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A reorientation towards emphasis on consumption has become a major issue in China, raising the question of the relationship between economic growth and the composition of output. The issue is addressed here, using insights from economic growth theories. These theories indicate that concentration on capital goods production generates the most rapid overall growth. With short-term deviations and without explicit reference to any theory, Chinese practice in the past seems to have conformed. A shift to emphasizing output of consumption goods while resulting in an overall growth slowdown, will improve consumer welfare, suggesting the benefits of shifting to this criterion of economic success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regression analysis is used to tease out the relative significance of influences on the supply and demand for the exports of China and India. On the supply side, the value-added tax in China has discouraged export supply. The elimination of the rebate on those taxes will discourage exports. Higher wages discourage exports, but the share of exports by foreign invested enterprise is a positive influence, as is a higher share of value added in output and greater experience in exporting. On the demand side, exports depend in part on aggregate income levels in importing countries. Relative wages have been more important than exchange rates in determining the demands for Chinese and Indian exports. This evidence does not support the pressures for a devaluation of the RMB. There is also evidence of the positive significance of the accustomization of purchasers to buying Chinese exports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Models with time horizons of 100 years are customarily used to predict anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. Historical evidence indicates that over this time span the current consumption patterns in developing countries are likely to change and converge to the present patterns in developed countries. This study deals with modeling this type of convergence in consumption patterns within the MIT Emission Prediction and Policy Analysis Model (EPPA) framework. We find that the differences in the model with static consumption-function coefficients from that in the model with dynamic coefficients have significant implications for the costs of emissions restrictions in developing countries, even though the regional emissions profiles are virtually the same. Our results suggest that the costs of emissions restrictions in developing countries would be higher if the changes in consumption patterns are taken account of than if they are ignored in the simulation model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a series of abstracts on various topics of economics published in the May 1964 issue of the periodical 'The Review of Economics and Statistics.' Overview of resource allocation for education and training; Fiscal impact of industrialization on local schools in the U.S.; Approaches to measure the effectiveness of fiscal policy; Trends of the concentration of manufacturing industries in the U.S.