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We employ a novel interest rate‐determined model‐switching strategy to forecast stock returns and find persistent predictive ability among a number of economic fundamentals. This strategy switches predictive models based on whether a real‐time interest rate is higher than the mean level interest rate of a look‐back period. The robustly better predictive ability of the new strategy relative to the original OLS regressions suggests that stock returns react more rationally to the variation in economic fundamentals if the contemporaneous interest rates are high. This pattern is consistent with prior literature demonstrating that a high interest rate attenuates speculative demand (Keynes, The general theory of employment, interest, and money, Harcourt Brace, London, 1936), while speculative trading drives stock prices away from their valuation founded on economic fundamentals (Scheinkman & Xiong, Journal of Political Economy, 111, 1183, 2003). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the impacts of agricultural cooperative membership on output price, gross income, farm profit, and return on investment (ROI) utilizing a recent household survey data of 481 apple producers in China. We employ a treatment effects model to account for potential selection bias that arises from the fact that cooperative members and nonmembers are systematically different in terms of both observable and unobservable factors. Our analysis reveals that cooperative membership has a positive and statistically significant impact on apple price, gross income, farm profit, and ROI. In addition, we find that the highest profit effect of cooperative membership does not in fact result in the highest ROI effect of the membership, revealing differences in farm income and profitability of investment. [EconLit citations: C35, D71, Q12, Q13]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studying a large sample of publicly available data on failures to deliver, we find that stocks reaching threshold levels of failures become significantly overvalued. Where short sale constraints are especially binding, we report extreme overpricing and subsequent reversals. These findings support the overvaluation hypothesis, although the mispricing is likely to be difficult to arbitrage because of extreme shorting costs. In addition, threshold stocks with low short interest become more overvalued than threshold stocks with high short interest. This suggests that the level of short interest reflects supply-side effects when the examination conditions on the difficulty of borrowing shares. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surgical site infections (SSI) substantially increase costs for healthcare providers because of additional treatments and extended patient recovery. The objective of this study was to assess the cost and health‐related quality of life impact of SSI, from the perspective of a large teaching hospital in England. Data were available for 144 participants undergoing clean or clean‐contaminated vascular surgery. SSI development, length of hospital stay, readmission, and antibiotic use were recorded over a 30‐day period. Patient‐reported EQ‐5D scores were obtained at baseline, day 7 and day 30. Linear regressions were used to control for confounding variables. A mean SSI‐associated length of stay of 9.72 days resulted in an additional cost of £3776 per patient (including a mean antibiotic cost of £532). Adjusting for age, smoking status, and procedure type, SSI was associated with a 92% increase in length of stay (P < 0.001). The adjusted episode cost was £3040. SSI reduced patient utility between baseline and day 30 by 0.156 (P = 0.236). Readmission rates were higher with SSI (P = 0.017), and the rate to return to work within 90 days was lower. Therefore, strategies to reduce the risk of surgical site infection for high‐risk vascular patients should be investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article addresses the production of an adsorbing hydrogel to be used for removal of heavy metals. A review of literature on hydrogel adsorption of heavy metals is highlighted. The adopted process is briefly described and typical adsorption results as compared to reported work are presented. The technical specifications of an industrial scale plant of appropriate capacity of 3000 ton/year are detailed. The total capital investment and the production cost have been estimated to be about $M 10.6 and 6.5, respectively. Financial analysis determined the effect of variation of selling price within the reported international range on financial indicators. Furthermore, analysis of the effect of variation by 10% increase/decrease of capital investment and annual operating cost has been also estimated. Indicators include net present value (NPV $M), internal rate of return (IRR%), and average simple return of return (Average. SRR%), which have been estimated as 24%, 18%, and 19%, respectively. The project proves to be techno‐economically viable under the estimated conditions for wider application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Malawi's food and nutrition security heavily relies on rainfed agricultural production, which is prone to the effects of climate change, such as floods and dry spells. To improve the situation, policies have been established as a guide to assist in the implementation of agricultural technologies in the country. This study aims to evaluate the effect of two national policies on addressing nutrition, economics, and food security by introducing modern/existing technologies in the Phalombe district in Malawi. To gain insight into the representative farm operations, financial, demographic, and consumption behaviors of smallholder farmers, the data were obtained through a combination of focus group discussions, expert opinions, and various published reports, including both government and nongovernment sources. The farm simulation model (FARMSIM) was utilized to analyze district‐level crop and livestock farm operations. In this study, four irrigation technologies (treadle pump system, motorized pump system, solar‐powered system, and river diversion irrigation system) were assessed