A Model of the Macroeconomic Effects of Privatization on Employment in Transition and Developing Countries with an Application to China

It is generally agreed that privatization of state-owned enterprises improves economic efficiency, but it is also widely feared that it exacerbates unemployment especially in transition and developing economies. This paper proposes a theoretical model of the macroeconomic relationships between privatization, efficiency, output, and employment. The model explains how privatization affects employment in transition and developing economies through different, and often opposing, channels. As a result, job losses at firms being privatized may result in overall job gains or losses in the economy, depending on the macroeconomic conditions. We apply this model to China and find that the model provides an intuitively appealing explanation for the job gains and losses caused by privatization in China during its transition. The model further suggests policies to maximize the gains and minimize the costs of privatization.     

Privatization as a restructuring device: Can it substitute for industrial policy in the transforming economics? Some lessons from Poland

There is a broad consensus that in the long run, privatization offers the best solution to the efficiency problems of state-owned enterprises. However, many observers believe that some form of industrial policy is unavoidable during the transition period in order to stimulate restructuring before privatization has been completed. The main objective of this article is to analyze the compatibility and complementarity between privatization and industrial policy in the context of the systemic transformation in Poland.     

Inequality of Pension Arrangements Among Different Segments of the Labor Force in China

Social security for older people in China today has been established institutionally. However, there are substantial problems such as coverage, affordability, fund management, and corruption. This paper aims to provide a general picture of China's social security system for older people and to argue that the inequality of pension arrangements among different segments of the labor force is one of the most conspicuous problems challenging the Chinese government. Four unequal aspects of the pension system concerning the financing resources and pension levels are examined in this paper: (1) unequal institutional arrangements among different sectors, (2) unbalanced governmental expenditure in pension provision, (3) an increasing gap in pension levels between urban and rural areas, and (4) uncovered groups such as the unemployed and self-employed. Historical, economic, and political reasons all contribute to this unequal institution under transition from socialism to a market-oriented economy. At present, it is urgent for the central government to take measures to integrate the various pension arrangements into the unified Old Age Insurance and to reduce the gaps among different regions.     

约旦经济发展的重要因素

阿杜拉国王上台后，及时采取稳定国内政局的有效措施，严厉打击国内的恐怖主义活动，积极开展以经济为轴心的务实外交，不断加大经济开放和国企私有化力度，牢牢抓住经济全球化带来的机遇，迎难而上，使2001年约旦国内生产总值比上年同期增长4％，大于人口增长的2．8％。     

优势互补、共同发展——试论中国与海湾六国的经贸合作

海湾地区是世界最大能源基地之一,从战略和经济安全等方面与海湾六国进行长期合作,将对中国的发展至关重要。海湾各国虽有充裕的资金、大量的待合作项目和广阔的发展空间,但技术、装备、材料和人才奇缺。因此,中国企业进入海湾六国市场从宏观和微观上都有着重要现实意义。随着中国与海湾经贸合作新局面的逐步形成,中国企业将面临着如何更好地与海湾六国进行有效合作的严峻考验,为此,本文将提出几条建议。     

Pre-commitment vs. flexibility: Uncertainty and distribution reform in P.R. China

Chinese economic reform is remarkably different from the East European reforms in which the Chinese model emphasizes competition over privatization. This paper explains why Chinese distribution reform is successful although the Chinese government has made no attempt in privatizing her inefficient state-owned enterprises. By extending Coughlan's (1985) price competition model to endogenize the pre-commitment versus flexibility decision, it is shown that reducing uncertainty can encourage enterprises to pre-commit their investment which allows further development of the retail sectors. This result supports the gradual pace of distribution reform policy of China. By contrast, the “revolutionary” East European model inevitably creates high uncertainty in the society and enterprises are unwilling to pre-commit their investment.     

“信息主导”背景下农民工的生存状态和身份认同

中国在市场经济改革这个过程中所经历的除了生产关系和产权关系的变化外,还有一场伴随着全球一体化而来的信息革命。这意味着我国所经历的现代化轨迹不同于欧美国家,从而农民工在城市打工所体会的现代生活也有自身的独特之处。本文就此提出以信息主导(information-led)为研究视角,探讨新一代农民工在全球信息化的背景下,其日常生活、社会关系,以及个人身份建构(self-identification)所经历的变革过程。首先,本文通过反思以劳资对立为研究视角的农民工研究,指出以该理论框架为指导的农民工研究的理论预设及其视角局限。其后,本文会讨论信息及通信技术(in-formation and communication technologies—ICTs)如何作为农民工研究的另一个切入点,从日常生活的角度展现新一代农民工在面对流动和通讯之间的必然性时所面对的疲惫、彷徨和被动处境。最后,本文会以珠三角地区展开的田野调査,来说明信息及通信技术在新一代农民工的日常生活里的社会意义,并探讨新一代农民工的生存状态如何对工人身份的认同构成阻力。     

