Institutional Change and the Problems of Restructuring the Russian Fishing Industry

This article discusses how the transition from a planned towards a market-based economy has affected the Russian fishing industry. It is based on a series of studies of the Northwest Russian fishing industry, where evidence from its past role and functioning is contrasted with the current situation. The conceptual perspective drawn on is institutional theory, with a focus on higher-order institutions. One of the main findings is that the fishing companies stand out as the only surviving party in the game. The losers are the land-based fish processing industry, the mother ship and transport fleet, and the support structures, which depend on the activities generated by the prime production (fishing). It is argued that the new institutional arrangements necessarily force a new adaptation among the fishing companies, and suggested that some of the changes of the higher-order institutions have been less successful than initially assumed, as there still are several adverse elements in the Russian institutional arrangements that hinder further transition toward a marketbased economy.     

Competition and Industrial Organisation in Transition Markets: What Can We Derive from Empirical Studies?

Competition is the basic concept for both industrial organisation theory and institutional economics. Transition economies, including Russia, are natural laboratories allowing us to trace the emergence of competition, the influence of competition on the conduct of market participants, the relationship between competition and market structure and the institutional foundation of competition. This article provides a summary of the results of empirical studies in the above area. We try to explain some puzzles concerning the influence of competition on the conduct of Russian market participants and interpret the results in the framework of institutional and industrial economics. Overall, the results of empirical studies can be generalised as follows. Competition in Russian markets has been gaining momentum over the last 15 years. The results of empirical studies have confirmed the assumption that competition is an incentive for active restructuring of privatised enterprises. Many of the data collected are evidence in favour of the endogenous market structure approach. From the institutional viewpoint, the history of the evolution of Russia's transition economy shows interdependence between private property and competition: better protection of property rights is a precondition for the development of competition. At the same time, the model of corporate governance that allows the property rights of private owners to be protected in the Russian institutional environment restricts organisational diversity and therefore competition in Russian markets.     

经济制度安排、国际贸易与经济增长影响机理的经验研究

本文分析了经济制度安排和贸易流量之间的相互关系及其对该国经济增长以及影响经济增长的其他因素的影响。在九个经济制度安排变量中对一国贸易流量影响作用最大的经济制度安排变量是该国的贸易政策,对一国高技术产品出口影响最大的经济制度安排变量是该国的产权保护程度。从对影响经济增长的渠道分析发现,在所有的经济制度安排变量中,一国产权的保护程度对该国经济增长的影响作用最大;同时产权保护的程度和政府干预对技术进步和人力资本的影响最为显著。     

The Issue of Efficiency and the Role of State in New Institutional Economics: A Critical Perspective

ABSTRACT

This article scrutinises and criticises the notion of efficiency and the role of state in the emergence and evolution of institutions and property rights within the tradition of new institutional economics. Specifically, the attempt is to criticise the efficiency view of the formation of property rights and institutions. It is shown that the efficiency concept cannot provide a sufficient rationale for explaining the origins of private property. Additionally, some recent developments of North's thought are critically scrutinised, showing that his theoretical apparatus could be conceived as a paradise for the eclectic. Further, the role of the state in different versions of the theory of property rights – with a special reference to North's treatment of the notion of state – is, also, critically examined. Although North’s work has virtues compared to the ‘naïve model’ of property rights by recognising and addressing the role of the state and the issue of power in the formation of property rights and institutions, he does not succeed in fully accounting for the existence of institutional arrangements, due to his adherence to an individualist framework.     

On the economics of R&D and technological collaborations: Insights and results from the project colline

Research collaborations involve co-production and exchange of knowledge across organisational boundaries. They involve governance of intellectual property rights and partners' use of collectively produced knowledge. The principal findings arise from case studies of consortia governance in biotechnology and software and substantial variety in arrangements is identified. This variety may be explained by the appropriability of knowledge in particular research domains as well as by the nature of the knowledge generated. Consequences of governance rules are explored for European research consortia and for collective standards making activities. The analysis indicates several policy conclusions: government policy has an important role in overcoming market failures in consortia formation; adoption of any uniform intellectual property rights model for consortia would be likely to reduce research productivity; policies aimed at stimulating consortia formation must take account of the nature of knowledge that is to be exchanged.     

基金投资行为及其股价效应

文章主要就基金投资行为及其股价效应的国内外文献进行综述.主要包括以下三个方面:一是在基金特有的制度安排下,基金投资中的参与主体行为将明显受到市场环境、内部治理结构等因素的影响,基金管理人及份额持有人会根据所处环境的变化动态地调整其行为;二是基金投资行为将影响到股票的流动性状况,同时由于基金具有专业和信息方面的优势,基金投资活动将不可避免地影响到股票的价格;三是当基金作为整体普遍采取策略性的交易行为,将导致市场发生趋势性的变化,其结果可能加速股价回归基本面,但也可能加剧市场波动.     

