Urban Development under Ambiguous Property Rights: A Case of China’s Transition Economy

Property rights play a key role in maintaining sustainable growth and in achieving efficient development. China’s economic reforms have stimulated urban physical development through the commodification and marketization of land‐use rights and building construction. Property rights over urban land have been decentralized, but the gradualist reform of state assets has not assigned and delineated property rights clearly between the principal and agents. Within a short space of time, Shanghai, a city in a transition economy, is facing a great property glut for the first time in its history. It is the two‐tier incentive structure that has created the dynamics of Shanghai’s urban physical development since 1980. The marketization of buildings makes property development a viable business. Capitalization on valued properties in the open domain motivates key actors in the development process to initiate redevelopment projects. Rapidly rising price benchmarks established by the booming property market escalate the urge to transform rents in the unsecured public domain to physical assets that are protected by the socialist use right. Les droits de propriété jouent un rôle essentiel dans la réussite d’une expansion durable et d’un aménagement efficace. En Chine, les réformes économiques ont stimulé un urbanisme construit, via une banalisation et une marchandisation des droits d’utilisation du sol et de la construction de bûtiments. Les droits de propriété sur les terrains urbains ont été décentralisés; cependant, la réforme gradualiste des biens de l’État n’a ni attribué ni délimité clairement les droits de propriété entre commettant et mandataires. En un court laps de temps, Shanghai, ville en économie de transition, se trouve confrontée à une surabondance de biens immobiliers pour la première fois de son histoire. C’est une structure incitative à deux niveaux qui a généré la dynamique de l’urbanisme construit de Shanghai depuis 1980. La marchandisation des immeubles fait de la promotion immobilière une activité lucrative. La capitalisation sur des propriétés valorisées dans un marché libre motive les acteurs‐clés du processus de développement à lancer des projets de réaménagement. Les prix de référence en croissance rapide, instaurés par le marché immobilier florissant, intensifient la tendance à transformer les loyers sans garantie du domaine public en biens construits protégés par le droit d’usage socialiste.     

Local Growth Coalition: The Context and Implications of China’s Gradualist Urban Land Reforms

China’s urban land reforms are being implemented within a framework of general economic reforms which are gradualist in nature. Thus, the urban land reforms are moving step by step towards the establishment of a land market. This gradualism is developing in association with a redefinition of central-local intergovernmental relations in the reform era, and with the advent of localism. In this context, gradual urban land reforms have become an implicit programme to nurture local enterprises and developers, a means of fostering local government-enterprise coalitions and an instrument to strengthen local government’s position in local development. During the systematic transition toward a socialist market economy, booming Chinese cities are formulating informal local ‘urban regimes’ to compete for local growth by capitalizing on financial gains derived from a dual market of urban land and property development. — Les réformes du sol urbaines en Chine sont mises en oeuvre dans une structure de réformes économiques générales de nature incrementaliste. Ainsi, les réformes agraires urbaines vont pas à pas vers l’établissement d’un marché de la terre. Cet incrémentalisme se développe en association avec une redéfinition des relations intergouvernementales centre-région pendant les réformes et avec l’arrivée du localisme. Dans ce contexte, les réformes du sol urbaines se sont implicitement transformées en un programme de support pour les entreprises et les promoteurs locaux, un moyen d’encourager les coalitions locales entre le gouvernement et les entreprises et un instrument de renforcement de la position du gouvernement local dans le développement local. Durant la transition systématique vers une économie de marché socialiste, les villes chinoises en plein essor élaborent des ‘régimes urbains’ locaux officieux pour améliorer la croissance locale par une capitalisation des gains financiers dérivés et du double marché du sol urbain et du développement immobilier.     

Four Theses in the Study of China’s Urbanization

This article is written specifically for students of Chinese urbanization who are not sinologists. Four theses should inform their studies. The first is that China is an ancient urban civilization, but the processes we observe today are unprecedented. Thus, China’s urbanization must be studied under this dual aspect, giving due to both historical continuities and the unique characteristics of our own era. The second thesis argues that urbanization is a set of multidimensional socio‐spatial processes of at least seven different and overlapping dimensions, each with its own vocabulary and traditions of scholarship. The study of China’s urbanization thus requires a trans‐disciplinary approach. Thesis number three argues that urbanization involves rural–urban relations, but in contrast with many earlier studies, these relationships should be studied from an urban rather than rural perspective. Finally, and most contentiously, China’s urbanization, although entwined with globalization processes, is to be understood chiefly as an endogenous process leading to a specifically Chinese form of modernity.     