Does Internet access matter for rural industry? A case study of Jiangsu,China

This study examines the digital divide in rural Jiangsu, one of the most developed areas in China. First, it reveals that only a small portion of rural enterprises have access to the Internet, and the penetration rate of the Internet in rural enterprises of China is much lower than that in urban enterprises revealed by previous studies. Second, a significant digital divide exists between Southern Jiangsu on the one hand and Middle and Northern Jiangsu on the other hand. Indeed, the Internet penetration rate in Zhangjiagang is very close to that in urban enterprises. Thirdly, this study finds that large and old enterprises are more likely to have access to the Internet. Fourthly, Internet access demonstrates very strong and positive relationships with enterprises’ economic and innovative performance, though it is not clear whether or not the better performance at rural enterprises with Internet access comes from their usage of the Internet. The implication of the study is that governments should promote Internet usage among rural enterprises.     

上海转变经济发展方式评价指标体系研究

当前,上海进入了一个转型创新的关键时期,在宏观经济形势不容乐观、自身发展瓶颈约束日益严峻的背景下,转变经济发展方式已经成为上海实现可持续发展的唯一出路。为了引导经济发展方式的转变,有必要构建一套具有针对性、有利于反映经济发展方式转变成效的评价指标体系。本研究立足于现阶段上海转变经济发展方式的主要内涵和要求,构建了一套集既有指标和创新指标于一体的评价指标体系,并应用该指标体系对＂十五＂以来上海转变经济发展方式的成效进行了分析,继而根据发展的眼光提出了2015和2020年的阶段性目标。     

Socio-political control in urban China: changes and crisis

This paper examines urban China's socio-political control crisis under the impact of economic reforms as an epitome of a more general social crisis. The traditional urban institutional form of socio-political control in the People's Republic of China (PRC), the work unit form of control, is a variant of age-old forms. The latter's reproduction in variant form in the former was premised upon the fact that the PRC's industrialization was carried out by a peasant-based party creating a new working class of rural migrants engaged in non-market production and exchange. The persistence of non-market economic relations ensured this form of control's continued reproduction. Post-1978 market-oriented reforms have undermined this form. As the emergence of new forms has been slow, a socio-political control crisis has arisen, at a time when millions of urban employees are being thrown out of work. In dealing with the crisis, the official trade union, an organic constituent institution of the work unit form of control, plays a prominent part, in being given the tasks of sustaining this decaying form, and preventing and defusing potential social explosion. Yet, the very economic reform programme that has undermined the work unit form of control, is also gravely weakening the union.     

我国城镇化发展的多维价值

我国城镇化发展具有重要的国家意义并产生深远的世界影响。城镇化是中国崛起的战略选择，是经济发展方式转变的核心动力，是破解“三农”问题的根本途径，是构建和谐社会的必由之路，是促进区域均衡发展的重要保障，是参与全球经济治理的主要平台，具有重要的经济和社会价值。     

建立促进经济发展方式转变绩效考核评价体系的建议

上海要完成率先转变经济发展方式的重任,必须转变政府管理方式,建立与转变方式相适应的党政领导班子考核评价体系。要建立完善新的考核评价体系,必须承续原来的适应科学发展的考核评价体系的诸多优点,在此基础上,围绕上海转变经济发展方式的中长期目标,“漂亮”地完成上海第三次转型,必须要把中央和市委、市政府对转变经济发展方式的要求转化为具体的可操作的一个个有代表性的指标,即要针对原体系作出调整,且力求量化,由此形成新体系。     

Reform and the process of economic restructuring in rural China: a case study of Yuhang,Zhejiang

Chinese reforms initiated at the end of 1970s have brought a profound change to its rural economy. The rapid economic growth and restructuring over the last two decades spurs the interest of many scholars in studying the nature and process of change in rural China at different scales and from a variety of perspectives. Using Yuhang in Zhejiang Province as a case, this study reveals dynamic processes and operating mechanisms of rural economic changes at a local level, and the interweaving relationships among the state, local governments, and peasants under the reformed institutional framework of rural development. The political economy of decentralisation and liberalisation, local government initiatives, and spontaneous coping strategies of peasants have penetrated the entire process of economic growth and restructuring, as evidenced in the displacement of the agricultural sector and in the shift of the role played by township enterprises, villages enterprises, and household enterprises in Yuhang. The pattern of change unveiled in the case of Yuhang neither confirms nor denies entirely the experience of the Sunan, Wenzhou, or Zhujiang models studied extensively in the literature. What is involved in this restructuring process at the local level are the changing relations between peasants and the land, individuals and collectives, and peasant workers and rural enterprises.     

