江西省农村土地利用变化及生态系统服务价值研究

[目的]土地利用变化及生态系统服务价值研究一直是土地资源评价与管理方面的热点研究问题,通过对江西省土地利用变化和生态系统价值进行研究,为江西省土地规划和资源的可持续利用提供理论依据。[方法]文章基于文献查阅的方法,利用多样性指数模型、土地利用动态度和生态系统服务价值模型,结合2009~2016年江西省农村土地利用的现状及变化,分析了其生态系统服务价值及相应变化。[结果]近年来,江西省农村土地利用程度高、多样性指数中等且呈先下降后上升的趋势。土地利用类型的面积与该土地利用类型的生态系统服务价值呈同向变化的关系。通过对土地利用类型的ESV值进行分析,发现农村土地利用的生态系统服务功能价值总体在减少;对单项生态系统价值分析,水源涵养在江西省农村土地生态系统服务中占有最重要的地位。[结论]2009~2016年江西省农村土地利用结构都发生了变化,生态系统服务总价值出现了降低趋势,各单项生态系统服务功能价值也在减少,土地利用结构对生态系统功能价值具有决定作用。因此,政府应该合理利用土地,保护生态系统,协调好环境与经济发展的关系。     

河北省北部山区农村生态环境治理及绩效评价

[目的]农村生态环境是一个复杂的系统,严重的生态环境问题制约着农村经济的发展以及新农村建设,探讨其治理和绩效,有利于解决生态环境建设中的各种问题,对于区域发展具有重要的理论和实践意义。[方法]文章通过构建农村生态环境治理及绩效评价指标体系,采用层次分析法确定各个指标的权重以及灰色关联法分析各指标间的灰色关联度。[结果]河北省北部山区农村生态环境治理绩效评价指标体系要素层中权重值大小依次为生态经济(0. 483 9)、生态环境(0. 273 6)、生态人居(0. 137 1)、生态保护(0. 105 4),说明该地区农村经济水平已达到一定水平,但生态环境、生态保护等仍有待提高。灰色关联法计算结果表明河北省北部山区生态环境中关联系数最高的是畜禽粪便处理率(0. 754),生态经济中关联系数最高的是农民人均纯收入(0. 624),生态保护中关联系数最高的是化肥施用量(0. 846),生态人居中关联系数最高的是饮用水合格率(0. 682),而关联度大小依次为生态保护(0. 724)、生态环境(0. 662)、生态人居(0. 573)、生态经济(0. 543),说明该地区生态环境治理仍有很大空间。[结论]研究结果指出河北省北部山区农村生态环境治理的不足,为进一步完善区域生态环境具有重要的指导意义。     

Stuck in the Middle: Off-Farm Employment and Caregiving Among Middle-Aged Rural Chinese

ABSTRACT

Using the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) 2011–12 baseline data, this contribution explores to what extent taking care of grandchildren and frail parents influences rural middle-aged Chinese adults’ off-farm employment. The findings show that, conditional on socioeconomic and demographic characteristics, taking care of grandchildren has a negative effect on rural middle-aged men's and women's off-farm job participation and hours worked. Caregiving for parents does not have the same negative effects on off-farm employment and hours worked. Furthermore, the study finds that annual earnings are also negatively affected by caregiving responsibilities, especially for women and men taking care of grandchildren.     

Does the Eco‐Management and Audit Scheme Foster Innovation in European Firms?

This paper studies whether environmental management systems can spur eco‐innovation, analyzing EMAS (Eco‐Management and Audit Scheme) adoption and patented innovations (at the European Patent Office) at firm level. It uses an original panel database of 30 439 European firms belonging to all sectors from 2003 to 2012. An original instrumental variable is implemented to control for potential endogeneity. The analysis reveals that EMAS adoption is conducive to more innovation at the firm level. The results vary across countries and sectors. In particular, EMAS is positively related to green patents for medium and low technology manufacturing. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment     

新时代耕地占补平衡的逻辑根源、模式探索与管理创新——基于“新时代耕地占补平衡方式改进与管理创新研讨会”的思考

研究目的:对耕地占补平衡的发展阶段与政策绩效、存在问题与逻辑根源进行分析,对改进方式进行探讨,进而提出管理创新建议,为新时代耕地占补平衡政策实施提供科学依据,为促进城乡融合、扶贫攻坚和乡村振兴提供参考。研究方法:综合分析与系统推理。研究结果:(1)耕地占补平衡存在实质性不平衡、时空性不平衡、政策性弱化等微观、中观及宏观层面问题;(2)在数量方面,通过盘活宅基地增量、存量和完善易地调剂方式,统筹城乡和区域平衡来实现数量占补平衡。(3)在质量方面,通过优化建设用地约束指标、完善耕地质量评价、规范耕作层保护与再利用等促进耕地质量占补平衡。(4)在生态方面,通过完善指标调剂的价格内涵、扩大耕地补偿标准范围、转变耕地补充途径等实现耕地生态占补平衡。研究结论:建议做好顶层设计,抓好规划引领,构建耕地占补平衡与城乡要素流动的平衡机制,建立耕地占补平衡后续生态管护长效机制,提升软硬实力等。     

