Abram Bergson

A Reformulation of Certain Aspects of Welfare Economics

Assumptions, 310.— I. General conditions for maximum welfare, 311.— II. The Lemer conditions, 316; the Pareto-Barone-Cambridge conditions, 318; the Cambridge conditions, 320. III. Review and comparison of the relevant points of the various expositions, 323.—IV. The sign of dE, 330.

On the Concept of Social Welfare

I. Introduction, 233. — II. Arrows theorem in relation to political theory, 235. — III. Arrows theorem in relation to welfare economics, 240. — IV. Conclusion, 249.

Economic welfare and the economics of Soviet socialism : essays in honor of Abram Bergson

Part I. Soviet socialism: 1. Knowledge and socialism: deciphering the Soviet experience Steven Rosefielde 2. Economic growth and structural change in czarist Russia and the Soviet Union: a long-term comparison Paul R. Gregory 3. Corruption in a Soviet-type economy: theoretical considerations J. M. Montias and Susan Rose-Ackerman 4. Soviet use of fixed prices: hypothesis of a job-right constraint David Granick 5. Technological progress and the evolution of Soviet pricing policy Joseph S. Berliner 6. Earning differentials by sex in the Soviet Union: a first look Gur Ofer and Aaron Vinokur 7. Creditworthiness and balance-of-payments adjustment mechanisms of centrally planned economies Franklyn D. Holzman 8. Comparative advantage and the evolving pattern of Soviet international commodity specialization, 1950-1973 Steven Rosefielde Part II. Economic welfare: 9. Bergsonian welfare economics Paul A. Samuelson 10. Optimal and voluntary income distribution Kenneth J. Arrow 11. A note on production structure and aggregate growth Simon Kuznets 12. Optimal education, occupation, and income distribution in a simplist model Jan Tinbergen 13. The welfare economics of product quality under socialism Martin Spechler.

Managerial risks and rewards in public enterprises

Abstract This essay explores a twofold problem: from the standpoint of the community, what is the appropriate attitude for managers of a public enterprise to have toward decisions with uncertain outcomes; and what is implied for the managerial rewards or penalties that are required to induce managers to adopt that attitude. Taking a theorem of Arrows as a point of departure, the essay argues that managers should be induced to maximize expected benefit. With the aid of “career” and “bonus” functions, implications for managerial rewards and penalties are explored under

Notes on the production function in Soviet postwar industrial growth

Abstract The comparative results of different econometric inquiries into the sources of postwar growth of Soviet industrial production are explored. In view of limitations in the underlying data and occasional marked divergences in results, the validity of the obtained estimates is problematic. A priori grounds point to the same conclusion. The econometric inquiries serve, nevertheless, to alert us to a wide range of possibilities regarding the parameters. However, the comparison of the technical progress achieved by the USSR and various Western countries is not critically affected by the precise magnitude of one key parameter, the elasticity of factor substitution.

Social choice and welfare economics under representative government

Abstract In his Impossibility Theorem, Arrow demonstrated logically that certain a priori conditions cannot all be satisfied by a rule of social choice. Those conditions, however, are admittedly value judgments, and how ethically impelling they are remains in dispute. To appraise that matter, the theorem is properly seen in a political context, and Arrow himself has seen it so, but he focuses in effect on ‘direct democracy.’ Further clarification may result from reference instead to different forms of ‘representative government.’ The same inquiry may also illuminate another still controversial matter: the import of the theorem for welfare economics.

Consumer's surplus and income redistribution

Abstract In reformulating consumers surplus analysis, Hicks focused on a single household. The present essay extends the analysis to many households in a manner that seems not yet to have been explored systematically: by integrating consumers surplus with the social welfare function. This is done in a general, as distinct from the usual partial, equilibrium context. A resulting formula, relating the communitys gain from a resource reallocation in a novel way to the associated changes in volume and distribution of income, inclusive of surpluses, may facilitate applications. The analysis may also clarify some recurring issues regarding consumers surplus.

Optimal Pricing for a Public Enterprise

Introduction, 519. — 1. The problem, 521. — 2. The real income effect and the optimum, 525. — 3. Some implications, 531. — 4. The sign of the real income effect, 539. — Conclusions, 541.

Development under Two Systems: Comparative Productivity Growth since 1950

A Familiar and yet notable feature of socialism is the nature of the countries where that form of social organization prevails. With few exceptions, all are economically among the less advanced countries of the world. At least, they were so at the time socialism emerged in them. In those countries, then, socialism rather than its great rival, capitalism, has been the instrument for further economic development. How have they fared in consequence ? What in particular of the claim often made by proponents that socialism is a superior system for such development?

1987 Panel on the Soviet Economic Outlook: Perceptions on a Confusing Set of Statistics

Results of the second meeting of a panel of distinguished specialists who review annually Soviet economic performance are presented in the form of proceedings interwoven with tabular material, references, and occasional abstracts. Because of serious inconsistences and discrepancies in official Soviet statistical data for the year 1986, a debate on the quality of Soviet economic statistics is included in the review of performance. PlanEcon estimates are compared with those of the CIA. Also discussed are perspectives on agriculture and industry and prospects for 1987. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: 052, 124, 221.