|
on Business, Economic and Financial History |
|
Issue of 2012‒01‒18
twenty-six papers chosen by |
| By: | Pablo Martín-Aceña (Dpto. Fundamentos de Economía e Historia Económica Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Empresariales Universidad de Alcalá); Pilar Nogues-Marco (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid) |
| Abstract: | In the last eight centuries there have been hundreds of banking crises throughout the entire planet. Spain has not been an exception and our history is plagued with numerous financial disasters in which the collapse of one institution has jeopardized the stability of the whole financial structure. This paper examines two of the most severe banking crises of Spain´s history. The failures of the so-called public banks in the commercial city of Seville at the end of the XVI century and theirs effects over the stability of the payment system. The Andalusian deposit banks played an essential role in the Atlantic trade and their debacle affected the entire economic and financial fabric of the region, and it had long lasting consequences. The 1866 crisis, one of the most severe of contemporary Spain, wiped out half of the banks and credit companies. The bankruptcies weakened the nascent financial system and its consequences were felt until the end of the century. |
| Keywords: | banking history, banking crises, Spain |
| JEL: | N23 N24 |
| Date: | 2012–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ahe:dtaehe:1201&r=his |
| By: | Michel Bellet (GATE Lyon Saint-Etienne - Groupe d'analyse et de théorie économique - CNRS : UMR5824 - Université Lumière - Lyon II - École Normale Supérieure de Lyon) |
| Abstract: | This article reveals and studies the connections between Bentham's Defence of Usury (1787) and Saint-Amand Bazard (1791-1832), a founder of Saint-Simonianism. We first traces Bazard's exposure to Bentham through his unknown friendship with Bentham's publisher Etienne Dumont. After introducing in details the Saint-Simonian views on interest and money, we examines the significance of Bazard's translation of Defence of Usury and his shared opposition against usure laws. We explain why the puzzling reference to Benthamite utilitarianism is not fortuitous but appears to justify a common ground between Bentham's utilitarism and Saint-Simonianism. This connection did not survive the July Revolution. |
| Keywords: | utilitarianism; saint-simonism; interest rate; usury |
| Date: | 2011–12–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-00654847&r=his |
| By: | Gerardo P. Sicat (School of Economics, University of the Philippines Diliman) |
| Abstract: | Ferdinand E. Marcos was the Philippine president from 1966 to 1986, a period exceeding twenty years. After serving as a twoâ€term president of the Philippines from 1966â€1972, he declared martial law under the constitution to assume dictatorial powers to tame the political chaos that was then engulfing the nation. In 1981, he ended the martial law period. The political framework that he adopted was patterned after the 1973 Constitution with amendments introduced and accepted by popular referendum concerning an elected parliament. He was driven from power in 1986. This paper reviews the economic and social contributions that his years in office brought to the country. During his period of rule, there were major reforms in government organization, in the provision of public infrastructure, and in social and economic development. In making the final accounting for Marcos, the paper concludes that the balance sheet is very positive. Many of the problems that continue to hound the nation today are the result of decisions taken during the transition from Marcos by the successor government. These mistakes are discussed. This paper contributes to the proper assessment of the country's long term economic and social problems. Naturally, the judgment of history will be made through the future assessments of social historians, economists, and other social scientists. This paper represents one such analysis. |
| Keywords: | Philippine economic history, economic development, Ferdinand Marcos, political economy, economic policy |
| Date: | 2011–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:phs:dpaper:201111&r=his |
| By: | De Doncker , Tim |
| Abstract: | In local, as well as in national and international contexts, the relationships between the different craft guilds and the academies were intricate. The different institutions engaged in dialogues as well as in conflicts and determined the state of the art world in the middle, early modern and modern ages. Questions about the foundation, the organization, and the membership of the craft guilds and academies, about rules, regulations, and flexibility, about artistic practices and representation, about continuity and discontinuity, will be examined in this article. Not merely art production as such will constitute the central theme of this paper, but principally the institutional context which gave rise to it. This article focuses on the institutional context of art production in the Southern Low Countries during the early modern period. A case study on goldsmiths and silversmiths in the city of Ghent during the second half of the eighteenth century, will constitute the focal point of a study on the relationship between the .traditional. crafts guilds and the .new. academy. The ensuing will clarify that precisely the academy will become the heart of actual refinement of design skills for craftsmen. |
