ALBERT

Notizen: The newest and most imaginative part of Dr. Bernstein's proposals for a reform of the monetary system consists in a new method of opening reserves by central banks: the reserve unit. The reserve unit is a synthetic currency composed of eleven currencies of the Group of Ten and of Switzerland. The proportions would be fixed by an agreement (probably according to the ratios of the countries concerned at the IMF). Each of these eleven countries would be obliged to hold within its reserves an amount of reserve units which is a constant relation of its assets in gold.The two main advantages of this proposal are:(1)such claims towards rich countries would be accepted by central banks; and(2)the non-existence of any repayment obligation, which would destroy the additional liquidity necessary in order to meet the growing requirements of the international monetary system.The main disadvantages are:(1)the difficulties which would result because of unequal proportions between newly created reserve units and their retention by central banks;This reform would even enhance the inequality and the inflationary potential of the present system as it would go together with an extension of the IMF-ratios, with an automatisation of credit allowances of the Fund, and bilateral swap-agreements would continue, etc.Therefore it would not remove at all the erratic character and the sources of crises of the present system by a creation of new reserves, but would only lend help against deflationary difficulties—but not against inflationary ones—which the new system could promote itself.

Notizen: This paper studies the problem of achieving an optimal allocation of land resources in an urban area. In particular, the study is focused on the extent to which decentralized decision-making via a price regime can be relied upon to produce optimal solutions in both simple situations and those characterized by externalities, indivisibilities, and non-convexities. Linear and non-linear programming and non-zerosum gam theory are used in an effort to determine proper institutional arrangements for acceptable solutions and to rationalize a type of zoning constraints. One of the conclusions is that the more complex the situation and the greater the characteristic value of various coalitions, the less the desirability of complete decentralization of decisions and the greater the desirability of a pricing device which operates under certain constraints.

Notizen: It is generally admitted (1) that utility theory explains choices between goods with diminishing marginal rates of substitution and (2) that this theory applies in particular to choices between brands of a same good (or, more generally, between differentiated products belonging to the same industry). The author suggests that these two ideas are irreconcilable as the marginal rate of substitution of differentiated products (belonging to the same industry) is constant.A theory based on constant marginal rates of substitution leads to the conclusion that a change in the price of a differentiated product has neither a substitution nor an income effect, if we consider only the demand for products belonging to the same industry. There is only a replacement effect.This implies that the individual demand curve, based on utility theory of the Slutsky-Hicks type, refers to a group of products and not to a particular product in case of differentiation. The concept of an aggregate demand curve for a differentiated market could thus be defended against the criticisms of the Walrasian school. Finally, this leads to the idea that it could be interesting to construct demand curves of the firm, allowance being made for non-convexity in the indifference field. The form of these curves is briefly discussed.〈section xml:id="abs1-2"〉〈title type="main"〉RÉSUMÉUne theorie qui fait appel a un taux marginal de substitution constant, conduit a la conclusion qu'a la suite d'une modification du prix d'un produit diffe-rencie, il n'y a, au sein de I'industrie consideree, ni effet de substitution, ni effet de revenu. II n'y a qu'un effet de remplacement.Ceci implique qu'en cas de differentiation, la courbe de demande individuelle, derivee de la theorie de 1'utilite; de Slutsky et Hicks, se refere au groupe de produits et non a un produit particulier. Le concept d'une courbe de demande glo-bale, relative a un marche differencie, ^chappe done aux critiques de l'ecole Wal-rasienne. II en resulte, enfin, qu'il pourrait etre interessant de construire des courbes de demande de la firme, qui tiendraient compte de l'absence de con-vexite. La forme de ces courbes est brievement discutée.〈section xml:id="abs1-3"〉〈title type="main"〉ZUSAMMENFASSUNGEs wird allgemein angenommen, dass 1. die Wahl zwischen Giitern mit absinken-der Grenzrate der Substitution durch die Nutzwerttheorie erklart wird und dass 2. sich diese Theorie insbesondere auf die Wahl zwischen zwei Marken eines gleichen Gutes (oder, vcrallgemeinernd, zwischen zwei differenzierten Produkten einer gleichen Industrie) abwenden lasst. Der Autor vertritt hierzu die Ansicht, dass diese beiden Thesen miteinander unvereinbar sind, da die Grenzrate der Substitution zwischen zwei Produkten ein und derselben Industriebranche konstant bleibt.Nun führt eine Theorie, die sich auf eine konstante Grenzrate der Substitution stiitzt, zu der Schlussfolgerung, dass, infolge einer Preisveranderung eines differenzierten Produkts, sich innerhalb der in Frage kommenden Industriebranche weder ein Substitutionseffekt, noch ein Einkommenseffekt einstellt. Es kann einzig ein ≪Ersatzeffekt≫ festgestellt werden.Hieraus folgt, dass sich, bei einem Fall von Differenzierung, die von der Nutzwerttheorie von Slutsky und Hicks abgeleitete, individuelle Nachfragekurve auf eine Gruppe von Produkten, nicht aber auf ein Einzelprodukt bezieht. Der Begriff einer globalen Nachfragekurve eines differenzierten Marktes entzieht sich daher den kritischen Uberlegungen der Walras‘schen Schule. Aus oben Erwahntem geht schliesslich auch hervor, dass es sich als interessant erweisen konnte, Firmen-Nachfragekurven zu konstruieren, die das Nichtvorhandensein von Konvexitat in Rechnung ziehen. Die Form solcher Kurven wird kurz be-sprochen.

