Bondholder gains from the annexation of Texas and implications of the US bailout

The fate of distressed Republic of Texas debt offers a rare example of bondholder gains associated with state annexation. While soaring in hopes of a US bailout, Texas debt prices remained well below par and never seemed to presume full repayment, however. The fluctuations of the Texas debt on the Philadelphia Stock Exchange over the 1845–1855 period between annexation and final settlement feature structural breaks typically connected with either actual legislation or rumors of pending action. Negative turning points follow when US legislative initiatives in 1845 and 1850 failed to yield a quick resolution of the Texas debt.     

The role of banks in the Czech monetary policy transmission mechanism

With this work, I aim to enrich the knowledge about the monetary policy transmission mechanism in the Czech Republic with empirical evidence on the impact of monetary policy on bank lending. Using a panel of quarterly time series for Czech commercial banks for the period 1996–2001, I study the overall effect of monetary policy changes on the growth rate of loans and the characteristics of the supply of loans. The characterization of the credit market's supply side allows us to make inferences on the operativeness of the credit channel (the bank lending channel and the broad credit channel) of the monetary transmission mechanism. I find that changes in monetary policy alter the growth rate of loans, with considerably stronger magnitude in the period 1999–2001 than in the period 1996–1998. From the analysis intended to capture the characteristics of the supply of loans, I conclude that the lending channel was operative in the period 1996–1998: I find cross‐sectional differences in the lending reactions to monetary policy shocks due to the degree of capitalization and to liquidity. For the subsequent period 1999–2001, the results also show distributional effects of monetary policy due to bank size and its bank's proportion of classified loans. In the context of steadily decreasing interest rates, this can bolster the supposition of financial frictions between borrowers and lenders and hence, that of an operative broad credit channel.     

What organic and Fair Trade labels do not tell us: towards a place‐based understanding of certification

Certified organic and Fair Trade food products are making their way into the mainstream among Western consumers and, as such, are increasingly viewed as sustainable and preferable alternatives to the conventional food system, with its many negative social and environmental externalities. Two case studies discussed in this paper indicate, however, that operationalizing the goals for organic and Fair Trade food via certification can be a complex and difficult process. Specifically, the implementation of certification creates a disconnect between expectations raised by labels and the ‘lived experience’ of small farmers. In the case of small farmers in Mexico growing certified organic tomatoes and herbs, certification exacerbated socio‐economic inequality and disrupted local social norms by creating a hyperfocus on surveillance. In the case of small farmers in the Dominican Republic growing Fair Trade bananas, the certification process prioritized the demands of the market to such a degree that the farmers were largely unaware that they were participating in anything ‘alternative’, and it simultaneously reinforced socio‐economic inequalities within the communities. These findings suggest that if the appeal of certified labels rests on the integrity of what the label represents to consumers, then such consumer movements would benefit from a more robust analysis of how certification intersects with and affects local spaces, cultures and communities at the point of production.     

民国时期华北灾荒与天津粮食市场(1912-1936年)

民国时期，华北地区水旱虫灾频发，其直接后果就是粮食减产或绝收，致使粮食价格上涨，影响到天津城市的粮食供应。为了维持稳定的粮食市场，灾荒期间，政府委托商会组织粮商持照调运粮食，期间发生的运输问题、各地留难问题均由商会负责协调，商会在粮食调运中发挥了不可替代的作用。同时，政府从税厘和运费方面优惠商人，以便于粮食调剂。天津粮食市场整合的绩效显著，一方面平抑了粮价，稳定了市场和社会秩序；另一方面，政府和商人合作，各自实现了利益的最大化，达到了双赢，可以说是官商合作的成功范例。     

Evaluating the multi-dimensional view of employee commitment: a comparative UK–Chinese study

This study evaluates the contribution of the multiple constituencies of commitment framework to the explanation of work attitudes and behaviours among samples of manufacturing workers in the United Kingdom (UK) and the People's Republic of China (PRC). Our findings suggest that the organization, the supervisor, co-workers and the union were seen by respondents as separate commitment foci. Consistent with the ‘compatibility hypothesis’, the relationship between commitment and outcome was stronger where the constituency focus was matched. However, the ‘cultural hypothesis’, on the greater salience of person- or group-based commitments in the PRC context, was generally not accepted. The findings are discussed in the light of the comparative cultural and industrial relations contexts of the two countries.     

The Urbanization of Nature in a (Post)Socialist Metropolis: An Urban Political Ecology of Allotment Gardening

In this article we explore how nature becomes part of the city through the example of allotment gardening in the city of Prague, in the Czech Republic. Prague allotments were established based on an ongoing political-ecological process of urbanization of nature that was locally driven by socialist (from 1948 to 1989) and later neoliberal governance. We employ a situated urban political ecology (UPE) approach to analyse changes in the planning of allotments and the impact thereof on the experience of gardeners. This double focus allows us to uncover the effects of neoliberalization on the processes of production of urban nature in respect of both policy and everyday practice. We contrast contemporary capitalist urbanization with its socialist predecessor by showing the immediate effects of the acceptance of neoliberal modes of governance on allotments, urban nature and the understanding of the city. We open allotments as a terrain for UPE to turn attention to the (uneven) production of urban nature in a post-socialist context that has thus far been largely absent from the UPE literature. We demonstrate that post-socialist urbanization is a fruitful terrain that offers new opportunities to unmask the effects of neoliberalization on the production of uneven urban space and thus improves our understanding of contemporary uneven urbanisms.     

民国时期商检新政的推行与贸易危机应对--以出口蛋品为考察中心

商品检验是国际贸易中不可或缺的重要环节。20世纪初,我国蛋品出口数量迅速增长,由此引发的商品纠纷也愈加频繁,而检验环节几乎缺失。1928年南京国民政府颁布《商品出口检验暂行规则》,次年成立官方机构,开始实施自主检验。其中包括对蛋品建立出口标准,科学严格地执行检验;深入蛋品生产加工环节进行改良指导;主导实施蛋业救济等。这一过程不仅有效地提高了蛋品质量,减少贸易失利因素,而且对新旧变革期的蛋业及相关行业发展,增加我国对外贸易中的话语权都有重要作用。但由于战争和检验本身的不足,南京国民政府的检政实践最终未能完全化解蛋业危机。     

民国时期学校教育与社会教育关系的实证分析

将教育分为学校教育与社会教育两部分是民国时期教育结构的一大特色.通过对民国时期学校教育与社会教育的关系进行实证分析,结果显示,两者具有较高的正相关性,学校教育对社会教育的影响大于社会教育对学校教育的影响,其中中小学对社会教育具有促进作用,高等教育对社会教育具有抑制作用.小学校是社会教育的Granger原因,与社会教育是一种竞争与共生的关系.     

论民国时期政府审计思想的特点及其启示

民国时期产生了具有近代意义的政府审计思想,本文的目的是归纳它的特点及其启示。通过梳理、分析和归纳相关历史文献,发现民国时期政府审计思想有五大特点:从简单模仿日本审计制度到结合中国国情;注意事前审计;在机构设置、监察权行使方式和报告关系上实行监审合一;政府审计组织独立于行政组织,实行审计人员限制兼职和回避制度,确保人员独立;规定审计会议制度,推进民主审计。这一时期审计思想对当代的启示有:目前政府审计组织的"行政型"模式符合中国国情;由全国人大审计委员会对财政预算进行事前审计,对于预算支出,非经审计核签国库不得支付;合并监察部与审计署为监审部,提高它的地位至副总理级;在审计法规中明确审计会议制度,规定重大审计事项和重要人员调度须经审计会议决定。