Nonlabor income measures of capital intensity versus capital stock measures in estimatingthe determinants of regional labor productivity differentials: The manufacturing sector

This study is concerned with the estimation and explanation of regional differentials in productivity and with nonlabor income per unit of labor is a usable capital intensity proxy in the estimation of Cobb-Douglas production functions. The approach is to estimate labor productivity as a function: first of regional dummy variables and urbanization; second, of these variables plus capital intensity and other production function variables; and third, of all these variables plus labor force characteristics. Large regional labor productivity differentials emerge. Adding capital intensity measured either as capital stock or nonlabor income per unit of labor substantially reduces these differentials. Adding labor force characteristics then completely eliminates the differentials in most instances. At this point, however, it becomes clear that the estimates based on nonlabor income per unit of labor are as good as, if not better than, those based on the capital stock measure. Finally, the productivity disadvantage of the South is related to its low levels of education and unionization.     

Pollution control under an urban binding minimum wage

In this paper, by using a generalized Harris-Todaro model that incorporates an urban non-polluting sector, and supposes a dual economy inherent in an LDC, we examine the backward incidence of pollution control on some key variables of interest. Given a relatively capital intensive polluting sector, stricter pollution controls may result in a reduction in unemployment, an increase in national income and migration from the agricultural sector. The results from our model differ from that of a previous model that demonstrated a reverse flow of labor to the agricultural sector from stricter pollution controls. Received: December 1997/Accepted: June 1998     

Richard Florida’s creative capital in a trading regional economy: a theoretical investigation

We first construct a theoretical model of a regional economy with two sectors. One sector uses physical and creative capital—in the sense of Florida (The rise of creative class. Basic Books, New York, NY, 2002)—to produce a knowledge good that is traded. The other sector uses physical and social capital to produce a good that is not traded. Second, we provide the first formal analysis of the creative capital accumulation decision faced by individuals in this regional economy and we compute the optimal length of time during which creative capital is accumulated. Next, we determine the relative return to creative capital and we use this return to conduct comparative statics exercises with our model’s four parameters. Finally, we show that for a given interest rate, the relative price of the nontraded good is higher in regional economies where more creative capital is accumulated.     

我国房地产经济泡沫的形成机理与区域性特征

从房地产的产业特征入手,对房地产经济泡沫的形成机理进行了实证解释,并通过对1987至2001年全国及北京市、天津市、上海市和海南省的商品房平均销售价格进行分析,说明房地产经济泡沫的区域性特点。认为房地产业产品的不可流动性和差异性、资本的投机性和市场的区域性等特点,决定了房地产经济泡沫具有区域性的特点,因此,政府不仅要对房地产泡沫进行宏观监控,更应当对区域性的泡沫进行有针对性的政策干预。这样才能既保证整个行业的健康稳步发展,又可以防止区域性泡沫的破裂造成对整个宏观经济的系统性影响。     

The role of saving and investment in a SAM price model

Social accounting matrices (SAMs) are normally used to analyse the income generation process. They are also useful, however, for analysing the cost transmission and price formation mechanisms. For price contributions, Roland-Holst and Sancho (1995) used the SAM structure to analyse the price and cost linkages through a representation of the interdependence between activities, households and factors. This paper is a further analysis of the cost transmission mechanisms, in which we add the capital account to the endogenous components of the Roland-Holst and Sancho approach. By doing this we reflect the responses of prices to the exogenous shocks in saving and investment. We also present an additive decomposition of the global price effects into categories of interdependence that isolates the impact on price levels of shocks in the capital account. We use a 2001 social accounting matrix to make an empirical application of the Catalan economy.     

The role of universities in regional development Endogenous human capital and growth in a two-region model

This paper proposes a dynamic two-region model with human capital accumulation. This economic system is assumed to produce two commodities – one in each region. The only university in the economy which carries out higher education (=teaching) is located in region 1. The model describes the dynamic interdependence between human capital accumulation, regional division of labour, the spatial price structure under perfect economic competition, and the government intervention in higher education. Thus the analysis examines how differences in human capital improvements and environmental conditions between the two regions affect the economic geography. Received: October 1998/Accepted: April 2000     

刚性需求、金融市场与中国房地产市场浅析

房地产是资本密集型行业,在可支配收入水平较低,房价偏高的条件下,金融政策的变化对房地产市场的影响非常大.近几年,中国房价走势不合理,其中有房地产商、国家相关政策、中国国情的原因,然而,金融手段的杠杆作用及金融市场的不健全应该是刺激房地产经济虚假繁荣的主要原因.     

