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on Business, Economic and Financial History |
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Issue of 2005‒06‒27
fifteen papers chosen by |
| By: | Gregorio Núñez (Department of Economic Theory and Economic History (University of Granada) and “Grupo de Estudios Históricos sobre la Empresa”) |
| Abstract: | The interpretation that still prevails of the political and economic history of Spain at the beginning of the century, emphasizes the basically rural and backward character of a society that grew and was modernized very slowly. Even as late as 1932-1936, during the Second Republic in Spain, political backwardness, industrial underdevelopment and engrained agrarian conflict are common factors stressed by many authors and, in contrast, there was a lack of a solid alternative politically and economically rooted in their as yet minority urban middle classes.3 And «perhaps the sole outstanding fact in 1898 was the extent and unanimity of the malaise in the middle class» [PAN-MONTOJO, 1998, p.262]. Recently these ideas are being revised in search of «more subtle interpretations of the political reality which is more prosaic, but not for that reason less complex». Political historians such as Forner and García argued that political fraud, corruption and backwardness cannot explain completely and convincingly early 20 th century Spain. On the contrary, they suggest that the implicit critical factor in the so-called «vieja política» (old politics) was a more general lack of civic maturity, that might have filled the established rules of the political game with democratic content [FORNER & GARCÍA, 1992, pp. 41 y ss.]; but in fact Spanish society only gradually began to fill this gap. They also add that, in such a process of growing maturity, cities played, as should be expected, a fundamental role. |
| Keywords: | City and Town Life - Spain - History, Cities and Towns - Economic History – Spain – 1878-1944, Urban Life – Spain – 1878-1944, Urban policy, Urbanization - Spain. |
| Date: | 2005–06–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gra:wpaper:05/15&r=his |
| By: | Adolfo Meisel; Margarita Vega |
| Abstract: | The average height of Colombian women increased 8.95 cm between 1905 and 1985 and of men 8.96 cm in the same time period. Thus the country was a success story according to international standards in this respect. The information for the adult height of Colombians born between 1905 and 1985 was obtained from a database with more than 9 million observations constructed with the national ID cards. This implies that the results are indicative of what happened to the overall population. For the pre-industrial era in Colombia, which is before the 20th century, information on height is only available from 1870. The source in this case is the records of the passports issued to Colombian citizens, for which we have obtained about 17.000 observations. The analysis of those records for the period 1870-1919 reveals some striking results. In the first place, the long run behavior of height was stable, unlike what is observed with the national ID card records, beginning in 1905, in which case heights were increasing. The group included in the passport records is much taller than those from the ID card. For the period 1905-1909 the average passport height for men was 168.7 cm compared with 162 cm for national ID cards. In the case of women the former had an average height of 158 cm and the later 150 cm. Another characteristic found in the passport sample is that there were almost no regional differences, unlike what is observed in the case of the national ID cards. The reason why the behavior of the height of Colombians obtained in the passports differs from the one recorded in the national ID cards is that in the 19th century and early 20th century Colombians who traveled abroad, mainly to Europe and the US, belonged to the elite. Thus, they seemed to have good levels of nutrition and living conditions which made them relatively tall even by the standards of European countries at that time. However, although tall by the standards of the 19th century these Colombians had an average height which was below Colombians born in 1985. While the average height for men in this group in 1900 was 168.2 cms, Colombians born in 1985 grew to an average height of 170.6 cm. Thus, the health conditions under which the elite found itself was holding their height down. Only until the late 1920’s, when the earliest the international advances in modern medical technology would have been felt, could many of the health impediments for advances in height would have begun to be eliminated. |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bdr:borrec:339&r=his |
| By: | Ivan Moscati (Bocconi University - IEP) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the history of the neoclassical theory of consumer demand from 1871 to 1971 by bringing into play the knowledge theory of the Marburg School, a Neo-Kantian philosophical movement. The work aims to show the usefulness of a Marburg-inspired epistemology in rationalizing the development of consumer analysis and, more generally, to understand the principles that regulate the process of knowing in neoclassical economics. |
| Keywords: | Consumer Theory, Demand Theory, Utility Theory, Neo- Kantianism, Marburg School |
| JEL: | B13 B21 B40 D11 |
| Date: | 2005–06–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wpa:wuwpmh:0506002&r=his |
| By: | Joseph P. Ferrie; Werner Troesken |
