Drivers of Forest Ecosystem Change in Purnapani Area: Empirical Evidence and Policy Suggestions

Purnapani area of Sundargarh district of Indian state of Odisha was primarily dominated by tribal people with natural forest ecosystems. The local tribal people were mostly depending upon forest and agriculture for their livelihood. During 1958 Purnapani Limestone and Dolomite Quarry (PL&DQ) started mining of lime stone and dolomite in the area. The total land contributed by Purnapani villagers for mining, township and railway line construction was 569.64 acres. In 2003, the mines were closed and about 2000 mine workers lost their livelihood. During the last 50–60 years, unsustainable mining activities and then their abandonment have degraded the forest ecosystem and livelihood resource base of local communities in the Purnapani area. Thus in order to identify the major drivers of degraded forest ecosystems we have conducted primary surveys in Purnapani area. Using regression analyses we find that both mining activities and passenger transport services are the drivers of population growth in Purnapani area. Livelihood of local tribal people is being positively impacted by mining activity and passenger transport services operating from Purnapani area. Fuel wood consumption increases over time due to population growth which put great pressure on forest ecosystems to change. Both mineral production and population size have impacted human well-being negatively by positively impacting health expenditure. The amount of decline of community welfare in terms of net present value derived by the communities from extraction of forest resources is due to mine spoiled degraded forest ecosystem services. From our analysis we recommend that large-scale ecological restoration is necessary to protect the environment and to restore the resilience of ecosystem services in this area.

     

Combining analytical frameworks to assess livelihood vulnerability to climate change and analyse adaptation options

Experts working on behalf of international development organisations need better tools to assist land managers in developing countries maintain their livelihoods, as climate change puts pressure on the ecosystem services that they depend upon. However, current understanding of livelihood vulnerability to climate change is based on a fractured and disparate set of theories and methods. This review therefore combines theoretical insights from sustainable livelihoods analysis with other analytical frameworks (including the ecosystem services framework, diffusion theory, social learning, adaptive management and transitions management) to assess the vulnerability of rural livelihoods to climate change. This integrated analytical framework helps diagnose vulnerability to climate change, whilst identifying and comparing adaptation options that could reduce vulnerability, following four broad steps: i) determine likely level of exposure to climate change, and how climate change might interact with existing stresses and other future drivers of change; ii) determine the sensitivity of stocks of capital assets and flows of ecosystem services to climate change; iii) identify factors influencing decisions to develop and/or adopt different adaptation strategies, based on innovation or the use/substitution of existing assets; and iv) identify and evaluate potential trade-offs between adaptation options. The paper concludes by identifying interdisciplinary research needs for assessing the vulnerability of livelihoods to climate change.     

The economic importance of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) for livelihood maintenance of rural west African communities: A case study from northern Benin

Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) contribute significantly to a rural household's livelihood in the African semi-arid tropics. This study examines the income from NTFPs and the dependency on these of different socio-economic groups in Northern Benin. Using survey data from 230 households of two villages, we firstly compared incomes of five different ethnic groups being differentiated by their traditional source of livelihood and regional provenance. Secondly, we investigated disparities between three income groups. On average, income from NTFPs accounted for 39% of total household income and had a strong equalizing effect on it. However, the economic relevance of NTFPs differs between households: Poorer households are relatively more dependent on NTFPs in order to fulfill basic needs than wealthier households. However, the latter extract more NTFPs in quantitative terms and have significantly higher cash returns than poorer ones. This is mainly due to a significant greater land holding. Moreover, our study revealed that net income from NTFPs reflects traditional sources of livelihoods of different ethnic groups. In conclusion, both conservation and development strategies should take into consideration the socio-economic context of different beneficiaries of savanna woodland resources in order to apply appropriate measures to poverty reduction.     

民生经济论纲——兼论农民问题是民生经济的根本问题

民生问题与民生经济是两个概念。民生经济首先应是民生改善经济;民生经济还存在民生逆转,民生被认为出现问题时,民生经济的概念就被第一次狭隘化了;民生经济还是基本民生经济,在这一层次民生经济取得了进一步狭隘的形式。最后,民生经济本质上是包容性经济。现阶段继续把民生与国计、民生与经济隔离的发展方式必须转变。在我国农民最"大"、农民最多,农民的民生解决得最不好,农民身上蕴藏着最大的经济发展潜力。所以,归根到底,农民问题是我国民生经济的根本问题。     

