Foreign aid and the quality of economic institutions

Identification of the causal effect that foreign aid has on the quality of institutions in recipient countries has been elusive in the aid effectiveness literature. The main reason is that aid is endogenous with respect to the development of institutions. Our paper examines the impact of foreign aid on economic freedom in the recipient countries at a disaggregated level using an innovative identifying strategy. To do so, we use recently innovated instruments for aid, exploiting the long lags between loan approval and disbursements by official creditors to developing countries. Using plausibly exogenous variations in predicted loan disbursements as instruments for actual aid, we find that foreign aid has a significant positive effect on the quality of economic institutions in recipient countries. The results are robust to alternative specifications and samples. By establishing the existence of a strong link between aid and the quality of economic institutions, we identify the main channel through which aid affects economic growth and development.     

Corporate social responsibility reporting in financial institutions: Evidence from Euronext

The legitimacy, the identity and the social impact of financial institutions go beyond the generation of revenues for providers of capital, through financial intermediation. Financial institutions bear significant corporate social responsibility (CSR). We produce measures of CSR disclosure and explore the determinants of CSR disclosure practices in a cross section of financial institutions. Working with financial companies whose stocks are listed in the Euronext stock exchange, we find that the extent of disclosure of CSR practices is greater in large companies and also in companies of greater financial leverage. Therefore, increased corporate visibility and financial risk increase stakeholder demand for transparency on the social impact of financial institutions and their CSR practices.     

Doorsteps Toward Political and Economic Openness: Testing the North-Wallis-Weingast Transition Framework

In this paper, we test the theoretical framework developed by North, Wallis, and Weingast (2009), who posit that limited-access societies need to meet three doorstep conditions before they can transit into open-access societies: (1) establishment of rule of law among elites, (2) adoption of perpetually existing organizations, and (3) political control of the military. We identify indicators reflecting these doorsteps and econometrically test their relationships with specific political and economic variables. We broadly confirm the logic behind the doorsteps as necessary conditions in the transition to open-access societies. The doorsteps influence economic and political processes, as well as each other, with varying intensities.     

城市居民税负感及影响因素的实证研究

根据北京市居民税负感调查所得数据,通过对居民税负感及其影响因素之间的相关性实证研究,得出结论,税负感与收入、文化程度、年龄以及对税收的了解程度等因素呈显著正相关,与是否参加社保呈显著负相关。在被调查的居民中,超过一半的居民税负感较重或很重,其中,收入越高和对税收了解的越多税负感就越重,本科学历和中年人群税负感较重,未参加社保的居民税负感较重,参加社保的居民税负感较轻。税负感研究的结论显示,居民税负感不仅与税收负担的高低密切相关,而且与国家的财政支出方向密切相关,扩大财政的民生开支是降低居民税负感的重要途径。     

大学生学术道德失范行为的剖析与治理

近年来,高校学术不正之风十分严重,学术道德失范行为肆意蔓延,给刚刚步入学术之门的大学生带来了非常恶劣的影响,败坏了学风和校风。本文梳理了大学生学术道德失范行为现状及种种表现,分析了造成大学生道德失范的原因:急功近利的不良社会风气导致大学生学术研究的目的变异,高校学生学术道德监管机制尚不健全,学生自身学术道德修养不高。针对存在的问题,探寻有效措施,端正学风,提升学术主体的道德自律,遏制学生学术道德失范行为。     

充分利用WTO教育服务贸易大力推进高等教育国际化

为了顺应中国加入WTO形势，充分利用WT0教育服务贸易，大力推进高等教育国际化，我们必须学习WT0教育服务贸易知识，分析入世后给我国高等教育带来的机遇和挑战，研究我国高等教育应对WT0的措施。     

建立“双体系”教育体系 突出“应用型”旅游管理人才培养特色

我国旅游高等教育体系存在一定的缺陷 ,主要是追随着传统的本科教育的教学体系 ,重理论教学体系的建立 ,轻实践教学体系的建立 ,人才培养模式与行业对人才的要求存在一定的差距。本文试图建立旅游高等教育的“双金字塔结构的教育体系” ,即理论教学体系和实践教学体系 ,突出旅游管理人才培养的适用性 ,并提出了相应的措施。     

Diffusion of Hospital Innovations in Different Institutional Settings

This paper purports to analyze a hospital's adoption of both product and process innovation as a quanta! choice. The impacts of this decision on physicians, while depending on institutions that differ between the US and continental Europe, are shown to feed back to the hospital, influencing the profitability of the innovation. Recent changes of hospital finance give rise to testable comparative predictions in both institutional settings     

优化财政性三级教育支出结构

本文认为,财政性三级教育支出结构不合理,极大地影响了我国教育事业的发展。我国财政性三级教育支出结构存在的主要问题,是高等教育投资比例明显偏高,而初、中等教育投资比例较低,与我国经济发展水平不相适应。优化财政性三级教育支出结构,应加大国家对初、中等教育的投入力度,促进高等教育投资多元化。高等教育投资多元化应从两方面着手:一是鼓励个人和企业向现有高校进行投资;二是大力发展民办高等教育。