective needs of the economy, the economic model loses its explanatory power. Economic performance has been shaped by the occurrence of violent conflicts caused by factions fighting for the control of the state and its rents. The capture of rents by a small group have become the overarching objective of the successive governments that have ruled the country since shortly after its independence. Therefore, the economic system will not change unless the political system is modernised from a dictatorial regime playing a zero-sum game to a more democratic and accountable regime. Therefore, it would be naive to propose that economic reforms will boost the country’s economy if they are not preceded or at least accompanied by political reforms. One central message of this study is that Burundi’s poor economic performance is t he result of specific identifiable factors evolving around governance. There is nothing fundamentally wrong with Burundi: Development failure may be reversed if the issues identified in the study are properly addressed.

The political economy of skill: a theoretical approach to developing a high skills strategy in the UK

Abstract: A common policy discourse in advanced capitalist economies is the pursuit of competitive advantage based on high skill, high value-added approaches. However, the UK government's commitment to creating a knowledge-driven economy and a culture of lifelong learning as solutions to a wide range of social and economic problems has been criticised on the basis that such a policy 'rests upon simplistic notions of human capital theory and a skewed emphasis upon a very narrow and limited set of interventions aimed at boosting the supply of skills'. More recently, there have been suggestions of a paradigm shift in theoretical approaches to skill formation. This chapter first considers whether such a paradigm shift has occurred and says that there is little conclusive evidence to support this view. It then looks at the demand side approach to tackling the UK's skills problem and the limitations of such an approach. Finally, the chapter outlines the key elements needed to progress towards a political economy of skill.

The German Model in Danger

Abstract: The German high-skills/high value-added economy has long been the Mecca for supporters of the European social model. So long as Model Deutschland was thriving the notion of Social Europe was a plausible political project. But Germany is facing a range of economic problems - the aftershock of reunification, high unemployment and internal and external pressures to reform its stakeholder system of economic organisation. Some of these developments strike at core assumptions of the German model. This article reviews the extent to which the German model is in danger and teases out the implications for the wider European economy.

Market Visions: The Interplay of Ideas and Institutions in Chinese Financial Restructuring

Abstract: In studies of transitional systems, negative economic outcomes are often associated with ‘partial’ or ‘stalled’ reform – a reform that signifies an institutional departure from standard market operation. Such departures are often traced to socio-political contestation or political preferences. Focusing on China's intertwined financial and enterprise reforms, this paper challenges that approach on two fronts. First, it argues that institutional change and resultant economic outcomes are driven less by contestation than by societally held assumptions regarding the nature of economic causation in market contexts. The analytical lenses that actors employ to understand their environment shape expectations about how markets function, influence the manner by which economic problems are diagnosed, and profoundly affect the ultimate institutional evolution of the system. Second, such lenses are necessitated by substantial uncertainties at the theoretical level regarding market function – uncertainties that make characterizations of economic behavior as ‘irrational’ highly problematic.

Ph. D. Program Learning and Job Demands: How Close Is the Match?

Abstract: The types of knowledge, skills, and proficiencies that should be imparted to students in graduate economics programs are a matter of long-standing controversy. A 1953 American Economic Association (AEA) report cataloged major shortcomings in graduate economic education and recommended changes to enhance the quality and effectiveness of economics Ph.D. programs (Howard R. Bowen, 1953). By the 1980’s, the perception grew that economics Ph.D. programs devoted excessive attention to theoretical work at the expense of real-world application (Wassily Leontief, 1982). This development triggered David Colander and Arjo Klamer (1987) to conduct an independent study based on interviews with graduate students at elite Ph.D. programs. Their study reinforced the views of many, including leaders in the AEA, the National Science Foundation, and several private foundations, that something was amiss. In 1988, the AEA established the Commission on Graduate Education in Economics (COGEE) to undertake a thorough study of graduate training. The Commission’s major concern, based on extensive surveys and interviews of graduate students, faculty, and employers, was that graduate education in economics had removed itself from real-world economic problems (Anne O. Krueger et al., 1991). The COGEE study is distinguished by its attempt to determine the emphasis given to cultivating a set of economic proficiencies in graduate school and the importance of an array of skills for success in graduate school and later on the job (Hansen, 1991). The proficiencies included in the COGEE study were: providing rigorous training in economic theory, providing training in econometrics and measurement, applying theory to real-world problems, using economic theory in empirical applications, and conducting independent economic research. For this study, we added three proficiencies to the COGEE list: understanding economic institutions and history and understanding the history of economic ideas, to capture concerns about curriculum changes that eliminated or scaled back training in these two fields, and developing teaching skills, to reflect recent emphasis on improving the quality of instruction (William E. Becker, 2003). The skills included in the COGEE study were: critical judgment (analyzing ideas, reviewing literature, formulating pertinent comments), analytics (understanding and solving problems, making and analyzing logical arguments), application (seeing practical implications of abstract ideas, analyzing real-world policies and processes), mathematics (constructing and analyzing proofs, manipulating mathematical abstractions), computation (effectively and quickly finding and manipulating relevant data, estimating economic relationships using statistical software), communication (speaking and writing effectively, quickly understanding spoken and written ideas of others, explaining ideas clearly), and creativity (conceiving interesting questions, finding new means of analysis). We added instruction (being an effective classroom teacher) to the skills list for the same reason mentioned above.

