Assessment of mobility inequalities and income data collection. Methodological issues and a case study (Douala,Cameroon)

In order to understand the scale and nature of inequalities in intra-urban mobility we need reliable income data, but this is generally difficult to collect in household surveys. The methodological approaches that are employed to overcome difficulties in income data collection may affect the relative position of individuals and households within the income distribution and our estimates of mobility inequalities. In the context of a case study of Douala, this paper evaluates how the way income data is collected affects its accuracy and therefore the measurement of daily mobility inequalities. Simplified data collection tends to minimise the scale of inequalities as it misrepresents the income distribution. The error is greater in remote zones. Shortcomings in the statistical apparatus with regard to income data thus blur our perception of mobility inequalities and impede investigation of the links between daily travel, poverty and social exclusion.     

河南省农民消费支出地区差异的实证分析

据2011年河南省统计年鉴调查数据表明,河南省各地区农民支出差异较大,且呈现出进一步扩大的趋势。文章从河南省农民消费支出地区差异的现状着手,对河南省农民消费支出地区差异进行实证分析,找出影响河南省各地区农民消费支出的主要影响因素,并提出解决河南省农民消费支出差异较大问题方案的模型,为合理调整河南省农民消费结构,尽快消除消费支出地区差异较大并继续扩大的现象,实现各地区经济均衡发展提供一定的科学依据。     

GOVERNMENT SIZE AND GROWTH: A REJOINDER

In our 2011 survey of the literature in the Journal of Economic Surveys on the effect of government size on economic growth in wealthy countries we find a relatively consistent pattern: An increase in government size by 10 percentage points is associated with a 0.5–1 percentage point lower annual growth rate. This conclusion is questioned by Colombier. In this rejoinder we present a rebuttal of Colombier's argument based on a detailed scrutiny of his own statistical evidence and regression results. Furthermore, we note that several new papers that have appeared since our original paper was published give support to our main conclusion.     

Mediation Between Tourism Contribution and Economic Growth in the Greater Mekong Subregion

The objective of this paper is to determine the mediation between tourism contribution and economic growth in the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) (i.e. Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam). The sample period is semi-annual data from 1995 to 2013 and is also estimated by bootstrap panel cointegration, Panel Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares method and the Sobel test. The results show that the variables are cointegrated as three models; economic growth is running to tourism's total contribution to GDP and international tourism expenditure for passenger transport whereas international tourism expenditure for passenger transport is running to tourism's total contribution to GDP. Therefore, this study finds that international tourism expenditure for passenger transport is a mediator and has partial mediation. The GMS needs to develop every economic sector and improve the potential of the transport sector as a regional integration project which supports the sustainable development of the region.     

Farmers’ perspectives on climate change manifestations in smallholder cocoa farms and shifts in cropping systems in the forest-savannah transitional zone of Ghana

The study was conducted to explore actual manifestations of climate change in smallholder cocoa farms to aid extension response to climate impacts, and to understand the reasons for a renewed interest in cocoa production in the forest-savanna agro ecological landscape in Ghana, in spite of unfavorable climatic conditions. Two hundred cocoa farmers were interviewed in nine cocoa farming communities. Selected farms were also visited to document on-farm manifestation of climate impacts as well as innovations and strategies farmers are employing to respond to the adverse impacts of climate change on their cocoa systems. The results revealed various manifestations of climate impacts on cocoa farms which included, increased incidence of pests and diseases, wilting of cocoa leaves, high mortality of cocoa seedlings which affected expansion and farm rehabilitation, and wilting of cherelles resulting in low yield. The farmers maintained that their response to the immediate impacts of climate on cocoa was a shift to cereals due to the unpredictable climatic patterns and the shortened duration of rainfall. However, a combination of storage and supply chain challenges and low returns from cereal production, coupled with land scarcity in the Western Region, where most of them are migrant farmers accounted for their decision to return to cocoa production lately. It was observed, among other adaptive responses, that some farmers plant about three times the plantain suckers they usually plant, to provide a dense temporary shade over cocoa seedlings, and resort to planting more cocoa seedlings randomly per unit area on new farms, contrary to recommended planting approach, as a form of insurance against seedling mortality. More importantly, a community-based fire response system was identified to be a major safeguard mechanism to the threat of fire. Clearly, the farmers are not replanting cocoa in the forest-savanna agro ecological landscape because it is more productive than cereals, but they believe that a low yielding cocoa is far better than a productive cereal cropping systems that offer low returns when compared to cocoa. The study brings out the sustainable livelihood challenges of the rural farmer within the context of a changing climate for appropriate policy response.     

GOVERNMENT SIZE AND GROWTH: A SURVEY AND INTERPRETATION OF THE EVIDENCE

Abstract The literature on the relationship between the size of government and economic growth is full of seemingly contradictory findings. This conflict is largely explained by variations in definitions and the countries studied. An alternative approach – of limiting the focus to studies of the relationship in rich countries, measuring government size as total taxes or total expenditure relative to GDP and relying on panel data estimations with variation over time – reveals a more consistent picture. The most recent studies find a significant negative correlation: an increase in government size by 10 percentage points is associated with a 0.5% to 1% lower annual growth rate. We discuss efforts to make sense of this correlation, and note several pitfalls involved in giving it a causal interpretation. Against this background, we discuss two explanations of why several countries with high taxes seem able to enjoy above average growth. One hypothesis is that countries with higher social trust levels are able to develop larger government sectors without harming the economy. Another explanation is that countries with large governments compensate for high taxes and spending by implementing market‐friendly policies in other areas. Both explanations are supported by ongoing research.     

Consumer Preferences for Coffee: Hot and Wet,or Quality and Flavor?

An econometric model is developed and estimated for all brands of coffee sold at the retail level in four supermarkets in Columbus, Ohio. These brands are segmented into 24 categories, and the four stores are classified into two groups, inner-city and suburban, based on 2010 census tract data. Using estimated measures of price-sensitivity, these 24 categories are further segmented into four groups to help guide and clarify the discussion. Estimated results show different purchasing patterns and different levels of price-sensitivity for inner-city and suburban shoppers. Further, these purchasing patterns and levels of price-sensitivity suggest alternative marketing strategies for retailers. Private-label coffee brands are shown to be quite competitive with many national brands, and indeed private-label brands command a market share among inner-city shoppers that is more than double that for the nation (21.95% vs. 9%).     

我国财政社会保障支出的差异与结构:1998～2009年

利用1998～2009年的统计数据,考察我国财政社会保障支出的总量变化和结构演进。研究显示:我国的财政社会保障支出在1998年以后出现明显上升,但总体水平仍相对滞后;对社会保障的各种补助支出已成为财政社会保障支出中最主要的组成部分;我国的财政社会保障支出存在着明显的地区差距和城市偏向。应着力提高社会保障支出占公共财政的比例,优化财政社会保障支出的项目结构等,确保财政社会保障的顺利开展。     

2019年国际大石油公司经营业绩与战略动向

2019年,虽然油气产量稳步增长,但是受经济下行、国际油气价格下跌影响,炼厂开工率与油品销售量双降,国际大石油公司的经营业绩由升转降。国际大石油公司因势利导主动调整发展策略,采取多种举措增储上产、稳定收入,持续在资源优势区域和需求高增长区域优化产业链布局,通过提升海外经营资产集中度、优化资源配置与组合、获取较低成本油气资源、主动拥抱数字化和智能化等经营策略,提升全产业链价值创造能力,向低碳化、清洁化、数字化综合性能源公司转型。这些动向为中国石油企业拓展业务领域、实现能源转型、提升盈利能力提供了新的思路和机会。