| Keywords: | guild academy Ghent eighteenth century |
| JEL: | D2 N93 O31 |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:35786&r=his |
| By: | Rolf Lüders |
| Abstract: | President Carlos Ibáñez del Campo came into power in 1952 to restore price stability and to end corruption. Soon, however, inflation was running at about 80 per cent per year and government invited Klein-Saks, the prestigious U.S. based consulting firm, to design and implement an anti-inflationary program. The Klein-Saks mission, after some initial studies, concluded that major economic structural reforms were necessary to bring inflation under control and to increase the rate of economic growth. Government accepted the proposed package and reforms were initiated. However, about a year and a half later, broad political opposition to these reforms induced government to cancel the contract with Klein-Saks, in spite of the fact that inflation had been drastically reduced. Soon the reform process was also abandoned and in some areas, even reversed. Decades after the Klein-Saks attempt and starting in late 1973, when inflation run at about 500 per cent and GDP was falling, were the military able to implement –this time under the guidance of the Chicago Boys- a coherent market system in Chile, not too different from that envisioned by Klein-Saks in the mid 1950´s. Good luck, political liberalization, and the economic institutions created under the military are today credited with the relatively high economic growth rates and price stability of Chile. This paper (a) compares the economic reform packages of the Ibáñez (Klein-Saks) and Pinochet (Chicago Boys) administrations, to identify main similarities and differences between those two programs; (b) carries-out a counterfactual exercise to quantify welfare cost of not having implemented the Klein-Saks program in the mid fifties; and (c) attempts to explain the political economy of the reforms in one and the other case. |
| Keywords: | Economic history, Chile, anti-inflationary program, Klein-Saks mission, Chicago Boys |
| JEL: | N16 N36 O43 O54 P16 |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ioe:doctra:411&r=his |
| By: | Vandenbroucke, Guillaume |
| Abstract: | During World War I (1914–1918) the birth rates of countries such as France, Germany, the U.K., Belgium and Italy declined by almost 50 percent. The age structure of these countries’ populations were significantly affected for the duration of the 20th century. In France, where the population was 40 millions in 1914, the deficit of births is estimated to 1.36 millions over 4 years while military losses are estimated at 1.4 millions. In short, the fertility decline doubled the demographic impact of the War. Why did fertility decline so much? The conventional wisdom is that fertility fell below its optimal level because of the absence of men gone to war. I challenge this view using the case of France. I construct and calibrate a model of optimal fertility choice where households reaching their childbearing years on the eve of WWI face a loss of husband’s income during the War as well as an increase in the probability that the wife remains alone after the War. I calibrate this probability using the casualties sustained by the French army. The model accounts for 97% of the fertility decline even though it does not feature any physical separations of couples. It also accounts for no less than half of the increase in fertility after the War, and generates a temporary increase in the age at birth as observed in the French data. This effect of the War on the optimal level of fertility is robust to alternative calibrations. |
| Keywords: | Fertility ; war ; growth ; uncertainty |
| JEL: | J1 E1 N4 |
| Date: | 2011–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:35709&r=his |
| By: | Boumans, Marcel; Dupont-Kieffer, Ariane |
| Abstract: | Understanding the history of econometrics as a modern science also asks for understanding of the development of the image of science, which includes the history of philosophy of science and the history of economic methodology. Beside that philosophers of science need to be historically informed, historians of science need to be philosophical informed, which mean more precisely here that they need to be informed about the developments of the philosophical ideas about science. Corry's distinction between the body and image of knowledge does not only provide a framework to write histories of econometrics, but also to write a history of these histories. From its beginnings, econometricians have considered historical knowledge as reflexive knowledge useful to delineate their discipline. |
