美国“玩具博士”推荐年度“经典玩具”

新华网纽约4月17日电（报道员李大玖）美国著名玩具评级机构之一“玩具博士”日前发表2012年“经典玩具”名单。“玩具博士”创办人奥尔巴克建议家长选择玩具时应注意让孩子身心获益，不要一味求新求贵。奥尔巴克从事玩具消费研究和玩具评级已逾30年。她Ⅱ乎吁家长注意许多简单传统玩具的价值，比如跳绳、球、折纸等。她说：“很多经典玩具经久不衰，     

Enterprise Unions in the United States

Through a case study of a large industrial company ( TRW ) , this paper examines the history and functioning of independent local unions ( ILUs ). TRW's ILU plant wages were about the same as those at affiliated union plants and higher than those at nonunion plants. The premium explains why TRW and other companies discarded ILUs in favor of a "new" nonunion model. Yet ILUs can remedy some of the defects in that model and thus belong on the policy and research agenda     

Privatizing Highways in the United States

We review the experience of both private toll-roads built in the United States during the 1990s, and argue that the problems they encountered could have been avoided if the length of the franchise contract would adapt to demand realizations. We also argue in favor of adjudicating private toll-roads via BOT-type contracts in competitive (Demsetz) auctions. The lessons of this paper are relevant since growing congestion and troubled government finances have made private toll-roads increasingly attractive in the United States.     

义乌——玩具小企业实现对欧美出口增三成以上

面对苛刻的外贸标准，通过国际认证是一条捷径。在企业没有通过“ICTI”认证之前，面对欧美采购商，王铀锝也有过碰壁的经历。同样品质的游泳圈，欧美采购商在确定质量过关的·睛况下，还是犹豫着不下单，对此这位年轻的企业家记忆犹新。     

Globalization and Declining Unionization in the United States

For decades, the private‐sector unionization rate in the United States has been falling. At the same time, the integration of the United States into the world economy has been rising. Many anecdotes suggest the latter has played a role in that decline, with unions feeling pressured to reduce employment and/or compensation demands in the face of rising cross‐border activity of employers. To investigate this possibility econometrically, in this paper I assembled a panel of U.S. manufacturing industries that matches union‐coverage rates with measures of global engagement such as exports, imports, tariffs, transportation costs, and foreign direct investment. The main finding is a statistically and economically significant correlation between falling union coverage and greater numbers of inward FDI transactions. Possible interpretations of this finding are then discussed. Because U.S. affiliates of foreign multinationals have higher unionization rates than U.S.‐based firms do, this correlation does not reflect just a compositional shift toward these affiliates. Instead, it may reflect pressure of international capital mobility on U.S.‐based companies, consistent with research on how rising capital mobility raises labor‐demand elasticities and alters bargaining power.     

Has the United States Overinvested in Housing?

Several economists have concluded that housing investment has been excessive relative to industrial investment in the U.S. Most blame provisions of the federal income tax that favor owner-occupied housing.
This paper poses the question within a two-sector neoclassical growth model which permits the social return to housing to differ from that to non-housing. The model is estimated using national income accounts and capital stock data from 1929 to 1983. The conclusion is that the return to housing capital is about half that to non-housing capital and that the housing stock should be about 75% of its 1983 volume.     

The Union Avoidance Industry in the United States

This paper analyses the development of the union avoidance industry in the United States during the past half‐century. Focusing on one leading example from each group, it examines the activities of the four main actors that constitute that industry: consultants, law firms, industry psychologists and strike management firms. Although these firms have experienced a fall in business as unions have declined in strength and numbers — a development that the union avoidance industry has contributed to — they continue to play an important role in the US system of industrial relations. Over three‐quarters of employers hire consultants when confronted by organizing campaigns, and large union avoidance firms are increasingly seeking export markets for their expertise.     

EFT in the United States — a report summary

Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) is described by the US National Commission on EFT as a sophisticated electronic technology used to conduct many of the daily financial transactions in our society presently being provided for by cash and checks. Recent trends in electronic banking provide the consumer with such new choices as having access to his/her checking (current) account or savings (deposit) account 24 hours a day, paying bills by phone and having paycheques deposited by the employer directly into a bank account. The Commission states that ‘EFT systems and services represent an alternative that will operate side-by-side with the traditional cash and check payment systems.’ A summary of the findings of the US National Commission on EFT is presented below.     

Regulatory initiatives and related activities in the United States

Prevention of chemical incidents is an important issue in the chemical petroleum industries. This issue is receiving focus and attention from a wide spectrum—Industry, Labor, Professional Associations, Environmental Groups Government and the Public. The purpose of this paper is to review the various regulatory initiatives and related activities regarding chemical process safety.     