高密度和低密度城市的蔓延特征对比——中美大城市对比分析

对比研究高密度城市和低密度城市的蔓延特征有助于为城市规划和管理提供参考。以人口超过100万的12个中国城市、9个美国城市为样本城市,采用圈层分析法和反S方程,对比分析1990、2000和2014年以中国为代表的高密度城市和以美国为代表的低密度城市的蔓延特征。结果表明:①同等人口规模下,中国城市的建设用地面积较小,但土地扩张速度快。中国和美国城市的土地扩张分别主要发生在郊区和城市内部。②中国城市相对更为紧凑。高密度松散的城市土地扩张趋于紧凑,低密度城市蔓延程度在降低。③高、低密度城市的总体人口密度都呈下降趋势。高密度的中国城市尽管空间形态更紧凑,人口密度下降得较快,有必要遏制中国的城市蔓延趋势。④空间紧凑的城市人口密度下降得较慢;蔓延和紧凑的空间增长使高密度城市的人口密度下降变快和变慢,而对低密度城市没有表现出显著影响。     

论我国民生财政建设

保障和改善民生是落实科学发展观、构建社会主义和谐社会的客观要求。近年来民生财政已经成为社会各界讨论和关注的热点问题,扩大财政用于民生方面的支出,也已经成为中央和各级地方政府的重要工作之一。文章通过对民生财政概念的诠释,结合我国的实际情况指出我国在民生财政建设中存在的主要问题,在现行的财政体制下,提出相应的政策建议。     

Is living in African cities expensive?

Although several studies have examined why overall price levels are higher in richer countries, little is known about whether there is a similar relationship at the urban and city level across countries. This paper compares the price levels of cities in Sub-Saharan Africa with those of other regions by analyzing price information collected for the purpose of calculating official purchasing power parities. The approach of the paper is to readjust the calculated price levels from national to urban levels, using known price-level ratios between those areas. The results indicate that African cities are relatively more expensive, despite having lower income levels. The price levels of goods and services consumed by households are 25 to 28 percent higher in Sub-Saharan Africa than in other low- and middle-income countries, relative to their income levels. Such high costs of living could constrain livelihood of low-income urban residents, as well as the development of Africa’s urban economies.     

Urbanization and the problem of restricting the growth of very large cities

This article discusses the problem of preventing the excessive growth of very large cities to the detriment of the development of smaller urban settlements in the USSR. The increase in size of the urban population throughout the entire USSR is mainly connected with the increase in the number of city dwellers. In 1960 and 1970 the number of largest cities in the USSR increased, along with a share of the nation's population living in these large cities. The low natural increase in population of very large cities creates a high demand for labor power which must come from the population of other cities. In 1970-1980, Moscow, one of the largest millionaire cities, had the lowest population growth rate of all major USSR cities (113.7%). The growth of Moscow and other very large cities in the last few years has been due to the mechanical increase in population and the increase in area. The analysis of Moscow's pattern of population growth over time focuses on changes in the level of availability of social and everyday services. The prewar period is characterized by a reserve of labor resources, the highest growth in industry and science, but a low overall population dynamic in the city. In the postwar period there was a significant decline in the annual increase of all indicators; this was a period of strong social development of the city. The period between 1966 and 1980 shows a further slowdown in the growth rate of city forming branches by an accelerated development of municipal service branches. The demand for measures to restrict the growth of very large Soviet cities depends on: 1) the reorientation of the development of the economic base, 2) the restructuring of their economy, and 3) the siting of various types of production of goods and services. Developing the specialization of the urban economy consists of planned development of the production of goods and services based on the use of available resources.     

服务业的空间集聚与城市经济发展实证研究

城市的本质就在于它的空间集聚性,包括人口的集聚和产业的集聚,而人口的集聚会促进城市生活服务业的发展,产业的集聚会促进城市生产服务业的发展.随着城市经济的发展,越来越多的服务企业或组织会集聚在城市,而服务业集聚已成为城市增强核心竞争力的重要途径.通过提升城市技术边界来促进服务业在城市集聚和通过服务业集聚促进城市经济发展二者间是相互促进关系.     