among the agricultural interventions implemented in Malawi. Also, seven land uses (i.e., corn, onion, bean, rice, tomato, leafy vegetable, and cabbage) were developed and simulated under irrigation scenarios. The irrigation systems and land use scenarios were evaluated based on economics, productivity, nutrition, and risk. The treadle pump and leafy vegetable scenario were generally identified as the most preferred combination. In addition, the productivity and riskiness of the other scenarios can be improved by selecting the best combination of crop and irrigation systems. The study concludes that government and private investment in subsidies for large‐scale irrigation systems, as well as improvements to market prices and infrastructure, are necessary to boost food security and enhance the livelihood of smallholder farmers in rural Malawi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public goods and services such as prisons are often underfunded compared with private goods and services. Social impact bonds (SIBs) are a new financial vehicle to increase the use of private funds for public good. SIBs use a paid‐for‐success, performance‐based structure to reallocate risk and reward. In the current case, the SIB changes a critical reinforcing loop from a vicious cycle of decay to a virtuous cycle of improvement that can perpetuate SIB benefits far after the bond has been repaid. A simulation model of recidivism at Her Majesty's Prison (HMP) Peterborough and the related SIB is developed to identify high‐leverage parameters and dominant feedback loops. These are used to explain SIB success or failure for two primary participants (HMP system and SIB investors). Model analysis also reveals a tipping point structure that puts the Peterborough programme at risk. Contributions include a formal SIB model, improved understanding of SIB structure and behaviour, an example of tipping point structures in a social system and recommendations concerning SIB design and management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increased complexity has been recognized as a dominant characteristic of public–private partnerships (PPPs). In this article, we review system dynamics (SD) approaches to the PPP field because SD modelling can support the policymaking process in systems with increased structural and functional complexity. Although papers published in journals and conferences have documented SD approaches to PPP problems, there appears to be a lack of systematically reviewing what they have already provided. The objectives are to compare the findings of the studies to provide insights for directing further PPP research with the use of SD. To achieve the review objectives, we categorize the papers by the problem topic raised and provide a summary of particular insights. Problem topics include construction risk assessment, risk allocation, project financing, performance of infrastructure, demand forecast, procurement strategies, and strategic policy at national levels. The paper concludes with recommendations for future SD applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the set of Pareto efficient allocations in a finite period Mirrlees economy; each period represents a lifetime for an agent who cares about the utility of his descendants. In making Pareto comparisons, we use an interim concept of efficiency and consider an individual as indexed not only by his date of birth but also by the history of events up to his birth, including his own type. That is, we assume the child of a high skilled parent is a different person than the child of a low skilled parent, even if both children have the same skill level. Our contributions are characterization of these efficient allocations and their implementation. We completely characterize the set of efficient allocations under full information. We show that for efficient allocations, implicit inheritance taxes from the perspective of the parent's type can be either progressive or regressive. Further, imposing no taxes of any kind, coupled with each agent owning his own production, results in a Pareto efficient allocation. Under private information, we completely characterize the set of Pareto efficient allocations for the two‐period economy where skill types take on two values, and again show that implicit inheritance taxes can be either progressive or regressive, again relative to the parent's type. For more general multi‐period economies with private information, we show that the reciprocal Euler condition of Rogerson and Golosov, Kocherlakota, and Tsyvinski holds as a necessary condition, but as an inequality, and that the expected value of implicit inheritance tax rates conditional on a parent's history are weakly negative. Finally, we derive conditions such that given private information, no taxes of any kind, coupled with each agent owning his own production, results in a Pareto efficient allocation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper revisits the UK productivity puzzle using new data on outputs and inputs and clarifying the role of output mismeasurement, input growth and industry effects. Our data indicate an implied labour productivity gap of 13 percentage points in 2011 relative to the productivity level on pre‐recession trends. We find that: (a) the labour productivity puzzle is a TFP puzzle, since it is not explained by the contributions of labour or capital services; (b) the reallocation of labour between industries deepens rather than explains the puzzle (i.e. there has been a reallocation of hours away from low‐productivity industries and toward high productivity industries); (c) capitalization of R&D does not explain the productivity puzzle; (d) assuming increased scrapping rates since the recession, a 25% (50%) increase in depreciation rates post‐2009 can potentially explain 15% (31%) of the productivity puzzle; (e) industry data show that 35% of the TFP puzzle can be explained by weak TFP growth in the oil & gas and finance sectors; and (f) cyclical effects via factor utilization could potentially explain 17% of the productivity puzzle. Continued weakness in finance would suggest a future lowering of TFP growth to around 0.8% p.a. from a baseline of 0.9% p.a. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the effectiveness of debt relief to stimulate economic growth in the most heavily indebted poor countries. We develop a neoclassical framework with a conflict of interest between the altruistic donor and the recipient government, and model conditionality as an imperfectly enforceable dynamic contract. In contrast to the recent practice of fully cancelling debt, optimal incentive‐compatible conditionality is accompanied by a concessionality level that implies a combination of subsidized loans and outright grants. The optimal concessionality level depends on the recipient's access to international financial markets and on the strength of the conflict of interest. Incentive‐compatible transfers with optimal concessionality levels generate substantial welfare gains. If the donor does not implement the optimal concessionality level and provides subsidized loans only, then the effectiveness of transfers decreases in the long run with severe welfare implications. In contrast, transfers are less effective in the short run if the donor offers outright grants only. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Papers in Regional Science is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Economics is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Economics is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Economics is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Building on social movement theory, this study assesses the influence of social media activism on the stock market performance of targeted firms. We focus on information published on Twitter by two critical stakeholders: consumer associations and trade unions. To the extent that social media represent a valid medium to mobilize stakeholders' activism, protests on Twitter may damage firm reputation, leading to capital market reactions. Using a corpus of over 1.5 million tweets referring to Spanish listed banks, we study the impact of activism by looking at targeted firms' abnormal variations in price and trading volume. Our findings suggest that the Twitter activism of key stakeholders has a significant impact on investors' decisions. Further, our empirical analyses indicate that the mechanisms affecting investors' behavior differ depending on the characteristics of the stakeholder group. Hence, this study contributes to understanding how social movements influence corporate behavior via social media. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Conservatives' weaker-than-expected performance in June's general election has given them plenty to think about on the fiscal policy front, with many attributing the loss of their majority, at least in part, to increased public dissatisfaction with austerity. It appears likely, therefore, that Autumn's Budget will see the Chancellor make some tweaks to the current policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trait-based approaches have taken an increasingly dominant role in community ecology. Although trait-based strategy dimensions such as the leaf economic spectrum (LES) have been identified primarily at global-scales, trait variation at the community scale is often interpreted in this context. Here we argue from several lines of evidence that a research priority should be to determine whether global-scale trait relationships hold at more local scales. We review recent literature assessing trait variation at smaller scales, and then present a case study exploring the relationship between the correlation strength of leaf traits and their similarity in variation structure across ecological scales. We find that the correlation strength between pairs of leaf traits does not predict whether the traits respond similarly to different drivers of variation. Instead, correlation strength only sets an upper bound to the dissimilarity in trait variation structure. With moderate correlation strengths, LES traits largely retain the ability to respond independently to different drivers of phenotypic variation at different scales. Recent literature and our results suggest that LES relationships may not hold at local scales. Clarifying under what conditions and at which scales the LES is consistently expressed is necessary for us to make the most of the emerging trait toolbox. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine various factors that influence the effects of government-subsidized research and development (R&D) programs on firm productivity. Based on a panel dataset of Chinese firms, we find the effects of the Innovation Fund for Small and Medium Technology Based Firms (Innofund) are dynamic over time and are heterogeneous depending on funding forms and the level of marketization and economic development across regions. In general, Innfound has significant and positive effects on firm productivity in both the short and long run. However, the short-term effects of Innofund are stronger than the long-term ones. Additionally, the positive effects of Innofund are stronger for firms backed by interest-free bank loans than those supported by appropriation. Meanwhile, Innofund has stronger positive effects in provinces that are less market-oriented or less developed economically. Finally, the short-term effects of Innofund stay stronger than the long-term ones even after we control the funding forms and the market conditions across regions. Identification and selection concerns are addressed through the propensity score matching approach and two-stage estimation. ( JEL G28 O38 H76) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents a general equilibrium model of a developing economy with a capital intensive formal sector and a large informal sector with sector-specific capital to analyse the effects of investments on the sectoral returns to capital, sectoral wage rates, and composition of output and employment. Beginning with capital market disequilibrium (unequal sectoral rates of return) and labour market distortion (formal-informal wage gap), the model traces the evolution of the economy till capital market equilibrium is attained. The investments in the formal sector equalise the wages (a 'turning point' in growth à la Lewis) and reduces the size of the informal sector. The