美国燃油消费税政策及启示

美国政府长期监控汽油和柴油消费税税率变化,税费在汽油和柴油零售价中所占比例一直处于较低水平.美国各州征收的汽油和柴油税费水平存在较大差异,东部和西部沿海各州征收的汽油和柴油消费税税率普遍较高,中南部和油气生产州的汽油税费相对较低.联邦政府和各州政府的征收环节也各不相同.中美两国国情不同,中国成品油消费税制度改革,可借鉴与参考美国燃油消费税征管做法:1)将成品油消费税调整为中央和地方共享税;2)将成品油消费税征收调整至零售环节;3)建立成品油消费税税率调整机制;4)加强中央和地方两级政府税收征收管理体系建设.     

Merger Policy in the United States: A Reconsideration

Review of Industrial Organization -     

对美国天然气法律与政策的思索

美国天然气工业历经了百余年的历史，政府在天然气的不同发展时期制定了不同的法律与政策。1938年颁布了《天然气法》，主要是加强政府对自然垄断的管道运输行业的监管；1954年制定的菲利普斯决议和1978年出台的《天然气政策法》虽然在天然气定价方面显得背道而驰，但都是为了解决当时的问题；1985年颁布的FERC456号法令与l992年颁布的FERC656号法令为天然气行业引入竞争、规范行业行为做出了重要贡献。美国天然气法律与政策的演进对中国的天然气行业具有借鉴意义和参考价值。目前，中国天然气行业的发展还处于初级阶段，应结合我国的具体情况，借鉴美国的成功经验和失败教训，逐步建立和完善我国的天然气立法与政策，促进天然气行业健康有序的发展。     

加拿大与美国的能源监管及其对我国的启示

加拿大与美国经过长期不断的调整和改革，形成了一整套完整、科学的能源管理体制框架。两国政府都分别设立了能源主管部门和能源监管机构，实行分级监管相互协调的监管方式，并建立了完整的监管法律体系。能源主管部门负责能源大政方针及相关的政策研究；监管机构负责监管政策的制定和执行，独立于政府并具有司法审判功能，有效地保证政府的能源政策的落实；按现代监管模式制定的法律法规大大减少了行政管理的不确定性、管理人员实话监管的随意性以及处于自然垄断领域的企业滥用市场优势地位的可能性，增加了投资者、经营者和消费者三方的信心。我国亟待加强能源管理，为此建议：恢复国家能源委员会；在国家能源委员会下设国家能源监管委员会，并通过立法法规定其具有在国家能源领域独立监管的权力；尽快启动监管法律法规的制定和完善工作；从天然气行业下游领域先行启动监管；在过渡期成立天然气下游领域的临时监管机构负责过渡期的监管工作。     

Exports to the United States Head toward Growth

Exports head toward growth In the Jan.-Jul. 2010 period, China's textile and garment exports to the United States amounted to $18.979 billion, up 29.66 percent y/y, slightly increasing by 1.17 percentage points from the growth rate of the Jan.     

Some facts about concentrated labor markets in the United States

We estimate employer concentration by occupation in the United States from 2003 to 2018. Findings include the following: (1) concentration is a characteristic of small labor markets; (2) patterns of concentrated employment differ from patterns of employment in very large employers, with overlap largely in the public sector; (3) the public sector and hospital industry play prominent roles in concentrated employment; (4) more concentrated labor markets are associated with slightly lower wages, only within the private sector.     

Unions and Work Attitudes in the United States and Japan

Examining whether Japanese enterprise unions have a negative effect on employee job attitudes or whether they forge a stronger bond between the worker and the firm, our results indicate that union membership has no effect on Japanese employees' job satisfaction, but that there is some negative impact on company commitment. Much of the union effect on U.S. workers' job attitudes stems from lower job complexity, work autonomy, perceived promotion chances, and quality circle membership.     

Municipal fiber in the United States: A financial assessment

Despite growing interest in broadband provided by municipally owned and operated fiber-to-the-home networks, the academic literature has yet to undertake a systematic assessment of these projects' financial performance. To fill this gap, we utilize municipalities' official reports to offer an empirical evaluation of the financial performance of every municipal fiber project in the U.S. operating in 2010 through 2019. An analysis of the actual performance of the resulting fifteen-project panel dataset reveals that none of the projects generated sufficient nominal cash flow in the short run to maintain solvency without infusions of additional cash from outside sources or debt relief. Similarly, 87% have not actually generated sufficient nominal cash flow to put them on track to achieve long-run solvency. In addition, 73% generated negative nominal cash flow over the past three fiscal years, leaving them poorly positioned to make up their deficits and causing them to fall farther into debt. An assessment based on the net present value of these projects' operating cash flow indicates that 53% of projects would not be on track to breakeven even assuming the theoretical best-case performance in terms of capital expenditures and debt service. Close analysis of these projects’ performance reveals that revenue generation likely plays a more important role in generating cash flow than efficiency in construction costs or operating efficiency.