economic growth and structure of domestic absorption evidence from internationally comparable data abstract using the chenery syrquin models of structural change and internationally comparable data on gdp per capita and shares of consumption investment and government spending for the 1960s and the 1970s a study is conducted of changes in the structure of domestic absorption that accompany economic growth relative to the conventional data real data indicate the fall in the share of consumption to be somewhat lower and the rise in the share of investment to be larger as gdp per capita rises the share of government is observed to decline although most previous studies indicate an increase in government share with economic growth

two remarks on the property rights literature we first point out that the recent property rights literature is based on three assumptions 1 that contracts are always subject to renegotiation 2 that the exercise of a property right confers a private benefit and 3 that parties are risk neutral building on hart moore 1999 we provide conditions under which an optimal contract consists of nothing more than an assignment of property rights we also examine the robustness of some of the literature s standard predictions about asset ownership to the introduction of mechanisms for eliciting parties ex post willingness to pay for the assets such as options or financial markets to illustrate the issue we revisit the hart moore 1990 proposition that joint ownership is suboptimal and argue that ownership by a single party is dominated by joint ownership with put options

the demand for food safety market imperfections and the role of government abstract this article reviews and comments upon a number of models of consumer choice of foods and diets with different real or perceived risks and benefits associated with them the article proceeds to discuss the imperfections and externalities in the market which result in a market solution which may provide too much or more typically too little food safety for individual consumers and for society the likely societal magnitudes of some of the costs of food borne ill health are also discussed the case for government intervention is quite clear but care must be taken not to impose too high a level of food safety

conventional and real gdp per capita in cross country studies of production structure abstract sector share response coefficients relative to conventional and real gdp per capita are compared in cross section models of production structure specified by chenery and syrquin three different data sets are used parameter structure for the two income variables seems very different in several quadratic specifications but the differences become much weaker when implied elasticities at specific income levels are compared or when a simpler specification is adopted real income elasticities are expectedly larger than those relative to conventional income and ratio of the two elasticities appears to rise with income real income elasticities are somewhat smaller for 1970s than for 1960s there is no clear pattern in the elasticities for the full sample and the ldc subsample although elasticities for the ldcs tend to be slightly higher

extraterritorial investments environmental crisis and collective action in latin america summary a growing number of extraterritorial private sector actors often in partnership with the state are expanding the frontiers of extractive and primary export economies to new rural territories in latin america this paper analyzes the conditions that might drive meaningful efforts to address environmental problems in territories dominated by large externally controlled natural resource based activities it studies three cases salmon aquaculture in chiloe chile fruit growing in o higgins chile and gas production in tarija bolivia we conclude that such efforts are unlikely to occur unless environmental problems directly threaten the short term viability of the activities or social movements emerge to demand change 2014 published by elsevier ltd this is an open access article under the cc by license http creativecommons org licenses by 3 0

strategic use of private standards to enhance international competitiveness vegetable exports from kenya and elsewhere abstract the paper examines how european retailers are using private standards for food safety and quality as risk management and competitive tools and the strategic responses of leading kenyan and other developing country supplier exporters to such standards despite measures to harmonize a single market the european fresh produce market is very diverse in terms of consumer preferences structural dynamics and attention to and enforcement of food safety and other standards leading kenyan fresh produce suppliers have re positioned themselves at the high end including high care segments of the market precisely those that are most demanding in terms of quality assurance and food safety systems an array of factors have influenced this strategic positioning including relatively high international freight costs the emergence of more effective competition in mainstream product lines relatively low labor costs for produce preparation and strong market relationships with selected retail chains to succeed in this demanding market segment the industry has had to invest substantially in improved production and procurement systems upgraded pack house facilities and quality assurance food safety management systems

testing ricardian equivalence a reconsideration empirical evidence on the determinants of private consumption in 52 countries over the period 1979 88 indicates that in contrast to the ricardian equivalence proposition a significant relationship exists between consumption and the variable the ratio of tax revenue to changes in government debt which measures the extent of substituting debt for tax financing the results obtained from estimating euler equations for the representative individual s stochastic dynamic optimization problem are favourable to the proposition that the choice between current taxation and debt issuance to finance a given government expenditure stream is relevant to the determination of the level of aggregate demand

risk perceptions endogenous demand and regulation of agricultural biotechnology abstract this paper presents a dynamic model of optimal product regulation in which consumer acceptance and the rate of product innovation are included as endogenous variables insights derived from the model are used to critically evaluate recent policy controversies regarding regulation of agricultural biotechnology the results of the analysis indicate that if regulatory policy significantly affects consumer risk perceptions more stringent regulatory requirements than those based solely on scientific risk assessment may be economically efficient when demand is endogenously affected by regulatory policies industry may also benefit from stronger regulations even if this results in a significant increase in product development costs

