Ressenyes

Obra ressenyada: Lluís BARBÉ I DURAN, Literatura i economia: la història d'un amor impossible? Sabadell: Fundació Bosch i Cardellach, 2003

Ressenyes

Obra ressenyada: Ernest LLUCH I MARTIN, Apunts sobre economia i cultura. Articles de «Serra d'Or». Barcelona: Pòrtic, 2002

Deficit, human capital and economic growth dynamics

Long-run economic growth arouses a great interest since it can shed light on the income-path of an economy and try to explain the large differences in income we observe across countries and over time. The neoclassical model has been followed by several endogenous growth models which, contrarily to the former, seem to predict that economies with similar preferences and technological level, do not necessarily tend to converge to similar per capita income levels. This paper attempts to show a possible mechanism through which macroeconomic disequilibria and inefficiencies, represented by budget deficits, may hinder human capital accumulation and therefore economic growth. Using a mixed education system, deficit is characterized as a bug agent which may end up sharply reducing the resources devoted to education and training. The paper goes a step further from the literature on deficit by introducing a rich dynamic analysis of the effects of a deficit reduction on different economic aspects. Following a simple growth model and allowing for slight changes in the law of human capital accumulation, we reach a point where deficit might sharply reduce human capital accumulation. On the other hand, a deficit reduction carried on for a long time, taking that reduction as a more efficient management of the economy, may prove useful in inducing endogenous growth. Empirical evidence for a sample of countries seems to support the theoretical assumptions in the model: (1) evidence on an inverse relationship between deficit and human capital accumulation, (2) presence of a strongly negative association between the quantity of deficit in the economy and the rate of growth. They may prove a certain role for budget deficit in economic growth- El creixement econòmic a llarg termini és un aspecte que ha desvetllat un gran interès atès que pot facilitar el coneixement del camí seguit per la renda en una economia, alhora que pot ajudar a explicar les grans diferències a nivell de renda que han existit i que encara avui romanen entre els diversos països. El model neoclàssic fou seguit per diferents models de creixement endogen que a diferència del primer semblen predir que les economies amb preferències i un nivell tecnològic semblants no han de convergir obligatòriament vers nivells de renda per càpita semblants. En aquest paper hem tractat de mostrar un possible mecanisme a través del qual els desequilibris macroeconòmics i les ineficiències, representats ambdós per la presència de dèficit, poden entorpir l¿acumulació de capital humà i per tant acabar entorpint també el creixement econòmic. Així, mitjançant un sistema educatiu mixte, el dèficit és caracteritzat com un agent molest que pot acabar exercint una important reducció dels recursos destinats a educació. L'article dóna un pas més enllà de la literatura existent pel que fa a les qüestions sobre dèficit tot i introduint una rica anàlisi dinàmica dels efectes d¿una reducció deficitària en nombrosos aspectes econòmics. Partint d'un model de creixement simple i tot i afegint-hi certs canvis, especialment concentrats en la llei d¿'cumulació de capital humà, s'aconsegueix arribar a un punt on el dèficit redueix de manera important l'acumulació de capital humà. Per altra banda, una reducció del dèficit continuada, entenent aquesta reducció com una direcció més eficient de l'economia per part dels seus responsables, podria entendre's com una manera de facilitar el creixement. L'evidència empírica per una àmplia mostra de països sembla donar suport als supostos teòrics del model: (1) evidència d'una relació inversa entre el dèficit i l'acumulació de capital; (2) presència d¿una forta associació negativa entre la quantitat de dèficit en una economia i la taxa de creixement. Ambdós resultats semblen concedir un paper destacat al dèficit en el procés de creixement econòmi

Deficit, human capital and economic growth dynamics

Long-run economic growth arouses a great interest since it can shed light on the income-path of an economy and try to explain the large differences in income we observe across countries and over time. The neoclassical model has been followed by several endogenous growth models which, contrarily to the former, seem to predict that economies with similar preferences and technological level, do not necessarily tend to converge to similar per capita income levels. This paper attempts to show a possible mechanism through which macroeconomic disequilibria and inefficiencies, represented by budget deficits, may hinder human capital accumulation and therefore economic growth. Using a mixed education system, deficit is characterized as a bug agent which may end up sharply reducing the resources devoted to education and training. The paper goes a step further from the literature on deficit by introducing a rich dynamic analysis of the effects of a deficit reduction on different economic aspects. Following a simple growth model and allowing for slight changes in the law of human capital accumulation, we reach a point where deficit might sharply reduce human capital accumulation. On the other hand, a deficit re duction carried on for a long time, taking that reduction as a more efficient management of the economy, may prove useful in inducing endogenous growth. Empirical evidence for a sample of countries seems to support the theoretical assumptions in the model: (1) evidence on an inverse relationship between deficit and human capital accumulation, (2) presence of a strongly negative association between the quantity of deficit in the economy and the rate of growth. They may prove a certain role for budget deficit in economic growth.human capital accumulation, economic growth, deficit