Notizen: It is the purpose of the present paper to replace the traditional theory of industrial stages by a better model based on the criteria of capital and control. In constructing the new model we became aware of the fact it is necessary to distinguish between ‘capital’-intensive and ‘capital’-extensive industries and again within the latter between those which worked for local consumption and for the export trade, respectively. Only for the ‘capital’-extensive industries working for the export trade something like stages in the industrial development can be discovered. In fact, the stage reached in these industries in the eighteenth century brought them organizationally close to the older ‘capital’-intensive industries, so that for that period we subsume both under the head of protofactory. The protofactory of the model based on capital and control shows the essential characteristics of the factory, although in reality there were some elements distinguishing the protofactory from the full-fledged factory.In the second section of the paper we describe in detail the organizational features of the protofactory after clearing up the etymological confusion in that〈section xml:id="abs1-2"〉〈title type="main"〉ZUSAMMENFASSUNGDer Beitrag zielt darauf ab, die traditionelle Theorie der industriellen Stufen durch ein auf den Kriterien ≪Kapital≫ und ≪KontroIle≫ basierendes, besseres Modell zu ersetzen. Beim Aufbau dieses neuen Modells zeigte sich die Notwendig-keit einer Unterscheidung zwischen kapitahntensiven und kapitalextensiven Industrien, welche letztere wiederum unterteilt werden mussen in solche, die fiir den einheimischen Verbrauch arbeiten, und solche, die fiir den Export produ-zieren. Nur fiir die im Export tatigen kapitalextensiven Industrien lasst sich so etwas wie Stadien der industriellen Entwicklung entdecken. In der Tat brachte das Stadium, welches diese Industrien im 18. Jahrhundert erreicht hatten, sie organisatorisch in enge Verbindung zu den alteren, kapitahntensiven Industrien, so dass fiir jene Periode beide unter dem Oberbegriff”Ur-Fabrik” (protofactory) zusammengefasst werden konnen. Das auf ≪Kapital≫ und ≪K.ontrolle≫ aufge-baute Modell der Urfabrik bringt wesentliche Merkmale der Fabrik zum Aus-druck, obwohl sich in Wirklichkeit die Urfabrik von der fliigge gewordenen Fabrik in einigen Punkten unterschied.Im zweiten Teil der Arbeit werden die organisatorischen Grundziige der Urfabrik im Detail beschrieben; zuvor wird die in diesem Bereich herrschende etymologische Verwirrung geklart. Abschliessend wird gezeigt, dass weder der im organisatorischen Aufbau der Industrie tatige Geschaftsmann noch der zeit-genossische Okonom erfasst hatten, was sich vor ihren Augen abspielte. Es brauchte Jahrzehnte, bis der Industrielle die Notwendigkeit regelmassiger Ab-schreibungen erkannte, und der klassische Okonom lehrte noch lange die inverse Korrelation zwischen Lohn und Profit und die Vcrschiebbarkeit des Kapitals von Industrie zu Industrie, nachdem diese beidenfiir das putting-out system typischen Wesensziige mit dem Erscheinen der Urfabrik verschwunden waren.〈section xml:id="abs1-3"〉〈title type="main"〉RÉSUMÉCet article a pour but, de remplacer la théorie traditionelle des stades industriels par un modèle meilleur, basé sur les critères de capital et de contrǒ1e. En construisant ce nouveau modèle, nous nous rendons compte de la nécessité, de distinguer entre industries intensives en capital et celles extensives en capital et ces dernieres de nouveau, en celles qui travaillent pour la consommation interne, et celles qui produisent pour l'exportation. C'est uniquement pour les industries extensives en capital produisant pour l'exportation, qu'on peut d^couvrir des soi-disants stades du developpement industriels.En fait, le stade atteint dans ces industries au dix-huitieme siecle les amenait du point de vue de I'organisation en relation étroite avec les industries plus vieilles et intensives en capital, de facon a ce que pour cette periode, les deux pouvaient ětre résumés sous le terme de ≪protofabrique≫. La protofabrique du modele, basee sur le capital et le contrdle met en relief les principales caracteristiques de l'usine, malgre que la protofabrique se distingue en realite en beaucoup de points de l'usine evoluée.Dans la deuxieme partie de cet article, les elements organisateurs de la protofabrique sont decrits en detail, apres avoir eclairci les confusions etymologiques. Finalement l'auteur montre, que ni le commercant actif dans le developpement organisateur de l'industrie, ni l'economiste classique contemporain ont saisi ce qui se deroulait devant leurs yeux. II a fallu des dixaines d'annees jusqu'a ce que I'industriel reconnaisse Futility d'amortisations regulieres, et l'econome classique enseignait encore longtemps la correlation inverse entre le salaire et le profit et Pajustement du capital d'une industrie a l'autre, malgre que ces deux faits typiques par le “putting-out system”, avaient disparu avec l'apparition de la protofabrique.

