企业的起源与企业自由

在市场经济条件下,经济自由、私有财产权和道德法律基础是相互依赖、彼此共存共荣的关系,而以一定的道德为基础的经济自由有利于市场资源的合理配置,也有利于企业的自主创新与技术进步。作为市场经济活动的主体,企业是以内部分工协作为基础的组织形式,劳动生产率的提高和社会生产力的发展是企业得以产生及其演进的根源所在。现代企业的发展,虽然在一定程度上意味着企业家把原来属于市场的功能内部化了,但是这种内部化是服从于企业的生产功能的,在与政府权利边界的博弈过程中,企业为了谋求更多的经济利益(包括经济自由),总是尽可能地扩张自己的经济疆域,削蚀、稀释政府的经济规制强度及其领域。企业这种以自我为中心的经济扩张,并不意味着它可以凌驾于政府的经济规制之上,企业享有的经济自由总是相对的,企业在享有经济自由的同时,仍然受制于看得见的手的约束。     

Does a free media protect labour rights?

Based on a sample of 47 developing economies considered over the period 1992–2012, we find that a free media reduces the legal protection of labour, taken as a whole. However, the impact differs over various aspects of labour regulation: while media freedom correlates with less stringent regulation of work time, less constraints to dismissal, and lower protection of employee representation rights, it also correlates with greater legal parity of part-time and fixed-term labour with full-time and permanent workers.     

Is institutional improvement possible?

A substantial literature shows that economic prosperity is dependent on the quality of economic institutions. Countries with low-quality institutions remain poor while countries with high-quality institutions prosper. Improvement in institutional quality brings with it economic growth. Poor countries must improve their economic institutions to escape poverty; so, if a poor country’s institutional structure is unlikely to improve, that suggests dismal prospects for economic growth and an escape from poverty. An examination of institutional quality over 30 years indicates that countries with low-quality institutions have improved their institutional quality, which demonstrates that poor countries are not stuck with low-quality institutions. They can improve their institutions, and consequently, can generate economic growth and escape poverty.     

Press freedom and corruption in business-state interactions

We show that press freedom has a role in constraining business corruption. Using firm-level data, we find that countries with greater press freedom have significantly fewer incidences of bribery involving public officials. In particular, we find that a free press is associated with a substantial reduction in the percentage of firms that report corruption during interactions with tax officials and when obtaining construction permits. Furthermore, we find that fewer businesses in these countries report that corruption is the biggest problem that they face. These findings highlight the role of an independent media in combating corruption.     

The case for freedom revisited

I argue that the case for freedom is about either knowledge or incentives. Freedom optimises the production and use of knowledge, and gives people the right incentives. I trace the history of these arguments. Knowledge‐based justifications can be found in the writings of Adam Smith, Jeremy Bentham, Wilhelm von Humboldt, J. S. Mill, Friedrich von Hayek, and Karl Popper. Incentive‐based arguments are due to Thomas Aquinas, Adam Smith, and James Mill. I then go on to query the extent to which classical freedom is compatible with other aims such as efficiency, enforcement of contracts, freedom of choice, political participation, and the socialist concept of freedom. Finally, I reject natural selection as a justification of freedom or of the right of property.     

The impact of government policies on destination competitiveness in developing economies

The role government plays in destination competitiveness is reflected in a country’s institutional environment. The main premise of this study is to provide a better understanding about the appropriate levels of government involvement in destination competitiveness. Seven countries of the Central American region were analysed over 18 years. The results indicate that not all government decisions impact destination competitiveness in the same way, as some may have more influence than others. For example, an increase in the level of corruption revealed a positive impact on destination competitiveness while lowering taxes did not encourage an increase in destination competitiveness. This study contributes to the academic literature not only from theory building but also practical implication on the role of government.     

我国贸易分散的实证研究:1980-2005年

在当前我国对外贸易纠纷与摩擦越来越多的情况下,贸易分散可以提供有效的缓解机制,并深刻影响国家的贸易利益和经济安全。本文对1980至2005年我国对外贸易的地区分散程度进行了综合研究。在总量分析的基础上,用HH指数分别计算和分析了进、出口的分散程度,并检验了其与各地区进、出口的格兰杰因果性关系。研究结果显示,我国贸易的分散程度受到国内政策与国际贸易秩序的严重影响,贸易总量也会对其产生限制。消除这几个因素后,贸易结构逐渐趋于分散并保持平稳。另外,进口与出口能够互相推动,贸易分散具有自我加强机制。     

孔子的商业经济思想

孔子是我国历史上著名的思想家、政治家、教育家。在商业经济方面 ,他重视商品流通 ,力倡商业自由经营 ,并注重对商业活动的宏观调控和规范。研究孔子的商业经济思想可以使我们进一步加深对儒家传统商业观的认识 ,为我们今天发展社会主义市场经济提供借鉴     

You Cannot Judge a Book by Its Cover: The Problems with Journal Rankings

Abstract

Journal rankings lists have impacted and are impacting accounting educators and accounting education researchers around the world. Nowhere is the impact positive. It ranges from slight constraints on academic freedom to admonition, censure, reduced research allowances, non-promotion, non-short-listing for jobs, increased teaching loads, and re-designation as a non-researcher, all because the chosen research specialism of someone who was vocationally motivated to become a teacher of accounting is, ironically, accounting education. University managers believe that these journal ranking lists show that accounting faculty publish top-quality research on accounting regulation, financial markets, business finance, auditing, international accounting, management accounting, taxation, accounting in society, and more, but not on what they do in their ‘day job’ – teaching accounting. These same managers also believe that the journal ranking lists indicate that accounting faculty do not publish top-quality research in accounting history and accounting systems. And they also believe that journal ranking lists show that accounting faculty write top-quality research in education, history, and systems, but only if they publish it in specialist journals that do not have the word ‘accounting’ in their title, or in mainstream journals that do. Tarring everyone with the same brush because of the journal in which they publish is inequitable. We would not allow it in other walks of life. It is time the discrimination ended.     

Corporate Governance: An Ethical Perspective

This paper discusses corporate governance issues from a compliance viewpoint. It makes a distinction between legal and ethical compliance mechanisms and shows that the former has clearly proven to be inadequate as it lacks the moral firepower to restore confidence and the ability to build trust. The concepts of freedom of indifference and freedom for excellence provide a theoretical basis for explaining why legal compliance mechanisms are insufficient in dealing with fraudulent practices and may not be addressing the real and fundamental issues that inspire ethical behavior. The tendency to overemphasize legal compliance mechanisms may result in an attempt to substitute accountability for responsibility and may also result in an attempt to legislate morality which consequently leads to legal absolutism. The current environment of failures of corporate responsibility are not only failures of legal compliance, but more fundamentally failures to do the right (ethical) thing. Surendra Arjoon is an Associate Professor of Business Ethics at the University of the West Indies, Trinidad. He served as Chair, Department of Management Studies (2002–2005) and as Associate Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences (1996–2002). He is also the Vice-President of the Trinidad and Tobago Economics Association. His work has appeared in the Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Markets and Morality, Global Development Studies, Applied Financial Economics, and Social and Economic Studies.