|
|
REVISTA DE ECONOMÍA
INSTITUCIONAL No. 13, SECOND SEMESTER 2005
The Colonial Origins of Comparative Development:
An Empirical
Investigation
Daron Acemoglu,
Simon Johnson and James A.
Robinson [pdf] [html]
[Key words: European colonization, institutions, economic
development, mortality rates, per capita income; JEL: D02,
N30, N40, O15]
This article uses the different mortality rates of
European colonialists to estimate the effect of institutions
on economic performance. Europeans adopted very different
colonization policies in different colonies. In places where
mortality rates were high they did not settle, but set up
extractive institutions that exist to the present day. By
exploring the different mortality rates faced by soldiers,
bishops and sailors in the colonies in the 17th, 18th and
19th Centuries, we were able to estimate the long-term
effect of colonial institutions on per capita income.
Hume and Institutional Theory
Carlos Mellizo [pdf] [html]
[Key Words: Hume, institutional theory, habit, patterns of
behaviour; JEL: B52]
This paper shows the links between Hume's philosophy of
customs, and the basic principles of institutional theory.
This relationship has been suggested by contemporary
economists such as Vernon Smith and others, who see in Hume
the origins of today's broadly accepted dichotomy between
constructive and ecological reasoning, essential to
institutional thinking. For Hume habit, as the main guide
of life, can be used to comprehend individual and collective
behavioural patterns. The question is whether his
reflections on the subject are consistent with the
foundations of his own philosophy of belief.
Capitalism,
Development and the State. A Critical Account of
Schumpeter's Theory of the State
Diego Sánchez-Ancochea [pdf] [html]
[Key words: Schumpeter, economic policy, technological
innovation, income distribution, new industrialized
countries; JEL: B00, O31, O38, P16]
Current theories of the State would benefit from a new look
at the economic role of the State in the work of the great
economists of the 19th and 20th Centuries. Schumpeter's
central theme of technological innovation for long-term
economic growth makes his work particularly interesting to
development economics. However, Schumpeter's rejection of
the State's role in income redistribution is too simplistic
and contradictory. Structural change may enhance the
prospects for long-term growth, but also creates social and
economic disruptions. This paper explores this basic
contradiction and briefly discusses the application of
Schumpeter's theory of the State to new industrializing
countries in East Asia and Latin America.
From the Knife Edge to the Nut Shell: A New
Analysis of Harrod'sDynamic
Álvaro Martín Moreno Rivas [pdf] [html]
[Key words: Harrod, dynamic
theory, non linear cyclic growth; JEL: O49]
Harrod's research program was the first to integrate the
central ideas of “magnum dynamics" into a mechanical
framework of vector forces to endogenously explain cycles
and growth. Mathematical economists ignored these points and
Harrod's original work was presented in textbooks as the
Harrod-Domar growth model. The aim of this paper is to
present Harrod's dynamic and show that his real aim was to
build a non linear cyclic growth model.
A
Model of Herds and Social Learning
Juan Pablo Herrera and Francisco Lozano Gerena [pdf] [html]
[Key words: herds, social learning, Bayesian update; JEL:
C11, D71, D83]
One of the most frequent questions asked by economists is
how individual members of societies make choices. It can be
observed that economic agents imitate other agents' actions.
It should be asked why rational people choose to imitate
other's behaviour and make decisions that are not based on
their own private information. Bikhchandani, Hirshleifer and
Welch (1992) showed that fully rational agents, who
understand the history of decision making, can generate this
kind of behaviour. An important feature of this model is
that once individuals begin to imitate others, the social
learning process is halted. This paper shows that social
learning occurs if agents have a continuum set of actions to
choose from or if they just have a sample of the history. It
also shows that this type of learning can occur within a
herd.
The
Segmented City: A Revision of Neoclassical Spatial Synthesis
Óscar A. Alfonso R. [pdf] [html]
[Key words: neoclassical spatial synthesis, real estate
dynamics, urban residential structure; JEL: R12, R29]
This paper evaluates how economic theory deals with analyses
of current real estate dynamics and urban residential
structure. It shows the fundamental axioms of neoclassical
spatial synthesis and their explanations in terms of
equilibrium, and highlights ambiguous and unsatisfactory,
but elegant, solutions to urban spatial economic structure
and dynamics. It presents the critical heterodox approach to
the fundamental axioms and the hypothesis of spatial
equilibrium, and shows the main aspects of the central
heterodox contribution to residential real estate dynamics.
The
Effect of Space on the Cost of Local Provision. An
Equalization Bloc Model for Bolivian Municipalities
Franz Xavier Barrios Suvelza [pdf] [html]
[Key words: transfers, territorial order, supply costs,
fiscal decentralization, equalization bloc, Bolivia; JEL:
H53, H72, H79]
Bolivia went through a very important territorial
transformation following the approval of the Popular
Participation Law in 1994, which led to generalised
municipal opening. The benefits of this reform were
accompanied by a number of negative effects, such as those
regarding the system of State transfers to municipalities.
This article proposes a new model of transfers to
municipalities that would complement the current “system of
per capita fiscal endowments to municipalities" with a model
of “inter-municipal fiscal equalization by blocks".
From the Firm to the Market: The Vertical
Disintegration of Land Transport in Spain
Raúl Compés López [pdf] [html]
[Key Words: land transport, vertical disintegration,
regulation, Spain; JEL: D23, D40, L10, L91]
The sub-contracting of land transport is the governmental
structure most used by Spanish transport firms. This model
is the result of a vertical disintegration process that
entails selling vehicles and reassigning tasks within or
outside the business. Institutional reforms that regulate
transport service provision, and fiscal, contractual and
social regulations affecting the advantages and
disadvantages of service provision, have had different
effects on businesses. Vertical disintegration generates
exit costs that affect the organizational model's rhythm,
strategy and results.
Corruption y Capture in Public Service Regulation
Frédéric Boehm
[pdf] [html]
[Key words: corruption, capture, regulation, public
services; JEL: L51, D73, D72, L97]
Regulation plays a key part in public service reforms.
However, corruption and the risk of capture may undermine
the purposes of these reforms. Both cost and incentive based
regulations carry corruption and capture risks. This
document shows that capture is a minor problem compared with
market failures in different sectors, and thus proposes
reforms to generate transparency and accountability in the
regulatory processes.
|
|
