The Economic Effectiveness of Foreign Trade

The main task posed by the Twenty-Fourth Congress of our Party is that of increasing the economic effectiveness of the national economy. This is also fully applicable to the foreign economic relations of the USSR: a most important sphere of the economy. The directives of the congress on the Five-Year Plan for the Development of the USSR National Economy in 1971-1975 discuss the need to improve the methods and forms of foreign economic relations of the Soviet Union and to increase the initiative and responsibility of ministries and enterprises in the development of directions of such relations that are effective for the national economy. Foreign economic relations occupy a considerable place in the nation's economy. By the year 1973 USSR foreign trade turnover had increased (in comparable prices) 1.9 times compared with 1965 and was 25.3 times greater than the 1938 level.     

Some Problems in Improving National Economic Planning

As we know, the present structure of the planned management of the country's economy primarily stems from the decisions of the September (1965) Plenum of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. According to the decisions of the Plenum, the basic functions of planning and management are concentrated in branch ministries and agencies and in appropriate departments of Gosplan. Thus the management of unified production-technical complexes, which modern branches of the national economy are, has been concentrated in one center, and this has promoted the acceleration of the rate of scientific and technical progress, the growth of productivity of social labor, and as a consequence, the acceleration of the growth rates of the gross product and the national income. There are now substantially greater possibilities for the further improvement of the people's well-being.     

Traditional Features of Russian Political Culture in Their Current Perspective

For about sixty years all Soviet economists and historians have celebrated the demise of NEP as socialism's greatest victory. You could count advocates of the opposite point of view on your fingers. The situation has changed in the last two or three years. The press today is for the most part filled with hymns of praise for NEP as the most successful period in the development of Soviet society. There is admiration for the miraculous recovery of Russia's economy after the civil war, for the economy's high effectiveness during that period, and for the establishment of a hard currency. We look to NEP for lessons that will help us to resolve our current economic problems. The termination of NEP in the late 1920s is bewailed as the turning point in Soviet history that marked the victory of the Administrative System with all its known tragic consequences for the life of Soviet society. Those responsible for the death of NEP are named: Stalin and those around him, members of the party machine [apparatchiki] infected with the ideology of War Communism, and individual social strata (poor peasants, part of the working class, and youth).     

中国在现代工业化实践中仿效"苏联模式"的经验与教训

中国现代化的核心和基础是工业化,工业化的重要特征是国民经济的持续增长和经济社会结构的变化。中国的经济发展要取得成功,必须探索一条符合中国国情的工业化道路。尽管这种探索有失误和教训,但总的说来见开创了社会主义现代化建设的新局面。     

Development Rates and the Optimum of Production Accumulation and Consumption in Socialist Countries

The rate of economic growth is a major problem of the socialist countries' economy. On this rate depend the period of time to achieve their socialist and communist transformations, as well as the outcome of their economic competition with the advanced capitalist countries. The development rates are inseparably linked with strengthening the economic and political power of each socialist country and the entire socialist system, as well as with their capacity to exert a decisive influence on the course of world history. Mankind's progress in each historical epoch has always been determined by new socio-economic relations which provide full scope for faster growth of productive forces and cultural potentialities, i.e., are progressive economically and politically.     

Using the Rational Consumption Budget in Planning the Standard of Living

The present stage of economic and social development of Soviet society is characterized by the heightened orientation of national economic plans toward raising the people's living standard. "At the present time," L. I. Brezhnev emphasizes, "the highest goal of socialist production is directly becoming the focal point of the Party's practical policy." (1)     

Financing urban growth in China: A case study of Guangzhou

Rapid urban growth has become a global phenomenon. As these city populations expand, urban governance is even more of a daunting challenge in many countries. China is not an exception. It is at once a transitional state still undergoing urbanization and economic development; it is also currently experiencing a slowing economy. China's cities must simultaneously continue to improve the quality of urban life while maintaining social stability. Using the city of Guangzhou as an example of China's mega-cities, this study explores the financing strategies used by Chinese cities to manage urban growth. While economic growth has always been the main priority, Guangzhou's strategy has not followed China's traditional approach of growth for growth's sake; instead, it is relying on investment in innovation and transportation to promote the local economy. Education is also being stressed as a means of fostering human resources. However, undisciplined infrastructure financing and ineffective intergovernmental fiscal relations are jeopardizing the city's fiscal sustainability. To correct this will require further reforms of China's fiscal system and a careful sequencing of reforms to maintain a sustainable growth in the urban area.     

