Work ethic and economic development: An investigation into Weber’s thesis

This paper argues that the capitalist spirit associated with Max Weber’s Protestant Ethics is not associated with Protestantism but with the modernization phase of economic development. A preference for hard work is also found amongst other religions and non-religious people at times of high economic growth and decreases after the modernization phase. We find a robust relationship between the level and growth of economic development during an individual’s childhood and this individual’s work ethic. An epidemiological approach is applied to indicate that the direction of the relationship runs from growth and the level of economic development at the time values are formed, to work ethic. Protestant adherence has a positive relation with work ethic, but this relation is less robust than economic development.     

Weber’s spirit of capitalism and the Bahamas’ Junkanoo ethic

The Protestant ethic which, according to Weber, contributed to economic development in the West is only one of a variety of work ethics that can be identified and studied. In the Bahamas, for instance, a definite Junkanoo ethic colors economic life. Junkanoo is a semiannual carnival-like festival that is the quintessential Bahamian cultural experience. This paper argues that Weber’s Protestant Ethic can serve as a model for telling culturally aware economic narratives and uses Weber’s approach to discuss the role that the Junkanoo ethic has played in the economic success of the Bahamas (the richest country in the West Indies). JEL Classification B25, B41, O54, Z13     

Buchanan on increasing returns and anticommons

This article discusses Buchanan’s work on increasing returns and anticommons. The two topics have externality as a common element. And size matters in both cases. Increasing returns is a case of positive externalities, the anti-commons is a case of negative externalities. Buchanan demonstrated that a work ethic generates economy-wide benefits in a setting of generalized increasing returns. In contrast, unanimity (in anticommons) can make it more difficult to address other externality problems in analyzing work ethic and moral community. This article provides an overview of both these areas of research.     

The long-term effects of Protestant activities in China

Combining China's county-level data on Protestant density before 1920 and socioeconomic indicators in 2000, we find persistent positive effects of historical missionary activities on contemporary growth. Using disaster frequency as an instrument for Protestant distribution, we find stronger IV results. We further find that although improvements in education and health care account for a sizable portion of the total effects, other channels such as transformed social values may also matter. Our findings acknowledge the pioneering effects of missionary work in China's modernization, and imply that China's recent growth may benefit from of human capital and social values acquired in history.     

浅议社会工作人才与社会工作者的关系

社会工作者是指专业从事社会工作,以社会工作为职业的人员,国际社会工作界普遍认可的社会工作者应符合以下要求：一是具有社会工作执业执照;二是具有社会工作专业教育背景;三是受社会工作专业伦理约束;四是社会工作专业组织的成员;五是以社会工作作为一种职业。但是,在社会工作相对发达的西方国家,作为社会工作者首要的一条是必须取得社会工作执业执照,而在我国,由于社会工作事业起步时间较短,社会工作者职业资格管理仍处在探索发展阶段,全国性的社会工作者职业资格考试也刚刚开始,因此,现阶段的社会工作者更强调必须具有社会工作专业教育背景,以社会工作为职业。     

The effect of Protestantism on education before the industrialization: Evidence from 1816 Prussia

Across Prussian counties and towns, Protestantism led to more schooling already in 1816, before the Industrial Revolution. This supports a human capital theory of Protestant economic history and rules out a Weberian explanation of Protestant education just resulting from industrialization.     

