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This dissertation contains three essays in strategic trade theory. They focus on the effects of trade barriers on the social welfare of an individual country through the effects of these barriers on the behavior of firms. Our analyses are undertaken in models with imperfectly competitive market structures. The assumption of imperfectly competitive market structures leads to certain conclusions that differ from those in the existing literature, where perfect competition is assumed. The first essay is a survey sampling recent papers dealing with the topics mentioned above. Specifically, we choose papers on trade barriers in imperfectly competitive markets, according to the types of models--static vs dynamic--and to the types of trade barriers--quotas, tariffs, voluntary export restraints, etc. We consider the case of almost every combination of the previous classifications. From this survey we find that once the assumption of perfect competition is removed, the outcome for a particular trade barrier depends critically on details of the model used. In the second essay, simple oligopolistic models are used to examine the welfare effects arising from a quota. The trade-off faced by a policymaker (concerned only with the welfare of his own country) when there is competition between foreign and domestic firms for a domestic market, is highlighted. Moreover, the impact of differing numbers of and cost differences between domestic and foreign firms is investigated. The third essay considers a repeated game with three players, two quantity-setting firms and one quota-setting government. In this model the differing effects of quotas and VERs on the actions of firms are explored. The focus is on how a quota (or the threat of a quota) can be used not only to break up collusive behavior but also to prevent the firms from colluding in the first place. Further, various ways in which quotas can be used by the government to actually improve on the static Cournot-Nash equilibrium outcome are examined. This last result is somewhat surprising since typically in quantity-setting trade models the static Cournot-Nash equilibrium (though second best) is the benchmark used to judge various outcomes (i.e. the closer to the C-N equilibrium, the better the outcome). Indeed, quotas are usually considered clumsy instruments, inferior to some other industrial policy. However, careful use of the threat potential inherent in quotas is shown to enforce outcomes which approach the competitive solution. ; Ph. D.

The thesis consists of three papers, summarized as follows. "Female Policymakers and Educational Expenditures: Cross-Country Evidence" This paper investigates the influence of women in politics on decision-making using public educational expenditures as the outcome of interest. The results suggest that an increase in the share of female legislators by one percentage point increases the ratio of educational expenditures to GDP by 0.028 percentage points. The effect of female legislators on educational policies is strengthened accounting for forms of government, but not influenced by left-wing government, electoral rules, parliamentary system and non-marriage. Moreover, this study supports the hypothesis that the identity of the legislator matters for policy. "Women in Politics: A New Instrument for Studying the Impact of Education on Growth" This paper tests the growth model of distance to the technological frontier, which states that an economy closer to the technological frontier should invest more in skilled labor since innovation is a skill-intensive activity. In contrast to Vandenbussche, Aghion, and Meghir (henceforth VAM) (2006), I use the proportion of female legislators as an instrument for skilled labor, instead of lagged educational expenditures. The results with the new instrument are consistent with the theoretical prediction and the previous results of VAM (2006). "Do Gender Quotas Influence Women's Representation and Policies?" This paper investigates the effect of applying gender quotas on policy decisions. The results show that an increase in the share of female legislators by one percentage point increases the ratio of government expenditure on health and social welfare to GDP by 0.18 and 0.67 percentage points, respectively. The robustness check supports that the effect of quotas on female legislators is likely to be translated into the influence of female policymakers on social welfare.

This work consists of four independent chapters. The first deals with partially identified models, i.e. models in which the parameter of interest is not uniquely identified from the data and the model's assumptions. In some cases, no value of the parameter of interest is compatible with the data and the model's assumption. And conversely in some cases, many values are compatible with the data and the model's assumptions. This work demonstrates among other things that if the set of probability distributions compatible with the model is convex, then this set is characterized by its the extreme parts. The second paper proposes a method based on an exclusion restriction to correct endogenous attrition in panels. We apply this method to estimate the transitions on the labor market from the French Labour Force Survey. The third paper proposes a simple method to estimate a Logit model with fixed effects and state dependence as studied by Honoré and Kiriazidou. It also proposes a new method for inference. The fourth work is an evaluation of a French educational policy, implemented in 2006 whose objective is to provide extra resource to a subset of junior high schools. We exploit a discontinuity in treatment selection to build a credible counterfactual. Our results indicate some adverse treatment effects. ; Cette thèse se compose de quatre travaux indépendants. Le premier concerne les modèles partiellement identifiés, c'est-à-dire des modèles dans lesquels la valeur du paramètre d'intérêt ne peut pas être déduite de la distribution des données et des hypothèses du modèle. Dans certaines situations, aucune ou au contraire plusieurs valeurs du paramètre d'intérêt sont compatibles avec les données et les hypothèses du modèle. Ce travail démontre entre autre que si l'ensemble des distributions de probabilités compatibles avec le modèle est convexe, alors les parties extrêmes de ce convexe caractérise l'ensemble des distributions compatibles avec le modèle. Le deuxième travail propose une méthode basée sur une condition ...

