Automobile prices and protection: The U.S.-Japan trade restraint

We examine the effects of the U.S.-Japan trade restraint on automobile prices and quality upgrading, for both Japanese imports and American small cars. From April 1981 to April 1984 the suggested retail price of all Japanese models increased by 15.8 percent, or 5.3 percent per year. We find that nearly the entire amount of this rise can be explained by the upgrading of individual models. This upgrading may benefit consumers who would purchase a luxury import in any case, but harms those who desire the basic imports. In addition to upgrading, we conclude that a second cost of the trade restraint has been to prevent the yen depreciation from being passed onto American consumers, in terms of lower imported auto prices. For U.S. small cars we find a 9.1 percent rise in the suggested retail price, or 3 percent per year, with a fraction of this amount due to model upgrading. If the yen depreciation had led to lower import prices without the trade restraint, then we expect that U.S. auto prices would have been lower, too.     

从经济学视角谈科学育才之路

在现阶段高校毕业生面临着社会对他们的有效需求不足的问题,从而必须面对社会对高素质人才的需求同高校毕业生供给相对过剩这一结构性供需矛盾。本文从经济学角度分析产生这种矛盾的原因,进而提出只要高校学生工作措施得当,政策有针对性,就有可能缓解上述供需矛盾。     

西方经济伦理思想述略

面对现代经济学淡化伦理和中国经济伦理失范的现状 ,对古典经济学、凯恩斯主义、新自由主义学派、新制度经济学派 ,以及诺贝尔经济学奖获得者对经济的伦理关怀进行评述。     

如何定义“大国”？

 摘　　要:本文通过对各种关于“大国”定义的总结和分析，根据经济学原理给出了关于经济学意义的“大国”的定义。并分析了这种定义的优势，以及在该定义下进一步研究“大国”问题的方向     

历届诺贝尔经济学奖得主评介

举世瞩目的诺贝尔经济学奖得主及其学术成就 ,对我国“入世”后市场经济的发展及其与世界经济的接轨 ,都具有十分重要的指导作用     

Business reform outcomes: Why so different?

Post-crisis policy making increasingly focuses on doing business reforms. We argue that the effects of those reforms will be different across countries. To understand the reasons for the reform outcome divergence, we advance a novel firm-size distribution (FSDs) argument. At the center of the argument is the fact that FSDs are different across countries and stable over time. Then, if a given doing business reform induces firms of different size to grow differently, this will produce a variety of reform outcomes across countries. To advance the argument, we set up a tractable general equilibrium (GE) model and study how firms of different size grow after a doing business reform. The model predicts that larger firms will grow faster than smaller firms after the reform. The model predictions are tested on the Enterprise Surveys (ES) data, merged with the Doing Business indicators. We confirm that firms of different size grow differently after a Doing Business reform. Thus, based on the notable differences of firm size distributions across countries, identical reforms to start, operate and close a business will produce a variety of reform outcomes across countries.     

Twenty Years of Economics Curriculum: Trends,Issues, and Transformations?

This is a comprehensive review of literature related to K-12 economics curriculum spanning 20 years, from 1998-2018. The search for literature revealed 18 articles and book chapters in peer-reviewed journals and volumes related to social studies and economics education. The study revealed several trends and issues related to K-12 economics textbooks, including publishing trends, the extent to which economics curriculum is relevant and enactive, and the influence of neoclassical economic theory in serving as the “official knowledge” undergirding the curriculum. The review presents debates in the field related to these issues. The study also reveals the possible influence of the 2008 financial crisis, revealing that economics curriculum seems to have changed little, although the number of scholars critiquing the curriculum has risen dramatically.     

关于东北和内蒙古东部区域经济一体化的思考

国家实施振兴东北老工业基地的战略,对內蒙古东部四盟市是一次难得的历史机遇。蒙东四盟市与东北三省山水相连、文化相同、人缘相亲,在人才、技术、自然资源等诸多方面有互补性,奠定了合作开发的基础。振兴东北,拉动内蒙,实现区域经济一体化,是应对区域经济一体化大趋势的必然选择,也是全面建设小康社会的战略要求。三省一区联合互动,必然会促进区域经济一体化进程,将会带动东三省和蒙东四盟市的新一轮共同发展。     

The privacy paradox: how market privacy facilitates government surveillance

Although most surveillance studies scholars assume privacy is antithetical to surveillance, critics have recently warned that privacy-based criticisms may facilitate surveillance. That being said, we do not yet have data that show whether privacy claims were used in the past to legitimate government surveillance. This paper addresses that gap by analyzing claims made over one of the U.S.’s most controversial surveillance issues: government control over encryption technologies. A review of Congressional hearings and statements on the Congressional Record (n?=?112) reveals that from 1993 to 1999, public debates were dominated by a market liberalization discourse in which participants supported loosening encryption controls as a way to protect privacy from criminal intrusions in market transactions. Also playing a role was a strong skepticism toward government power and a preference for markets as managers of crime prevention. Challenged by these critiques, lawmakers withdrew regulatory proposals and spent the following decade working quietly with private firms to ensure law enforcement surveillance capability. These findings show the expansion of privacy for consumers and entrepreneurs has in fact been used to achieve the contraction of privacy from law enforcement and intelligence agencies.