Tax reforms and inequality: theoretical and empirical implications

In this paper we examine the effect of tax policy on the relationship between inequality and growth in a two-sector non-scale model. With non-scale models, the longrun equilibrium growth rate is determined by technological parameters and it is independent of macroeconomic policy instruments. However, this fact does not imply that fiscal policy is unimportant for long-run economic performance. It indeed has important effects on the different levels of key economic variables such as per capita stock of capital and output. Hence, although the economy grows at the same rate across steady states, the bases for economic growth may be different. The model has three essential features. First, we explicitly model skill accumulation, second, we introduce government finance into the production function, and we introduce an income tax to mirror the fiscal events of the 1980s and 1990s in the US. The fact that the non-scale model is associated with higher order dynamics enables it to replicate the distinctly non-linear nature of inequality in the US with relative ease. The results derived in this paper attract attention to the fact that the non-scale growth model does not only fit the US data well for the long-run (Jones, 1995b) but also that it possesses unique abilities in explaining short term fluctuations of the economy. It is shown that during transition the response of the relative simulated wage to changes in the tax code is rather non-monotonic, quite in accordance to the US inequality pattern in the 1980s and early 1990s. More specifically, we have analyzed in detail the dynamics following the simulation of an isolated tax decrease and an isolated tax increase. So, after a tax decrease the skill premium follows a lower trajectory than the one it would follow without a tax decrease. Hence we are able to reduce inequality for several periods after the fiscal shock. On the contrary, following a tax increase, the evolution of the skill premium remains above the trajectory carried on by the skill premium under a situation with no tax increase. Consequently, a tax increase would imply a higher level of inequality in the economy.tax reform, inequality, human capital

Effects of differential taxation on factor accumulation and growth

In this paper we try to analyze the role of fiscal policy in fostering a higher participation of the different production factors in the human capital production sector in the long-run. Introducing a tax on physical capital and differentiating both a tax on raw labor wage and a tax on skills or human capital we also attempt to present a way to influence inequality as measured by the skill premium, thus trying to relate the increase in human capital with the decrease in income inequality. We will do that in the context of a non-scale growth model. The model here is capable to alter the shares of private factors devoted to each of the two production sectors, final output and human capital, and affect inequality in a different way according to the different tax changes. The simulation results derived in the paper show how a human capital (skills) tax cut, which could be interpreted as a reduction in progressivity, ends up increasing both the shares of labor and physical capital devoted to the production of knowledge and decreasing inequality. Moreover, a raw labor wage tax decrease, which could also be interpreted as an increase in the progressivity of the system, increases the share of labor devoted to the production of final output and increases inequality. Finally, a physical capital tax decrease reduces the share of physical capital devoted to the production of knowledge and allows for a lower inequality value. Nevertheless, none of the various types of taxes ends up changing the share of human capital in the knowledge production, which will deserve our future attention.tax reform, inequality, human capital

New insights on satisfaction prototypes for segmentation

This paper tests a conceptual segmentation using a criterion outlined by Oliver based on the satisfaction prototypes customers may follow. The empirical study was conducted with a sample of theme park visitors grouped into four satisfaction prototypes/segments. Results show the presence of important differences by groups in terms of both the effects of perceived value dimensions on satisfaction and the level of satisfaction by segment, supporting the proposed approach. The findings are valuable for a better identification of key drivers of segments' satisfaction, which will be helpful to redesign service experiences to better fit the varying preferences of modern consumers

Tourism and Exports as a means of Growth

This study expands existing research by considering both exports and tourism as potential influencing factors for economic growth. While trade of goods has been proven as a means of growth for countries, inbound tourism as non-traditional exports, has been scarcely examined in the literature. Using data for Italy and Spain over the period 1954-2000 and 1964-2000 respectively, both exports of goods and tourism exports are included in the same model. Standard cointegration and Granger causality techniques are applied. The main results reveal the significance of both exports and tourism towards long-term growth with some peculiarities for each country.Tourism, ELG Hypothesis, TLG Hypothesis, Trade, Growth

Competences acquisition of university students: Do they match job market's needs?

This paper aims at analyzing the skills and competences acquired by students during their university studies, in order to identify the extent to which they fit into society's labor market demands