Telling and selling the value of diversity and inclusion—External consultants' discursive strategies and practices

On the basis of a qualitative study of a subgroup of diversity professionals, external diversity and inclusion (D&I) consultants, we explore D&I consultants' discursive strategies and practices situated within organisational structures, relations, and interactions of power and knowledge. Theoretically, the research reveals how D&I consultants' own discursive strategies interact with existing organisational and societal discourses of diversity, incrementally shaping their continual evolution. A classification is developed, which sets out four approaches taken by consultants with regard to their discursive strategies in relation to clients. The findings suggest that HR practitioners need to work in tandem with external consultants to develop strategies to improve the status and legitimacy of diversity work if the field is to progress the organisational D&I agenda.     

Persistence of Price–Cost Margin and Technical Efficiency in the Indonesian Food and Beverage Industry

Abstract

This research investigates the persistence of price–cost margin (PCM) and technical efficiency (TE) of firms and the relation between these two factors in 44 subsectors of the Indonesian food and beverage industry in the period 1980–2014. Data envelopment analysis with a bootstrapping approach is applied to estimate TE. An autoregressive model, accounting for endogeneity, is applied to estimate the persistence coefficients of PCM and TE. A cross-sectional regression model is also applied to estimate the relation between the persistence of the PCM and the persistence of TE. The results show that for these food and beverage firms, high PCM and low TE persist. Furthermore, the persistence of PCM negatively affects the persistence of TE in the industry.     

Reverse Payments and Risk of Bankruptcy Under Private Information

Abstract

In the pharmaceutical industry, a reverse payment (pay-for-delay) is a payment from an originator to a generic producer to delay her entry. In some recent cases, the US and EU antitrust authorities have banned these agreements per se, while in others they have used a rule of reason. This paper analyzes their dynamic effects and shows that a ban per se may reduce consumer surplus when the generic producer may go bankrupt and her financial situation is private information. Reverse payments are more beneficial when competition among few players is soft, the economy is in a downturn, and the period of drug usage after patent expiry is long. Results suggest that a rule of reason is more suited than a ban per se.     

Effects of state-sponsored human capital investment on the selection of training type

Since the 1990s, firms in Japan have reduced their human capital investment in the workplace to minimize costs. Moreover, in response to the increase in the number of non-regular employees and turnover rates, workers need to have greater incentive to make the self-motivated investment in themselves for their self-protection. In this study, we first estimate the effects of workers’ self-motivated investment in themselves on wage rates. Next, we explore who is likely to participate in which training type and accordingly estimate the effects of the self-motivated investment on wage rates by training type. Our estimates controlling for individual-level fixed-effects indicate that the return is significantly positive and particularly high for practical training related to workers’ current jobs, and regular workers tend to self-select these higher-returns programs, while non-regular workers are more likely to enroll in lower-returns programs, such as schooling. This trend in investment in oneself could potentially increase the wage inequality between regular and non-regular workers through the self-selection of training types. Our estimates reveal that receiving the training and education benefit raises the likelihood for workers to participate in a high-return training program regardless of whether they are non-regular or regular workers. This suggests that government benefits on self-investment change workers’ self-selection of training type and serve to promote practical trainings that lead to high returns.     

Was the Green Revolution intended to maximise food production?

The evidence on yields, food-production, food-calories per capita, and declining levels of malnutrition in countries experiencing a Green Revolution are commonly cited in support of the claim that the GR sought to maximise food production. If one looks closely at the actual design of GR programmes (in India and elsewhere), however, it is clear that they were instead intended to boost yields and profitability in a small number of targeted areas. The underlying rationale for targeting was that achieving very high yields in such regions would persuade farmers to abandon subsistence farming in favour of commercial production, relying upon the market for the purchase of inputs as well as the sale of produce. In response to widespread criticism of the Green Revolution ca. 1970 for neglecting the needs of peasant farmers (as well as accentuating rural unrest), the World Bank and other donors began to direct more attention and resources to smallholders, but the aim of commercialising farming remained unchanged.