‘Re-inventing’ China’s Industrial Relations at Enterprise-Level: an Empirical Field-Study in Four Major Cities

This article discusses the impact of China’s latest reforms on industrial relations at enterprise level in both state-owned firms (SOEs) and foreign-invested joint ventures (JVs) based on a sample of 24 industrial enterprises located in four cities. It concludes that the reforms of the early 1990s have ‘re-invented’ the IR system and have significantly influenced recruitment and selection, wage and reward systems, and social security programmes.     

Rewriting China’s Recent History: Fluctuations in State Economic Control, 1949–1984

China's political and economic systems are often discussed in combination. It is generally believed that under the political system of centralization, the economic system had to be a state monopoly. This article challenges that view by providing an economic perspective. The period 1949–1984 is selected to explore the causes of successive periods of strengthening and weakening of the state's monopoly power over the economy. Scholars have generally assumed that the period of state monopoly originated from socialist ideology or the personal will of the leaders. But economic conditions severely limited the options available. After the new China was established, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) did not try to create a fully socialist economy in the short run. Instead, the CCP formulated a New Democracy platform that pragmatically allowed many types of enterprise to function side by side, including private industry, household ventures, and state‐owned enterprises. The original plan of the CCP was to allow private enterprise to develop in order to build up capital to rebuild the war‐damaged economy so that a strong foundation could be established for creating a socialist economy. But the Korean War from 1950 to 1953 and an influx of Soviet capital caused a shift from a mixed economy to state capitalism by 1956. From that point on, Mao Zedong and other Chinese leaders had to change course again and again as fiscal crises limited available options. A reversal occurred in 1958 when the Soviets withdrew both their advisors and their capital subsidies, leaving the state capitalist system weakened. The crisis in the Chinese economy from 1959 to 1961 required decentralization of economic authority and efforts to promote rural capital formation. The next shift occurred after 1963 as the economy was organized to prepare for a possible military invasion. The required mobilization of industrial resources in remote regions of China inevitably reinforced state management of the economy. The final reversal occurred in the late 1970s, when imports of Western technology and equipment created another fiscal crisis for the central government, which then had to shift the burden of capital formation from the state to private entities. The reform of the rural household contract system, the adjustment of economic structures, and an increase in exports to gain foreign exchange all took place as part of “de‐monopolization” reforms. The reforms that occurred after 1979 were not an aberration or a radical break from the past. They were part of a pattern that evolved from 1949 to 1984, with fluctuations dependent on the weakening and strengthening status of state finances. The shifts that occurred during this period have either been ignored by observers, or they have been misinterpreted as being motivated by ideology. In fact, new policies were created to enable the government to adjust to changes in the internal and external environment.     

Economic indicators and stock market volatility in an emerging economy

By analyzing the daily realized volatility series calculated from intraday stock price observations, this study examines the direct causality between one-day-ahead aggregate stock market volatility and several economic and financial indicators in the Korean market, a leading emerging market. Using the predictive regression and superior predictive ability tests, we find that the model-free implied volatility index (VKOSPI) and stock market indicators both lead the daily market volatility. However, daily economic indicators provide no predictive information beyond that contained in historical volatility. Though in-sample causality does not guarantee a better out-of-sample forecasting performance, the VKOSPI and combinations of predictors exhibit significant predictive ability regardless of the time period. Our study verifies the information role of the VKOSPI as an indicator of daily market risk.     

Thy neighbor’s jobs: geography and labor market dynamics

This paper develops three explanations for the extent of correlation between neighboring geographic areas’ economic outcomes. Export-oriented firms in neighboring counties might independently produce similar goods, or might be linked directly through the production of intermediate inputs. In either case, counties are exposed to similar demand shocks. Finally, regions share markets for goods and services that are both produced and consumed locally. Empirical results suggest that much of the ‘risk’ associated with economic decline in neighboring regions can be attributed to industrial similarity rather than direct dependence of jobs in one area on jobs in another.     