| Abstract: | Between 1850 and 1925, the crude death rate in Chicago fell by 60 percent, driven by reductions in infectious disease rates and infant and child mortality. What lessons might be drawn from the mortality transition in Chicago, and American cities more generally? What were the policies that had the greatest effect on infectious diseases and childhood mortality? Were there local policies that slowed the mortality transition? If the transition to low mortality in American cities was driven by forces largely outside the control of local governments (higher per capita incomes or increases in the amount and quality of calories available to urban dwellers from rising agricultural productivity), then expensive public health projects, such as the construction of public water and sewer systems, probably should have taken a back seat to broader national policies to promote overall economic growth. The introduction of pure water explains between 30 and 50 percent of Chicago%u2019s mortality decline, and that other interventions, such as the introduction of the diphtheria antitoxin and milk inspection had much smaller effects. These findings have important implications for current policy debates and economic development strategies. |
| JEL: | N0 N9 |
| Date: | 2005–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:11427&r=his |
| By: | Ivan Moscati (Bocconi University - IEP) |
| Abstract: | This paper reconstructs the history of experimental research on consumer demand behavior between 1930 and 1970. The backgrounds of the experiments and their impact on the development of consumption theory are also investigated. Among other things, the paper shows that in fact many prominent economists of the period were involved in this stream of research. |
| JEL: | B21 B31 C91 D12 |
| Date: | 2005–06–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wpa:wuwpmh:0506003&r=his |
| By: | Gassman, Philip W.; Williams, Jimmy R.; Benson, Verel W.; Izaurralde, R. César; Hauck, Larry M.; Jones, C. Allan; Atwood, Jay D.; Kiniry, James R.; Flowers, Joan D. |
| Abstract: | The development of the field-scale Erosion Productivity Impact Calculator (EPIC) model was initiated in 1981 to support assessments of soil erosion impacts on soil productivity for soil, climate, and cropping conditions representative of a broad spectrum of U.S. agricultural production regions. The first major application of EPIC was a national analysis performed in support of the 1985 Resources Conservation Act (RCA) assessment. The model has continuously evolved since that time and has been applied for a wide range of field, regional, and national studies both in the U.S. and in other countries. The range of EPIC applications has also expanded greatly over that time, including studies of (1) surface runoff and leaching estimates of nitrogen and phosphorus losses from fertilizer and manure applications, (2) leaching and runoff from simulated pesticide applications, (3) soil erosion losses from wind erosion, (4) climate change impacts on crop yield and erosion, and (5) soil carbon sequestration assessments. The EPIC acronym now stands for Erosion Policy Impact Climate, to reflect the greater diversity of problems to which the model is currently applied. The Agricultural Policy EXtender (APEX) model is essentially a multi-field version of EPIC that was developed in the late 1990s to address environmental problems associated with livestock and other agricultural production systems on a whole-farm or small watershed basis. The APEX model also continues to evolve and to be utilized for a wide variety of environmental assessments. The historical development for both models will be presented, as well as example applications on several different scales. |
| Date: | 2005–06–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:isu:genres:12376&r=his |
| By: | Ivan Moscati (Bocconi University - IEP) |
| Abstract: | In 1913, the Cambridge logician W.E. Johnson published a famous article on demand theory in the Economic Journal. Although Johnson’s treatment of the subject strongly resembles the analysis set forth by Pareto in the Manual of Political Economy, Johnson does not cite the Italian economist. This has aroused a long-standing debate about Johnson’s actual acquaintance with Pareto’s works, but the debated point has never been thoroughly investigated. The present paper addresses the question of Johnson’s knowledgeof Pareto both from an analytical and historical viewpoint, by examining Johnson’s life in the Cambridge environment and his available unpublished papers. Even though the new evidence gathered gives some weight to the thesis that Johnson could not have been unaware of Pareto’s Manual, it cannot exclude the possibility that the logician wrote his paper autonomously. |
| Keywords: | Johnson, Pareto, Cambridge School, Consumer Theory, Complementarity |
| JEL: | B31 B13 B21 |
| Date: | 2005–06–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wpa:wuwpmh:0506004&r=his |
| By: | Roy Bahl (Andrew Young School of Policy Studies); Eunice Heredia-Ortiz (Andrew Young School of Policy Studies); Jorge Martinez-Vazquez (Andrew Young School of Policy Studies); Mark Rider (Andrew Young School of Policy Studies) |
| Abstract: | India is a Union of 28 States, two Union Territories with legislatures, and five Union Territories without legislatures. The 7th Schedule of India’s Constitution provides for a separate State List, which enumerates exclusive legislative and executive authority that lies with state governments. The State List entrusts major responsibilities in the areas of human and physical development to the states. These responsibilities require major expenditures by the states, but the tax revenue sources assigned to the states, although they have not been fully used, are not sufficient to meet these expenditure responsibilities. The resulting fiscal imbalances of the states is addressed through a complex system of intergovernmental transfers in various forms and through several other channels, including borrowings. Over the years, in practice, the States of India have sought to finance their increasing needs for expenditures through different forms of transfers from the Union Government and loans, rather than by raising additional tax revenues and/or charging for services delivered. This has resulted in the states running large revenue and fiscal deficits and accumulating potentially unsustainable debt burdens. In this process, most states have compromised budgetary discipline, resorted to off-budget forms of borrowings, and accumulated large contingent liabilities, with the attendant risks of default. The lack of fiscal discipline among the states is symptomatic of a flawed intergovernmental fiscal system. In addition to the lack of aggregate fiscal discipline, the level and quality of services delivered by the states are well below where they ought to be with the money actually spent. There is much evidence of inefficient service delivery. For example, many states have high rates of illiteracy, particularly among women, and high infant and maternal mortality rates. In addition, the quality of economic services provided by the states, particularly electricity and transportation, is poor. |
