DIFFUSING KNOWLEDGE WHILE SPREADING GOD'S MESSAGE: PROTESTANTISM AND ECONOMIC PROSPERITY IN CHINA, 1840–1920

We provide an account of how Protestantism promoted economic prosperity in China—a country in which Protestant missionaries penetrated far and wide during 1840–1920, but only a tiny fraction of the population had converted to Christianity. By exploiting the spatial variation in the missionaries’ retreat due to the Boxer Uprising to identify the diffusion of Protestantism, we find that the conversion of an additional communicant per 10,000 people increases the overall urbanization rate by 18.8% when evaluated at the mean. Moreover, 90% of this effect comes from knowledge diffusion activities associated with schools and hospitals erected by the missionaries. (JEL: N35, Z12, O18)     

治污减排对经济发展影响的最新研究进展及启示

治污减排是中国调整经济结构、转变发展方式的突破口,必须同时实现节约资源、减少污染和促进发展的多重目标。中国的治污减排问题非常复杂、没有现成经验可循。针对环境、经济、能源之间的相互影响,国内外已有丰富的研究成果。本文试图梳理治污减排对经济影响方面的已有研究,为深入分析、研究中国的环境经济问题提供基础。     

Communal values and economic success: A comparison of israeli collective settlements

The association between economic success and adherence to communal values in Israeli kibbutz communes is analyzed over a thirty year period. Adherence to four communal objectives, as independent variables, is considered: Settling the land and absorbing settlers, farming as a way of life, refraining from financial speculation and minimizing consumption. Economic performance was used as the criterion variable. The findings show that the federation of religious kibbutzim (plural of kibbutz) adhered most closely to the social objectives and achieved better economic/financial performance than other kubbutz federations. The economic success of the religious kibbutzim is attributed to a religious rational ethic that was developed during their formative years and maintained consistently over time.     

Growing Strong in Asia: SRI Proves You Can Win With Principles

Sustainable and responsible investment (SRI) has its roots in religious and political movements in the West. Moving from being a bit of an unknown to being known in Asia, SRI has made its headway in the region and is here to stay. The objective environment — an educated populace, rising social awareness, pension fund development, tougher environmental legislation — is conducive to SRI development. SRI is influential in inducing corporate behavior, as business realizes being socially responsible is a competitive edge. Sustainable development can go hand in hand with economic prosperity as allies.There are hurdles to overcome in developing SRI in Asia. We are yet to see comprehensive research on SRI on Asian enterprises, a benchmark to measure their social performance, and an index to track their share price performance. ASrIA, a not for profit members association devoted to promoting SRI in Asia, helps to speed up its development from mere boardroom discussion to practice in mainstream finance. In doing so, it is important to remember that for SRI to grow healthily in the region, it has to be done in Asia on Asian terms.     

Revolt on the Nile: Economic Shocks,Religion, and Political Power

Using centuries of Nile flood data, I document that during deviant Nile floods, Egypt's highest‐ranking religious authority was less likely to be replaced and relative allocations to religious structures increased. These findings are consistent with historical evidence that Nile shocks increased this authority's political influence by raising the probability he could coordinate a revolt. I find that the available data provide support for this interpretation and weigh against some of the most plausible alternatives. For example, I show that while Nile shocks increased historical references to social unrest, deviant floods did not increase a proxy for popular religiosity. Together, the results suggest an increase in the political power of religious leaders during periods of economic downturn.     

The role of a religious institution in HRD: the case of Wat (temple) Panyanantaram,Thailand

Buddhism is a pervasive feature of life in Thailand. How does Buddhism contribute to an understanding of human resource development (HRD) in Thailand? Wat Panyanantaram, the 2002 Outstanding Buddhist Temple, is presented here as a case study. Contributions of religious institutions to moral and human development through HRD activities by religious institutions are explored.     