The impact of government CSR supporting policies on economic growth

In this paper, we explore the link between socially responsible companies and economic growth across 25 countries during the 2000–2008 period. We extend the growth equation by incorporating corporate social responsibility (CSR) variables and a dummy variable to measure the impact of government CSR-supporting policies. We find that CSR firms are important for economic growth (positively affect growth) and that countries that strongly support CSR achieve higher growth rates. Specifically, countries without an organized and supportive CSR environment and guidelines can hardly expect to increase economy performance through the new growth channels generated by CSR companies (new markets and customers). It is thus important to investigate how CSR companies affect economic growth towards reconsideration of the government's role in CSR promotion as a means to boost economic growth.     

加大结构调整力度 保持平稳较快增长——当前宏观经济形势与对策分析

2010年世界经济将逐步走出衰退而复苏，我国经济面临新的发展机遇，但外部需求不足、贸易摩擦加剧等因素将带来一定的风险与不确定性。必须进一步增强发展经济的信心，提高宏观调控能力，增强创新驱动，加大力度推进经济结构调整，通过实施发展创新型经济、提升第三产业贡献率、调整外向型经济结构、推进绿色增长、调整国民收入分配结构等措施，保持经济平稳较快增长。     

The Early Modern Economy of the Yangzi Delta in a New Perspective

China has experienced spectacular economic growth during the past three decades and seen some parts of the country, in particular the Yangzi Delta, swiftly converging with the developed countries in the level of economic development. This unprecedented growth has been seen as the greatest economic miracle in world history. This miracle is based on the economic performance of the Yangzi Delta in the long run of centuries. It is impossible to achieve a better understanding of the economic miracle of the delta without a better understanding of the basis created by the delta’s economy during its long historical development, in particular in the centuries before the modern West arrived in the mid- nineteenth century. To achieve this objective, we must break free of the West-centric straightjacket and study China’s early modern economy from a new perspective, which will be crucial to improve our knowledge of Chinese economic performance prior to the arrival of the West.     

论资源经济运行及其宏观调控

资源经济的增长和发展对于一个国家的经济社会发展具有十分重要的现实意义,但是现代主流经济理论对资源经济及其运行问题的研究很少。由于资源经济是整个国民经济的一个重要组成部分,因而资源经济运行就成为整个宏观经济运行的重要组成部分;进一步说,资源经济运行就是资源经济增长和发展的宏观表现形式或制度表现,是有关资源经济总量和结构变化、有关资源经济运行的体制和机制发挥作用的状况。     

Lessons Unlearned—Planning Disaster and Community Anomie

This article critically reviews the Hong Kong Government's ‘new town’ policy. It argues that the case of Tin Shui Wai illustrates the ‘planning disasters’ where casualties are resulted from poor government planning; a lesson that should have been learned from its predecessor, Tuen Mun, in the early 1980s. The analysis shows how rigid bureaucratic administration led to inadequate community facilities and services; the physical remoteness and the homogeneity of the populations stalled economic development; and large numbers of new immigrants, ethnic minorities, and people of low socioeconomic status concentrated in a virtually deserted community that was characterized by various social problems. The article concludes with the recommendation to make community development efforts to nurture social capital in anomic communities.     

Current Questions of Soviet-American Economic Relations

Peaceful coexistence is materially strengthened and expanded by the development of international economic relations. Both the prospects for and realization of detente will depend in large measure on how relations progress between the Soviet Union and the United States. Pursuant to resolutions of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU, the Presidium of the USSR's Supreme Soviet, and its Council of Ministers at the time of L. I. Brezhnev's 1973 visit to the United States, the Soviet Union has set itself the task of turning these relations "into a permanent force for world peace, for guaranteeing that the processes of detente now being developed will be irreversible, and for the deepening of peaceful, mutually advantageous cooperation between governments belonging to antagonistic social systems."     

China’s Economic Development and Development Economics Innovation

China has experienced rapid economic growth since its reform and opening up 40 years ago. The prime mover and key driver of these amazing achievements originated in China’s transformation from a planned economy to a socialist market economy, and from a closed economy to an open economy. The optimal allocation of the various factors of production and the interaction of economic growth and structural upgrading also played a significant part. China’s economic growth over the 40 years has applied, and proven effective, the general principles of development economics, and more importantly, based on the realities of China, it has contributed to theoretical innovation and institutional innovation, leading China along the road of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Entering the new era, China is committed to building a modern economic system and promoting high-quality development under the guidance of the new development concepts of innovation, coordination, green development, opening up and sharing.     

The Irish macroeconomic response to an external shock with an application to stress testing

The Irish economy has recently endured a period of turbulence as a result of the collapse of the domestic property market bubble and the onset of the global financial crisis. There are two critical vulnerabilities in the Irish economy at present. The first is the potential for sluggish economic growth due to a slowdown in external demand, which impacts on the government's ability to meet budgetary targets. The second concern relates to the financial stability of the banking system given the escalating mortgage crisis. Our results show that Irish economic growth is highly sensitive to the performance of its trading partners and any international slowdown will hinder Ireland's growth prospects. The model used suggests that the appropriate policy response is to pursue further gains in competitiveness. We estimate the impact of an external slowdown on mortgage delinquency using a new dataset on the loan books of the commercial banking sector. The results suggest that a negative one standard deviation shock to US GDP growth leads to an increase of 1600 in the number of mortgages in arrears for at least 90 days. Arrears are driven by unemployment and negative equity in the model. We discuss policies to contain the mortgage crisis by improving these intermediate target variables.     