21世纪：国企改革的出路

我国国有企业的改革大体上经历了放权让利、转换经营机制和制度创新三个阶段。但至今为止, 国有企业仍然没有摆脱困境。其主要原因在于影响国有企业改革的四个根本性问题即国有经济战略性调整的思路问题、国有企业改革的方向问题、国有企业产权改革的核心问题与国有企业建立现代企业制度过程中的公司治理模式问题没有得到很好的解决。只有解决这些根本性的问题, 并辅之以相关的配套改革措施, 才能真正搞活国有企业。     

Sustainable Growth: A Circular Economy Perspective

Abstract:

Since the Brundtland Report was released in 1987, research on sustainable development has become an urgent issue of common concern. To meet the present consumption without compromising the needs of future generations, it is essential for society to practice the “don’t waste waste” principle and to promote sustainable growth. As this article illustrates, sustainable growth can be understood as an institutional arrangement of regenerating circular GDP in a sustainable manner. In the circular economy system, sustainable growth is not only theoretically feasible, but also looks very promising. To promote sustainable consumption and investment, a certain degree of institutional planning (i.e., a process of progressive institutional change) initiated by a community or a government is necessary. Sustainable growth is, in essence, a dynamic process of mutually-interacting socioeconomic activities of learning and training in sustainability issues, and this requires great effort as well as the active participation of people from all walks of life.     

Why the rich may favor poor protection of property rights

In unequal societies, the rich may benefit from shaping economic institutions in their favor. This paper analyzes the dynamics of institutional subversion by focusing on the public protection of property rights. If this institution functions imperfectly, agents have incentives to invest in private protection of property rights. The ability to maintain private protection systems makes the rich natural opponents of public property rights and precludes grass-roots demand to drive the development of the market-friendly institution. The economy becomes stuck in a bad equilibrium with low growth rates, high inequality of income, and wide-spread rent-seeking. The Russian oligarchs of 1990s, who controlled large stakes of newly privatized property, provide motivation for this paper. Journal of Comparative Economics 31 (4) (2003) 715–731.     

Technological Change: Disaggregation and Overseas Production

The Russian economy faces serious challenges when it comes to such issues as legitimacy of property and protection of property rights. This paper considers institutional aspects of raiding, including the role of Commercial Arbitration Courts and bankruptcy procedures in Russia. It concludes that raiding in Russia has a predatory character not because raiders prey on the weakest, failing, bankrupting businesses, but because they attack healthy and profitable enterprises, firms in temporary financial distress. Raiders use unclear ownership structure of attractive firms and buy necessary decisions from corrupt bureaucrats instead of waiting for a financial crisis to come.     

数字时代的企业创新生态系统治理研究综述

摘要：数字经济时代,创新生态系统成为企业竞合的主要形态,但现有研究主要关注企业创新生态系统的建设和赋能作用,企业创新生态系统的治理研究亟待加强。本研究运用科学知识图谱可视化分析方法,针对WOS和CNKI数据库中2000-2022.06年的1593篇相关文献进行关键词共享、高频词时区划分、热点词聚类和突现词辨析等计量分析和比较,分析中外企业创新生态系统治理研究的进展、演进路径,讨论其内涵外延和基本理论,展望企业创新生态系统治理的发展趋势和热点问题。研究发现：首先,中外对于企业创新生态系统治理研究在时间上并不同步,国外在20世纪90年代提出企业创新生态系统治理,随后由起步期进入平稳增长期,再到高速增长期,而中国企业创新生态系统治理研究先后经历了萌芽期、渐进期和高速增长期;其次,中外研究均体现了从企业创新生态系统设计治理、过程治理到产出治理的基础理论逻辑;最后,数字创新生态系统治理、科技创新责任治理、区块链治理、知识产权安全治理等问题是共同关注的前沿动向,数字创新生态系统治理、丰富治理机制和治理研究方法、聚焦治理主体以及动态化治理问题或将成为未来研究重点方向。     

Engines of Growth in China: The Limits of Informal Institutions

Abstract:

Since the 1978 reforms, China has experienced rapid economic and social development. GDP growth has been in the double digits on average yearly, creating the fastest sustained economic growth recorded by a major economy in history. Not only did this transform the economy and society at large, China reached important milestones in terms of reducing poverty and creating prosperity in a short period of time. This article uses the conceptual framework of new institutional economics to examine China’s economic growth and how growth has been achieved largely by ‘informal institutions’ that are grounded in culture, customs, and private interactions that emerge spontaneously. The trajectory by which these informal institutions left their imprint on China’s complex economic landscape and how they can constrain future economic growth are also of central importance. After examining decentralization and risk management practices, property rights, and the legal system, we emphasize the importance of creating formal institutions necessary for long-term growth, most importantly innovation. Preliminary evidence shows total factor productivity is tapering off which may reflect the constraints of China’s institutional environment. This ought to be reversed if China is to enjoy long-term sustained growth.     