The social relations of bereavement in the Caribbean

The objectives of this article are to discuss the various types of behaviors associated with grief and bereavement, and to examine the relationships, consequences, and outcomes of bereavement practices among the various religious and ethnic groups in the English-speaking Caribbean Islands of Jamaica, Trinidad, Grenada, and Barbados. The rituals associated with death and grief differs across cultures and is greatly influenced by religious beliefs and traditions. How these rituals are played out depend on the culture of origin and level of acculturation of the various groups into mainstream society. In the Caribbean region, expressions of grief represent religious and cultural traditions that may have a significant impact on social relations, particularly in multi-ethnic and multicultural societies. In the English-speaking Caribbean Islands of Jamaica, Trinidad, Grenada, and Barbados, mourning follows the patterns of traditional religious practices which have remained consistent over time. While families and friends may offer social support before and after burial or cremation, the social aspects of bereavement may also have implications for inter-group relations. Insights into bereavement practices and what it holds for ethnic and religious groups in contemporary Caribbean are presented.     

ON THE THEORY OF ETHNIC CONFLICT

When considering engaging in conflict to secure control of a resource, a group needs to predict the amount of post‐conflict leakage due to infiltration by members of losing groups. We use this insight to explain why conflict often takes place along ethnic lines, why some ethnic groups are more often in conflict than others (and some never are), and why the same groups are sometimes in conflict and sometimes at peace. In our theory ethnic markers help enforce group membership: in homogeneous societies members of the losing group can more easily pass themselves as members of the winning group, and this reduces the chances of conflict as an equilibrium outcome. We derive a number of implications of the model relating social, political, and economic indicators such as the incidence of conflict, the distance between ethnic groups, group sizes, income inequality, and expropriable resources. One of the insights is that the incidence of ethnic conflict is nonmonotonic in expropriable resources as a fraction of total resources, with a low incidence for either low or high values. We use the model’s predictions to interpret historical examples of conflict associated with skin pigmentation, body size, language, and religion.     

Hospice and the politics of spirituality

Within the hospice literature, spirituality and religion are usually defined in opposition to one another, with religion negatively associated with the external, authoritarian doctrines of Christianity and spirituality positively associated with the free search for truth, meaning, and authenticity. According to survey data, however, most Americans integrate spirituality and traditional religious commitments. The hospice literature is promoting spirituality to its own detriment by alienating potential patients and depriving religious patients of the resources that religious traditions and their affiliated religious communities have to offer.     

“三重底线”下中国商业银行经营效率及其影响因素分析

银行业在我国经济中扮演着重要的角色。在现今可持续发展理念的倡导下，单一维度的银行效率评价已经难以适应时代的需要。为此，本文基于"三重底线"视角分别构建了中国商业银行经济、社会与环境效率指标，通过SBM-DEA模型对中国商业银行的"三重效率"进行了测算分析，并运用SBM-Pearson分析法初步揭示了中国商业银行三重效率间的关系，之后再利用SBM-SUR计量模型对影响中国商业银行三重效率的因素作了进一步的探究。研究结果表明：（1）中国商业银行中股份制商业银行与城市商业银行在经济效率、社会效率上表现突出，而国有商业银行表现不佳。但是在环境效率方面，国有商业银行后来居上表现强劲。（2）中国商业银行间三重效率并不存在相互冲突，社会效率、环境效率与经济效率之间有着显著的正相关关系，但是并没有发现社会效率与环境效率之间存在显著的联系。（3）在经济效率方面，资产规模、运营年限、银行类型以及资产回报率均对其有着显著的正向影响；不同的银行类型对社会效率有着不同程度的显著影响；在环境效率方面，资产规模与银行类型也对其影响显著。     

Kirche coacht F��hrungskr?fte

In the paper we investigate whether coaching, which is carried out by qualified coaches of the Church, can provide the customers with added value. The survey results are based on interviews with managers of small and medium-sized organizations. It turns out that the interviewed persons have a very strong interest in coaching, which is carried out by representatives of the church. The customers point out, that coaches can talk with a Christian background new perspectives such as ethics, morals and values. It is also clear that coaching should not be intended by religious instruction, but must attach to problems that result from the marketing economic environment of the customers. It is shown in conclusion to note that variables with a possible implementation of coaching as a business area within the study area ??Church and economy??.     

