Fiscal policy and structural reforms in transition economiesAn empirical analysis

This paper provides an empirical examination of the relationship between fiscal balance and structural reforms using panel data from 25 transition economies. The results indicate that privatization and restructuring, via unemployment, affect the fiscal balance negatively. This finding provides support for ideas in theoretical transition economics that maintain that fiscal pressures are most severe in fast-reforming countries. In contrast, price liberalization has a robust positive impact on fiscal performance. In addition, the results differ somewhat over different countries and transition time.     

构建我国农村金融体系的信贷供给主体分析

形成开放的、多元化的、多主体竞争的农村金融体系是当前新农村建设的金融基石。从对我国当前农村商业性金融、合作金融、政策性金融及民间金融四类信贷供给主体的特征和存在问题分析入手，可以理顺四类信贷供给主体协调发展的关系，探讨并得出构建我国开放的、多元化的、多主体竞争的农村金融体系的政策建议。     

内生货币供给理论及其货币政策述评

本文对内生货币供给理论及其政策主张进行了全面的回顾与分析，并着重介绍了当代新凯恩斯主义的内生货币供给理论和货币政策。在文章最后，还提出了内生货币理论对我国通货紧缩下的宏观经济可能会有的启示。     

浅谈企业会计政策选择

从会计政策的涵义出发，阐述了社会主义市场经济条件下，会计政策选择的必然性，以及在我国准则体系不完善的情况下，进行会计政策选择的总体原则。最后探讨了在目前情况下进行了会计政策选择要注意的问题。     

Data Envelopment Analysis of different climate policy scenarios

Recent developments in the political, scientific and economic debate on climate change suggest that it is of critical importance to develop new approaches able to compare policy scenarios for their environmental effectiveness, their distributive effects, their enforceability, their costs and many other dimensions. This paper discusses a quantitative methodology to assess the relative performance of different climate policy scenarios when accounting for their long-term economic, social and environmental impacts. The proposed procedure is based on Data Envelopment Analysis, here employed in evaluating the relative efficiency of eleven global climate policy scenarios. The methodology provides a promising comparison framework; it can be seen as a way of setting some basic guidelines to frame further debates and negotiations and can be flexibly adopted and modified by decision makers to obtain relevant information for policy design. Three major findings emerge from this analysis: (i) stringent climate policies can outperform less ambitious proposals if all sustainability dimensions are taken into account; (ii) a carefully chosen burden-sharing rule is able to bring together climate stabilisation and equity considerations; and (iii) the most inefficient strategy results from the failure to negotiate a post-2012 global climate agreement.     

Commentary. Stuck in low GEAR? Macroeconomic policy in South Africa, 1996-98

Despite its ideology while in opposition, once in power theANC government implemented an orthodox macroeconomic policywhich stressed deficit reduction and a tight monetary policy,combined with trade liberalisation. The stated purpose of thispackage (the Growth, Employment, and Redistribution programme,or GEAR) was to increase economic growth, with a 4.2% rate programmedfor 1996-2000. At mid-term of the programme, growth remainedfar below this target. The GEAR's lack of success cannot beexplained by unfavourable external factors; rather, the disappointingperformance seemed the result of fiscal contraction and excessivelyhigh interest rates.     

Prospects for food security in the 21st Century: with special emphasis on Africa

Food security for the world in 2025 is possible and probable if the right set of things are done, starting now. But the task will not be easy. It is both a technology and a political/economic challenge. The challenge for sub-Saharan Africa is even greater. While other regions improved per capita food availability over the last 30 years, Africa's availability declined. But food security is about more than supply. It is also about access which means income generating employment is critical. Meeting future requirements in Africa and the world will require sustainable intensification of complex production systems, appropriate national and international policies and continued investments in agricultural research. Without these conditions and increased employment intensive growth, prospects for the future are less bright.     

我国生产力布局差异实证分析

我国东西部地区之间经济差距的增大 ,将成为我国经济发展和社会稳定的主要障碍。文章对我国生产力布局差异及差异形成的原因进行了实证分析 ,目的在于吸取东部地区发展经验的同时 ,能为开发大西部制定出更好的政策作准备。     

Food Aid, Food Prices, and Producer Disincentives in Ethiopia

Although the short-term aims of food aid are well conceived, strong concerns have been voiced regarding the long-term impacts of such aid on incentives for agricultural producers in recipient countries. This article examines the statistical link between food aid shipments and food prices in Ethiopia over the period 1996–2006. Monthly data from three markets and three commodities are used to estimate a system of seemingly unrelated regression models for food prices. Results indicate that previous year food aid shipments reduce prices in all producer and consumer markets. These effects, however, appear to be limited to the set of internationally traded commodities that are domestically marketed. A recursive regression procedure is used to identify the food aid threshold at which a negative aid effect emerges. Food aid shipments that constitute less than 10% of domestic production appear to be benign, but shipments above this level show signs of being disruptive to local markets. We use a simple policy simulation to argue that production-sensitive targeting, e.g., conditioning food aid on local food production, would help to circumvent disincentive effects.     

But are they Meritorious? Genetic Productivity Gains under Plant Intellectual Property Rights

The objective of this paper is to evaluate the effect of Plant Variety Protection (PVP) on the productive merit/yield increases of US seed varieties. As an example, we use wheat varieties, which are and have been available as both protected and unprotected under PVP from both the public and private sectors. We find evidence that PVP has contributed to the genetic improvement of wheat, using varietal trial data from Washington State. As the private open‐pollinated varieties exist only because of PVP and are higher yielding, these results indicate a clear public benefit from PVP.