Gegenwärtigen Probleme der Theorie des volkswirtschaftlichen Wohlstands

Die Veröffentlichung des Aufsatzes von Prof.Tinbergen im Fachjournal des Zentralen Instituts für Wirtschaftsmathematik der Akademie der Wissenschaften der UdSSR zeigt, in welchem Bereich und auf welchem Niveau Sozialwissenschaftler aus Ost- und Westeuropa heute zusammenarbeiten können. Dieser Bereich gemeinsamen Interesses ist durch die Frage nach der optimalen Organisation der Gesellschaft charakterisiert. Prof.Tinbergen faßt die Bedürfnisbefriedigung als allgemeinen Inhalt der gesellschaftlichen Zielfunktion auf, geht jedoch insofern über die traditionelle Interpretation hinaus, als die gesellschaftlichen Institutionen nicht Daten, sondern Variable der Optimierungsaufgabe sind. Besondere Aufmerksamkeit verdienen die Einbeziehung der Arbeitsanstrengung in die Nutzenfunktion und die Behandlung der Häufigkeitsverteilung von Arbeitsqualitäten im Rahmen der Produktionsfunktion; abschließend verweist der Autor auf die Notwendigkeit empirischer Forschung zur Aufstellung einer volkswirtschaftlichen Bildungsfunktion. The publication of the article by ProfessorTinbergen in the Journal of the Central Institute for Mathematical Economics of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR indicates both the field and the level on which social scientists from eastern and western Europe can cooperate today. The field of joint interest is characterized by the search for an optimal organization of society. According to ProfessorTinbergen the satisfaction of wants is the general content of the social optimum; yet, he goes beyond traditional interpretation in that he does not consider social institutions to be data but variables of the optimization problem. Furthermore, the inclusion of productive effort into the utility function and the treatment of the frequency distribution of labour qualities in the framework of the production function are of special interest; in conclusion, the author points to the necessity of empirical research for the development of a social education function. In Polish: Sovremennye Problemy Teorii Naradnochzjajstvennogo Blagosostojanija, in: Ekonomika i Matematicheski Metody, Vol. 3, No.3, 1967, pp. 348-35

L’Utilisation des Equations Fonctionnelles et des Nombres Complexes dans les Recherches Economiques

Les considérations suivantes se rapportent à la théorie des oscillations économiques. Comme résultat idéal de toutes les recherches à ce sujet, on peut,, il me semble, indiquer la découverte des causes et du mécanisme du mouvement cyclique général des affaires. Au point de vue quantitatif, on est encore loin d'avoir satisfait à cette exigence idéale. Un accord satisfaisant entre théorie et observation statistique n'existe que dans certains cas très simples. Pour les cas plus compliqués, il n'y a guère de t,héorie quantitative suffisamment élaborée, et les corrélations qu'on a trouvées expérimentalement manquent souvent d'une base logique assez fondée. Il y a donc ici un champ très étendu pour la Société d'ficonométrie. J'espère donner ici une petite contribution aux recherches théoriques dans ce champ. Cette contribution n'a cependant qu'un caractère préparatoire

Europees en Wereldfederalisme: beide urgent

Aan het einde van de tweede wereldoorlog zijn twee federalistische bewegingen ontstaan, die van de Europese en die vandeWereldfederalisten. De Europese Beweging sloeg na korte twijfel aan en de Europese Gemeenschap is nu niet meer weg te denken, ook al zijn ingrijpende hervormingen nog nodig. De Europese Federalisten werden na 1950 als realisten beschouwd en zij worden in de laatste jaren krachtig gesteund door topfiguren uit het bedrijfsleven. Philipsvoorman W. Dekker oefent zelfs pressie uit op de betrokken regeringen om krachtiger op te treden en wie zou zich daarover niet verheugen

Measuring Welfare of Productive Consumers

In the last few decades an increasing number of economists have contributed to new methods of welfare (or utility) measurement. As set out in this journal (Tinbergen, 1985) three groups of economists have been active in this field since 1968, initially relatively independently; an American, a British and a Dutch group, of which the leading economists were Dale W. Jorgenson (Harvard), George W. McKenzie (Cambridge, UK) and Bernard M.S. van Praag (Erasmus). Additional imaginative contributions have been made since by several other economists, mentioned in my 1985 note. 1 In that same note I mentioned a lacuna in the Anglo-Saxon method: it considers utility derived from consumption but not utility (positive or negative) from work or from risk taking. The empirical research by the Dutch group implies all sources of satisfaction (in this article a third word for utility). The present article is an attempt to fill part of the lacuna stated, but simplified to the extreme, with the intention to clarify the essence of the additional aspect. Among the simplifications one must be mentioned in advance: the model submitted is static. This may be a disadvantage to some (or many) readers; and it may be avoided. Some remarks about a dynamic model will be made. Since the static version already introduces a number of new concepts the present author tentatively starts with the static version

Het ‘Getal Twee’ is van Keynes

(commentaar op J.J.M. Theeuwes ‘Van Dingen die Stabiel Zijn’

Does Consumption Lag Behind Incomes?

The fact that consumption outlay of individuals as well as of groups of individuals depends on their income is well known. Although this statement will hardly be doubted, it may be tested statistically from family budget statistics, as has been done by various investigators. These statistics can show only that consumption outlay by different people, having different incomes at the same moment, depends on income. Consumption outlay by the same family in different years, showing varying income, will not necessarily depend on income in the same way that is shown-by family budget statistics

The Influence of Productivity on Economic Welfare

Also published in: ‘Jan Tinbergen Selected Papers’, edited by L.H. Klaassen, L.M. Koyck and H.J. Witteveen, North-Holland Publishing Company, Amsterdam, 1959, pp. 222-242. Also: Reprint No. 17, Centraal Planbureau, The Hague, 1952.It is a well-known old thesis that an increase in labour productivity leads to an increase in economic " welfare." Assuming for a while that the meaning of these two concepts is clear, we may say that the statement is correct for a Robinson Crusoe economy as we know it from our books. If Crusoe can get more products for the same effort, then probably he will shorten somewhat his working-day and get more products, and by doing so feel happier. The statement seems guaranteed for an economy : (i)without foreign trade, (ii) without working-hours regulations, (iii) without problems of capital scarcity and (iv) without monetary complications

Economen en Veiligheid

In ESB van 15 augustus 1990 uit collega W. Brand bedenkingen tegen de opzet van de vereniging Economen voor Vrede. Hij verdenkt de vereniging van vooropgestelde gevoelens jegens het militaire apparaat in plaats van een wetenschappeiijke houding van analyse van de problemen van veiligheid. Dit laatste echter is juist wat de vereniging, blijkens artikel 3 van haar statuten, nastreeft. De veiligheid die door Brand terecht als de centrale doelstelling wordt genoemd, wordt in artikel 3 duidelijk vermeld. Brand's toevoeging dat het niet om vrede, maar om veiligheid gaat doet wat vreemd aan