基于厂商理论的区域产业边界和最优要素配置结构

区域经济发展核心是产业结构优化升级和资源的优化配置。在全球经济结构亟待优化升级和要素资源呈现不同层次紧缺的大背景下,如何合理配置和引导区域资源配置,优化产业发展方向,确定包括新兴产业在内的产业发展战略,是每一个地区新形势下面临的重要问题。一方面,在经济全球化和零边际成本趋势驱动下,区域产业发展不再局限于区域内部资源禀赋,资源流动性加强,区域产业发展的选择更加广泛和灵活;另一方面,资源日益短缺和经济快速发展推动了劳动力成本和资本成本上升,产业的生产要素配置也随之变化。基于厂商理论,将区域作为市场经济中的生产主体,在考虑区域交易成本和生产要素成本的基础上,构建区域产业边界模型和产业的最佳要素配置结构模型,开创了资源和商品全球化趋势下的产业升级战略的研究范式,探索了成本约束下的产业生产要素优化配置模式,为经济新常态下的区域产业升级战略和资源配置研究提供理论指引,为区域制定个性化的产业发展战略提供实践依据,同时对零边际成本社会趋势下的产业格局进行了初步的探索。研究得出：产业边界能够在一定程度下反映区域产业长期演化趋势,在完全市场经济下产业边界是产业发展的最优规模;区域产业的要素配置格局取决于产业的资源占用和资源贡献情况,最优配置结构受各要素的相对贡献率和相对成本影响;产业边界与成本的关系取决于规模经济与否,在规模经济状态下与生产成本成正相关关系,与交易成本成负相关关系;大部分地区的农业有较大提升空间,最佳资源配置方案是加大机械动能投入。     

SOME ASPECTS OF THE DYNAMIC PROPERTIES OF ECONOMETRIC MODELS*

Recent efforts by several authors have resulted in the development of techniques for analytically describing the dynamic properties of linear stochastic difference equation models ¹ 1 For examples of this work see Chow [1]; Chow and Levitan [2] [3]; Howrey [8] [9]; Howrey and Kelejian [10] and Howrey and Klein [11].
. Since these techniques have not been extensively applied to econometric models and consequently are not generally familiar to economic modelers, the purpose of this paper is to summarize the techniques these researchers have developed and to illustrate them using a simple (and admittedly unrealistic) econometric model.     

BOOK TRANSLATIONS AS IDEA FLOWS: THE EFFECTS OF THE COLLAPSE OF COMMUNISM ON THE DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE

We use book translations as a new measure of international idea flows and study the effects of Communism's collapse in Eastern Europe on these flows. Using novel data on 800,000 translations and difference‐in‐differences approaches, we show that while translations between Communist languages decreased by two thirds with the collapse, Western‐to‐Communist translations increased by a factor of 4 and quickly converged to Western levels. Convergence was more pronounced in the fields of applied and social sciences, and was more complete in Satellite and Baltic than in Soviet countries. We discuss how these patterns help us understand how repressive institutions and preferences towards Western European ideas shaped the international diffusion of knowledge.     

Are Economic Development and Education Improvement Associated with Participation in Transnational Terrorism?

Using transnational terrorism data from 1980 to 2000, this study empirically examines the relationships between frequency of participation in transnational terrorism acts and economic development and education improvement. We find an inverse U‐shaped association between the frequency of various nationals acting as perpetrators in transnational terrorism acts and per capita income in their respective home countries. As per capita incomes increase from relatively low levels, frequencies of participation in transnational terrorism increase. However, at sufficiently higher levels of per capita income, further increase in per capita income is negatively associated with the rate of participation in transnational terrorism. Education improvement from elementary to secondary is positively correlated with frequency of participation in transnational terrorism events, whereas further improvement from secondary to tertiary level is negatively correlated with participation in transnational terrorism. We also find that citizens of countries with greater openness to international trade, lower degree of income inequality, greater economic freedom, larger proportion of population with tertiary education, and less religious prevalence participate in transnational terrorism events less frequently.     

