FDI Determinants: Case of Romania

Even if the FDI is important for all host countries, for those in the process of transition to a market economy the FDI presence is critical under many respects. Not all transition countries benefited from the very beginning from the FDI presence. Several determinant factors explain the differences. Romania was lagging behind regarding the interest of foreign investors during the first 9–10 years of transition. The situation has improved greatly. The aim of this paper is to identify the main factors determining the evolution in the FDI/GDP (%) as proxy for the FDI evolution. To this end, we used the method of factors analyses. The four resulted determinant factors are: Market size and potential, Reform progress, Business liberalization, and Labor cost. A linear regression model expresses the connections between dependent variable and the four determinant factors. The paper concludes with certain policy implications.

Transfer Pricing in Transition Economies: Evidence from Ukraine

Faced with possibilities and challenges of doing business under different regulatory regimes, transnational corporations have developed a number of transfer mechanisms to take advantage of profit maximization opportunities. Transfer pricing is a transfer mechanism widely used by transnational corporations. Implications of transfer pricing for profitability and the need for transfer pricing regulation are well understood by national governments, which is reflected in the fact that more than 60 governments have introduced some form of transfer pricing controls. Transfer pricing is a challenging issue for transition economies as their transfer pricing regulatory systems are less mature than those of developed countries. The authors have initiated an empirical study on transfer pricing strategies in the Ukrainian market. In addition, the national regulatory regime for transfer pricing was evaluated compared to international best practices. This article is an attempt to draw attention of the research community and Ukrainian policy-makers to transfer pricing issues in Ukraine.      

浅谈约旦穆斯林兄弟会与政府的关系

长期以来,约旦穆斯林兄弟会与政府保持着良好的合作关系。穆斯林兄弟会不仅未受政府的压制,反而处于上升的态势。这有别于埃及和其他国家穆斯林兄弟会与政府之间纷繁多变的关系,这种合作关系在整个中东地区的伊斯兰运动中都是罕见的。鉴于此,本文拟就约旦穆兄会与政府的关系作一论述。     

冷战后美国中东战略的调整与伊朗核问题

新一届美国政府成立后,其对伊朗核问题的立场成为国际社会广泛关注的热点问题。伊朗核问题解决的方式,主要取决于美伊双方,但在全球化的今天,美国和伊朗走向直接对抗甚至爆发战争的可能性越来越小,双方更可能以全方位外交谈判的方式来解决美伊之间的矛盾。     

Anti-hierarchical activism in Hong Kong: the post-80s youth

In 2009, a political youth movement known as the Post-80s emerged in Hong Kong to protest against the construction of a high-speed railway. While local academics and government officials framed the motivations of these youth protesters using economic rationales, I argue here that the Post-80s are better understood as conveying their dissatisfaction towards existing political structures in the city. This profile sets out Post-80s criticisms of the entrenched hierarchical dynamics in Hong Kong political culture that has shaped interactions between the government, political parties and the wider population, and discusses how the Post-80s have responded to the representational imbalances imposed by these hierarchical practices in the local political sphere by advocating for a way of doing politics where individual voices (as opposed to the collective) are emphasized, and where horizontal structures are used. I conclude by exploring the repercussions of this critique on recent political discourses and protests observed in Hong Kong.     

Linking family engagement with a rights perspective: macro factors influencing practice

While child welfare practitioners in many countries are struggling to develop methods of effective family engagement, they operate within different national and cultural contexts that influence, both positively and negatively, the ability to engage with families. Increasingly, international comparisons are necessary to further understanding of the development of social work practice. This is particularly necessary because most countries utilize international frameworks (such as the United National Convention on the Rights of the Child) to provide guidance in the development of policies, programs, and interventions. Each country (and locality) struggles to advance practice to be more effective and humane. Our paper offers a comparative analysis focused on family-oriented and rights-based frameworks of different countries. Based on a review of current national policies and a review of the literature regarding family-based practices, we examine similarities and differences among four countries: the United Kingdom, Sweden, the United States, and South Korea. These countries were selected because they have some similarities (advanced industrialized democracies, professional social work, and formal child protection systems) but have some differences in their social welfare systems (policies, specific practices, and socio-cultural context). These differences can be utilized to advance understanding regarding the promise and potential for family engagement strategies. We then discuss the utility of this comparison for theory-building in the arena of child-care practice and conclude by identifying the challenges and limitations of this work.     

The role,importance and challenges of social sciences and humanities in the work of the intergovernmental science-policy platform on biodiversity and ecosystem services (IPBES)

Qualified competences in social science and humanities are required across the various deliverables of the intergovernmental science-policy platform on biodiversity and ecosystem services (IPBES) in order to fully address the objectives of IPBES. Building integrative approaches has long been acknowledged as a scientific challenge. Hence, new paths have to be forged, including revisiting basic ontological and epistemological considerations, such as how we understand the world, what knowledge is, and the role of science. Constructive interdisciplinary dialogues in IPBES supports the development of innovative frames and terminologies. One example is the evolution from the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment ecosystem service framework to the Nature’s Contributions to People classification now applied in IPBES assessments. IPBES is still in a learning phase and critical examination of what is accomplished this far is useful when refining ongoing modes of work and in long-term strategic considerations.     

Women Rule: Gendered Leadership and State Supreme Court Chief Justice Selection

ABSTRACT

While women are underrepresented in many political institutions and leadership positions, nearly half of state supreme court chief justices are women. Is there something about the role of state supreme court justice that facilitates the recruitment of women to this important political position? We examine whether the selection of a woman chief is driven by the court’s institutional need for women’s leadership style or simply the supply of qualified justices. We find that ideological diversity drives demand for a woman chief. A supply of experienced women justices also has a significant impact on likelihood of selection.     

The Bayes rule of the variance parameter of the hierarchical normal and inverse gamma model under Stein's loss

For the variance parameter of the hierarchical normal and inverse gamma model, we analytically calculate the Bayes rule (estimator) with respect to a prior distribution IG (alpha, beta) under Stein's loss function. This estimator minimizes the posterior expected Stein's loss (PESL). We also analytically calculate the Bayes rule and the PESL under the squared error loss. Finally, the numerical simulations exemplify that the PESLs depend only on alpha and the number of observations. The Bayes rules and PESLs under Stein's loss are unanimously smaller than those under the squared error loss.