昨天晚上打电话回家,说要考试了,爸爸问学的怎么样,我说,上课的时候觉得自己什么都明白,下课之后也觉得自己什么都明白,就是一到要考试了,就什么都不明白了。
教授昨天发了我们5个题目,其中有一个会是我们期末考的题:
1. Discuss the Harrod-Domar and Solow models of growth. Compare the two models by explaining their similarities and differences. Include in your discussion the original intent of the authors and how their models were used (or misused) by development economists.
1。讨论Harrod-Domar 和 Solow的两种发展学模式。通过解释它们的相同和不同之处比较两者。讨论中包括这几个作者提出它们的发展模式的原意和目的,以及他们的模式如何被之后的发展学经济学家们使用(或者滥用)。
这个题还好,至少再读下课本就差不多了。Harrod 和Domar这两个经济学家提出的发展理论主要在于储蓄和投资,并且认为机器(生产过程中使用的)是发展的最重要因素。Solow则认为机器和投资并不是发展的关键。他认为发展的关键在于科技,因为先进的科技可以提高工作效率。而且无限制的增加机器到后来会有越来越少的回报。。。
2. Explain the different ways of measuring absolute and relative poverty. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each measure. Which measure (or measures) would you use to most accurately (a) compare the standard of living in India and Bangladesh, and (b) illustrate India's growth and development over time? Explain.
2。解释各种测量绝对贫困和相对贫困的方法。讨论每种方法的好处和坏处。那些方法适合用于(a)比较印度和孟加拉的生活水平(b)描述印度历史上的经济增长和发展。
这个题,课本是要好好读的,但更重要的是,本人相当的不了解印度和孟加拉。所以需要查很多资料。
3. How is bribe similar to a tax on a good? Assume that the government official extorting the bribe is a monopolist and whose marginal cost in providing the good is negligible. Explain the differences between bribery "with theft" and bribery "without theft" using a specific government good as an example. Which type of bribery is more likely to be self-perpetuating and why?
3。贿赂和税务的相似之处在哪里?假设受贿的政府工作人员对他(代表政府)提供的物品有垄断权,而且对于他来说,额外提供一个这个物品的额外成本可以忽略不计。用一个政府提供的物品(比如护照,驾照)来解释普通受贿和私下受贿的区别。哪一种贿赂更容易一直持续,为什么?
基本也是复习题,上课讲过,只是没这么系统。现在要想起来那么多东西也不容易。。。要好好读课本,查资料了。。。
4. Will there be another food crisis? Last year saw a surge in food crop prices that was attributed to many reasons including the growing demand from emerging economies like India and China, and farmers switching to more profitable bio-fuel production. Such high returns attracted an inflow of investments to agriculture, which resulted in higher yields and falling prices towards the end of the year. However, the Economist magazine (4 July 2009) stated that today "the fact that prices are well above their 2006 average, even in a recession, suggests that the spike of 2008 did not signal a mere bubble--but rather, a genuine mismatch of supply and demand." Explain. Do you think that food crop prices will increase in spite of higher yields?
4。将来还会有另一次食物危机吗?去年,我们看到了一次严重的粮食物价上涨,原因包括印度和中国等国家因经济发展带来的上扬的粮食需求,以及农民们为了更多利益而生产生物能源。这样的高回报(粮食价格)促使更多的农业投资和生产,导致去年年底的时候粮食价格回落。但是,今年7月4号的‘经济学家’杂志中提到“尽管现在是经济危机时期,粮食的价格还是远远高于06年的平均价。这表示去年粮食价格的上涨并非只是一个短期泡沫,而是反映出了一个真实的供应和需求不搭。”解释这段话。你认为在现在的粮食高产量时代,粮食价格还会继续上涨吗?
很显然,粮食的价格又再度成为至少这个月的热门话题。“经济学家”杂志写了,昨天和今天听BBC也说到了,我们又要开始思考有没有饭和面包吃了。大家公认教授会出这道题,因为其他的题目很可能同学们都写出差不多的东西,改卷子的时候会很无聊。但是这道题牵扯的内容很广,科技,农业,能源,人口,经济发展。。。。。。我需要不知道多久的时间才能搞定。但我喜欢这道题。
5. Easterly showed that knowledge leaks and skills matches would lead to increasing returns to knowledge. Give a real-world example of a developing country in Asia that you think is currently experiencing this. You must specify the area of knowledge (e.g.medicine, electronics, bio-tech, etc.) What role does the country's free-market orientation (or the lack of it) play?
5。Easterly(我们的主要课本的作者)说知识泄漏和技术搭配可以带来知识的增长型回报。用一个亚洲的发展中国家来举例说明这一点。你需要明确指出是哪一种知识(比如,医药,电子,生物科技等)。这个国家的自由市场(或者非自由市场)在这个过程中扮演了怎样的角色?
读课本,找国家,查这个国家的某一产业的知识。需要时间。
我还有一天半的时间准备这些题目的答案。
现在,我宅在学校商学院的某个小房间里备考,没有人打扰。窗外的景色还不错,心情很好。