Front Matter

Journal of Economic Perspectives, Winter 1994

Notes

Journal of Economic Perspectives, Winter 1994

Distinguished Lecture on Economics in Government: Public Policy, Values, and Consciousness

By Henry J. Aaron

Journal of Economic Perspectives, Spring 1994

Economists should pay more attention to value formation in economic analysis. First, preferences are not stable in any operationally meaningful sense. Any estimated micro behavior that does not take account of the consequences of the behavior on underlyin...

Completing China's Move to the Market

[Symposium: China]

By Dwight H. Perkins

Journal of Economic Perspectives, Spring 1994

Beginning in late 1978, by luck as much as design, China arrived at a strategy for market-oriented economic reform that combined substantial reform with rapid growth in GDP and exports. The sequencing of reform began with the 'easy to reform' sectors, agr...

Enterprise Reform in Chinese Industry

[Symposium: China]

By Gary H. Jefferson and Thomas G. Rawski

Journal of Economic Perspectives, Spring 1994

This paper begins by using a structure-conduct-performance perspective to show that partial reform improved the operation of China's state industries during the 1980s. The authors review the achievements of industries outside the state sector, emphasizing...

China's Macroeconomic Performance and Management during Transition

[Symposium: China]

By Shahid Yusuf

Journal of Economic Perspectives, Spring 1994

Since reforms started in 1978, China has combined rapid growth with moderate price stability. This paper analyzes China's macroeconomic performance over the past fifteen years with special attention to factors responsible both for the pace of economic exp...

Systems Competition and Network Effects

[Symposium: Network Externalities]

By Michael L. Katz and Carl Shapiro

Journal of Economic Perspectives, Spring 1994

This paper discusses firm behavior, market performance, and the public and private institutions that arise in systems markets, i.e., markets where consumers use compatible components together to generate benefits. In such markets, which include communicat...

Choosing How to Compete: Strategies and Tactics in Standardization

[Symposium: Network Externalities]

By Stanley M. Besen and Joseph Farrell

Journal of Economic Perspectives, Spring 1994

In a network industry, each firm must decide whether or not it wants its product to be compatible with those of rivals. This horizontal compatibility strategy determines whether competition is a battle to establish a standard or the more conventional comp...

Network Externality: An Uncommon Tragedy

[Symposium: Network Externalities]

By S. J. Liebowitz and Stephen E. Margolis

Journal of Economic Perspectives, Spring 1994

Economists have defined 'network externality' and have examined putative inframarginal market failures associated with it. This paper distinguishes between network effects and network externalities, where the latter are market failures. The authors argue ...

The Usefulness of Core Theory in Economics

By Lester G. Telser

Journal of Economic Perspectives, Spring 1994

Core theory furnishes a useful framework for studying a wide variety of economic problems. It has an undeserved reputation of being too abstract owing mainly to the manner in which it is employed in the theory of general equilibrium. In fact, core theory ...

The Politics of Market Socialism

By Andrei Shleifer and Robert W. Vishny

Journal of Economic Perspectives, Spring 1994

The debate over market socialism has ignored the importance of the assumptions about the objectives of politicians in determining resource allocation. Theory and evidence suggest that totalitarian socialism does not lead to efficient resource allocation b...

On the Workability of Market Socialism

By Pranab Bardhan and John E. Roemer

Journal of Economic Perspectives, Spring 1994

Contrary to the claim of Andrei Shleifer and Robert W. Vishny (1994), it is conceivable under market socialism to take firms out of the orbit of state control and that a less narrow theory of the state than theirs allows the possibility of democratic soci...

Nobel Laureate: Gary S. Becker: Ideas about Facts

By Victor R. Fuchs

Journal of Economic Perspectives, Spring 1994

Gary S. Becker's career, personality, and contributions are reviewed and commented upon. Special note is taken of his seriousness of purpose, his willingness to take chances, and his persistence in the face of criticism and hostility. Becker's exceptional...

Recommendations for Further Reading

By Bernard Saffran

Journal of Economic Perspectives, Spring 1994

Correspondence

By Oliver E. Williamson

Journal of Economic Perspectives, Spring 1994

Correspondence regarding: Evaluating Coase On the Costs of Inflation: Israel's Example Ethics and The Invisible Hand More Etiquette Tips for Young Economists

Front Matter

Journal of Economic Perspectives, Spring 1994

Notes

Journal of Economic Perspectives, Spring 1994

Symposium on Health Care Reform

[Symposium: Health Care Reform]

By Joseph P. Newhouse

Journal of Economic Perspectives, Summer 1994

The papers in this symposium focus on two major issues of health economics in the context of President Clinton's Health Security Act: cost containment and labor market effects of financing insurance. The act proposes to limit public and private spending; ...

A Guide to Health Care Reform

[Symposium: Health Care Reform]

By David M. Cutler

Journal of Economic Perspectives, Summer 1994

There are four rationales for health care reform: increasing the efficiency of health delivery; reforming the market for health insurance; providing universal coverage; and reducing the federal deficit. These goals are reflected in most reform proposals. ...

Issues Every Plan to Reform Health Care Financing Must Confront

[Symposium: Health Care Reform]

By Henry J. Aaron

Journal of Economic Perspectives, Summer 1994

This paper focuses on three main issues of fundamental health care reform. First, should experience rating--the linkage of premiums to actual loss experience--be retained? Despite widespread support for experience rating among economists, the paper argues...