会计监管理论:综述及其引申

本文在对现有的会计监管概念进行综述的基础上,对会计监管概念进行了引申。认为会计监管是为了保证会计信息质量、维护利益相关者的产权,企业单位负责人和投资者、债权人、政府机构、注册会计师(会计师事务所)、新闻媒体、社会公众等企业内外部利益相关者,对企业的经济活动和会计行为,基于规则而进行的监督管理的一项制度安排。该定义强调会计监管是一项制度安排,会计人员和会计机构的会计监督不应作为单独的会计监管制度安排。     

China’s rural institutions and governance since the beginning of the rural reform

ABSTRACT

This paper looks at how China governs its vast rural territories. The structure of rural governance relies not only on the extent and form of the state’s authority, but also on the principal–agent relationship between the state and local stakeholders, as well as the role of the informal institutional arrangements that serve as the foundation for rural governance. China’s 40 years of reform and opening have led to the transformation of rural China into urban and rural China. The rules and order of informal institutions have evolved and changed significantly, and the cost-benefit structure of formal state governance has been amended. The appropriate rural governance system for village transformation improves the performance of the country’s direct governance and the entrustment–agent system for village governance. Further, the rural governance system balances formal and informal institutions to achieve an effective institutional arrangement.     

The informal economy and the growth of small enterprises in Russia1

This article uses Russian regional data to estimate the determinants of the informal economy and to examine the relationship between the informal economy and the growth of legally registered small private enterprises during the transition period. After obtaining an estimate of the size of the informal economy in each Russian region from 1992 to 1999, an analysis is performed to find whether reform progress and institutional qualities account for the informal economy. An evaluation of the links between the informal economy and the growth of small enterprises within Russia is then carried out. The findings suggest that Russia's informal economy resulted from a delay in reform and low qualities of institutions. It was found that the growth of small enterprises is positively affected by the informal economy. These results imply that the informal economy helped entrepreneurial activities to grow in the face of government failure, but these informal activities tend to become official over time.     

人力资本产权的引入与国有企业的制度创新

当国有企业引入人力资本产权、把国有企业看成一个人力资本和物质资本的特别合约时，国有企业的产权制度、法人治理结构和企业文化也进行了制度创新，从而大大节约了国有企业内部的交易费用，进而指明了未来国企改革的新方向。     

我国国有经济的双重目标与TFP核算的微观基础

本研究主要讨论中国与美国的经济规模比较问题。本研究以1995年为基年,用生产法测算中美货币的双边购买力平价(PPP),并得到中国国际可比的GDP。本文把各研究者对中国国际可比GDP的测算结果外推到2004年,与其他估计相比较,本文对中国国际可比GDP可能提供了一个更合理的估计。在2004年,中国国际可比GDP接近于美国的1/3,而中国的经济规模也超过了日本。研究结果否定了所谓以1000美元为发展阶段划分的论断。在某一年份中国可能具有不同的以美元表示的人均GDP,如2458美元(2003年美元)、523美元(1964年美元)或1241美元(1980年美元)。     

市场互联性、关系型合约与经济转型

本文通过将单一市场的关系型合约推广到互联的关系型合约,刻画了社会分工程度(市场范围)与微观治理机制(基于关系型合约的治理还是基于正式合约的治理)之间的互动关系:基于何种合约来治理受市场范围的影响,市场范围越小,关系型合约越重要,正式合约越不重要;反之则反是。特别地,从这个视角看,计划经济向市场经济转型的过程,是劳动分工不断深化和市场范围不断扩大的过程,在微观治理上是一个从互联的关系型合约不断向正式合约过渡的过程。中国的渐进式改革之所以成功,很大程度上是由于渐进式改革使原来自我实施的关系型合约没有受到很大程度的破坏,在正式合约缺位时,关系型合约仍然能够维持社会经济的运行;俄罗斯的激进式改革几乎在一夜之间破坏了自我实施的关系型合约的可维持性,而短期内又不可能建立依赖正式合约的治理模式,出现了微观治理失效。本文还解释了中国经济在缺乏正式的法律和产权体系下取得骄人绩效的“悖论”,即由于关系型合约的自我实施性,因而并不需要相应的正式制度安排。本文总体上支持“后华盛顿共识”的渐进改革路径,并为其提供了动态的微观机制。     

The composition of foreign capital stocks in South Africa: The role of institutions,domestic risk and neighbourhood effects

Foreign capital inflows are an important source of funds to finance investment in developing economies. International finance literature is therefore concerned with how institutional factors like property rights and corruption affect foreign capital inflows. We investigate the determinants of the absolute volumes and composition of foreign capital stocks in South Africa, focusing on the role played by institutional quality (property rights), domestic default risk and neighbourhood effects as potential determinants. The empirical results show that secure property rights and low default risk in the host country positively affect the absolute volumes of both long-term foreign capital and short-term foreign capital, but tilt the composition in favour of long-term foreign capital. Empirical results also demonstrate the existence of neighbourhood effects where the institutional environment in Zimbabwe significantly impacts on South Africa's foreign capital inflows. In this regard, weak property rights in Zimbabwe lead to an increase in South Africa's foreign direct investment (FDI), but a reduction in South Africa's portfolio investment. This suggests that Zimbabwe and South Africa compete for foreign direct investment in similar sectors, and present two alternative investment destinations to foreign investors. By contrast, weak property rights in Zimbabwe appear to raise the perceived risk for portfolio investment in South Africa.