基于建设用地和人口标准的中国公园 配置演化特征分析

公园是城市中最优质的公共开放空间和最普惠的民生福祉，科学研判人地影响下公园的配置特征，可为新时代推进中国“公园-用地-人口”统筹优化提供科学依据。以中国建制市为研究单元，基于建设用地和人口两大视角，从总量、格局、个体3个层次，探究1981—2016年全国与不同用地、人口结构城市公园配置的演化特征。研究表明：1)我国公园配置由“提升密度”到“提升规模”，整体呈“以地推动、与人脱节”的规律，其中公园率具有较好发展趋势，人均公园面积高速增长但不可持续；2)各结构城市差异化配置明显，高人均用地水平、低密度、小城市普遍趋于“高密度、小规模”配置公园；低人均用地水平、高密度、特大城市人均公园面积长期处于不理想状态。基于人地双标准对公园配置进行了多维度、长时期、大范围的考察与分析，以期为系统完善公园配置“因地因人”导向规划提供参考。     

Contribution of wetland agriculture to farmers' livelihood in Rwanda

This study analyzes factors that contribute to the livelihood of smallholder farmers living in the vicinity of the Cyabayaga and Rugeramigozi wetlands. Three tools were used: 1) focus group discussion 2) formal surveys and 3) Monitoring for Quality Improvement (MONQI). Farming systems in wetlands and on hillsides differ. Level of education, resource availability, land ownership and location have an important impact on the location and type of farming systems practiced by households. The dependency of households on wetlands varies between sites. Field size, status of soil fertility and input use are also key factors determining the level of contribution that wetland agriculture makes to farmers' livelihood. In Cyabayaga, the per household per year contribution of wetland cultivation to gross margin (GM) was 74% ($1901) compared to 24% ($84) in Rugeramigozi. The rice in Cyabayaga was the largest contributor to household income providing on average $1045 per household per season. Vegetables cultivated in the dry season in Rugeramigozi have high potential as cash crops. Poor maintenance of drainage and irrigation channels as well as inappropriate cropping systems in wetlands can undermine sustainability and have repercussions for the livelihoods of farmers dependent on agricultural wetlands.     

普惠金融对不同群体就业的影响研究——基于世界银行全球普惠金融调查数据

普惠金融的发展对促发展、稳就业、保民生具有非常重要的意义.考虑到非正规金融服务是对普惠金融的一项重要补充,本文基于2014年与2017年世界银行全球普惠金融调查数据,实证分析了正规金融服务与非正规金融服务对不同群体就业的异质性影响.研究结果表明:①在青年群体中,正规账户服务、正规储蓄服务和正规信贷金融服务对就业具有显著的促进作用;②相比于城镇群体,正规信贷服务和数字金融服务对农村群体就业的促进作用并不显著;③非正规信贷服务对不同群体的就业具有显著的促进作用.在考虑了更换就业、普惠金融的代理指标,采用不同年份的样本及采用倾向得分匹配法来减少样本选择性偏误等内生性问题后,结果依然稳健.最后,指出要积极推进普惠金融服务的广度和深度,加大普惠金融服务对不同群体就业的拉动作用.     

Assessing the predictability of future livelihood strategies of pastoralists in semi-arid Morocco under climate change

This study assesses the predictability of future livelihood strategies of transhumant pastoralists in semi-arid Morocco. A decrease in precipitation due to climate change will likely threaten their traditional livelihood strategy. We examine whether the pastoralists explicitly prefer certain alternative strategies or if their reactions will be contingent. Our analysis uses standardized interviews focussing on two aspects: firstly, which resources are necessary for the pastoralists to be able to choose a livelihood strategy? Secondly, to what degree are expectations of well-being satisfied by alternative strategies? To assign levels of predictability to all investigated strategies, we analyze the interviews using simple methods of partial order theory. We find that under perceived precipitation scarcity, 38% of pastoralists would explicitly opt for sedentarity and localized pastoralism as alternative strategy. Unclear preferences are given for 25% of the cases. Considering a policy scenario of enhanced access to education and capital, our analysis indicates commercial pastoralism as dominant alternative. However, such a scenario would increase the share of unclear preferences to 43%, which increases the likelihood of a contingent development. The method we propose can be considered as a mathematical basis for the concept of historical contingency.     

北京市养老保障制度变迁与养老模式的比较研究

在人口老龄化浪潮席卷世界各国的同时,中国大城市也面临突出的老龄化问题,亟待完善养老保障体系成为应对人口老龄化的焦点。作为一线大城市,北京已经进入老龄化时期,需要在养老问题上有更为深入的思考。将养老问题分为生存保障和发展保障两个部分,以养老金、医疗和服务为具体形式,通过对制度层面和生活模式层面进行分析,发现当前适合北京的养老模式应为社区居家养老模式。     

Internet Economics and Policy: An Australian Perspective

Publicly available information indicates that the demand and supply of Internet and Internet–related services are continuing to expand at a rapid pace. Since 1997 the number of Internet service providers (facilities–based and resellers) has increased by nearly 40 per cent; the number of points–of–presence per Internet service provider has increased by five times; the number of hosts connected to the Internet has more than quadrupled; and Internet traffic has increased from six to 10 times. The emergence of electronic commerce (e–commerce), driven by this rapid adoption of Internet services and continual technological innovation, is likely to have profound economic and social impacts on Australian society. This paper provides a detailed analysis of the impact of the Internet and e–commerce, ranging from the changes in the market structure of the telecommunications industry, its role in changing the organisation of traditional markets, the emergence of new markets, and the structural shifts to employment, productivity and trade. The paper also analyses contemporary Australian regulatory responses.     