Economic conditions and voting behaviour in German federal elections, 1994–2002

Abstract: Although the Iraq crisis and the flood disaster largely determined the political agenda at the end of the 2002 federal election campaign, the economic situation was, once again, one of the most important themes in the context of the election itself. This article examines for the period of 1994 to 2002 whether, and in what measure, the electorate's perception of economic conditions played a role in voters' decisions. Empirical results show that judgements of the economic situation in 2002 were noticeably worse than prior to the last two national elections. Few East–West differences are recognisable in perceptions of current general and individual economic conditions. Differences in retrospective or prospective assessments of the economic situation have also fallen. Regarding the attribution of economic problem solving ability, considerable gains are noted for the CDU/CSU, while the trust in the economic competence of the SPD has decreased. Multivariate analyses show that in 2002 the influence of economic v...

Competition as a Coordination Device

Abstract: The problem of coordination failure, particularly in "team production" situations, is central to a large number of mircroeconomic as well as macroeconomic models As this type of inefficient coordination poses a severe economic problem, there is a need for institutions fostering efficient coordination of individual economic plans In this paper, we introduce a rather classical such economic institution: Competition In a series of laboratory experiments, we reveal that the true reason for coordination failure is strategic uncertainty which can be reduced almost completely by introducing a appropriately designed meachnism of (inter-group) competition

Britain and the Economic Problem of the Cold War: The Political Economy and the Economic Impact of the British Defence Effort, 1945-1955

Abstract: Contents: Preface Introduction: Britain and the economic problem of the cold war: themes and questions. Part I the political economy of British defence expenditure: Securing the people's peace: reflections on the anachronistic nature of the British warfare state in the early cold war, 1945-55 An antagonistic partnership: Britain and American economic assistance, 1945-50 'Tied to the tail of a Kilkenny cat'?: the Anglo-American relationship, British rearmament and the political crisis of 1951. Part II British defence production policy: 'The next war is bound to come': defence production policy, supply departments and defence contractors in Britain, 1945-57 The wasting of high technological potential?: the British warfare state, the aircraft industry and technological nationalism, 1950-58 Maintaining the war potential: rearmament and productivity in the British ammunition industry in the 1950s. Part III the economic impact of British defence expenditure: The British defence effort and investment during the transition from war to peace, 1945-55 Britain and the economic impact of the Korean war Too much defence, too little peace production?: the British capital-goods industry, regional development and the Korean war rearmament. Conclusion: Britain and the economic problem of the first cold war: reconsidering the political economy and economic impact of British defence expenditure, 1945-55 Bibliography Index.

Culture & Arts as Knowledge Resources Towards Sustainability for Identity of Nations and Cognitive Richness of Human Being