sectoral rates of returns equalise only if there is no factor intensity reversal, otherwise the economy specialises in the production of formal goods. The investments in the informal sector equalise the rates of return, do not affect the size of the formal sector and finally, a formal-informal wage gap persists provided factor intensities are not reversed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We introduce a simple equilibrium model of a market for loans, where households lend to firms based on heterogeneous expectations about their loan default probability. Agents select endogenously among heterogeneous expectation rules, based upon their relative performance. Due to strong nonlinearities, a small fraction of pessimistic traders already has a large aggregate effect, leading to a crisis characterized by high interest rates for loans and low output. Our stylized model illustrates how animal spirits and heterogeneous expectations and, in particular, how coordination on pessimistic expectations amplifies crises and slows down recovery. ( JEL E32, D83, D84) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When technological change affects the prices of tradeable assets, innovators can obtain speculative profits by exploiting their inside information as to the occurrence of innovations. We propose a tractable model of endogenous growth that formalizes this argument, originally due to Hirshleifer (1971). We then use the model to assess two claims advanced by Hirshleifer, namely, that speculative profits can generate excessive investment in R&D when they add to monopoly rents guaranteed by patent protection, or else even in a perfectly competitive economy. The analysis confirms the first claim, but casts doubts on the second one. ( JEL O30, O40) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Economics is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Economics is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Carlos Álvarez- Nogal and Christophe Chamley recently published an article in the Economic History Review on ' Debt policy under constraints: Philip II, the Cortes, and Genoese bankers'. In this note, we show that several claims in their article are very similar to earlier research results, published or circulated long before Álvarez- Nogal and Chamley's original submission, by ourselves and other scholars (section I). These results are repeated without attribution or even mention of the earlier work. In addition, we show that what Álvarez- Nogal and Chamley present as new quantitative insights are actually replications of earlier results of ours (section II). Finally, Álvarez- Nogal and Chamley misrepresent our contributions, as well as those of several other scholars (section III). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article introduces uncertainty into a fiscal projection model which incorporates population ageing along with a number of feedback effects. A new non-parametric method of producing stochastic projections is explored. This allows for the complex nature of the observed joint distributions of relevant variables and their time paths. Stochastic projections of a range of policy responses are produced, allowing for uncertainty regarding the world interest rate, productivity growth and the growth rates of two components of per capita government expenditure. The probability of exceeding a given debt ratio in each projection year, using a particular tax or expenditure policy, can then be evaluated. Examples of tax policies designed to achieve a target debt ratio are examined. Policy implications are briefly discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the forecasts of macroeconomic condition in the U.S. in 2016. Topics discussed include the implementation of rate hikes which operates with an expanded monetary policy toolkit, the rise of dollar value which has the equivalent impact on gross domestic product (GDP). It also mentions the updated forecast for GDP, unemployment rate, and inflation.

Malnutrition in children under 5 years of age is pervasive in Ethiopia across all wealth quintiles. The objective of this study was to determine the willingness to pay (WTP) for a week's supply of Nutributter® (a lipid‐based nutrient supplement, or LNS) through typical urban Ethiopian retail channels. In February, 2012, 128 respondents from 108 households with 6–24‐month‐old children had the opportunity to sample Nutributter® for 2 days in their homes as a complementary food. Respondents were asked directly and indirectly what they were willing to pay for the product, and then participated in market simulation where they could demonstrate their WTP through an exchange of real money for real product. Nearly all (96%) of the respondents had a positive WTP, and 25% were willing to pay the equivalent of at least $1.05, which we calculated as the likely minimum, unsubsidised Ethiopian retail price of Nutributter® for 1 week for one child. Respondents willing to pay at least $1.05 included urban men and women with children 6–24 months old from low‐, middle‐ and high‐wealth groups from four study sites across three cities. Additionally, we estimated the initial annual market size for Nutributter® in the cities where the study took place to be around $500 000. The study has important implications for retail distribution of LNS in Ethiopia, showing who the most likely customers could be, and also suggesting why the initial market may be too small to be of interest to food manufacturers seeking profit maximisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops a model in which idea-rich, cash-poor entrepreneurs undertake risky investment projects that are subject to future liquidity needs and shirking due to moral hazard. The model suggests that the strength of the entrepreneur's incentive to shirk is countercyclical and that endogenous shirking adds volatility to the economy by increasing the persistence and volatility of TFP. This increase in persistence and volatility is driven by the variation in the number of successfully completed projects, compounded by the effect of the incentive to shirk on access to credit; changes in factor employment play only a minor role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid population ageing and economic transformation in Asia underline the policy challenges associated with ensuring income security in old age. This article examines the potential role of social pensions in securing old-age income security in Asia. It assesses the main policy trade-offs associated with adopting alternative social pension designs, especially around two critical policy points: the comparative advantages of social assistance and social pensions; and the integration of non-contributory transfers within advanced contributory pension schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Due to worsening environmental conditions around the globe, firms have been investing a great deal of money in green technologies as a way of coping with the environmental crisis. This paper uses a unique data set based on the Korea Innovation Survey to examine the impact of green innovation on labor productivity, and the determinants of environmental activities in 2010. The empirical results show that green innovation intended for both firm and customer benefits has a positive effect on labor productivity. This finding means that firms need to implement firm-oriented green innovation as well as customer-oriented green innovation in order to increase their performance. Our findings also show that there are significant differences in aggregate green innovations depending on different firm sizes and industries. Specifically, large firms implement environmental activities more than small ones, and pollution-intensive industries tend to invest more in activities related to environmental technology. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Economics is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The influential economic theory of intergenerational transfers predicts a negative connection between credit constraints and intergenerational mobility of consumption. Existing work has used bequest receipt to signal a parent's access to credit markets when investing in his children's human capital. However, measurement error in bequest receipt generates misclassification error and, in turn, attenuation bias. Employing switching regressions with imperfect sample separation to deal with this error, we show that the intergenerational persistence of consumption in the United States for credit constrained families is much higher than that for unconstrained families, contrary to what the theory implies. This means that children from constrained families are more likely to have consumption levels similar to those of their parents than children from unconstrained families. Our results are robust to the choice of bequest variables and other predictive variables in the switching equation. ( JEL C13, D12, E21, J62) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why output prices tend to rise faster in response to input cost increases than they fall in response to input cost decreases is a hotly debated issue in modern economics. In this article, I contribute to this asymmetric pricing debate by expanding the domain of organizational forms where this question has been investigated. More specifically, previous research has focused on for-profit firms. I expand the investigation by focusing on nonprofit organizations. Credit unions are the nonprofit organization used in my analysis. Credit unions provide essentially identical types of consumer financial services and products as commercial banks but do so from a very different not-for-profit orientation. However, in this study, I document similar asymmetric rate-setting behavior by credit unions. This suggests that pricing asymmetry is likely to be much more widespread, as it relates to nonprofit institutions as well as those in the for-profit sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been substantial debate and disagreement over the appropriate debt maturity used in determining the cost of debt for use in access pricing decisions in Australia. Some regulators have used a debt maturity corresponding to the length of the regulatory reset period (typically five years). Others have used a longer maturity based on the argument that the assets being financed are long-lived. In this article it is demonstrated that under the current Australian approach, to meet the objectives of access pricing, the assumed debt maturity should be set equal to the term of the regulatory reset period. Whether practical debt management difficulties for access providers suggest that an alternative approach, placing more emphasis on their actual debt costs (as occurs in some other jurisdictions) should be considered, is also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regular, periodic taxation is a function of modern government, a practice that arose only because the rent of land and natural resources was transformed from the traditional source of public revenue in the Middle Ages to private property, starting in the 17th century. In the earlier era, taxes (special exactions on ordinary income and daily necessities) were imposed only under unusual circumstances, usually to fight wars. The French Physiocrats and their student, Adam Smith, proposed that the best form of modern taxation would be based on the same principle as the medieval system-a fee derived entirely from surpluses, not imposed as a burden on production. This was actually what Adam Smith meant by 'ability to pay.' Smith's sophisticated understanding of economic rent was, however, simplified and distorted by numerous economists throughout the 19th century, who buried the concept under layers of obfuscation. In particular, the substitution of ' Paretian rent' for ' Ricardian rent' committed the fallacy of composition by shifting rent from a social concept to a private, unit-level concept, which caused social surplus to simply 'disappear.' Bringing this 'lost history' to light permits us to re-evaluate how modern societies might benefit from Smith's physiocratic concept of taxation. This work not only traces debates about rent-for example, whether rent arises from risk-taking, or whether a tax on rent raises commodity prices-but also discusses the practical benefits of taxing it today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]