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This book deals with aspects of the national innovation system of Belgium. It is the result of a study jointly undertaken by teams of the University of Antwerp (RUCA) and the Free University of Brussels (ULB) in the context of the OECD DSTI Working Group on Innovation and Technology Policy, which brought to gether specialists from most of the OECD countries in an effort to streamline and co-ordinate research on national innovation systems. The 'systemic' approach - as opposed to the traditional 'linear causal' ap proach - has, in recent years, increasingly become the framework for the study of the complex relationships between R&D, innovation, the economic performance of firms and of the eco...
European environmental and energy policies are currently challenged by two mutually dependent issues: CO2 abatement and the completion of the Internal Market for energy. Both will lead to substantial structural changes in the energy supply industry and in the wider economy. The purpose of this book is to analyze the interaction between CO2 abatement, economic structural change and the completion of the European Internal Market. This involves not only significant general equilibrium effects, but also technological changes, especially in the electricity supply sector. The simulation results indicate that the effects of measures to reduce European CO2 emissions depend considerably on the structure of the electricity supply system.
Grateful acknowledgement is made to CICYT (Comision Intenninisterial de Ciencia y Tecnoiogia), National Plan R+D, Projects N-TXT96-2467 and N TXT98-1453 for its financial support. This text presents the economic theories on Utility and Production. In addition, such theories are used to explain the real problems of consumers and firms and several studies carried out by the author are displayed. Some collaboration by other professors of Economics is mentioned in the corresponding footnotes. The responsibility for errors and omissions, however, rests entirely upon tbe author. In chapters 1 and 4 of the book try to present the theory of Utility and Production. Chapter 3 presents new functional forms and two empirical applications, on demand functions and systems. In chapters 2 and 5, the main theorems and properties presented in chapters 1 and 4 are applied. Chapter 6 presents new functional forms and two empirical applications, on production and cost functions respectively.
Originally presented as the author's thesis (doctoral)--Universit'at zu K'oln.
Three original models which explain business cycles as a result of self-fulfilling expectations are presented. The models are founded on the structure of dynamic general equilibrium theory. Market power and increasing returns to scale are introduced which allow indeterminancy of the Rational Expectations equilibria to be obtained. Unlike the majority of existing literature on this subject, the departures from perfect markets and constant returns presented in these models are very low and, more importantly, at a realistic level to achieve the respective results. It is demonstrated in all of the presented models that stylized facts of the business cycle can be reproduced.
This collection of papers focuses on the recent pension reform experiences in Central-Eastern Europe, while starting from a broader theoretical and empirical context. It provides evidence for the political feasibility of radical pension reform, considered unlikely in the West. The approach is both multi-disciplinary and cross-regional: The book contains papers by economists, political scientists and sociologists. The authors come from Germany, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and the US. The volume consists of four parts: First, general questions of transformation and social security in post-1989 Central Eastern Europe are addressed, followed by an introduction into issues and role models in the international pension reform debate. Then, three Central European country cases are presented, analysing institutional legacies, recent reform measures and relevant political actors. A comparative section on Central-Eastern European pension reforms concludes this book.
Institutions have both positive and negative effects on economic performance. The theoretical and empirical understanding of the roles played by institutions, norms and culture in the functioning of markets still is limited. This book contributes to a better understanding of the role played by institutions in economic life and to more balanced and better founded policy decisions related to the (re)structuring of industrial economies in response to the structural changes - internationalisation of the economies, the advances in information and communication technology and the ageing of populations - they all are confronted with.
New analysis and empirical evidence on several topics such as the determinants of shape and nature of the vertical relationships in the food system, the determinants of vertical co-ordination and competition, types and mechanisms of co-ordination as well as the consequences for competitiveness, consumer welfare and policy implications are provided. The focus is on vertical issues at different stages of the food chain with a particular emphasis on the increasing role played by retailers in shaping the vertical relationships in the food system through the development of food supply-chain management.
"It is, perhaps, worth stressing that economic problems arise always and only in consequence of change. So long as things continue as before, or at least as they were expected to, there arise no new problems requiring a decision, no need to form a plan. " (Hayek, 1945, p. 523) This book is based on my research for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy which I received from Lancaster University, England in the second half of 1997. It is an analysis of the structural transformation of the economic system in East Germany and the behavioural relations these changes imply. The approach of institutionalised transformation (not the least by the creation of the Treuhandanstalt) is examined with a theor...
This book addresses two different but related topics that can arise during the development of equity capital markets and which could possibly hinder their development: partial privatisation and shareholder rights. Both issues are developed in the context of transition economies in general and Russia in particular. Chapter 2 puts forward a theory of partial privatisation, i. e. a model that aims to explain why the state keeps some residual shares. Several recent surveys for Russia have shown that the state does often not actively use the voting rights of its residual shares. If this was true, partial privati sation could entrench management and hinder restructuring. It would also limit the su...