Governments have been very active in engaging and in encouraging the improvements in transaction ... more Governments have been very active in engaging and in encouraging the improvements in transaction efficiency, including the provision of legal, social, and economic infrastructure. While this may partly be explained by the public goods nature, the presence of indirect network externalities (or a second-level publicness) due to the economies of specialization may also be important. The improvement in transaction (including communication and transportation) efficiency may generate benefits in excess of the direct private benefits through the promotion of division of labour that leads to more economies of specialization and the availability of more goods in the market. This is shown in the Yang–Ng framework of inframarginal analysis.
In many countries, the GDP share of the public sector increases with per capita income but happin... more In many countries, the GDP share of the public sector increases with per capita income but happiness fails to register a long-term upward trend. Most objective indicators of the quality of life also do not correlate positively with income but improve with time associated with the advancement of knowledge at the world level. Taking account of the role of environmental quality and relative-income effects, it is shown that the optimal share of the public sector is likely to increase with economic growth, though happiness may or may not increase. Public spending may be underfunded due to the over-emphasis on private consumption and the global public good nature of environmental quality and fundamental research which are more welfare-improving than competitive private consumption.
Mishan’s emphasis on the costs of economic growth half a century ago is becoming more important i... more Mishan’s emphasis on the costs of economic growth half a century ago is becoming more important in this era of environmental concerns. More recently, another possible source of immiserizing growth is the one-child policy (recently relaxed) of China. This resulted in a biased sex-ratio and higher competition to earn incomes (to increase the probability of getting a wife), resulting in positive effects on GDP but negative effects on welfare. The implications of welfare-reducing growth for cost-benefit analysis and the legalization of prostitution are also discussed.
The Economics of E-Commerce and Networking Decisions, 2003
Many participants in this year’s International Symposium of the Economics of e-Commerce and Netwo... more Many participants in this year’s International Symposium of the Economics of e-Commerce and Networking Decisions may ask: what is the economics of e-commerce and networking decisions? After having had a look at the preliminary programme of the symposium, you may wonder what is meant by ‘inframarginal analysis’ and what is the relationship between inframarginal analysis and e-commerce? Some participants may think that this is a strange combination of two separate and distinct fields: one is a very business-oriented discussion about e-commerce in the real world and the other, a very academic economic analysis of networking decisions. Some may even think of this as a gimmick to sell boring economic theory by bundling it with the e-commerce stuff, which is of interest to many business economists. This speech addresses this concern and provides motivation for this symposium.
Governments have been very active in engaging and in encouraging the improvements in transaction ... more Governments have been very active in engaging and in encouraging the improvements in transaction efficiency, including the provision of legal, social, and economic infrastructure. While this may partly be explained by the public goods nature, the presence of indirect network externalities (or a second-level publicness) due to the economies of specialization may also be important. The improvement in transaction (including communication and transportation) efficiency may generate benefits in excess of the direct private benefits through the promotion of division of labour that leads to more economies of specialization and the availability of more goods in the market. This is shown in the Yang–Ng framework of inframarginal analysis.
In many countries, the GDP share of the public sector increases with per capita income but happin... more In many countries, the GDP share of the public sector increases with per capita income but happiness fails to register a long-term upward trend. Most objective indicators of the quality of life also do not correlate positively with income but improve with time associated with the advancement of knowledge at the world level. Taking account of the role of environmental quality and relative-income effects, it is shown that the optimal share of the public sector is likely to increase with economic growth, though happiness may or may not increase. Public spending may be underfunded due to the over-emphasis on private consumption and the global public good nature of environmental quality and fundamental research which are more welfare-improving than competitive private consumption.
Mishan’s emphasis on the costs of economic growth half a century ago is becoming more important i... more Mishan’s emphasis on the costs of economic growth half a century ago is becoming more important in this era of environmental concerns. More recently, another possible source of immiserizing growth is the one-child policy (recently relaxed) of China. This resulted in a biased sex-ratio and higher competition to earn incomes (to increase the probability of getting a wife), resulting in positive effects on GDP but negative effects on welfare. The implications of welfare-reducing growth for cost-benefit analysis and the legalization of prostitution are also discussed.
The Economics of E-Commerce and Networking Decisions, 2003
Many participants in this year’s International Symposium of the Economics of e-Commerce and Netwo... more Many participants in this year’s International Symposium of the Economics of e-Commerce and Networking Decisions may ask: what is the economics of e-commerce and networking decisions? After having had a look at the preliminary programme of the symposium, you may wonder what is meant by ‘inframarginal analysis’ and what is the relationship between inframarginal analysis and e-commerce? Some participants may think that this is a strange combination of two separate and distinct fields: one is a very business-oriented discussion about e-commerce in the real world and the other, a very academic economic analysis of networking decisions. Some may even think of this as a gimmick to sell boring economic theory by bundling it with the e-commerce stuff, which is of interest to many business economists. This speech addresses this concern and provides motivation for this symposium.
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Papers by Yew-kwang Ng