Drafting “better regulation”: The economic cost of regulatory complexity

Different public agencies are seeking to draft “better regulation”. Complex or poorly drafted norms are more difficult for economic agents to implement, tending to erode economic efficiency. The literature has so far concentrated on the analysis of regulatory complexity as a phenomenon related to the “quantity” of norms. This article guides the process of adopting new regulations, taking into account that norms can also be complex due to new “qualitative” reasons such as linguistic ambiguity or relational structure (references between legal documents). To perform the analysis, we develop new indicators for legibility and regulatory interconnectedness. Specifically, we construct a new database (RECOS – REgulation COmplexity in Spain) by extracting information from 8171 norms (61 million words) which comprise the regulations of all the Spanish Autonomous regions. Our analysis reveals the relationship between measures of “qualitative” complexity and relevant economic (productivity) and institutional (judicial efficacy) variables. This research shows that the new dimensions of regulatory complexity matter, yield significant results and should be taken into account in governments’ “better regulation” policies.     

冲突经济学视域下的阶级斗争与社会变革

马克思经济学理论中,生产力与生产关系的矛盾是社会变革的原因。利用冲突经济学中的CFS模型,采用阶级的分析方法,对上述论断提供一种证明。不同阶级掌握的生产力水平决定了本阶级资本存量的积累速度,资本存量决定了斗争的有效性。根据CFS,阶级斗争的过程大体可以分为四个阶段,各阶级根据斗争有效性采取不同的策略,各阶段随之呈现激烈与缓和斗争状态。掌握先进生产力的阶级取得胜利具有必然性。研究显示了阶级斗争也是有效率的资源配置方式。     

Chapter 3: Health and Productivity Management

SUMMARY

This article focuses on the emergence of Health and Productivity Management (HPM) as a context for understanding the integration of health and wellness into employee assistance and work-life programs. Major factors influencing the growth of HPM are raising medical costs as well as the rising incidence of obesity. The Wake-up Call to Corporate America underscores the need to manage these costs and improve health through the proactive alignment of health-related benefits and programs. HPM is described as an integrated approach to capture direct medical costs as well as the indirect costs associated with poor health and lost productivity. Critical design and implementation features that are likely to contribute to a successful integrated approach are described and highlighted. An HPM case example of a large pharmaceutical company examines a unique cross referral program including considerations for continuous improvement. Finally, the article concludes with key challenges related to marketplace competition, pricing pressures, concerns regarding the sub-optimization of programs and the influence of current health care system changes.     

东方哲学存在的基础——爱智慧的视阈

哲学就是爱智慧。通过对东方如印度、中东和中国等的考察,尽管印度、犹太和中国等东方民族对＂哲学是什么＂的理解有所差异,但对＂哲学就是爱智慧＂,也即意味着不懈的、追根究底的、深刻的理性思考和追求,存在着较为广泛的认同和一定的家族相似性。由此证明了哲学作为爱智慧不仅存在于西方,也同样存在于东方。人们对哲学的理解能否达成共识,主要取决于我们对哲学作出怎样的定位。在东西方的相互对话中,澄清并确定哲学是什么,不仅推进了学术规范,而且也为哲学面对应用领域和具体学科如何自处提供了总体原则。     

从敦煌本《大智度论》看《汉语大词典》的书证问题

敦煌本《大智度论》多为南北朝时期写本,保存了《大智度论》的原始形态,是宝贵的第一手语言材料,对辞书编纂、修订以及汉语词汇史研究都具有重要意义。本文利用敦煌本《大智度论》对《汉语大词典》书证始见例做了提前,对孤证词条做了增补。     

劳动力流动、资本转移和生产率增长——对中国工业“结构红利假说”的实证检验

 要素流动是影响生产率增长的一个重要原因，两者的关系反映在“结构红利假说”中：当投入要素从低生产率或者低生产率增长的部门向高生产率或高生产率增长部门流动时，会促进总生产率增长。本文使用常用的和扩展的shift-share方法实证检验了1998-2004年期间中国省际工业间的劳动力流动和资本转移对生产率增长的影响，发现劳动力流动对生产率增长的促进作用不显著；资本转移对生产率增长具有一定的促进作用；考虑Verdoorn效应后，劳动力和资本转移对中国工业TFP增长的总贡献较小，即结构红利假说并不显著；中国工业生产率增长的绝大部分原因还是内部增长效应。因此，更合理的配置省际工业间的生产要素显得很有必要。     

基于对偶法的中国全要素生产率核算

 对偶法是基于生产要素价格核算全要素生产率（简称TFP）,无需设定生产函数形式和生产要素存量数据,核算结果在理论上与Solow残差法的相等,Barro等（2003）在最新版的《经济增长》教科书中予以介绍。国内文献主要采用Solow残差法核算中国TFP,该方法需要生产要素存量数据,尽管国内文献致力于探索模拟我国资本存量,但难免无法从根本上提高TFP 的核算质量。基于此,本文首次采用对偶法重新核算我国TFP,结果发现,采用对偶法核算我国TFP可行、可信;在1979－2004年间,TFP增长率为2.5%,对中国经济增长的贡献约为1/4。     

The WICS approach to leadership: Stories of leadership and the structures and processes that support them

This article presents the WICS approach to leadership and relates it to other approaches. Effective leadership is viewed as a synthesis of wisdom, creativity, and intelligence (WICS). It is in large part a decision about how to marshal and deploy these resources. One needs creativity to generate ideas, academic intelligence to evaluate whether the idea are good, practical intelligence to implement the ideas and persuade others of their worth, and wisdom to balance the interests of all stakeholders and to ensure that the actions of the leader seek a common good. The structures and processes underlying WICS work in concert to produce and maintain stories of leadership. These stories in turn enable leaders to fulfill their mission in leading followers.     

基于Malmquist指数的高等教育生产率变动分析

文章运用Malmquist指数方法,考察了1997——2005年间高等教育全要素生产率TFP的变动趋势,并通过Malmquist指数的分解,分析了我国高等教育TFP增长的内在动力。结果表明,高校扩招以来,我国高等教育TFP的增长主要是由技术进步推动的,规模效率和纯技术效率的相互作用,使高等教育资源配置效率对高等教育TFP的增长作用不明显。通过分析,本文认为走"内涵式"发展道路,不断提高高等教育管理技术水平将是我国高等教育发展战略的未来的发展方向。     

Ageing, health and productivity: A challenge for the new millennium

The economic implications of Europe's ageing population are considerable. Without an increase in the size of the working population, reducing the possible fiscal deficits will be difficult. This paper reviews this area of increasing concern for basic, applied and strategic researchers, namely how to increase the age at which people typically stop working, without damaging health or productivity. Chronological age per se may not be a good predictor of health and job performance; rather we should examine various mediating and moderating factors. It is argued that attention should focus on national and organizational policies, management attitudes, training, work demands, the working environment, work organization, the psychosocial environment and health promotion. Older workers may currently be subject to discriminatory practices and to stereotypical and inappropriate attitudes which may adversely affect their health and performance. Flexible and intelligent solutions are required. Many organizations, perhaps reflecting western culture, have not yet evolved to the point where the potential contribution of older people is recognized and allowed to flourish. Once current barriers are removed, and existing and developing knowledge applied, an optimistic picture for older workers emerges.