Abstract: The main purpose of this article is to examine the consequences of using cultural resources (in its manifold appearances) to describe the knowledge dynamics of economic systems. The focus is on the ability of economic growth to guarantee sustainable use of arts or cultural resources as knowledge resources. A dynamic optimization technique is used as the standard theory of optimal control. Everybody knows that economists have used, and often still use, the terms economic growth and economic development often in the same way. The analysis of the models proposed here is based, firstly, on the following distinction as a basic convention between two concepts: economic growth and economic development. This convention gives us a better view of the different weight that the knowledge of arts takes on with respect to the economic dynamic and how this in turn influences the architecture of models. Both hypotheses and the results depend on the specific perspective from which authors have analyzed the problem. In a first case the focus is on a concept of economic progress in which collective well-being is directly linked to increases in income, that is to the quantity of goods (for consumption and investment) available to agents (consumers and enterprises) following growth in productivity: a case of sustainable economic growth, it means the possibility that wealth (and hence consumption) is able to increase steadily over time. Sustainable development, on the other hand, means the whole range of structural, economic, socio-cultural and institutional changes accompanying growth. A case of economic progress it could be seen as a synonymous for a better quality of life, that is not only as growth in GNP: it does involve growth in income, but what is more important are often noneconomic variables like the cultural resources governance which generate services and functions contributing directly and indirectly to individual and collective well-being, as well as supplying the factors necessary to support productivity as creativity, innovative form of organizations, sense making, new tastes and preferences. In this way sustainability becomes synonymous of an economic process which does not change the basic functions of ecosystems. Sustainable development also as sustainability of cultural resources means an increase over time of a better quality of life as better knowledge of ourselves. The cultural and art resources as a rich component of environment, in all aspects, must (and can) support this notion of the economic system, enabling it to live and grow. The conventional distinction between growth and development leads to different approaches of which we analyses some details. To conclude, the debate on sustainability allows one to compare different ethical principles. Eco-economists and art-economist claim that the emphasis must be placed on the system's needs, rather than individual ones. This implies an ethical judgment on the role and rights of individuals living today as regards survival of the system and future generations' welfare. Moreover, given that individual behavior is driven by egoistic motivations, supporters of sustainability examine how such behavior can be modified and how such modifications can be achieved. Generally speaking quality and wealth should not trade off but an "open approach" is required also adopting self-sustainability category overall for cultural resources as a part of complexity of environment system resources.

Restructuring the Belgian Professional Football League: A Location-Allocation Solution

Abstract: The aim of the article is to introduce an economic geographical solution based on empirical data for the economic problems of professional football in Belgium. The raising impact of economic rationality was accelerated by the Bosman case. The result was the introduction of economic principles in a historically protected structure. Recent evolutions are showing us the ne-cessity of a market-oriented approach in professional football in Europe and more specifically in the smallest countries. The article shows that the use of location and a location-allocation model on an existing historically based sit-uation is useful. It can locate the economically based and market oriented demand clubs which are not profitable in the long term. The result will be the construction of a market-oriented league with an exogenous number of clubs that will or can survive over a longer period of time.

The Future of the Euro: An Outsider's View

Abstract: My perspective on the European Monetary Union and the future of the euro is based on a special combination of three elements: (1) my strong belief in the standard economic argumentation summarized in the well-known theory of optimum currency areas, (2) my citizenship in a small Central European country that has just joined the European Union and will at some point be a member of the EMU, and (3) my current political role that forces me to reveal my position on my country's EMU membership. Basic Arguments I am convinced that the driving force behind European monetary unification has been strictly political, not economic. This often-used argument can be supported by my own experience based on numerous explicit conversations about it with key European political leaders. The economic arguments have been marginalized or taken only very superficially. The political ambition has been quite dominant. The euro has always been considered to be a useful instrument for the creation of the European political union. Many statements of that kind can be quoted. European President Romano Prodi, in an interview on CNN (January 1, 2002), explicitly stated: "The introduction of the euro is not economic at all. It is a completely political step. . . . The historical significance of the euro is to construct a bipolar economy in the world." Two years before that, in the Financial Times (April 9,1999), he said: "The two pillars of the national state are the sword and the currency and we changed that." Gerhard Schroeder, in March 1998, still an opposition leader, said that "the Euro is a sick premature infant, the result of an over-hasty monetary union." After eight months as a German Chancellor, he made a different statement: "Our future begins on January 1, 1999. The euro is Europe's key to the 21st century. The era of solo national fiscal and economic policy is over." Spanish Prime Minister Felipe Gonzales said in May 1998: "The single currency is a decision of an essentially political character.... We need a united Europe. We must never forget that the euro is an instrument for this project." I can quote indefinitely but the words will be almost the same. I believe that the largest part of the positive economic impact of European integration (as well as of EU enlargement) has come through the liberalization of trade and investment and has been already obtained. The marginal contribution of further economic or noneconomic unification will be close to zero, if not negative. Because of that, the birth of the euro and the enlargement of the EU in May 2004 do not represent any breakthroughs. I agree with Patrick Minford (2002: 36) that "trade patterns are determined by comparative advantage, not by monetary factors." I also agree with him that the role of the exchange rate risk as a factor determining foreign investment and the cost of capital is relatively small (Minford 2002: 29-32). Trade does not need to have the same currency on both sides of the transaction. To look at the economic performance of the eurozone in the first years of the euro's existence, even the pro-European activists must admit that the overall expectations of an economic boost and the claims that the introduction of the euro would speed up economic growth have not been fulfilled. This is not a surprise for me and, to be fair, not everyone had such expectations. Rudiger Dornbusch, always sharp and consistent, whom we miss very much, wrote in 1996 that the "EMU moved from an improbable and bad idea to a bad idea that is about to come true." Many of us knew then and know now that the formation of a regional common currency is neither a necessary, nor a sufficient condition for healthy economic growth. It seems, on the contrary, that Europeans have imprisoned themselves in a rigid monetary arrangement that has led to a loss of a nonnegligible part of their originally existing flexibility. When we look at the current European monetary and overall economic problems we have to--at least analytically--differentiate two issues: (1) the impact of a monetary union upon nonidentical countries, but countries that are at a similar level of economic development, and (2) the impact of entry into a monetary union of a country that is at a different level of economic development than the dominant part of the union and is undergoing dynamic structural changes in an effort to catch up with its more developed partners. …