论会计伦理人假设

会计伦理人和经济人的内在统一构成了会计伦理人假设的伦理基础。会计伦理人是会计存在的前提条件,是建立会计科学体系的基础。会计的其他假设、原则和方法都是在这一基础上展开。会计学就是一部会计伦理学。会计人是伦理人,每个人要成为会计之前必须接受伦理学教育。诚信危机是社会现象,决不是单单会计人员问题。大规模的会计职业道德教育也许会有些意义,但这决不是问题所在,一个公平正义的法律制度才是解决问题的关键。     

精神性因素对研发人员创新行为的影响——伦理情境的调节效应

以组织创新成分理论、精神型领导理论和领导情景理论为依据,探讨精神型领导和职业召唤感等精神性因素对研发人员创新行为的动力作用以及儒家工作伦理的调节效应。通过企业调研获得268套领导-员工的有效配套问卷数据,统计分析表明:(1)精神型领导对研发人员的职业召唤感和创新行为具有显著正向影响;(2)研发人员的职业召唤感对其创新行为具有显著正向影响,并在精神型领导和研发人员创新行为之间具有部分中介作用;(3)儒家工作伦理调节了精神型领导对研发人员创新行为的正向影响,儒家工作伦理越明显,精神型领导对研发人员创新行为的正向影响也越强;(4)儒家工作伦理还调节了职业召唤感在精神型领导和研发人员创新行为之间的中介效应,儒家工作伦理较高时,精神型领导通过研发人员职业召唤感的中介进而对其创新行为的间接影响也随之增强,反之则减弱。研究结论拓展了基于精神性视角的创新行为动力机制及其边界条件研究。为管理者实践精神型领导、培育研发人员职业召唤感和加强研发工作伦理建设,从而有效激发研发人员的创新行为提供了理论借鉴和管理启示。     

论和谐视野下的科技伦理建设

科技伦理的构建是应对科技活动带来的负效应和人类进入风险社会这一客观事实的要求而产生的,也是构建和谐社会的题中之义。科技伦理问题虽然已得到人们的普遍关注,但当前仍面临着科技伦理调节不力和科技伦理自身发展相对滞后的困境,究其原因在于科技发展的不确定性、科技伦理的非强制性和科技活动主体行为的过分功利性。据此,当前科技伦理建设必须明确其价值取向,以增强科技工作者的道德责任感为重点,不断推进科技伦理创新,保证科技伦理建设的可持续性,从而实现科技与社会的协调发展。     

CATHOLIC-PROTESTANT INCOME DIFFERENCES IN NORTHERN IRELAND

The purpose of this paper is to analyse income differences betweeen Catholic and Protestant families in Northern Ireland (NI) using Family Expenditure Survey micro-data. The paper's first conclusion is that there is much greater inequality within the Catholic and Protestant communities than there is between them. It's second conclusion, based upon econometric analysis of data for full-time employees, is that the lower mean income of Catholics, relative to Protestants, could be entirely explained in terms of different rates of reward attached to a given set of labour market characteristics.     

On work and idleness

In this essay we review a number of important historical and everyday conceptions of work, which reveal both the diversity of such conceptions, and also deep tensions, especially between positive (self-fulfilling, sociable) aspects of work and negative (laborious, exploitative) aspects. Due attention to these complexities suggests great caution in deciding how domestic work, including caring work, should be seen in relation to other kinds of work. We also argue that a very broad conception of work including, certainly, domestic and other work outside the market, while not appropriate for all purposes, is essential for considering the appropriate place of work, as opposed to idleness, in the good life. The possible value of idleness, we argue, has been obscured by the productivist ethic embedded in the major Western conceptions of work.     

论新教伦理意识形态人力资本的经济功能——"韦伯命题"的启示

新制度经济学家诺斯认为意识形态是能够产生极大外部效果的人力资本.以"韦伯命题"的论证为基础,分析了新教伦理孕育下的意识形态人力资本的载体以及新教徒的资本主义精神体现,并围绕"韦伯命题"的答案--新教伦理是资本主义文明在西方得以发展的精神动力,重点探讨了新教伦理的意识形态人力资本对资本主义企业的资本积累、劳动力储备、劳动力自我激励和自我约束、企业管理费用的节约以及企业家精神的培育等方面的重大作用,以此启示我国企业在制度构建过程中,要加强对企业文化核心层--企业精神和价值观等的建设,充分发挥意识形态人力资本这一非正式制度的作用.     