| Keywords: | econometrics; philosophy of science; discipline |
| JEL: | B23 |
| Date: | 2011–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:35744&r=his |
| By: | Ola Honningdal Grytten (Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration and Norges Bank (Central Bank of Norway)) |
| Abstract: | On the basis of data from the Historical Monetary Statistics-project by Norges Bank, the present paper serves a threefold purpose. In the first place it gives an overview of financial crisis in Norway from her independence from Denmark in 1814 till present times. Secondly, historical business cycles are mapped and we conclude that the major financial crises were mirrored in significant slumps in the real economy. Thirdly, the paper investigates credit and monetary developments, and concludes that the major financial crises in Norway typically took place after substantial money and credit expansion causing overheating and bubbles to the economy. |
| Keywords: | Business cycles, supply of money and credit, Financial crises |
| JEL: | E32 E51 G01 N13 N14 |
| Date: | 2012–01–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bno:worpap:2011_21&r=his |
| By: | Harold E. Cuffe (Université d'Oregon - University of Oregon); William T. Harbaugh (Université d'Oregon - University of Oregon); Jason M. Lindo (Université d'Oregon - University of Oregon); Giancarlo Musto (GATE Lyon Saint-Etienne - Groupe d'analyse et de théorie économique - CNRS : UMR5824 - Université Lumière - Lyon II - École Normale Supérieure de Lyon); Glenn R. Waddell (Université d'Oregon - University of Oregon) |
| Abstract: | This article reveals and studies the connections between Bentham's Defence of Usury (1787) and Saint-Amand Bazard (1791-1832), a founder of Saint-Simonianism. We first traces Bazard's exposure to Bentham through his unknown friendship with Bentham's publisher Etienne Dumont. After introducing in details the Saint-Simonian views on interest and money, we examines the significance of Bazard's translation of Defence of Usury and his shared opposition against usure laws. We explain why the puzzling reference to Benthamite utilitarianism is not fortuitous but appears to justify a common ground between Bentham's utilitarism and Saint-Simonianism. This connection did not survive the July Revolution. |
| Keywords: | health; exercise; children; school; incentives; active commuting |
| Date: | 2011–12–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-00654850&r=his |
| By: | C. Randall Henning; Martin Kessler |
| Abstract: | Ever since first the blueprints for monetary union in Europe were drawn up, the United States, considered as a collection of individual states or regions, has served as a benchmark for assessing its feasibility and evaluating alternative policy options. Starting with Robert Mundellâ??s seminal 1961 article on optimal currency areas, countless papers have explored the inner workings of US labour, product and capital markets, and of its public finances, in the hope of learning lessons for Europe. It could be argued that this US inspiration is mistaken. After all, it is not the only economic and monetary federation in the world. Other federations work on different principles â?? especially when it comes to public finances â?? and there is no guarantee that US arrangements are optimal â?? especially, again, regarding public finances. But we know the US better and we think we understand it better, so success or failure relative to the US test carries much more weight than with the Australian, Canadian, Indian or Swiss tests. For better or worse, the US remains our ultimate policy laboratory. This essay on US fiscal federalism by Randall Henning and Martin Kessler builds on the established tradition. But unlike many papers that take current US features as a given, they tell us what present arrangements governing responsibility over public debt gradually emerged from, and why. By bringing in the historical dimension and the trial-and-error process that took place over more than two centuries, they help us understand the logic behind alternative arrangements and why the current one has in the end prevailed. Their careful historical account yields several important lessons. It first recalls that the US system as we know it, with its combination of a large federal budget responsible for the bulk of public debt and limited thrifty state budgets subject to balanced budget rules, emerged gradually from a sequence of events; in fact the initial set-up, as designed and enforced by Alexander Hamilton, was almost exactly the opposite. Second, it makes clear that beyond economic principles, attitudes towards what was in the aftermath of independence called the â??assumptionâ?? of state debt were shaped by broader political considerations â?? not least the aim of building a genuine federal government. Third, it explains how after the US was