Competition as a Coordination Device

Abstract: The problem of coordination failure, particularly in "team production" situations, is central to a large number of mircroeconomic as well as macroeconomic models. As this type of inefficient coordination poses a severe economic problem, there is a need for institutions fostering efficient coordination of individual economic plans. In this paper, we introduce a rather classical such economic institution: Competition. In a series of laboratory experiments, we reveal that the true reason for coordination failure is strategic uncertainty which can be reduced almost completely by introducing a appropriately designed meachnism of (inter-group) competition

Crisis of governance: why market solutions to economic problems are not popular in Russia

Abstract: This paper looks at links between firms' behavior and the institutional environment in Russia. It seeks to show that the intentional weakening of the economic and administrative role of the state in the early stages of reforms has increased the economic and social cost of transition. This happens as the majority of firms in Russia still prefer short-term solutions and partial adjustment to full-scale restructuring as they often fail to show anticipated responses following privatization and price liberalization. The shortage of market-type response can be attributed to the fragility of market-based incentives. The new institutional economics maintains that the cradle for these incentives is the system of institutions, which are the rules of the game in the society or, more formally, the humanly-devised constraints that shape human interactions. Accordingly, this paper argues that for the post-communist reforms to achieve their objectives, it is essential for the state to provide a framework, institutionalizing economic conflict and thus contributing to sustainable development. However, the analysis suggests that the evolvement of a modern institutional regime in the country is likely to be delayed as a consequence of vested interest of a number of powerful economic groups.

A View from a Fossil

Abstract: The new economy's definition and history need to be questioned, specifically the notion that the 'creative industries' are panaceas for economic problems and gifts to cultural studies that make it important. Questions of labor have been occluded in much discussion of the new economy and in cultural studies. Instead of a focus on consumption and meaning, progressive critics need to turn their attention to the new international division of cultural labor.

Approach and development strategy for an agent-based model of economic confidence.

Abstract: We are extending the existing features of Aspen, a powerful economic modeling tool, and introducing new features to simulate the role of confidence in economic activity. The new model is built from a collection of autonomous agents that represent households, firms, and other relevant entities like financial exchanges and governmental authorities. We simultaneously model several interrelated markets, including those for labor, products, stocks, and bonds. We also model economic tradeoffs, such as decisions of households and firms regarding spending, savings, and investment. In this paper, we review some of the basic principles and model components and describe our approach and development strategy for emulating consumer, investor, and business confidence. The model of confidence is explored within the context of economic disruptions, such as those resulting from disasters or terrorist events.

Cross-border networking in the Saar-Lor-Lux Region? Risks and opportunities of regional economic policies

Abstract: Saarland and Lorraine are peripherial regions at the German-French border with similar economic problems. Both regions are trying to compensate for job losses in the coal, iron and steel industry by building up new industrial networks and by establishing an "up-grading" strategy following the innovative models of high-tech regions. In the following article, I will discuss the risks and opportunities of these regional economic policies, in particular the chances of gaining possible inter-regional advantages and synergies through cross-border networking activities.

On Pivotal Economic Problems

Abstract: The article touches upon some of the important problems that face the Russian economy which need to be addressed in order to stimulate economic growth. Monetary instruments play an important role in creating the overall financial environment with some of the sectors (mortgage market, etc.) being a potential driving force behind the growth. Stable and growing economy in turn makes it possible to look more closely at the possibility of introducing the convertibility of the ruble.