TRUST,SOCIAL CAPITAL,AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Many argue that elements of a society's norms, culture, or social capital are central to understanding its development. However, these notions have been difficult to capture in economic models. Here we explore a possible role for “trustworthiness” as corresponding to social capital. Individuals are trustworthy when they perform in accordance with promises, even if this does not maximise their payoffs. The usual focus on incentive structures in motivating behaviour plays no role here. Instead, we emphasise more deep‐seated modes of behaviour and consider trustworthy agents being socialised to act as they do. To model this socialisation, we borrow from a process of preference evolution pioneered by Bisin and Verdier (2001). The model developed endogenously accounts for social capital and explores its role in the process of economic development. It captures in a simple, formal way the interaction between social capital and the economy's productive processes. The results obtained caution against rapid reform and provide an explanation for why late‐developing countries may not easily be able to transplant the modes of production that have proved useful in the West. (JEL: O1, O3, O4, Z1)     

A Causality Analysis of Economic Growth and Union Density in European Countries

In this paper, we analyse the relationship between union density and economic growth using a Granger causality analysis and shocks analysis with vector autoregression model. We find that the Granger causality goes from the growth rate to the unionization rate in four of the 11 European countries under study. France bucks the trend: it is the only country in which union density influences economic growth, moreover in a positive way.     

Outsourcing Functions to Economic Development Corporations: Exploring the Perceptions of Officials in Ontario, Canada

In some communities in the Province of Ontario, Canada, economic development functions have been outsourced from departments within the city structure to external organizations such as economic development corporations (EDCs). This study takes an in-depth look at the activities of EDCs, with a focus on the rationale for outsourcing, EDCs’ policies and strategies, cooperative efforts, and the challenges EDCs face. The paper is based on extensive interviews with 21 CEOs/presidents of these corporations. The findings indicate that EDCs are typically private–public partnerships that exist at local and regional levels, that this approach is part of a comprehensive strategy to deal with the changing field of economic development and the uncertain global economy.     

How Title VII Erodes the Mission of the Religious University

For decades, courts have held that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 does not permit religious universities to consider a job applicant's religious beliefs when staffing most faculty and administrative positions. This article briefly reviews the law in this area and then applies the vast body of research on organizational culture' to argue that this judicial interpretation will, in the long-run, undermine the religious university's ability to perpetuate its mission.     

资源产业空间集聚、传导要素萃取与“资源诅咒”中介效应研究

针对"资源诅咒"测度中存在的问题,对其进行再剖析,找出学术界对"资源诅咒"的质疑以及质疑中仍未解决的问题,即"资源诅咒"分析中指标选取的科学性问题。通过研究发现,产业空间集聚度可以更好地替代产业依赖度作为自然资源丰裕的测度指标,在此基础上选取我国油气资源城市作为研究对象,构建基于产业空间集聚度的区域经济增长计量模型,进行实证分析与假说检验,并萃取显著传导要素,分析其对产业空间集聚与区域经济增长关系的传导作用。借鉴B-K中介效应分析方法,构建"资源诅咒"传导机理的中介效应模型,进一步明确"资源诅咒"的测度指标与传导要素变量的具体关系,挖掘油气资源城市"资源诅咒"的传导机制,绘制"资源诅咒"传导机制模型。结果显示：资源产业空间集聚对于区域经济增长存在倒U型曲线关系;而物质资本投资和制造业发展对于上述"促进"关系存在遏抑作用;技术创新投入、人力资本水平和居民储蓄能力对于上述"抑制"关系存在缓释作用;在"资源诅咒"效应的抑制方面,应该着重发挥技术创新、人力资本投资以及居民储蓄能力等要素的调节作用。