The Introduction of Capitalism in Russian Agriculture: Popular Response to Neo-Liberal Reforms1

Abstract This work analyzes the reactions of rural residents to the introduction of market-oriented economic reforms in the Russian agricultural sector. Employing primary data collected in a 1995 survey of three villages in the Russian Republic, we argue that strong resistance to the introduction of Neo-liberal market-oriented reforms exists, often based on the respondents' awareness of the importance of social interdependence. Rural residents feel harmed by government reforms, reject further reforms in agriculture, and would prefer a return to pre-1991 conditions. Although most have experienced a decline in village solidarity, they also believe that some forms of collective life will persist in rural communities. Respondents also question the fairness of economic markets given their observation that many have gotten ahead by illegal activities. In general, those with more resources are slightly less negative in their responses. Still, we argue that these results do not necessarily indicate that rural Russians totally reject the move toward a market-based economy. Rather, the results taken together suggest that points of strain and resistance emerge from the rapid introduction of market-oriented reforms, with little protection from unwanted consequences and the uncertainties of capitalism, in a context characterized by a long tradition of collective social relations.     

广州城市发展的资金来源与对策分析

广州被中央定位为五大国家中心城市之一，明确了广州的城市定位和发展方向。广州必须进行经济发展方式的转变和投资，以实现国家中心城市所具备的指标。因此，如何解决巨额投资资金来源急需探讨。本文分析广州融资体系的现状，提出广州需建立一个传统模式和资本市场新模式双结合的现代融资体系。     

Land Privatization and the Differentiation of the Peasantry: Nicaragua's Coffee Revolution, 1850–1920

Abstract The expansion of coffee cultivation in Nicaragua in the 1870s unleashed a social revolution. Previously most land was common property: by 1920 throughout the coffee districts land was privately owned. Influential historians of Nicaragua see this as the capitalist transition. This essay argues that instead of forging a rural proletariat, this social revolution created a differentiated peasantry whose access to land depended on relations of patronage. Peasant resistance to land privatization and the political, as opposed to economic, nature of the process are examined. The essay concludes that this revolution was more incongruent than congruent with a capitalist social order. The relevance of this history for contemporary political debates in Nicaragua is explored.     

Foreign Direct Investment and Institutional Environment in Transition Economies

We analysed the relation between foreign direct investment and the quality of the institutional environment in transition economies. The analysis confirmed a significant impact of various institutional aspects on the inflow of foreign capital. To isolate the importance of the institutional environment from the impact of other factors, a panel data analysis was performed using the data of 24 transition economies in the period 1995–2002. The results showed that in the observed period the quality of the institutional environment significantly influenced the level of foreign direct investment in transition economies. Other variables that proved to have a statistically significant influence were budget deficit, insider privatization, and labour cost per hour.     

Urban development strategy in an era of global competition: The case of south China

The economic structure of south China, including Hong Kong, has undergone rapid changes in the last 20 years. The transformation is more rapid in the wake of the opening up of China's economic system. This paper argues from the vantage point of the New International Division of Labour (NIDL) and investigates the impact of economic development and urban development strategies on the region. It reviews the process of economic development and the flows of resources, capital and labour forces in China as a whole, with special reference to Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta region. Increasing economic integration has led to interaction in the planning domain, such as in infrastructural development. Selected development strategies have also been employed and these will be discussed in detail. The paper concludes that future development between Hong Kong and south China will be a symbiotic one and that the implementation of a sustainable urban development strategy is vital to the continued growth of the region.     

中国区域经济增长新格局与区域协调发展

当前,中国区域经济增长呈现新格局,主要表现为中西部地区发展速度加快,优势产业各具特色;以城市群为核心,形成空间发展格局;区域开发秩序得到进一步规范;区域合作和一体化不断得到加强。与此同时,中国区域经济增长也遇到新的挑战。因此,必须联动实施国家区域发展战略,开拓区域经济协调发展的新思路。     

Hunting for gaps through boundaries: Gypsy tactics for economic survival in the context of the second phase of post‐totalitarian changes in Bulgaria (1994‐)

Bulgaria appears to be entering—economically and politically—a second phase in its post‐totalitarian development: a period of privatization of state industry. The measures which are likely to accompany this process will pose severe obstacles to small‐scale traders—in their majority Bulgarian Gypsies—importing goods from Turkey. On the basis of field‐study observations of the markets of Bulgaria and Turkey (Istanbul) this paper describes the survival strategies adopted by the Gypsies in contemporary Bulgaria and attempts to predict the likely influence of the upcoming privatization phase on their lifestyles and life perspectives. It specifically seeks to explore the ways and methods whereby legal and administrative regulations, as well as moral boundaries, are dealt with by ethnic groups who have limited access to the administrative and popular mechanisms for the imposition and enforcement of the regulations.