Beyond Regulation: Towards a Cultural Political Economy of Complexity and Emergence

Drawing on and contributing to materialist state theory, the regulation approach and institutional economics for more than three decades, Bob Jessop can certainly be considered one of the foremost Marxist political economists of our time. Recently, he has taken on board the cultural turn in social analysis by developing a highly original cultural political economy of the knowledge-based economy. As a contribution to the further development of a cultural political economy that is sensitive to the cultural dimensions of social life while retaining an emphasis on capital accumulation and state regulation, this article directs attention to the limits of Jessop's approach and suggests possible amendments to the theory. In particular, the article highlights the need to move beyond a concern with regulation towards a cultural political economy of complexity and emergence.     

The impact of SARS on China's human resources: implications for the labour market and level of unemployment in the service sector in Beijing,Guangzhou and Shanghai

In this paper, we examine the effects of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) on China's human resources, its labour-market and its level of employment and unemployment, looking specifically at what was one of its economically most vulnerable points, the hotel industry. The paper hypothesizes that the greatest impact would be on human resources in the service-industries and on particular sub-sectors, such as employment in hotels, located in three main cities in the PRC, in Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai, catering to both overseas as well as domestic tourism. It tentatively concludes that the almost dramatic demand and supply ‘shocks’ may have directly affected both the demand for and the supply of labour in the sub-sector, with discernable employment consequences.     

Diffusing the Marketing Concept in a Transforming Economy: Class Consultancies for State-Owned Enterprises in Vietnam

ABSTRACT

Modern business education in transitional economies such as Vietnam must provide students with a strong conceptual base, but also give them practical experience in application of concepts. Local companies, used to central planning, likewise badly need marketing know-how to become more competitive. However, relying on new hires from among recent graduates is not going to help companies upgrade very quickly. Building marketing research (MR) courses around consulting projects for local companies helps bring real world marketing into the classroom, upgrading experience for both students and teachers.     

区域循环经济发展的产业政策研究——以深圳市宝安区为例

发展循环经济是缓解资源约束矛盾的主要途径,是提高经济增长质量和效益的重要措施,本文综合分析宝安区循环经济及其相关产业发展特点,探究宝安区循环经济及其相关产业发展过程中存在的主要问题,从政策扶持、技术支撑、基础配套三方面提出推进宝安循环经济发展的对策建议。     

中国经济长期高速增长的主要动力——从消费的作用谈起

随着我国经济的发展以及金融危机的影响,消费问题日益重要和突出。本文通过深入研究马克思消费理论和分析现实发展情况,从理论依据和现实依据出发,论证消费是中国经济长期高速增长的主要动力,并对未来消费的发展提出几点建议。     

Post‐Cameralist Governance: Towards a Robust Political Economy of Bureaucracy

I develop a robust political economy of bureaucracy by highlighting the conditions necessary for hierarchical administrative bodies to govern protectively and productively, but not predatorily. These conditions are residual claimancy and jurisdictional competition. I make this argument by exploring a post‐cameralist interpretation of governance. Cameralism arose as a governance philosophy in the fractured principalities of seventeenth‐century Germany following the Thirty Years' War. Post‐cameralism focuses not on particular cameralist governance strategies but on a paradigm which sees governance as an activity provided within a larger exchange order, rather than imposing itself on that order as in more conventional treatments of public economics. While a post‐cameralist conception of governance comes with its own challenges, such as tensions with normative visions that promote self‐governance, it nonetheless presents an intriguing synthesis of monocentric and polycentric insights.     

Further participatory adaptation is required for community leaders to champion conservation agriculture in Africa

There is a recognized need for the participation of local communities in designing and implementing agricultural interventions for the sustainable intensification in smallholder systems. This study examines the perspectives of local community leaders towards the widely promoted, but not widely adopted, practice of Conservation Agriculture (CA) in African smallholder systems. Perceptions from 47 community leaders (both from traditional local authorities and farmer organizations) across six African countries are documented regarding how CA matches the wants, needs and capabilities of farmers in their communities. While community leaders generally perceived CA as potentially beneficial, they also indicated that CA is not currently perceived as feasible within their communities and hence has limited relevance. Three key themes were identified that limit both CA use and sustainable intensification more generally: [1] a perceived reluctance of farmers to engage with the community platform as part of a higher input, market-oriented production system; [2] informational constraints due to non-functional exchange mechanisms; and [3] a lack of local adaptation of CA underscored by the persistence of top-down, linear research and extension approaches. Through greater understanding of local perspectives, a clearer picture emerges of the need for greater participatory engagement and local adaptation if sustainable intensification of African smallholder agricultural systems is to be achieved.     

社会资本、非正式制度和农业企业发展:机制抑或路径

受传统文化的影响,与社会资本有关的非正式制度对农业企业发展的影响更为深刻,作为非正式制度的社会资本与正式制度之间存在替代、互补关系。建立社会资本、非正式制度与企业发展的分析框架,并以广东东进农牧集团为讨论对象,探讨社会资本和非正式制度对农业龙头企业的作用机理及其作用路径选择。     

区域农产品物流一体化的可持续发展研究

在充分分析制约区域农产品物流一体化发展的因素的基础上,提出了发展区域农产品物流一体化的具体措施,研究表明促进区域农业物流一体化建设必须坚持科学发展观指导,从中汲取有利的理论成分和创新观点,坚持以农为本,全面、协调和可持续的开展农业物流一体化建设。