firmly established as a federation, changing political conditions led to a reversal of the federal governmentâ??s stance and to the enforcement of a â??no bail-outâ?? principle. An intriguing feature of US history is therefore that the competences and features of federal government grew out of its assumption of state debt, and that the centre imposed a de-facto no bail-out regime only after having assumed essential powers. Another interesting observation by Henning and Kessler is that balanced budget rules were adopted spontaneously by states in response to financial stress and defaults, rather than as a disciplinary device mandated by the centre. Thus, there is still significant variability between states regarding the modus operandi and strictness of budget rules. The question remains if what matters is the strictness of the rule, or deeper political preferences at state level, of which the rule is only an expression. Finally, Henning and Kessler emphasise, a no less important lesson for Europe is that policy principles and institutions should be looked at as a system rather than in isolation. As the authors point out, it may seem obvious to recall that states in the US can abide by strict budget balance rules to the extent the federal government is responsible for stabilisation and the bail-out of insolvent banks, but this simple lesson is sometimes overlooked in European discussion. Jean Pisani-Ferry Director of Bruegel |
| Date: | 2012–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bre:esslec:669&r=his |
| By: | Wallis, Patrick |
| Abstract: | Successful apprenticeship is often explained by effective contract enforcement. But what happened when enforcement was weak? This paper reveals that within early modern London, England’s dominant centre for training, the city’s court provided apprentices with near automatic exits from their indentures, and allowed them to recover a share of their premium, reflecting faults and time served. Between 3 and 8 percent of apprentices received court discharges. Easy dissolution was a response to unstable contracts. By supplying a straightforward mechanism to cut legal ties, the city reduced the risks surrounding apprenticeship and facilitated London’s rapid expansion. |
| JEL: | O52 N0 R14 J01 |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:wpaper:41172&r=his |
| By: | Jimena Hurtado; Johanna Mick |
| Abstract: | In spite of the use of a utilitarian language in Rational Choice Theory, economists do not acknowledge any link to this current of moral philosophy, and have made great efforts to rid economics from its legacy. In this document we aim at assessing these efforts retracing their history from Pareto to Samuelson in order to determine how close they came to their ideal of formulating a positive science rid of what they called any metaphysical traces. |
| Date: | 2011–10–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:col:000089:009251&r=his |
| By: | Massimo Di Matteo |
| Abstract: | In the paper I present and discuss an unpublished essay of Richard Goodwin found in the Goodwin’s Archive at the University of Siena on the theme of social philosophy. I will illustrate the main points of his text, briefly compare these late views with those entertained at the beginning of his scientific life (namely his Harvard dissertation on Marxism also kept in the Archive) and add a few remarks in connection with the implications for economics suggested by his analysis. |
| Keywords: | history of economics, social philosophy. |
| JEL: | B20 B30 |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:usi:depfid:0711&r=his |
| By: | C. Randall Henning (Peterson Institute for International Economics); Martin Kessler (Peterson Institute for International Economics) |
| Abstract: | European debates over reform of the fiscal governance of the euro area frequently reference fiscal federalism in the United States. The "fiscal compact" agreed by the European Council during 2011 provided for the introduction of, among other things, constitutional rules or framework laws known as "debt brakes" in the member states of the euro area. In light of the compact and proposals for deeper fiscal union, we review US fiscal federalism from Alexander Hamilton to the present. We note that within the US system the states are "sovereign": The federal government does not mandate balanced budgets nor, since the 1840s, does it bail out states in fiscal trouble. States adopted balanced budget rules of varying strength during the nineteenth century and these rules limit debt accumulation. Before introducing debt brakes for euro area member states, however, Europeans should consider three important caveats. First, debt brakes are likely to be more durable and effective when "owned" locally rather than mandated centrally. Second, maintaining a capacity for countercyclical macroeconomic stabilization is essential. Balanced budget rules have been viable in the US states because the federal government has a broad set of fiscal powers, including countercyclical fiscal action. Finally, because debt brakes threaten to collide with bank rescues, the euro area should unify bank regulation and create a common fiscal pool for restructuring the banking system. |