This work consists of four independent chapters. The first deals with partially identified models, i.e. models in which the parameter of interest is not uniquely identified from the data and the model's assumptions. In some cases, no value of the parameter of interest is compatible with the data and the model's assumption. And conversely in some cases, many values are compatible with the data and the model's assumptions. This work demonstrates among other things that if the set of probability distributions compatible with the model is convex, then this set is characterized by its the extreme parts. The second paper proposes a method based on an exclusion restriction to correct endogenous attrition in panels. We apply this method to estimate the transitions on the labor market from the French Labour Force Survey. The third paper proposes a simple method to estimate a Logit model with fixed effects and state dependence as studied by Honoré and Kiriazidou. It also proposes a new method for inference. The fourth work is an evaluation of a French educational policy, implemented in 2006 whose objective is to provide extra resource to a subset of junior high schools. We exploit a discontinuity in treatment selection to build a credible counterfactual. Our results indicate some adverse treatment effects. ; Cette thèse se compose de quatre travaux indépendants. Le premier concerne les modèles partiellement identifiés, c'est-à-dire des modèles dans lesquels la valeur du paramètre d'intérêt ne peut pas être déduite de la distribution des données et des hypothèses du modèle. Dans certaines situations, aucune ou au contraire plusieurs valeurs du paramètre d'intérêt sont compatibles avec les données et les hypothèses du modèle. Ce travail démontre entre autre que si l'ensemble des distributions de probabilités compatibles avec le modèle est convexe, alors les parties extrêmes de ce convexe caractérise l'ensemble des distributions compatibles avec le modèle. Le deuxième travail propose une méthode basée sur une condition d'exclusion pour corriger de l'attrition endogène dans les panels. Nous appliquons cette méthode pour estimer les transitions sur le marché du travail à partir de l'enquête emploi française. Le troisième travail propose une méthode simple pour estimer un modèle logistique avec effets fixes et dépendance d'état tel qu'étudié par Honoré et Kiriazidou. Il propose également un nouvel estimateur des écarts-types qui semble avoir de meilleures propriétés à distance finie. Le quatrième travail est une évaluation sur les collèges de la politique éducative des Réseaux-Ambition-Réussite lancée en 2006. Nous exploitons une discontinuité dans la sélection des collèges pour comparer entre eux certains collèges « identiques » avant la mise en place de la politique. Les résultats de cette évaluation laissent place à peu d'optimisme concernant l'efficacité de cette politique.

This study uses content analysis to compare the coverage of science in two groups of dailies to see how the addition of a science news page influences coverage in nine dailies, some which added science sections while others did not. The study finds when a paper adds a science section, there is an increase in the number of science stories, more illustration, and a tendency to group basic science and technology stories in the special section. The addition of a special science section had less effect on coverage of the environment and medicine, stories which — regardless of section — appeared throughout other sections of all sample papers.

This volume covers a large range of interesting topics from many areas of economics ranging from conceptual and methodological foundations of economic theory to theoretical and empirical demand analysis. It includes articles on the economics of the public sector, of network industries, and of imperfect competition; on general equilibrium analysis and game theory; and on experimental, monetary, and financial economics. Papers presenting original research are supplemented by stimulating surveys. They together offer a broad spectrum for professional economists and doctoral students alike. Among the authors are some of the world`s leading economists including two Nobel Laureates

Fin de Siècle Socialism , originally published in 1988, demonstrates the lively potential for cultural criticism in intellectual history. Martin Jay discusses such controversies as the Habermas-Gadamer debate and the deconstructionist challenge to synoptic analysis. This book should be of interest to students and teachers of modern European history, political and social theory

Science advice is normally seen in the context of physical science advice, and in particular in relation to the institutional position of "Chief Scientific Advisor" (CSA). This is true for the academic literature covering the science-policy interface, public administration, science and technology studies as well as most practitioner commentary. Very little literature exists on the provision of social science advice for public policy, insofar as this is framed in terms of individuals providing expertise within an institutional setting and role, as opposed to the provision of (social science) evidence within "evidence-based policy-making" or similar. This focus on the science advice has thus shaped the understanding of what a science advisor does, and what skills and expertise they are providing. Conventionally, this comprises an emphasis on significant knowledge in an area of expertise, a level of seniority and "eminence" to enable that knowledge to be influential and a degree of independence from those tasked with making policy decisions. Social science advice exists in the UK national policy-making context, but the mode of operation places a different emphasis and role on those providing such advice. I explore the nature of this role, using the conventional idea of the CSA as a point of departure to foreground points of similarity and difference. This exploration reveals a broader operating space for science advice than is conventionally understood and foregrounds particular tensions between relevance and influence, on the one hand, and scientific objectivity and independence, on the other. This article is published as part of a thematic collection dedicated to scientific advice to governments.

Science is an essential component of policy-making in most areas of government, but the scientific community does not always understand its role in this process. ; Publisher PDF ; Peer reviewed

Reviews Revolution in Science, I. Bernard Cohen, (Cambridge, Mass and London: Harvard Univ. Press, 1987). Suggests that given the current historiography of scientific revolution and the enormous range of Cohen's book it is inconceivable that it will not be at the top of everyone's list when pondering this subject. (JLN)