Using patent filings to measure innovation

Ever since Bennett Woodcroft compiled his seminal index to theearly English patents, it has been recognized that the emanationsfrom Patent Offices contain a wealth of information. Battelle,in their work on patent trends analysis, revealed that approximately50 per cent of patents are used during their lifetime and that80 per cent of the information obtainable from patents is notavailable from any     

GRESHAM'S LAW: THE REGULATORY ANALOGY

The authors argue that delegation of discretion over environmental regulation to the states may trigger a process analogous to Gresham's Law in which lax regulation in one state drives out stringent regulation in neighboring states. This devolution to regulatory laxity is illustrated by the lax pesticide regulations in five Midwestern "agricultural" states. Questions are raised about the effects of the Reagan Administration's commitment to reduce the stringency of federal environmental regulations and delegate more regulatory discretion to the states.     

Urban policy perspectives in the U.S.A.: An extension of the Yarmolinsky option

Building on a suggestion by Adam Yarmolinsky that the Federal American government insure the equity that homeowners have developed in their property, we suggest some additional elements which would make a more complete urban policy package. Educational opportunity is seen as a critical element in property value within the American context and any scheme such as Yarmolinsky suggests needs to take into account the fact that house price reflects heavily the general judgment of the quality of the school to which that residence has access. Hence, a stabilization of the housing market is heavily dependent upon an equalization of educational opportunity. Two ideas to this end are suggested. One, the school parity adjustment, would grant funds directly to the school district, generally in inverse proportion to the assessed property valuation, and consistent with the funding required for a quality education. The second notion, the urban tax credit would help to rectify the desirability of suburban locations for parents of school age children by giving them tax credits for living in the city, and in effect, equalizing the subsidy which the government already provides suburban dwellers through insuring the school-inflated value of their property through Mortgage Insurance.     

INVESTING IN PEOPLE

Education and training may be the single most important elements of a national revitalization strategy. In spite of their importance, public policies which address the major issues in education and training do not exist for the most part. Where policies do exist, they are founded on incorrect premises or are made inappropriate by incompatible policies in other domains. This paper attempts to identify the problems and offers solutions to the issue of education and training.     

Non-global social contracts: A note on inefficient social institutions

This paper explores some perverse features that can emerge when social contracts are moved from a social vacuum to a setting of social interdependence. In particular we note incentives that might exist in conjunction with externality problems that yield situations in which: (1) social contracts reduce social wealth; (2) sub-global social contracts are Pareto inferior to the absence of social contracts; (3) there are no incentives for global social contracts. While previous works emphasized the benefits of contracts, this paper focuses on their costs. A conclusion reached is that perhaps justice and efficiency demand not a single global social contract but rather a rich melange of sub-global contracts with appropriate interstices of anarchy.