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The Pasinetti Paradox in Neoclassical and More General Models: A Correction

Review of Economic Studies 1971 38(2), 271 open access
_S s _ ._ r*k* (k*) S1-Si f(k*) -r*k* I1(k*)9 i.e. the domain of the Pasinetti and Dual solutions in the extended case is dependent on the proportion of workers in each non-capitalist category and the savings propensities of all those categories, as well as on the maximum savings propensity of the capitalist class and the form of the production function. Thus we may note that the maximum extent of the Dual domain occurs when the inequality becomes sl ? oc(k*)sl, the Samuelson-Modigliani condition-when all workers have the same savings propensity (A1 = 1), whilst the minimum extent of the Dual domain occurs when large weight is accorded the worker categories who are minimal savers, when the inequality approaches sl ? scl.

On the Existence and Optimality of Competitive Equilibrium for a Slave Economy

Review of Economic Studies 1971 38(1), 23 open access
A famous paper by Conrad and Meyer calculates that on the eve of the American Civil War, slave prices were about equal to the present values of the slaves' labor services. They argue that this is evidence for the proposition that ordinary economic forces, without political intervention were not likely to put an end to slavery.I wrote this paper when pretty much the only economics that I knew was 1) how to prove the existence of competitive general equilibrium. 2) how to calculate present values. So the paper does two things. It shows how to apply Arrow-Debreu type existence theory to an economy with slavery. (this involved some technical wrinkles that were not in the existing existence literature.) More importantly, it argues that the calculations of Conrad and Meyer showed only that capital markets for slaves were working pretty well, but were not direcly relevant to the question of whether slavery as an institution was economically viable. To answer the latter question, we need to calculate two things. 1) Does an infant slave have positive present value? [If not, reproduction would be discouraged.] 2) Would a freed adult slave, perhaps because of the better incentives and opportunities for free people, be able to earn more than enough on the labor market to repay his or her market price to a slaveowner. I investigate the latter two questions empirically. The answer to the first question is "Yes". Spotty evidence suggests that the answer to the second question was also often "Yes."

The Use of Effective Tariffs

Journal of Political Economy 1971 79(1), 128-141 open access
Citations are given to show that since 1888 some people have understood the idea of effective tariffs. For fourteen studies on twenty-six countries done during the last five years, one finds a rank correlation of .95 between the height of a nation's average effective tariff and the height of the nation's average nominal tariff. Looking at the effective tariff and the nominal tariff for various industries within a country, one finds both a significant regression between them and a rank correlation between them of over .70 for twenty-three of the twenty-six countries. I speculate on reasons for these results.

Costs and Benefits of Medical Research: A Case Study of Poliomyelitis

Journal of Political Economy 1971 79(3), 527-544 open access
The paper provides estimates of (1) research expenditures on poliomyelitis, (2) several forms of productivity benefits from applying the knowledge generated by the research, and (3) the costs of applying that knowledge. Internal rates of return are computed under a variety of assumptions, with results generally between 4 and 14 percent. The interrelatedness of research with procedures for applying the research findings is investigated; in the case of polio, the rate of return on research is found to be heavily influenced by the costs of application. Finally, a discussion is included of the likely allocative efficiency of private-market behavior when a collective-consumption good, such as research knowledge, requires the use of an individual-consumption good, such as a vaccination, for its application.

Marshall and Turvey on Peak Load or Joint Product Pricing

Journal of Political Economy 1971 79(6), 1369-1377 open access
This paper is concerned with an extension of the theory of peak load or joint product pricing. It is prompted by a recent paper by Turvey (1968) and by Marshall's (1920) early analysis of joint product pricing. Both of these authors hint at solutions to a joint product or peak load problem that have not been discussed in the major contributions on peak load pricing (Steiner 1957; Williamson 1966). Both Williamson and Steiner recognize the existence of a class of peak load situations which Steiner calls the "firm peak" case. These occur where it is not possible in the off peak period to fully utilize capacity even when a price equal to marginal running cost is charged.1 This corresponds to Marshall's "valueless straw case." When the straw is worthless, farmers concentrate on the production of a crop which has a larger proportion of ears to straw. Corresponding to this process is a firm peak situation where a public utility would install different kinds of facilities in order to vary its production methods so as to reduce the costs of servicing the peak loads. Empirical evidence of this can be noted in the electricity supply industry's production techniques, which consist of employing plants that have different cost characteristics according to their role in meeting demand. This was noted by Turvey whose paper throws some light on the problems of an electricity supply industry in meeting demand. Although Turvey does not explicitly state what are optimal peak load prices when an industry uses more than one kind of plant to meet its peak loads, he hints that prices equal to marginal running cost are somehow relevant. Turvey criticizes the assumption of constant marginal running costs and constant incremental capacity costs as "too simple a notion to be meaningful." He then notes that, for an electricity system consisting of plants differing in age, location, and type (and therefore also running costs), the system marginal running cost curve is upward sloping. He goes on to say: "The first consequence of

JFQ volume 6 issue 1 Cover and Front matter

Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis 1971 6(1), f1-f5 open access
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Change in Subscription Year

Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis 1971 6(2), 896-896 open access
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Foreign Subscription Rate Change

Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis 1971 6(4), 1172-1172 open access
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