Environmental Constraints, Commodity Mix, And Research Resource Allocation
The purpose of this paper is to show how the allocation of research resources among commodities and the effects of such allocations on the output mix depend upon (a) the initial production conditions, (b) the nature of the research production functions, (c) the nature of the demand relations for the commodity outputs, (d) relative factor endowments, and (e) the existence of different types of environmental constraints. The basic model used is a two-factor, two-product model in which certain types of technical change are introduced.
Market Integration: A Study of Sorghum Prices in Western India
This article examines the popular view in underdeveloped countries that there exist large regional price differences that are caused by speculative elements in trade. The data bearing on the prices of sorghum in a number of primary and terminal markets in India suggest that these differences are not caused by the activities of the traders. The analysis emphasizes the high degree of interdependence between wholesale markets in the process of price formation. Regional price differences often result from differences in varieties of the grain traded. Prices for the same product may differ because of transport costs. Price discrepancies of the order larger than transport costs may result from such factors as transport bottlenecks and government control on the movement of goods.
An Introduction to Property Theory: Utilitarian Property Theories
As a leading property law casebook puts it, “[u]tilitarian theory is, without doubt, the dominant view of property today, at least among lawyers.” This is certainly true, but the story is also significantly more complicated. Although utilitarian analysis provides tremendous insight into the institution of property, it raises a number of important questions when treated as a comprehensive theory of property. Moreover, the term utilitarian masks a great deal of intellectual and methodological diversity. Rather than a single utilitarian theory, it is more appropriate to speak of a number of utilitarian (or even utilitarian-influenced) property theories . For our purposes, these utilitarian-influenced theories include many contemporary theories that refer to themselves as economic or welfarist . In this chapter, we will explore the broad outlines of these theories, focusing on their points of overlap and also on key areas of disagreement. A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO UTILITARIANISM Utilitarianism is a consequentialist moral philosophy, that is, one that judges the rightness and wrongness of actions or rules or institutions by the goodness and badness of the consequences they bring about. Utilitarianism assesses the goodness or badness of consequences in terms of their tendency to maximize utility or welfare. Bernard Williams has observed that “[t]he fathers of utilitarianism thought of it principally as a system of social and political decision,” as opposed to “a system of personal morality.” As Williams correctly notes, it is sometimes hard to keep these two domains apart. Nevertheless, it is plainly as a theory of social choice that utilitarianism has been deployed in the context of property theory.