不同生计策略类型对农户林种选择意愿的影响研究——基于福建省477户农户调查数据

研究以福建省为调研区域,数据来源于福建省集体林权制度改革监测调查。根据农户收入来源不同,将农户生计策略类型划分为纯林型、兼业型和非林型,通过构建多元无序Logit模型,实证分析不同生计策略类型对农户林种选择意愿的影响。结果表明:从纯林型向非林型转变时,呈现出家庭耕地面积、家庭林地块数、家庭林地面积、家庭林业生产经营支出、家庭林业收入逐渐减少的趋势和家庭非林生产经营支出、家庭非林收入逐渐增加的趋势。以农户种植竹林意愿为参照,与非林型相比,纯林型和兼业型对农户用材林和经济林选择意愿均具有显著正向作用,用材林选择意愿受户主年龄、是否签订林地承包合同的影响,经济林选择意愿受户主是否为村干部、是否有林权证、是否加入农民林业专业合作社、是否拿到过林业补贴、林业单位面积投入的影响。研究结论有助于农户根据不同生计策略选择不同林种,进而提升农户收入水平,缓解农户生计问题。     

The self-organisation of strategic alliances

This paper is based upon an analysis of various experiences of electronic commerce. It analyzes the role of private institutions in the organization of systems of transactions. Private institutions take place between public institutions (that are insufficiently specialized) and inter-individual governance structures (that do not benefit from scale and cognitive economies). These private institutions are very diverse and the paper points out the various types of services provided by diverse institutions depending on their constitutional mode.

While various possible institutional frameworks have very different features in terms of coordination, there is no most efficient institutional environment. Moreover, the emergence process of these institutional framework strongly influences their ability to survive. Very different institutional frameworks can therefore organize electronic trade quite differently in the various industries     

Benefits of Changes in Urban Public Transport Subsidies in the Major Australian Cities*

This paper considers the economic efficiency benefits of urban public transport subsidies and presents estimates of the marginal benefits of fare and service level changes in the main Australian cities. Models to evaluate benefits are outlined, and estimates compared of the benefits to public transport and other road users of fare and service level changes in different cities. A major conclusion is that existing urban public transport subsidies might be more effective from an economic efficiency point of view if frequency levels were reduced and the consequent cost savings used to finance lower levels of fares.     

网约车对公共交通的影响——合法性的调节作用

作为出行领域新兴的服务模式,网约车方便了人们出行也对社会产生了一定的影响,其中,对公共交通的影响引起了广泛议论。然而,到目前为止,这方面的实证研究较少。针对此,基于中国276个地级市2004—2017年的数据,刻画了网约车对公共交通的影响机制以及合法性的调节作用,结果表明:①网约车的出现减少了公交客运量,但增加了轨道交通客运量;②2017年,各地先后为网约车颁发经营许可证,这种明确合法性的措施促进了人们使用两类公共交通服务。研究结论为更好的管理网约车平台提供了理论依据。     

国家电子商务示范城市建设对企业绿色技术创新的影响及机制研究

在中国经济进入绿色高质量发展的新阶段,促进企业绿色技术创新是关键。众多考察绿色技术创新的制度安排中,鲜见从宏观电子商务发展视角考察其对微观企业绿色技术创新的影响。选择2009—2019年沪深A股上市公司数据,利用渐进性双重差分法实证检验国家电子商务示范城市建设对企业绿色技术创新的作用机制。结果发现,电商示范城市建设这一信息化冲击能够显著降低试点地区企业内部管理性交易成本和外部市场性交易成本,促进企业绿色技术创新。异质性检验发现,电子商务普及与应用对信息化水平较高的地区和非资源型城市,以及民营企业绿色技术创新的作用更显著。进一步分析发现,电子商务对服务业交易成本的节约效应大于制造业,对外部交易成本的节约效应大于内部管控成本。