| Keywords: | india,intergovernmetnal, fiscal transfers, government expenditures |
| Date: | 2005–06–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ays:ispwps:paper05141&r=his |
| By: | William Wallace; Tim Oliver |
| Keywords: | international relations |
| Date: | 2004–10–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:erp:euirsc:p0138&r=his |
| By: | Hubert Zimmermann |
| Keywords: | Germany; NATO; international relations |
| Date: | 2004–11–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:erp:euirsc:p0139&r=his |
| By: | Marc Trachtenberg |
| Keywords: | NATO; international relations |
| Date: | 2004–11–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:erp:euirsc:p0143&r=his |
| By: | Masahiro Kawai |
| Abstract: | Japan has experienced a decade-long economic stagnation with a distressed banking sector in the 1990s. The absence of a credit culture to rigorously assess and price credit risks of borrowers, aggravated by weak prudential and supervisory frameworks, in the 1980s, the collapse of the asset price bubble in the early 1990s, and the lack of decisive, comprehensive strategy to address the banking sector problem at an early stage were largely responsible for the emergence of banking sector problems. All of these allowed a systemic banking crisis to emerge in 1997-98 and a large output loss during 1998-2002. The crisis ultimately prompted the government to take a more aggressive policy to tackle the problem. Sufficient progress has been made since then on banking sector stabilization, restructuring, and consolidation. The regulatory and supervisory framework has been strengthened in a way consistent with an increasingly market-oriented, globalized environment. As a result, the worst is over in the Japanese banking system, setting the stage for sustained economic recovery. Though bank capital may still be inadequate, safety nets are in place, the credit allocation has been made more rational. Remaining risks are limited to regional and smaller institutions that are vulnerable to weak, local economic conditions and hikes of the long-term interest rate. |
| Keywords: | Asset price bubble, Japan's "lost decade", systemic banking sector crisis, bank restructuring and consolidation, market-based regulatory and supervisory framework |
| JEL: | E44 E51 G21 G28 |
| Date: | 2005–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hst:hstdps:d05-102&r=his |
| By: | David E. Giles (Department of Economics, University of Victoria) |
| Abstract: | We analyze the survival characteristics of recordings that reached the number one spot on the U.S. popular music charts over the period 1955 to 2003. Our results show that there has been a statistically significant change in the time spent at number one since “album cuts” were included in the compilation of Billboard’s Hot 100. Survival time is significantly improved if the recording is by a female solo artist, or if it is an instrumental tune. We also find a significant “Elvis effect”. |
| Keywords: | Popular music, hit tunes, survival function, hazard function, duration model |
| JEL: | C16 C49 Z11 |
| Date: | 2005–06–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:vic:vicewp:0507&r=his |
| By: | Naohito Abe; Satoshi Shimizutani |
| Abstract: | Japan's economic problems over the past decade and a half have triggered far reaching changes in the country's corporate governance system and there have been significant changes in both companiesf ownership structures and composition of board members. This paper examines how board and ownership structures affect firms' decision as to how to reduce labor costs when firms face excess employment. Our findings confirm that outside directors are more inclined to implement layoffs and voluntary or early retirement, while insiders are more likely to decrease new hiring and protect incumbent employees. These findings are consistent with the stakeholder view of the firm rather than the neoclassical view of firms as profit-maximizers. |
| Keywords: | corporate governance, employment downsizing, multivariate probit model |
| JEL: | G30 J23 |
| Date: | 2005–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hst:hstdps:d05-92&r=his |
| By: | FILSER, Marc (LEG-CERMAB - CNRS - IAE - Université de Bourgogne) |
| Abstract: | La recherche académique en management des activités culturelles et de loisirs est un courant récent, apparu au début des années 90, mais dont la production est importante et éclectique. Trois axes peuvent être identifiés pour structurer ces recherches:l'analyse du comportement du public, la stratégie des institutions et la gestion de leurs décisions opérationnelles dans les domaines de la tarification, de la communication et de la distribution. Cet article analyse la convergence de ces recherches vers les interrogations opérationnelles des institutions du secteur./ Management of culture and leisure is a relatively new field for the academic research. It began to structure in the early 90's, and leads to a dynamic and eclectic flow of contributions. Three major areas are investigated : the behaviour of public, strategic decision making by institutions, and operational implementation of this strategy, most notably in the areas of pricing, communication and distribution. This paper investigates the convergence of academic research with strategic expectations of the institutions in the sector of culture and leisure activities. |
| Keywords: | management des activités culturelles et de loisirs ; management of culture and leisure |
| Date: | 2005–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lat:gstion:2005-01&r=his |