Life and labor on the internal colonial edge: Political economy of kolberi in Rojhelat

Through the investigation of kolberi (cross-border labor), this paper sheds light on the state’s policy of de-development (or internal colonialization) of the Kurdish region (known as Rojhelat) in Iran. While the most dangerous form of labor, kolberi has become a dominant employment opportunity for Rojhelat Kurds in the last decade. There are no Iranian state laws criminalizing kolberi, and yet those laborers die on a regular basis—being shot or thrown off mountain cliffs by the state forces, stepping into minefields, and so forth. Nevertheless, there is not a single scholarly paper on this subject. Using the mixed methods research approach, our study analyzes the existing data along with in-depth interviews with 20 people who are currently engaged in kolberi to contextualize this understudied phenomenon. Our finding demonstrates that kolberi is a direct outcome of a uni-ethno-religious policies of development and part and parcel of the state's Perso-Shi‘ification strategy in Kurdistan. Therefore, kolberi is more of a political phenomenon than an economic one.     

A non-parametric statistic for testing conditional heteroscedasticity for unobserved component models

When prediction intervals are constructed using unobserved component models (UCM), problems can arise due to the possible existence of components that may or may not be conditionally heteroscedastic. Accurate coverage depends on correctly identifying the source of the heteroscedasticity. Different proposals for testing heteroscedasticity have been applied to UCM; however, in most cases, these procedures are unable to identify the heteroscedastic component correctly. The main issue is that test statistics are affected by the presence of serial correlation, causing the distribution of the statistic under conditional homoscedasticity to remain unknown. We propose a nonparametric statistic for testing heteroscedasticity based on the well-known Wilcoxon''s rank statistic. We study the asymptotic validation of the statistic and examine bootstrap procedures for approximating its finite sample distribution. Simulation results show an improvement in the size of the homoscedasticity tests and a power that is clearly comparable with the best alternative in the literature. We also apply the test on real inflation data. Looking for the presence of a conditionally heteroscedastic effect on the error terms, we arrive at conclusions that almost all cases are different than those given by the alternative test statistics presented in the literature.     

俄国1866年国家农民改革法令论析

国家农民是1861年俄国农奴制改革中三类主要农民之一,与皇室农民和地主农民的主要区别是拥有人身权。1866年国家农民改革是1861年农民改革的延续和扩展,是将1861年2月19日法令推行到国家农村的具体实践。国家农民改革法令的出台并不顺利,是各派考量地主农民改革经验和国家农民现实后做出的稳妥选择。改革法令推行使国家农民土地保障程度降低而赋役负担依旧,改革前拥有人身权的相对优势没能扭转改革后与地主农民同样的命运。从国家农民改革的目标、改革法令的拟定、法令规定与法令落实等维度来看,这一结果在所难免。     

State‐led industrial development,structural transformation and elite‐led plunder: Angola (2002–2013) as a developmental state

From 2002 to 2013, Angola engaged in large‐scale state‐led reconstruction and development alongside an elite‐led appropriation and seizure of national assets. Until the oil price shock, Angola had been succeeding in promoting rapid economic growth, and possibly even significant social development, alongside a massive grab of wealth and power by local elites. Today, though an economic crisis has taken hold, frequent predictions of the country's imminent collapse have yet to be fulfilled. This article reviews the state's development planning and expenditure with a focus on public investment and industrial development to determine to what extent Angola during this period might be considered a developmental or petro‐developmental state. It is argued that, while more significant than generally thought, petro‐developmental outcomes were and are limited by the autocratic and neopatrimonial tendencies of the Angolan elite. Nevertheless, limited success with structural transformation may have lasting effects. Following its long civil war, the conditions existed for Angola to follow a new path of state‐led development. Though it may now be more difficult, structural transformation and economic diversification remain the only path to economic and social development.     

集体耕作制时期农村人口增长分析

通过文献参阅,运用现代经济学和社会学相关理论和方法,探索性地分析集体耕作制时期,农地产权残缺、社会的高度封闭性及平均分配主义的影响和中国农村人口的快速增长。改革开放30年来,影响中国农村人口快速增长的诸因素和人口低生育水平反弹的压力基本消除。面对人口长期负惯性增长的新趋势,中国应及时调整生育政策。     

揭橥理论视域：“国进民退”争论背后的意识形态迷思

“国进民退”争议热潮背后隐藏的是以前困扰着部分中国共产党人,至今仍然困扰着部分共产党人的意识形态认知误区,回顾中国共产党宏观经济政策史和经济思想史的变迁历程,深入剖析中国共产党在意识形态层面上对“公有”和“非公有”经济成分的内在二元冲突,可以见出中国共产党要以“执政党”的自身定位来重构“革命党”时期的意识形态。     

浅析微博问政在党的执政能力建设中的二重性作用

近年来,随着互联网Web2.0技术的发展应用、政府职能角色的转变以及公民意识和权利意识的觉醒,微博和微博问政蓬勃兴起,使我们党的执政环境发生了重大而深刻的变化。微博问政是把＂双刃剑＂,一方面成为提升党的执政能力建设的助推器;另一方面,也对新时期党的执政能力建设提出了新的严峻挑战。因此,必须正确认识和分析微博问政的二重性作用,积极探索完善微博问政的有效途径,才能更好地推动党的执政能力建设迈上新台阶。     

现代政治文化与民族国家治理

现代政治文化具有世俗性、自主性、开放性与融合性。民族国家治理是国家公共权力控制和引导政治、社会活动的运作行为。政治文化现代化与民族国家治理之间存在互动关系。现代政治文化对民族国家治理提供支撑与协调,民族国家的治理活动推动、引导政治文化现代化的发展。     

英语专业语言学导论课程教学现状调查

英语专业语言学导论课程因专业性、理论性强,其开设必要性曾一度受到质疑,但经过30年左右的建设,从对国内10余所院校语言学导论课程教学现状调查中可以看出,课程在维护学科系统方面的地位已得到普遍认可;国内教材建设兼顾学科自身特点和学生认知及语言水平,并符合教材设计的新取向;课程讲授突出对语言和语言学本质的讲解及理论的应用性,注重现代信息技术的应用,并尽量使讲授目标切合学生专业学习的需要,以调整学生在课程学习认识上的偏颇,丰富和深化教学内容,缓解学生的畏学情绪,增强他们的学习积极性。     

Culture, state and varieties of capitalism: a comparative study of life insurance markets in Hong Kong and Taiwan

This article examines the interplay between local culture, the state, and economic actors' agency in producing variation across markets. I adopt a political-cultural approach to examining why life insurance has been far more popular in Taiwan than Hong Kong, despite the presence of a cultural taboo on the topic of premature death in both societies. Based on interview data and documentary references, the findings reveal that as an independent state, the Taiwanese government heavily protected domestic insurance firms during their emergence. These domestic firms adopted a market-share approach by re-defining the concept of life insurance to accommodate the local cultural taboo. The colonial Hong Kong government, on the other hand, adopted laissez-faire policies that essentially favoured foreign insurance firms. When faced with the tension between local adaptation and the profitability of the business, these foreign firms chose the latter. Their reluctance to accommodate local cultures, however, resulted in a smaller market. I argue that state actions mediate who the dominant economic players are and that the nature of the dominant players affects the extent of localization. Specifically, the presence of competitive domestic players alongside transnational corporations is more likely to produce varieties of capitalism.