A new challenge to economic science: Global model simulation

The FUGI (Futures of Global Interdependence) global modeling system has been developed as a scientific policy modeling and future simulation tool of providing global information to the human society and finding out possibilities of policy co-ordination among countries in order to achieve sustainable development of the global economy co-existing on the planet Earth in the ever changing universe. The FUGI global model M200 classifies the world into 200 countries/regions where each national/regional model is globally interdependent. Each national/regional model has nine subsystems as population, foods, energy, environment, economic development, peace and security, human right, healthcare and quality of life (IT revolution). This is a super complex dynamic system model using integrated multidisciplinary systems analysis where number of structural equations is over 170,000. Economic model as a core includes major economic variables such as production of GDP, employment, expenditures of GDP, income distribution, prices, money, interest rates and financial assets, government finance, international balance of payments, international finance, foreign exchange rates and development indicators.The purpose of this article is twofold, namely to provide information on a new frontier science of economics: global model simulation as well as appropriate policy exercise for sustainable development of the interdependent global economy. The world economy is facing “green” energy revolution to change from fossil to create alternative energy and energy saving technology against sky rocketing higher oil prices. Japan takes a lead in this field of technology innovation. Under such circumstances, Japan should take an initiative to create a new peaceful world through not only harmonized adjustments of Japanese economic policy but also wise cosmic mind to promote human solidarity with the ever changing nature will be desirable to adjust orbit of the fluctuated global economy. Japan should challenge for a new strategy to accelerate economic growth rates by “CO₂ reducing environment investment” based on technology innovations.     

调整经济结构,促进国民经济持续、快速、健康发展

调整经济结构是实现经济发展和增长的基础,也是加入经济全球化大循环的必然选择.我国的经济结构在经济转型中存在着诸多矛盾产业结构、产品结构、企业组织结构与市场经济的矛盾;企业经营机制与市场经济要求的矛盾等.经济结构不合理会给经济的发展造成很多困难,很可能使我们丧失知识经济时代所带来的机遇.我们必须坚持经济结构调整的原则,探讨调整经济结构的对策,以利于国民经济的健康发展.     

Disability and migration in urban Australia: The case of Liverpool

This article presents and analyses population data on the Liverpool area of Greater Western Sydney, identifying trends with significant policy implications. Liverpool city is home to one of the highest concentrations of Australia's recent arrivals, many of whom have refugee backgrounds. From those who arrived under Australia's post-Second World War resettlement programme to new arrivals, it is also home to a rich diversity of sociocultural and linguistic communities at different stages of settlement. Demographic data show significant relationships between age, country of origin, year of arrival and need for assistance variables, many of which are either qualitatively distinct or quantitatively different from other regions in Sydney, New South Wales and Australia. Building on this analysis, the article further identifies significant policy issues in relation to disability, care and support. While Western Sydney has figured prominently in national and state public-policy directives, particularly in relation to economic growth, public infrastructure and transport mobility corridors, the analysis presented here illustrates that national policy directives for socioeconomic imperatives, such as the appropriate uptake of the National Disability Insurance Scheme, are critical to facilitate social sustainability, cohesion and equity within the region.     

推行"绿色GDP"是我国实现可持续发展的必然选择

绿色GDP是由科学发展观所催生的核算体系,它的建立将对我国国民财富的积累产生重大影响,使政府对国民经济运行过程的测度更重视经济流量与经济存量的有机结合。推行"绿色GDP"制度对实现经济增长、社会进步和环境保护的"三赢"目标具有广泛而深远的意义。然而,鉴于目前推行绿色GDP既存在观念上的障碍,亦存在技术上的困难,应确立以"绿色GDP"为基础的官员政绩考核体系,建立可持续发展观统领下的绿色GDP核算与数据发布制度,搭建"以人为本"思想指导下的公众参与评价平台。     

Winners and losers in Vietnam equitisation programs

This article develops a computable general equilibrium model of Vietnam to assess the long-run likely effects of the country's equitisation programs on its national economic outcomes and industries. Equitisation is found to be pro-growth as reflected in its contribution to increasing real GDP growth rate in the long run. In terms of industrial output growth rates, the winners include electrical, steel and other manufacturing, while the losers include rice and paddy, and oil, gas and petroleum. To achieve better economic outcomes, the coverage of equitisation should be extended to include medium to large state-owned enterprises across all industries.