Education, cost of living and regional wage inequality in Brazil

The objective of this article is to analyze wage inequality among the 10 largest metropolitan regions in Brazil in the 1990s. We assess the extent to which worker characteristics (education, age, gender, race, position in the family) and job characteristics (occupational position, sector, experience) can explain wage inequality. The analysis is made both with regional-nominal and with regional-real wage data. In the second case regional price indexes are used to control for differences in cost of living among regions. Wage differentials in Brazil were slightly lowered when control variables were introduced, but the leftover inequality remained high. The results indicate that cost of living levels do have a role in explaining wage inequality in Brazil, but even after controlling for this factor, the remaining regional differentials are still important. Received: 18 August 2000 / Accepted: 20 June 2001     

建设工程招标控制价研究

招标控制价对发承包阶段合理确定造价和实施阶段有效控制造价具有重要作用,2013版《建设工程工程量清单计价规范》中明确国有资金投资项目中必须实行招标控制价制度。发包方是建筑业发展的动力,在系统分析招标控制价的本质、造价管理的重要作用等内涵的基础上、总结了其编制过程中存在的4个典型问题,基于发包人和咨询人的视角,分别提出了形成合理招标控制价的管理、经济措施和组织、技术措施。为提高评审投标报价科学性和合理性,提出了基于招标控制价形成参考工程造价的建议。     

Salmonella and other pathogenic bacteria

The bacterial origin of waterborne diseases was discovered at the turn of thiscentury. Introduction of slow sandfiltration, chlorination, and bacteriological control dates back to the same period. Although greater concern is given to-day to chemical pollutants or to viruses, bacteria are still a monace to countries with advanced water treatment.Within the last decade outbreaks were reported in Europe and the US due to Salmonellatypes, Shigella, E. Coli, and to Vibrio cholerae, generally due to deficiencies in treatment, and often caused by smaller private works.A wider spectrum of bacteria must be taken into consideration to-day, Enterobacteriaceae are still the most important including Yersinia, E. coli, Klebsiella, and Enterobacter. The opportunistic microorganisms (pseudomonada, Acinetobacter, Campylobacter, Aeromonas, Plavobacterium) can also a danger.     

Regional unemployment in Turkey

High unemployment rates are a concern for a country, existence of high regional unemployment differentials is another. Turkey has both. This paper using spatial and nonparametric techniques documents the wide regional unemployment disparities in Turkey from 1980 to 2000. Data indicate that the provincial unemployment rates are quite persistent and the gap across different regions widens even further with spatial clusters emerging across the country. The evidence indicates that human capital and demand deficiency are the sources of observed disparity across provinces. Furthermore, the sources of unemployment differentials have changed over time.     

Economic aspects of international air pollution control policies

National air pollution policies in a free‐market economy, a mixed economy, and a centrally planned economy are analyzed. The mechanisms of these control policies appear to be influenced to a small extent by national economic structure. However, the national policies are primarily determined by a central governmental agency for all three types of economies.

Similarly, international control policies will be enacted by organizations that have been granted the required authority by the nations involved in the air pollution problem. Theoretical consideration of classsical economics suggests that an optimum solution can only be achieved by an international control policy if there is international cooperation. This can be best achieved when international cooperation between countries involved already exists for other economic or administrative purposes.     

Assessing capital efficiency in the water and sewerage industry in England and Wales: Ofwat's approach

The Water Services Regulation Authority (Ofwat) is the economic regulator of the water and sewerage companies in England and Wales. Ofwat carries out regular annual reviews of relative capital efficiency and periodic reviews of prices charged by the companies to determine maximum price limits. In reaching these determinations, the most recent of which was in December 2004 (PR04), Ofwat assumed that the companies can, going forward, make some capital efficiencies. Ofwat assessed the scope for such efficiencies in each company by analysing their capital and operating expenditure and outputs, comparing their unit capital costs, making econometric comparisons of their capital maintenance costs and assessing the scope for continuing capital productivity improvement in the water and comparator sectors. Three separate tools used by Ofwat for assessing capital efficiency are described; the cost base (for capital unit costs), capital maintenance econometric models and ‘continuing efficiency’. The paper notes how these three tools were used in combination for price limit assumptions in 2004.     