The Global Economic System since 1945

Abstract: Economic theory in modern times imagines a giant clockwork of events, with economists attempting to find the perfect mathematical model of a mechanical movement. The real world is manifestly more complex and unpredictable than the internal workings of a machine, and this may be why conventional economic theories are far more accurate in retrospect. Larry Allen's book, by contrast, recognizes and avoids the inherent limitations of mathematical models; his ground-breaking work in no way shuns economic theory, but rather uses it as a framework within which to re-evaluate and offer cogent new interpretations of world economic history from 1945 to the present day. The book describes how, from the end of World War II until the 1970s, powerful corporations began to lobby governments in an effort to reduce the perceived constraints of regulation. Following the difficulties of the 1970s these voices were increasingly influential, governments worldwide taking on free-market policies, dismantling the scaffolding of economic regulation and promoting the virtues of free-enterprise capitalism. "The Global Economic System Since 1945" offers a fresh synthesis of economic history and theory. It will prove instructive to the specialist, who will find it a useful reminder that all sides of the economy cannot be seen from a single angle. It will also interest the general reader looking for an impartial description of the current state of the global economy, as well as hints and clues about what to look for when scanning the economic horizon for signs of inclement weather.

Professionalizing Research in Post-Mao China: The System Reform Institute and Policy Making

Abstract: Professionalizing Research in Post-Mao China: The System Reform Institute and Policy Making, by Catharine Keyset. Armonk: M. E. Sharpe, 2003. xxi + 234 pp. US$69.95 (hardcover). This book was published fully 18 years after the establishment of the Chinese Institute for Economic System Reform (which Catherine Keyser calls the System Reform Institute, or SRI for short). Despite the delay, its publication indicates the important role the SRI played during the early period of China's economic transition, reshaping China from a centrally planned economy toward a market economy. Due to the political sensitivity of the SRFs involvement in the Tiananmen crisis in 1989 and its position as the most important policy think tank in the government of former premier and Party secretary Zhao Ziyang, it was disbanded and its policy-making role has rarely been documented in subsequent Chinese publications. Keyser has meticulously collected information, evaluated the value of various sources, and pieced them together to shape a picture of the SRI. As a former member of the think tank, I can affirm that she is successful in presenting an accurate story of SRI and in showing why it was significant. (One small error: the annual budget of SRI is overstated by 100 times; rather than 120 million yuan (p. 75), the actual budget was 1.2 million.) The author concludes that the major contribution of SRI was in "professionalizing economic research" in China. I would add that the SRI's orientation towards solving practical economic problems was an equally important contribution. To understand this, let us briefly review the general situation of China's economic research and policy-making during the pre-reform period: * Theoretical research was basically ideologically oriented, and lacking modern analytical tools. * Empirical studies, if any, were not problem-oriented. They mostly focused on justifying existing party and government policies, and were usually based on individual model examples. * Policy proposals were raised by related government departments from their own vantage points and often reflected their own interests. This situation continued, to some extent, into the early reform period. Some of these features can be attributed to a lack of professional research. However, the manacles of ideological dogma and a lack of problem-orientation were also major problems in economic research. The SRI's young reformers, as the book notes, brought fresh air to economic research because they had a strong commitment to finding ways to solve the problems facing the Chinese economy. Due to the Cultural Revolution and the absence of university-level education in economics at the time, they had only limited formal training in modern economics, and they learned it through extracurricular reading. At the same time, most of them shared in having experienced a hard life in the countryside during the Cultural Revolution period of the 1970s and in having observed from the bottom the failures of the centrally planned system, and they felt it important to devote themselves to reforming the whole system. …

Accelerated Economic Development – Theory and Practice

Abstract: This article offers a comparative analysis of some theories of economic growth and convergence: neoclassical, endogenic growth, new economic geography, the development as social transformation. The global economic history shows that development is possible but not inevitable. There is no definite tendency towards a global economic convergency. Growth is accompanied by even faster social polarization. Accession to the EU does not automatically lead to convergency. It is just an opportunity, the realization of which depends on the national policy and may last decades. “Economic miracles” may be explained post factum, but not be recreated. The new “economic miracles” have learned their lessons from previous ones but there are also other innovative elements. There are no magic formulas guaranteeing success. For the last 50 years in the CEU the trend has been one of lagging behind the developed countries as well as stagnation and internal stratification. These processes were re-activated during the past 15 years. The great internal regional differences in the CEU have grown during the last decade. Macroeconomic convergence with the EU will be accompanied by increased regional differences. There are no economic mechanisms valid for all times and all countries. What works in certain conditions may not work in others. We should seek the appropriate solutions to specific circumstances.