Contenu du sommaire

The discussion on Maastricht treaty has largely focused upon macroeconomic problems. Regulatory and prudential issues are however equally crucial. Monetary union will lead to a globalization of systemic risk at the European level. National regulation will then become a public good, which raises the problem of decentralized provision and coordination of national authorities. These points are discussed in detail in the paper.

The integration of the sraffaian theory of production prices into keynesian analysis, would allow protect the latter and the nesian stream claiming kinship it, from any attempt of infiltration. Such an attempt of sets the problem of the of the basic theories of the streams. Its seems difficult — unless give up the spirit of the Theory which is to give an of the economic society in which really live — to integrate the theory of production prices into keynesian analysis. Therefore, to oppose any attempt of neo-classical couldn't we possibly integrate the keynesian theory the theory of value? It seems this question may have a positive answer. we should not conclude that integration may also affect the marxian theory of production prices.

For thirty years, numerous explanations of intra industry trade and trade between similar countries have been developed. The first part of this paper is a critical survey of these theories, classified according to the criterias on which they are based: (1) comparative advantages, (2) the economies scale and product differentiation and (3) the market failures and barriers to competition. In a second part, a classification of the different forms of similitude is presented. A first distinction concerns trade of similar products on the one hand, trade between similar countries on the other. The products can themselves be regarded as (1) demand- differentiated, (2) technologically similar and (3) identical (homogeneous). This classification shows that the factors and theories previously presented often deal with different forms of similitude.

The aim of this article is to provide a critical survey of literature dealing with the conception of technology in relation to different perspectives about the analytical construction of the firm. The article focuses on technology considered as an asset. Two main theoretical and analytical orientations are discussed. On the one hand, some approaches consider technology as a quasi-financial asset and, on the other hand, others provide an explanatory framework of the firm considered as an organisation which structures, borders, and dynamics are based on the structuring effects of technology. Three approaches of technology as a quasi-financial asset are reviewed and discussed: the theory of portofolio selection, the theory of option value, and the analysis in terms of patent-based game and speculative behaviour. The common scheme of these approaches is that they are grounded on a more or less explicit conception of technology as infor- mation, whereas alternative theoretical views are more sensitive to an approach of technology as specific, even tacit, knowledge. Within this latter general framework, such issues as asset specifity, capabilities and activities of discussed, and current contractualist conceptions of the firm are debated as regards their capacity to provide a relevant explanatory framework of phenomena as path-dependancy and irreversibility aspects of organisational dynamics. Lastly, several possible connections of the reviewed approaches to models of endegenous growth are suggested.

Deposit insurance aims to preserve the stability of the banking system. This function is reinforced by the process of financial globalization. Thus, it is necessary to design a specific system of deposit insurance for the future European monetary union. This article, using the recent literature on this topic, try to propose some principles of organization for a European deposit insurance.