| Keywords: | fiscal federalism, balanced budget rules, US financial history, state debt, euro crisis, fiscal compact |
| JEL: | H77 F33 N41 N42 |
| Date: | 2012–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iie:wpaper:wp12-1&r=his |
| By: | Christian Venneslan; Ragnar Trøite; Christoffer Kleivset; Bastian Klunde |
| Abstract: | This article surveys the degree of central bank independence in Norway between 1945 and 1970. By comparing the developments in Norway with those of Sweden and the United Kingdom, it is shown that the Norwegian central bank had less room for maneuver than in the other countries. In spite of a high legal independence, the actual performance of central bank operations was almost completely subordinated the instructions given by the Ministry of Finance. A particular vivid, dirigiste environment followed the experiences of the 1930s and the war in Norway, curtailing any effort to make the central bank an independent institution in the machinery of state economic management that followed the return to peace. |
| Keywords: | Central bank independence, monetary policy, institutional design |
| JEL: | F33 N44 |
| Date: | 2012–01–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bno:worpap:2011_20&r=his |
| By: | Rolf Lüders |
| Abstract: | Este artículo hará un breve recuento histórico del tema de la protección a la libre competencia a nivel internacional y de la lógica de la acción pública para asegurar la libre competencia, para luego centrarse en la experiencia histórica de Chile, que en estricto rigor data en el mejor de todos los casos sólo desde 1959. La tesis es que en un país pequeño como el nuestro la apertura comercial es la política más efectiva para asegurar la libre competencia, sin perjuicio que acciones legales específicas como aquellas que prevé la actual institucionalidad a favor del libre comercio son un complemento indispensable de la política comercial. |
| Keywords: | Economic history, economic regulation, Chile |
| JEL: | N46 L44 |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ioe:doctra:410&r=his |
| By: | Alexander Rathke; Tobias Straumann; Ulrich Woitek |
| Abstract: | This paper reconsiders the role of monetary policy in Sweden’s strong recovery from the Great Depression. The Riksbank in the 1930s is sometimes seen as an example of a central bank that was relatively innovative in terms of the conduct of monetary policy. To consider this analytically, we estimate a small-scale, structural general equilibrium model of a small open economy using Bayesian methods. We find that the model captures the key dynamics of the period surprisingly well. Importantly, our findings suggest that Sweden avoided the worst excesses of the depression by conducting conservative rather than innovative monetary policy. We find that, by keeping the Swedish krona undervalued to replenish foreign reserves, Sweden’s exchange rate policy unintentionally contributed to the Swedish growth miracle of the 1930s, avoiding a major slump in 1932 and enabling the country to benefit quickly from the eventual recovery of world demand. |
| Keywords: | Small open economy models, exchange rate policy, structural estimation, Bayesian analysis, Great Depression |
| JEL: | C11 E58 F41 N14 |
| Date: | 2011–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zur:econwp:058&r=his |
| By: | Faizel Ismail |
| Abstract: | The paper argues that South Africa’s participation in the World Trade Organization since the birth of its democracy in 1994 was informed by its domestic development challenges. It claims that South Africa’s values were derived from its long struggle against apartheid and its transition to a new democracy. South Africa’s political leadership in the Doha negotiations was also strengthened by its deep democratic institutions and consultative processes. South Africa’s values, articulated by Nelson Mandela, reflected a deep commitment to multilateralism and consensus building, fairness and justice, inclusiveness, and a concern to support and promote development, within South Africa, and also in developing countries, especially the African continent. The paper discusses how and why South Africa’s unique value system enabled it to play a significant role in the Doha Round. The paper concludes that South Africa is both part of the group of major emerging developing countries and a crucial bridge to a smaller group of developing countries, particularly in Africa. |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bwp:bwppap:15811&r=his |
| By: | Jean-Claude Barbier (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - CNRS : UMR8174 - Université Paris I - Panthéon Sorbonne) |