a game theoretic approach to behavioral food risks the case of grain producers abstract food risks may be caused by malpractice of suppliers who exploit the fact that their production processes and resulting product properties cannot be directly observed by buyers the probability of malpractice increases with the profits that can be earned through opportunistic behavior in this paper we develop a moral hazard model for the empirical analyses of behavioral risks it accounts for the essential fact that incomplete inspection and tracing increase the profitability of rule breaking behavior and that monitoring tracing and sanctioning are costly using the model we first demonstrate how to design efficient contracts in various situations in a case study we then analyze farmers incentives with regard to the minimum waiting period after fungicide use data are gathered in interviews with three large scale german farmers and a grain dealer we find that while their perception of parameters varies widely high temptations for rule breaking arise in some cases we conclude that empirical moral hazard analyses have significant potential to shed light on behavioral risks

seasonal adjustment in a market for female agricultural workers this article explores seasonal adjustment in the market for temporary agricultural labor we estimate a model of participation allowing for unobserved heterogeneity and endogeneity selection bias using daily observations from chilean panel data and a model of daily earnings results indicate that seasonal wage variation is an important aspect of labor market adjustment contributing to a large change in labor force participation the labor force participation rate of women is significantly more elastic to changes in the expected wage than is that for men nonetheless we find evidence of substantial open unemployment during the slack season especially for females probably due to frictional and efficiency wage effects

gender systems and women s labor force participation in the salmon industry in chiloe chile this paper which follows the emergence of the salmon industry in the 1990s in chiloe chile demonstrates that factors restricting women s participation in labor force and wage differences between women and men are related to the gender systems operating in chiloe results indicate that these systems reflect the territory s demographic and agrarian history and that local gender systems have a positive influence on women s participation in the labor market though this is not accompanied by decreased salary discrimination in the salmon industry the implication is that territory specific and gender factors must be considered in national employment policies

the gap between male and female pay in the spanish tourism industry abstract this paper analyzes wage differentials between male and female workers in the spanish tourism industry using a large administratively matched employer employee data set obtained from a representative sample of companies this allows us to control for unobserved firm specific factors likely to affect the magnitude of the gender wage gap our findings indicate that male workers earn on average 6 7 higher monthly wages than their socially comparable female counterparts in particular the type of contract held the qualifications required for the job and the specific sub sector of employment are very important variables in explaining this gender wage difference we also find that only around 12 of the mean wage difference in the tourism industry cannot be explained by differences in observable characteristics which is well below the average for the rest of the industries in spain 87 our interpretation is that minimum wage legislation provides a particularly effective protection to women in the tourism industry which is characterized by a large number of low wage earners

poverty and inequality in a rapid growth economy chile 1990 96 using parametric and non parametric methods this article examines the evolution of poverty and inequality in chile between 1990 and 1996 this period is interesting because of the rapid growth exhibited by the chilean economy using the datt ravallion decomposition economic growth accounts for over 85 per cent of poverty reduction the evidence suggests that the sustained level of high inequality is not necessarily associated with a lower welfare level by comparing the evolution of poverty and inequality over time we observe a continuous decrease in poverty while inequality remains stable this pattern has left everyone both poor and rich individuals better off

shared quality uncertainty and the introduction of indeterminate goods the purpose of this paper is to introduce a new category of goods indeterminate goods which will be compared with the classical framework of experience search and credence goods nelson 1970 darby and karni 1973 this concept sheds new light on the nature and status of quality uncertainty through the following hypothesis uncertainty about the product s quality can be shared by all agents of the market and this uncertainty can be non neutral and disrupt the market we identify three types of shared uncertainty about the product s characteristics and the corresponding problems that can arise shared uncertainty due to the emergence of a product hirschman 1974 shared uncertainty concerning the past of a product basing ourselves on the art market and finally shared uncertainty regarding the future impacts of a product through empirical data on product safety

optimal sharing of foodborne illness prevention between consumers and industry the effect of regulation and liability consumers and the food industry can both prevent foodborne illness two questions are explored what is the socially optimal level of preventative effort by each and can tort and regulatory instruments induce such behavior analysis is complicated by two aspects of food safety technology one party s effort can affect the marginal effectiveness of the other party s effort and damage functions can be nonconvex previous analysis of accidents under torts and regulation fails to consider these generalizations indeed results concerning the ability of tort and regulatory instruments to induce first best and second best behavior often contradict previous results in the literature

public private partnerships in food industries a road to success recent food safety crises have led to the development of new collaborations between public authorities and food operators in monitoring food safety to date most of the literature has analyzed these collaborations as linked to a regulatory process and as a mean to comply with regulatory standards in this paper we take another stand and consider them as specific embedded institutions meso institutions analysing them as public private partnership specific to food safety provision this new perspective allows us to take into account both information asymmetries and the industry wide dimension of such programmes our overall intention is to provide a general enriched theoretical framework to highlight aligned incentive mechanisms in such partnerships we then apply our framework to two case studies in order to better understand the main mechanisms at work that could explain their specific functioning and resilience the two case studies are the cattle traceability system in quebec canada and monitoring programmes for pesticide residues in the french imports industry of fresh produce

