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on Business, Economic and Financial History |
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Issue of 2013‒09‒25
four papers chosen by |
| By: | Nikolay Nenovsky; Pencho Penchev |
| Abstract: | In this paper we present one possible historical reconstruction of the German historical school in Bulgaria for the period 1878 – 1944. The main postulates of the historical school which claimed to be a general theoretical model for newly emerging and backward economies suited well the interests of the basic social groups and the intellectual views of the newly formed Bulgarian elites. In Bulgaria the main dominating components of the historical school followed its own evolution (old, young and youngest historical school) while also intermingling with other major components of other theoretical schools. Thus, for instance, right after the Liberation, in the theoretical views of the Bulgarian economic scholars a specific synthesis emerged with the ideas of the classical liberal thought (G. Nachovich, Ivan Evstatiev Geshov), after WWI with the postulates of monetarism and conservative public finances (?. Lyapchev, G. Danailov), and during the 1930s with the ideas of organic and directed economy (?. Tsankov, ?. Bobchev). This eclectic interaction, within which the influence of the historical school increased, brought about evolution of the character of the “Bulgarian economic nationalism” (liberal, monetary-conservative and integral, corporate). Especially significant for the Bulgarian economic thought was the warm receipt of the Russian economic historical school even if only for the fact that this school came from a Slavic and Orthodox country. |
| Keywords: | German historical school, Bulgarian economic though, Balkans, Bulgaria |
| JEL: | B15 B31 P00 |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:icr:wpicer:08-2013&r=his |
| By: | Du Rietz, Gunnar (Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN)); Johansson, Dan (Örebro University School of Business); Stenkula, Mikael (Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN)) |
| Abstract: | This paper presents annual Swedish time series data on the top marginal tax wedge and marginal tax wedges on labor for a low, average and high income earner for the period 1862 to 2010. We identify four distinct periods separated by major tax reforms. The tax system can be depicted as proportional, with low tax wedges until World War II. Next follows a period featuring increasing tax wedges beginning in connection with World War II. During the third period, starting with the 1971 tax reform and continuing throughout the 1980s, the efforts to redistribute income culminated and tax wedges peaked. The high income earner started to pay the top marginal tax wedge which could be 90 percent. The main explanations for this development are temporary crises leading to permanent tax increases, expansion of the public sector and distributional ambitions, bracket-creep and the introduction of social security contributions paid by the employers. The 1990–1991 tax reform represents the beginning of a new and still continuing period with decreasing marginal tax wedges. |
| Keywords: | Labor taxation; Marginal tax rate; Marginal tax wedge; Tax reforms |
| JEL: | H21 H31 N44 |
| Date: | 2013–09–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:iuiwop:0977&r=his |
| By: | Ben Ross Schneider |
| Abstract: | O histórico de sucesso dos Estados desenvolvimentistas na Ásia Oriental e o sucesso parcial de Estados desenvolvimentistas na América Latina sugerem vários pré-requisitos comuns para a intervenção estatal eficaz, incluindo uma burocracia weberiana, o monitoramento da implementação de projetos e reciprocidade (subsídios em troca de desempenho) e relações de colaboração entre governo e empresas. Embora o Brasil não tenha conseguido desenvolver uma indústria de fabricação e exportação de alta tecnologia – segmento que na Ásia Oriental foi responsável por um crescimento continuado –, o Estado desenvolvimentista brasileiro teve um número importante, e muitas vezes negligenciado, de sucessos, especialmente em aço, automóveis, mineração, etanol e fabricação de aeronaves. Ele foi menos bem-sucedido na promoção de setores como tecnologia da informação e energia nuclear, bem como na redução das desigualdades sociais e regionais. Além disso, algumas iniciativas isoladas de governos estaduais também foram eficazes na promoção de determinados segmentos locais da indústria e da agricultura. Em contraste com a Ásia Oriental, as empresas estatais no Brasil tiveram papel central, efetivamente internalizando os procedimentos de acompanhamento e reciprocidade e ignorando a colaboração entre empresas e governo. The historical success of the Asian developmental States and the partial success of developmental States in Latin America suggest numerous common requisites for an efficient State intervention, including a weberian bureaucracy, the monitoring of project implementation and reciprocity (subsidies in exchange of performance), and collaborative relations between government and private companies. Even though Brazil wasn’t able to develop a high technology manufacture and exportation industry – sector that responded for continued growth in East Asia – the Brazilian developmental State had an important number of successes, often neglected, especially in steel, cars, mining, ethanol and aircrafts. Brazil was less successful in the promotion of information technology, nuclear energy and in the reduction of social and regional inequalities governments were also efficient in the promotion of some local industrial and agricultural sectors. In contrast with Asia, Brazilian state-owned enterprises played a central role, effectively internalizing monitoring and reciprocity procedures, and ignoring the cooperation between government and private companies (which was, generally, more rare in Brazil). |
| Date: | 2013–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipe:ipetds:1871&r=his |
| By: | Wenbiao Cai; B. Ravikumar; Raymond Riezman |
| Abstract: | This paper deals with a classic development question: how can the process of economic development – transition from stagnation in a traditional technology to industrialization and prosperity with a modern technology – be accelerated? Lewis (1954) and Rostow (1956) argue that the pace of industrialization is limited by the rate of capital formation which in turn is limited by the savings rate of workers close to subsistence. We argue that access to capital goods in the world market can be quantitatively important in speeding up the transition. We develop a parsimonious open-economy model where traditional and modern technologies coexist (a dual economy in the sense of Lewis (1954)). We show that a decline in the world price of capital goods in an open economy increases the rate of capital formation and speeds up the pace of industrialization relative to a closed economy that lacks access to cheaper capital goods. In the long run, the investment rate in the open economy is twice as high as in the closed economy and the per capita income is 23 percent higher. |
| Keywords: | Economic development ; Economic conditions |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedlwp:2013-025&r=his |