| Abstract: | What has been analysed in France mainly under the term "précarité de l'emploi" over the past 30 years was mostly dealt with differently in other countries (atypical, non-standard employment). Research on these issues dates back to the 1970s in sociology and institutional economics. More recently some political scientists have endeavoured to link up the labour market theme with developments in systems of social protection and they are talking about "dualism" and "dualization". Despite the constant intellectual investment put into the topic, it is striking that indicators for comparative measurement of the phenomenon have remained rather unsophisticated, as the basic opposition between what Eurostat names "temporary contracts" and "open-ended contracts". On the other hand, because of the spreading of the effects of work and employment flexibilisation into new countries, new categories are appearing since the early 2000s (Prekariat, vulnerable workers, and even "precarity"). |
| Keywords: | Precariousness, non-standard work, internal labour markets, a-typical employment, dualization, Europeanization. |
| Date: | 2011–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:cesptp:halshs-00654370&r=his |
| By: | Marion Leturcq (CREST - Centre de Recherche en Économie et Statistique - INSEE - École Nationale de la Statistique et de l'Administration Économique, EEP-PSE - Ecole d'Économie de Paris - Paris School of Economics - Ecole d'Économie de Paris) |
| Abstract: | Large changes in marital trends during the second half of the 20th century raise the question of the reason leading to marriage in Western Europe and in Northern America: declining marriage rates, increase in cohabitation, increasing divorce rates. But the reason to get married can be diverse and can evolve over the life cycle. This paper examines is there is a demand for different marital contracts. In France, since 1999, two types of marital contracts are available: the marriage and the civil union (pacs). This paper investigates the substitution between the two contracts, by analyzing the distribution of the age at first marriage by cohort. It detects some recent changes in the bottom of the distribution of the age at first marriage, indicating a small impact of pacs on marriage. Therefore, it tends to conclude that substitution effects are likely to be very small and that the pacs reveals a demand for different marital contracts. |
| Keywords: | civil union, marriage, substitution, quantile regression |
| Date: | 2011–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-00655585&r=his |
| By: | Pardey, Philip G.; Koo, Bonwoo; Drew, Jennifer; Nottenburg, Carol |
| Abstract: | The United States was the first country in the world to explicitly offer intellectual property protection for plant varieties. Beginning in 1930, asexually reproduced plants were afforded plant patent protection, in 1970 sexually propagated plants could be awarded plant variety protection certificates, and beginning in 1985, courts confirmed that varieties of all types of plants were eligible for utility patents. From 1930 to 2008, a total of 34,340 varietal rights applications were lodged. The number of rights being sought continues to grow, with 42 percent of all the varietal rights claimed since 2000. Contrary to popular perception, most of these rights are for horticultural crops (69 percent), with ornamentals accounting for the lionâs share of the horticulture-related rights (73 percent, or 50 percent of all plant rights). Food and feed crops constitute only 24 percent of the rights sought, although just two crops (corn and soybean) made up 84 percent of the 3,719 varietal rights claimed via utility patents. The structure of these rights has changed dramatically over the years. During the 1930s when the only rights on offer were plant patents, 72 percent of the rights sought were for ornamental crops and individual innovators played a substantial role (50 percent of the rights). By 2004-2008, the annual applications for plant patents had increased in number but fallen to a 60 percent share of the total rights claimed. During this recent period, utility patents were as popular as plant variety protection certificates, and ornamentals made up a large but much reduced share of the total (52 percent). Individual innovators accounted for only 12 percent of the rights, whereas the corporate sector sought the dominant share of varietal rights (82 percent in 2004-2008). These intellectual property markets are complex, with corporations, universities and other agencies seeking different types of rights for different crops. |
| Keywords: | plant patents, plant variety protection, utility patents, Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries, Environmental Economics and Policy, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Q16, Q18, O32, O34, |
| Date: | 2012–01–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:umaesp:119346&r=his |
