Economic Evolution and Structure: The Impact of Complexity on the U.S. Economic SystemFrederic L. Pryor uses the concept of structural complexity to show how changes in the population, the labor force, the structure of industry, the financial system, foreign and domestic trade, and the government sector are related to the same general trend in the U.S. economic system over the past forty years and in the coming twenty years. The author investigates the impact of these changes on the functioning of the system, exploring such matters as the long-term rising unemployment rate, the alleged increasing volatility of the economy, the altering degree of competition, and the evolving economic role of the government. |
Contents
Complexity in the economy | 1 |
The meaning of structural complexity | 3 |
Impacts of structural complexity | 6 |
Measurements of structural complexity | 11 |
Final remarks on methodology | 13 |
Population | 18 |
Ethnicity family structure education and age | 19 |
The distribution of income and wealth | 29 |
Government expenditures as a response to structural complexity | 212 |
The government as a generator of structural complexity | 224 |
The impact of structural complexity on governmental policy effectiveness | 231 |
Conclusions and implications for the future | 236 |
The future of US capitalism | 242 |
Economic performance as a stimulus to systemic change | 243 |
Forces in the socioeconomic environment stimulating systemic change | 247 |
Scenarios of alternate capitalisms | 265 |
The future | 38 |
The impact of trends of structural complexity | 41 |
Final word | 48 |
The labor force Complexity and unemployment | 50 |
Structural complexity and the skill levels of the job structure | 51 |
Structural complexity and the heterogeneity of occupations | 56 |
The rising longterm level of unemployment | 57 |
Conclusions and implications for the future | 73 |
The labor force Changes in sectors and organization | 75 |
Changes in the labormanagement environment | 87 |
Conclusions and implications for the future | 97 |
Wealth ownership and the financial structure | 101 |
Trends in the ownership and composition of wealth | 102 |
Trends in the structural complexity of the financial system | 103 |
Financial distress | 110 |
Volatility of production and financial variables | 114 |
Conclusions and implications for the future | 123 |
Production institutions and management | 127 |
changes in internal corporate structures | 128 |
The size distribution of productive units | 136 |
The separation of ownership and control | 142 |
Summary and implications for the future | 155 |
The behavior of markets | 158 |
Some retail price behavior in domestic markets | 159 |
Changes in the degree of market competition | 167 |
Market volatility | 170 |
Conclusions and implications for the future | 177 |
The foreign trade sector | 181 |
Changes in the relative share of foreign trade in the GDP | 182 |
The skill content of exports and imports | 190 |
Competitiveness and structural complexity | 193 |
Conclusions and implications for the future | 206 |
The government sector | 210 |
Evolution of the size of the government sector | 211 |
A brief summary | 269 |
Epilogue | 270 |
Appendix notes | 272 |
12 Use of the Theil statistic | 273 |
21 Educational and religious heterogeneity | 274 |
22 Further details on wage and salary inequalities | 275 |
23 The raw material content of consumption at different income levels | 283 |
25 Statistical notes for Chapter 2 | 287 |
31 Determination of the skill level of the occupational structure | 288 |
32 Calculations of wage rigidity | 289 |
33 Other statistical notes for Chapter 3 | 292 |
41 Statistical notes for Chapter 4 | 293 |
51 Changes in the ownership of wealth | 294 |
52 Detailed results of the volatility tests | 297 |
53 Statistical notes for Chapter 5 | 299 |
61 Financial fragility in the nonfinancial corporate sector | 300 |
62 The structure of production units | 303 |
63 Trends in executive compensation | 306 |
64 More data from the company survey | 308 |
71 The data set of domestic prices | 309 |
81 Internationalization of the US economy | 325 |
82 The direction of trade | 329 |
83 Additional data on job characteristics and trade | 330 |
84 Additional data on competitiveness | 332 |
85 Statistical notes for Chapter 8 | 334 |
91 Particular economic features of the federal governmental sector | 335 |
92 Simulation model of the federal governmental sector | 337 |
93 Statistical notes for Chapter 9 | 340 |
101 Values held by managers | 341 |
103 Additional remarks on alternate scenarios for capitalism | 343 |
104 Environmental catastrophes and the economic system | 356 |
| 358 | |
| 388 | |
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Economic Evolution and Structure: The Impact of Complexity on the U.S ... Frederic L. Pryor No preview available - 1996 |
Common terms and phrases
ACAWE aggregate analysis annual Appendix Note argue assets average basic Bureau of Economic business cycle calculations capital Census changes Chapter commodities comparative advantage competitiveness concentration ratios corporate costs decade decline decreased Department of Commerce discussed domestic economic growth economic system empirical employees enterprises estimates evidence exchange rates executive compensation exports factors Federal firms future GDP deflator governmental greater groups heterogeneity human capital impact important income increasing structural complexity indicators industries inequality instance institutions investment labor force labor unions macroeconomic managers manufacturing measure Moreover nations nomic occurred ownership percent percentage period population price volatility problems production profits ratio raw material regression regulation relative rise roughly saving scale sector share skills social cohesiveness studies Table Theil statistic tion trends types U.S. Department unemployment unions United variables various volatility wage wealth workers