Using a wealth of data collected in Israel, this study depicts a complete system in which art is created and evaluated--the scale of Israeli society allowing for a comprehensive and detailed description of all the agents involved in the production and consumption of modern art. The author analyzes the patterns of social relations and behavior created around two art worlds--the world of abstract avant-garde art and the world of traditional figurative painting. She argues that the two worlds differ radically both in terms of the factors that affect the formation of taste, the process of...

Recent advances in establishing the nature and scope of estimators in econometrics have shed more light on the importance of instrumental variables. In this book, the authors argue that such methods may be regarded as a strong organizing principle for a wide variety of estimation and hypothesis testing problems in econometrics and statistics. In support of this claim they present and develop the methodology of instrumental variables in its most general and explanatory form. They show, for instance, that techniques commonly used to handle simultaneity and related problems can be reduced to one...

Science and technology under Hitler have always held a special fascination for historians, scientists, engineers, and the general public. Until now most books have focused on such obvious "perversions" as the "Nazi doctors" or the "German atom bomb." This book provides a more varied and balanced picture by including many different projects and disciplines, by including the period before and after the Third Reich, and by investigating "normal" as well as "perverted" sciences and technologies. Overall the volume offers the best study available of the consequential interaction of science and...

Many believe that equality of opportunity will be achieved when the prospects of children no longer depend upon the wealth and education of their parents. Many also believe that democracy is the political institution that will bring about justice. This study asks whether democracy, modeled as competition between political parties that represent different interests in the polity, will result in educational funding policies that will, at least eventually, produce citizens with equal capacities (human capital), thus breaking the link between family background and child prospects.

Now available in paperback A Contribution to the Pure Theory of Taxation investigates the way in which tax systems affect economic efficiency and the distribution of welfare. It adheres to the rigorous standards of pure theory while paying careful attention to the policy relevance of the arguments. Tax systems are viewed as information extracting devices that generate sets of equilibria of complex geometry. A tax reform methodology is proposed that sheds light on optimal taxes. Social conflicts in the determination of taxes are shown to have effects on social cohesion.

Ragnar Frisch (1895-1973) received the first Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science together with Jan Tinbergen in 1969 for having played an important role in ensuring that mathematical techniques figure prominently in modern economic analysis. This collection explores his contributions to econometrics and other key fields in the discipline, as well as the results of new research. Contributors include eminent scholars from Europe, the United Kingdom and North America who investigate themes in utility measurement, production theory, microeconomic policy, econometrics methods, macrodynamics,...

Ragnar Frisch (1895-1973) received the first Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science together with Jan Tinbergen in 1969 for having played an important role in ensuring that mathematical techniques figure prominently in modern economic analysis. This collection explores his contributions to econometrics and other key fields in the discipline, as well as the results of new research. Contributors include eminent scholars from Europe, the United Kingdom and North America who investigate themes in utility measurement, production theory, microeconomic policy, econometrics methods, macrodynamics,...

"Leading economists presenting fundamentally important issues in economic theory" is the theme of the Nancy Schwartz lectures series held annually at the J. L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management of Northwestern University. Reporting on lectures delivered in the years 1983 through 1997, this book discusses economic behavior at the individual and group level and the implications to the performance of economic systems. The lectures are delivered at a nontechnical level to benefit the newcomers, yet the overview of the distinguished lecturers is beneficial to seasoned researchers.

This is the second of three volumes containing edited versions of papers and a commentary presented at invited symposium sessions of the Ninth World Congress of the Econometric Society, held in London in August 2005. The papers summarize and interpret key developments, and they discuss future directions for a wide variety of topics in economics and econometrics. The papers cover both theory and applications. Written by leading specialists in their fields, these volumes provide a unique survey of progress in the discipline.

This is the third book of three volumes containing edited versions of papers and a commentary presented at the Ninth World Congress of the Econometric Society, held in London in August 2005. The papers summarise and interpret key developments, and they discuss future directions for a wide variety of topics in economics and econometrics. The papers cover both theory and applications. Written by leading specialists in their fields, these volumes provide a unique survey of progress in the discipline.