| By: | François Facchini (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - CNRS : UMR8174 - Université Paris I - Panthéon Sorbonne); Mickaël Melki (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - CNRS : UMR8174 - Université Paris I - Panthéon Sorbonne) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses the effect of public expenditure on economic growth from both a theoretical and an empirical point of view. Given that the economic literature supplies numerous and conflicting views on the topic, the article offers a framework combining both theories of market failures and State failures to account for an inverted U-shapped relation between government size and GDP growth. The empirical contribution is to provide evidence through a long time-series analysis of the existence of such a relation on the period 1871-2008 for France, which offers one of the longest stable democratic periods to analyse. |
| Keywords: | Public spending, public expenditure, government size, BARS curve, Armey curve, economic growth, market failure, State failure, France. |
| Date: | 2011–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:cesptp:halshs-00654363&r=his |
| By: | Katsumi Nozawa |
| Abstract: | The promotion of oil palm production as an agribusiness development policy is a major issue in response to the increasing demand of palm oil in the Philippines. This paper focused on oil palm production cooperatives composed of agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) as members who were granted the Certificate of Land Ownership Award (CLOA). The paper scrutinized the difference of farm incomes with the land titles between the Individual CLOA and the Collective CLOA under the Agribusiness Venture Arrangement (AVA) mode through the field survey of the cooperatives in the provinces in Mindanao. In conclusion, the proposal was made with the emphasis on the necessity to provide production technology and management skill to the cooperatives and its ARBs members with the special emphasis given to those granted the Collective CLOA through the various kinds of agricultural assistance. |
| Date: | 2011–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:phs:dpaper:201113&r=his |
| By: | Robert Rudolf (Georg-August-University Göttingen) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes effects of the Republic of Korea’s two major rural reforms in 1950 and 1962/63 on agricultural productivity and individual well-being. The 1950 Land Reform resulted in a large-scale redistribution of land while ‘green revolution’-type reforms in 1962/63 pushed forward the application of modern agricultural technologies and improved rural infrastructure. This study’s findings indicate that both reforms had significant positive impacts on agricultural productivity. Using the link between final height outcomes and early childhood nutrition further allows an assessment of the effects of the interventions on the biological standard of living using adult height outcomes. Korean mean adult height grew by a remarkable 8.1 to 12 cm for women and 7 to 9.6 cm for men born between 1920 and 1987. Two thirds of this growth took place after the 1950 reform, and about 40 to 50 percent after the 1962/63 reforms. Structural break analyses of height trends reveal significant upward shifts in trend around the years of the reforms. While Korea can be considered a case of successful land reform, the years between the two major reforms can be considered Korea’s lost decade. |
| Keywords: | Land Reform; Rural Technological Reforms; Agricultural Productivity; Biological Standard of Living; Equity-Efficiency |
| JEL: | Q15 N35 O13 |
| Date: | 2012–01–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:got:gotcrc:106&r=his |
| By: | Emmanuel Ruzé (LTCI - Laboratoire traitement et communication de l'information - CNRS : UMR5141 - Institut Télécom - Télécom ParisTech) |
| Abstract: | Nous présentons les archives numériques de Wikipédia, entre autres celles des listes de régulation des projets. Nous montrons qu'il existe paradoxalement des pratiques mémorielles au-delà des automatismes informatiques. Nous analysons ensuite la dynamique de la plus ancienne des listes, proposons une base de données utile issue de son dépouillement " manuel ", et une approche comparatiste des différentes séries débouchant sur des éléments de périodisation du projet de ses origines de 2001 à 2009 inclus. Nous identifions des recherches à mener au-delà des quelques travaux à portée historique mentionnés. |
| Keywords: | Wikipedia, archives, mailing-list, digital history. |
| Date: | 2011–06–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-00655874&r=his |
| By: | Jimena Hurtado |
| Abstract: | En este texto exploro la visión de Tocqueville sobre la pobreza y el pauperismo en los tiempos democráticos. Su explicación de fenómenos económicos y sociales asociados al auge de la igualdad, muestra los difíciles dilemas que preveía con la consolidación de la democracia y la creciente industrialización. Nuevas clases sociales y un acceso desigual a la riqueza podrían generar un problema social que tarde o temprano amenazaría la libertad. |
| Date: | 2011–08–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:col:000089:009236&r=his |