systemic failure in the provision of safe food abstract many deficiencies in the capacity of a food system to deliver safe products are systemic in nature we suggest a taxonomy of four general ways in which a systemic failure might occur one relates to the connectedness or topology of the system another arises from mistrust on the part of downstream parties concerning signals on product attributes production processes and the performance of regulatory mechanisms a third arises when asymmetric information leads to low incentives for preserving food quality finally inflexibilities in adapting to different states of nature may leave the system vulnerable to failures innovations in information technology and institutional design may ameliorate many problems while appropriate trade industrial organization science and public infrastructure policies may also fortify the system

choice under uncertainty problems solved and unsolved ffifteen years ago the theory of choice under uncertainty could be considered one of the success stories of economic analysis it rested on solid axiomatic foundations it had seen important breakthroughs in the analytics of risk risk aversion and their applications to economic issues and it stood ready to provide the theoretical underpinnings for the newly emerging information revolution in economics 1 today choice under uncertainty is a field in flux the standard theory is being challenged on several grounds from both within and outside economics the nature of these challenges and of our profession s responses to them is the topic of this paper

food safety and product liability abstract this paper focuses on the u s product liability system for food poisoning cases and makes six key points first current legal incentives to produce safer food are weak though slightly stronger in outbreak situations and in markets where foodborne illness can be more easily traced to individual firms far less than 0 01 of cases are litigated and even fewer are paid compensation second even if potential plaintiffs can overcome the high information and transaction costs necessary to file lawsuits monetary compensation provides only weak incentives to pursue litigation firms paid compensation in 56 of the 294 cases examined in this study and the median compensation was only 2 000 before legal fees third indirect incentives for firms may be important and deserve more research for example firms may be influenced by costly settlements and decisions against other firms in the same industry fourth confidential settlements health insurance and product liability insurance distort legal incentives to produce safer food fifth the ambiguity about whether microbial contamination is natural or an adulterant hinders the legal system from effectively dealing with food safety issues sixth a brief comparison of the incentives from u s and english legal systems suggests that more research is needed to understand the strengths weaknesses and relative impact of each country s legal system on the incentives to produce safer food

gender wage inequality and economic growth is there really a puzzle a comment seguino 2000 shows that gender wage discrimination in export oriented semi industrialized countries might be fostering investment and growth in general while the original analysis does not have internationally comparable wage discrimination data we replicate the analysis using data from a meta study on gender wage discrimination and do not find any evidence that more discrimination might further economic growth on the contrary if anything the impact of gender inequality is negative for growth standing up for more gender equality also in terms of wages is good for equity considerations and at least not negative for growth

the economics of food safety abstract the supply of food safety absorbs scarce resources which have alternative uses a balance must be struck between the costs and benefits of increased food safety absolute safety is an unobtainable outcome and the correct amount depends upon consumption preferences and income levels whether unregulated markets are capable of supplying food safety is debated by economists many argue that market failure is endemic and intervention justified if governments intervene they should attempt a rudimentary appraisal of costs and benefits but this involves valuing human life intervention can result in nontariff barriers which distort trade

food safety regulation an overview of contemporary issues abstract this article discusses a number of issues that are influencing the evolution of food safety regulation in developed and to a lesser extent developing countries whilst not definitive it aims to highlight those factors which are considered crucial to an understanding of contemporary food safety controls in both the public and private spheres these issues include criteria applied to assess the need justification for food safety regulation relationships between public and private food safety control systems alternative forms that public food safety regulation can take strategic responses to food safety regulation and the trade implications of national food safety controls the article serves as an introduction to these issues which are discussed at greater length in the other papers that make up this special issue of food policy

leadership and the provision of safe food modern food production typically involves many interacting stages and two or more decision makers there is reason to believe that inputs in determining quality likely complement and it is not possible to regulate many of these inputs in a food production system possessing these characteristics we show that leadership by one or more firms through communicating actions may be used as a mechanism to increase overall food quality as there may be no private incentive to lead there may be strategic merit in assigning liability through legislation we also suggest the possibility that genetics are leadership instruments in hog production systems copyright 2001 oxford university press

world product and income international comparisons of real gross product the volume reports on the third phase of the united nations international comparison project icp the main results provide comparisons of real gross domestic product gdp per capita for thirty four countries in 1975 quantity and price comparisons are given also for personal consumption capital formation and public consumption and further subdivisions of final expenditures on gdp are estimated

excessive environmental risks an intergenerational market failure abstract this paper cautions against the belief that markets work efficiently in transmitting across generations the right signals for investment decisions under risk overlapping generation models are used to show that the incompleteness of intergenerational insurance markets constitutes a market failure that leads to inefficient intergenerational investment decisions under risk early generations over diversify if they face risks that are larger than those of the following generation and could therefore be shared with them on the other hand if risks are increasing from generation to generation the current generation would under insure against those risks since the direction of the inefficiency depends on the nature of the risk assumed the policy implications depend on the empirical assessment of the risks that current and future generations are facing this paper provides applications of the general result to environmental problems such as inefficiently low protection against global warming the excessive reduction of biodiversity and inefficient depletion of a natural resource