The energy problem - policy needs and directions

The oil embargo of 1973 and subsequent price rises caused major transitions in every sector of the American economy. This paper reviews the activities taken bu individuals and the government to adjust to the changing energy conditions the past 10 years. Residential customers have taken more curtailment measures rather than invest in energy efficient capital improvements. There are still opportunities for cost-effective investments to occur in the residential sector. Reasons for why these have not occured and a research agenda to overcome the institutional barriers are presented.     

知识经济与建筑企业的发展

21世纪是知识经济的时代，知识的广泛性、智力的密集性以有管理的科技含量在建筑施工中日益重要，介绍了知识资本及资本市场运营中的主导地位，知识资本的有效合理运用会带来超前的效益。提出建筑企业必须为技术改进、有效控制建筑成本、合理利用工期而加大智力投资，另大科技含量。     

Capitalization of fiscal variables persists over time

Capitalization of fiscal packages is often considered as a pure demand side phenomenon. House price premiums in fiscally attractive communities may lead to housing supply reactions and capitalization may disappear in the long‐run. However, if price differentials induced by fiscal variables do not lead to supply reactions, capitalization persists over time. Using an empirical linear interaction model, we analyse changes in capitalization of fiscal variables over time. Results indicate that capitalization of fiscal variables persists and capitalization rates do not change over time.     

水污染控制系统规划方法研究

介绍了水污染控制规划及其方法的历史沿革与发展, 并介绍了两种水污染控制规划新方法———地理信息系统(GIS) 法和类神经网络(ANN) 法。目前,水资源短缺和水环境污染已成为制约我国社会经济发展的重要因素, 因此研究和总结水污染控制规划的方法,提高其在城市规划中的地位,对水资源的可持续利用必将发挥重要作用     

A methodology to compute regional housing price index using matching estimator methods

This paper proposes a methodology for a spatial cost index of housing that considers spatial heterogeneity in properties across regions. The index is built by combining three different techniques to reduce the spatial heterogeneity in housing: Quasi-experimental methods, hedonic prices and Fisher spatial price index. Using microdata from the Chilean survey CASEN 2006, it is shown that the quasi-experimental method called Mahalanobis metric within propensity score calipers (MMWPS) leads to a significant reduction in the potential bias. The technique matches dwellings of a particular region with other properties of similar characteristics in the benchmark region (Metropolitan region). Once the houses are matched, a hedonic price model is computed, and a regional housing price matrix is created using Fisher spatial price indices. The paper concludes the existence of price differentials for homogeneous houses across regions in Chile.     

深圳市商品住宅价格系统动力学模型仿真与政策实验

建立深圳市商品住宅价格系统动力学模型,对仿真结果进行短期和长期分析,明确商品住宅价格、人均可支配收入、商品住宅开发投资、GDP 等主要指标的变化趋势以及影响商品住宅价格变化的时间顺序,探索商品住宅价格上涨的主要原因。选择中长期贷款利率、税率和基建投资比例、人口自然增长率和基准地价等指标,进行单一指标和多项指标政策实验,寻求商品住宅价格宏观调控的有效手段。研究结果表明:人口自然增长率、税率和基准地价等指标对商品住宅价格、房价收入比的影响更加显著;多项指标政策综合调控效果比单一指标政策更加显著,但不一定优于单一指标调控效果的简单叠加。     

Price competition, pollution, and environmental policy in an open economy

We study three issues about environmental policy in a two country world in which national governments and polluting firms act strategically. First, we examine the conditions under which the pursuit of unilateral environmental policy by a country in a setting in which polluting firms play a price leadership game, will make that country worse off. Second, we study the results of environmental regulation by means of alternate price control instruments when national governments care about international pollution, but polluting firms that play a price leadership game, do not. Third, we compare our findings with the corresponding results when polluting firms play a quantity leadership (Stackelberg) game. We find that there are plausible theoretical and hypothetical numerical circumstances in which the pursuit of unilateral environmental policy is welfare reducing. We show that the use of a trade policy instrument to control pollution is generally dominated by the other price instruments that we analyze. Finally, if the two national governments are able to compel the polluting firms to choose between prices and quantities, then, generally speaking, they should require the two firms to choose quantities rather than prices. Received: August 1999/Accepted: January 2000