摘要:

This paper presents a comparative study of the levels of unit labor costs in the manufacturing sectors of several countries. We begin by surveying earlier estimates of relative productivity and unit labor cost levels and evaluating the various methodologies that have been used in previous studies. Empirical estimates of relative unit labor costs, based on output levels that are translated at purchasing power parity exchange rates, are then presented and compared to earlier estimates. The results show that the relative levels of unit labor costs in the United States and abroad have fluctuated significantly in recent years, due largely to movements in nominal exchange rates. In 1988, unit labor costs in the United States were below the average level of other industrialized countries, but were significantly above the level in a representative newly industrialized country, Korea. Insofar as unit labor costs serve as an indicator of international competitiveness, these results imply that the competitiveness of the U.S. manufacturing sector had improved significantly since 1985, at least with respect to other major industrialized countries.

ISSN:0034-6586    

DOI:10.1111/j.1475-4991.1989.tb00597.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1989

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Income and expenditure data from 14 countries (representing one‐third of the world's population), mostly from the 1970s, are used to construct national income distributionsand, after normalizing by purchasing power parities, to construct a “world” distribution ofrealincome. The density of real‐income equivalent groups (socio‐economic classes) across countries is measured for the “affluent,” the “well‐off,” and the “poor.” In comparison with earlier studies, most national distributions of income seem to have been improving, the numbers of those in poverty (based on real income) are lower, and, most important (and disturbing for some) is that the “affluent” class (and those above “middle class” income levels) has (prematurely) swelled in a

ISSN:0034-6586    

DOI:10.1111/j.1475-4991.1989.tb00598.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1989

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

The concept of environmental accounting is developing as the system of national accounts (SNA) is being revised. A basic difference at present is that environmentalists regard natural resources as assets analogous to man‐made capital, whereas they are treated as free gifts of nature in the national accounts. In this paper the author examines the consequences for the SNA of adopting the environmentalists approach to capita

ISSN:0034-6586    

DOI:10.1111/j.1475-4991.1989.tb00599.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1989

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

The analysis of international trade, finance and adjustment is hampered by major statistical inadequacies. In theory current account balances of all economies that make up the world economy should add to zero. However, available balance‐of‐payments data and other major statistical sources show a huge discrepancy. A major source of the discrepancy is found in the inadequate recording of international financial assets and liabilities and related factor income payments. In this paper the author proposes a global economic accounting framework, labelled as theWorld Accounting Matrix(WAM), which integrates world investment‐savings balances, trade flows, factor payments and international flow of funds into one consistent data system on a source‐use basis. Data discrepancies can thus be traced and adjusted more systematically. The WAM will provide a new tool for studies on international trade, debt and adjustment and present the accounting framework and the consistent data basis for models of the world

ISSN:0034-6586    

DOI:10.1111/j.1475-4991.1989.tb00600.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1989

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

In this article the expansion of service sector employment is examined in detail in seven OECD countries, i.e. France, Germany, Japan, Netherlands, Sweden, United Kingdom and the United States, using a newly developed set of estimates for service employment. A sufficient degree of disaggregation, consistency and harmonization was attained by merging existing national sources on employment. The twenty two distinguished service activities are aggregated into four subsectors i.e. producer, distributive, personal and social services. The new evidence revealed that the characteristics of the expansion of services claimed by a number of studies needs adjustment, and for some services the figures of recent years indicate serious changes in trends. In the sixties the growing service employment share was largely due to the expansion of social services. In the seventies and eighties growth in social services slowed down and the expansion of producer services became more prominant. Further, employment growth in personal services started to accelerate in the seventies after substantial declines in the sixties. These changing trends were most pronounced in the United States, but other countries seem to be following the same pattern with some lag.

ISSN:0034-6586    

DOI:10.1111/j.1475-4991.1989.tb00601.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1989

数据来源: WILEY