公众环境伦理教育的研究

环境问题产生的根源,从深层次上讲就是对人与自然关系的不正确认识。本文分析了环境伦理对解决生态环境问题的价值,提出了公众环境伦理教育的内容以及针对政府、企业、学校、农村和社区等不同对象进行的环境伦理教育中各有特点的具体内容和方法。     

计划经济时代的企业伦理分析

从中华人民共和国成立到改革开放前,我国的企业伦理主要表现为自觉的革命伦理精神、强烈的主人翁意识和有效的企业伦理建设方法等。革命性的企业伦理建设在一定程度上弥补了制度供给不足的缺陷,成为我国社会主义革命和建设的巨大精神支撑,也为市场经济条件下的企业伦理建设和经济社会的协调发展提供了宝贵的经验教训。     

基督教在华报刊活动的战略转型——兼论范约翰的传播观

19世纪六七十年代,在华基督教传教士的报刊活动实施战略转型,其出版中心由广州转移到上海,各差会开始合作办报,出版“世俗化”和非宗教报刊,采用中国方言和土话等本土化报刊语言,招募中国本土报刊代理和编辑。范约翰是在华基督教报刊世俗化和本土化的倡导者和实践者,他的《论报刊》集中体现了其新闻传播观,尤其是发展世俗化（非宗教类）报刊的传播理念。     

高职工科专业学生技术伦理素质及其养成问题探讨

把握学生技术伦理素质状况是高职工科专业有效实施技术伦理教育的前提。实证研究显示,当前高职工科学生在技术伦理的认知水平、对待技术伦理问题的态度以及面对技术伦理困境的行为选择能力方面尚存在诸多欠缺。工科专业需要调整专业技术教育的价值取向、加强师资队伍建设,开展多种形式的技术伦理教育,提高学生的技术伦理素质。     

Religion and economic growth: was Weber right?

Evidence of falling wages in Catholic cities and rising wages in Protestant cities between 1500 and 1750, during the spread of literacy in the vernacular, is inconsistent with most theoretical models of economic growth. In The Protestant Ethic, Weber suggested an alternative explanation based on culture. Here, a theoretical model confirms that a small change in the subjective cost of cooperating with strangers can generate a profound transformation in trading networks. In explaining urban growth in early-modern Europe, specifications compatible with human-capital versions of the neoclassical model and endogenous-growth theory are rejected in favor of a “small-world” formulation based on the Weber thesis.     

审计基础框架之变革:从独立性到可靠性

在现行的审计基础框架中,独立性一直被视为职业基石。由于独立性概念的不一致及其所导致的运作与执行的不一致,使得对独立性的监管陷入一种不可自拔的恶性循环之中。为此,需要以审计可靠性框架替代审计独立性框架,使审计职业重新回归其原本所应该追求的要义——可靠性,并以此减轻独立性所不应该承担的混乱功能。     

农民国民待遇与制度伦理分析--兼论"三农"问题的解决对策

本文试图从制度伦理这一本原层面来探讨"三农"问题的解决途径。首先阐述了制度的本质,论证了制度绩效与制度伦理之间有着密切的正相关关系,并且认为自由与平等是制度伦理的两大基本原则,在此基础上指出,根据制度伦理精神,给予农民国民待遇是解决"三农"问题的必然选择,具体而言,就是废除二元户籍制度,给农民以真正自由的权利;改革不平衡的财税体制,使农民享受到均等的公共品供应和一视同仁的社会保障。     

非正式制度与晋商经营理念

非正式制度作为制度的重要组成部分在经济运行中发挥着潜移默化的作用.在中国,由于传统观念的影响,形成了一种具有集体主义特征的经济伦理.本文以这种传统经济伦理为线索,对晋商的经营理念进行了探讨,分析了晋商经营理念与传统集体主义价值观的密切关系,这种经营理念与中国传统伦理的适应性和经营上的合理性及其落后性都充分反映了非正式制度与经济的密切关系.