Notizen: In the Soviet Union there has been for some years a passionate discussion on the improvement of economic planning. It deals particularly with the adaption of planning to the degree of industrialisation which has been achieved within few decades.The Soviet economy can be looked at as a huge entity with many branches and enterprises whose direction is in the hands of the party and of the state. While the party decides the guiding principles, the particular leading functions are fulfilled by organs of the state.The economic administration of the state has been organised in the course of time according to three points of view: Economic sectors, functions and regions.The structure of administration has been changed many times after Stalin's death, the preliminary result of which is a centralisation after an attempt at regional decentralisation.For ideological reasons planning methods changed relatively little compared to pre-war time. The most important planning instruments are the balance of materials and the norms. Both instruments reveal in their traditional forms increasing inadequacies, and problems which result out of the present stage of industrialisation cannot be solved in a satisfactory way with their help. Newly there have been taken steps towards the introduction of more modern methods and towards the overcoming of ideological barriers.〈section xml:id="abs1-2"〉〈title type="main"〉RÉSUMÉDepuis quelques annees, une discussion violente est en cours dans l'Union sovi6-tique au sujet de l'amelioration de la planification economique. II s'agit prin-cipalement d'une adaption de la planification au haut degre d'industrialisation, atteint au courant de quelques dizaines d'annees.L'economie sovietique peut etre concue comme une combination gigantesque avec de nombreuses branches et entreprises, dont la direction est effectuee par le parti et l'etat. Tandis que le parti determina les directives générates, les chargées de l'etat detiennent les fonctions directives particulieres. L'appareil d'adminis-tration economique de l'etat a ete specific selon trois points de vue: secteurs eco-nomiques, fonctions et regions. Depuis la mort de Stalin, la structure d'adminis-tration avait subi de nombreux changements et de reorganisation, qui apres l'essai d'installer une decentralisation regionale, ont abouti pour le moment a une nouvelle centralisation. Les methodes de planification ont peu change vis-a-vis de la periode d'avant-guerre, et ceci pour des raisons ideologiques. Les principaux instruments de planification sont les bilans du materiels et les normes. Les deux instruments sont insuffisants dans leurs formes arrierees et ne peuvent resoudre d'une facon satisfaisante les problemes, issus du stade actuel de l'industrialisation. Pour cette raison, on essaie a present d'introduire des procedes modernes et de surmonter les barrières idéologiques.

Notizen: Many of the central problems surrounding economic development require a broader analytic context than that provided by traditional Western economic theory. The value of the institutionalist tradition has been referred to with increasing frequency in this regard. The contributions and shortcomings of this tradition are well illustrated in Veblen's thought. The shortcomings, the principal subject of this paper, include (a) an inadequate treatment of economic motivation (b) a tendency to view the study of economic institutions as a substitute for, rather than a complement to, price theory (including the related disciplines of mathematical economics and econometrics) and (c) an inadequate exploration of the nature and significance of alternative institutions in their relation to economic development. In each of these respects the concepts and comparative analyses of Max Weber provide valuable additions to both methodology and theory. Weber's legacy deserves the attention of all those who believe that (to paraphrase Whitehead) economics should be a survey of possibilities, not a quarrel among irritable professors.

Notizen: Two important themes in recent discussions of the evolution of international monetary institutions are the problems of cooperation among central banks and the role of exchange guarantees. These themes are illustrated by a discussion of United States Federal Reserve and Treasury foreign exchange operations, proposals for a multiple key-currency system, and suggestions for making currency swap agreements permanent and access to overdrafts automatic. It is argued that, while cooperation is required in any system, the more it is arranged in advance and formalized the less will be the unjustified deflationary bias in policy. Further, a multiple key-currency system is appreciably more unstable than one based on automatic extensions of liquidity, even if both are supported by exchange guarantees. These considerations suggest that adopting a multiple key-currency system, as advocated by F. A. Lutz among others, would be inferior to automatic prearranged currency swaps and overdrafts as suggested by P. B. Kenen and others.