HRM and knowledge-transfer: a micro analysis in a Middle Eastern emerging market

This is a study surrounding the interplay between Human Resource Management (HRM) and knowledge transfer within an emerging institutional petro-state. It seeks to link HRM and knowledge transfer through individual-level mechanisms in response to the recent calls for more research on micro-foundations. Our findings provide empirical evidence for HRM-related factors influencing knowledge exchange in a sample of 815 employees in the national context of the UAE. We found that individual-level perceptions and extrinsic motivation have a positive impact on knowledge exchange; however, we found evidence to suggest only an indirect effect of individual perceptions of organisational commitment to knowledge exchange, via individual intrinsic motivation and social interaction. Unlike some existing accounts from the Western world, individual perceptions of organisational commitment to knowledge sharing had no direct positive impact on knowledge exchange – an issue that may be ascribed to the distinct institutional setting of the UAE. This paper adds to the existing literature on HRM and knowledge exchange by bringing to bear new evidence from a Middle Eastern emerging market setting – an area thus far relatively neglected in the literature.     

Tradable and non-tradable expenditure and aggregate demand for imports in an emerging market economy

Using an assumption of non-separability of non-tradable expenditure from imports, this paper examines the impact of the structural transformation undertaken after 2001 on imports and, in turn, the current account stance of Turkey. In this regard, an import demand function is derived under the assumption of non-separability, and is estimated using quarterly time series data from Turkey. The empirical results show that the assumption of non-separability cannot be rejected in the case of Turkey and the relative prices of non-tradable and tradable goods must be among the determinants of import demand in addition to the relative price of imports and real GDP. This result accordingly implies that recent increases in import expenditure are, to some extent, due to changes in the relative price structure in favour of non-tradable goods.     

Corporate financial distress: The case of publicly listed firms in an emerging market economy

Occurrences of financial distress (FD) are not readily obvious yet can span several periods. This paper examines episodes of FD using industry‐relative (IR) firm‐/ accounting‐, market‐ and macro‐level information. Mixed logit regressions reveal that firm‐ and market‐based measures, as well as macro‐level variables explain the likelihood of FD in 263 publicly listed non‐banking firms in the Philippines during the period 1995 to 2018. Rates of identification of firms in financial distressed states of close to 69 percent are obtained at a cutoff probability of 0.30 in the model with time‐varying intercept and slope. This study shows the importance of recognizing heterogeneous firm behavior. The ability to more accurately predict the probability of FD and to determine the financial health of firms can help financial institutions in allocating funds and policy makers in predicting crises episodes.     

Canberra: a sheep in wolf’s clothing

Canberra, the capital of the Commonwealth of Australia, was built as a symbol of a new nation. The city’s symbolism is dominated by an optic axis, provided by the masterplan of Walter Burley Griffin. The dominant message of the objects at the poles of this axis, the Parliament House and the War Memorial, is nationalism. The Parliament House brings the nation together at one point and the War Memorial specifies that the Australian national is tough, resourceful, and comradely. By its reference to heroic deeds in wartime, the War Memorial gives a belligerent message in an otherwise peaceful landscape. Women and spiritual religions are conspicuously absent from Canberra. There is a remarkable tolerance towards other nations leaving their symbolic footprint in Canberra. — Canberra, la capitale du Commonwealth d’Australie, fut construite comme symbole de la nation. Le symbolisme de la ville est dominé par un axe optique, d’après le plan d’ensemble détaillé de Walter Burley Griffin. Le message dominant des objets aux extrémités de cet axe, le Parlement et le monument aux morts, est le nationalisme. Le Parlement rassemble la nation à un point donné, et le monument aux morts spécifie que l’australien est tenace, ingénieux, et amical. Le monument aux morts rappelle des actes de guerre héroï?ques et envoie un message belligérant dans un paysage autrement tranquille. Les femmes et les religions spirituelles sont très manifestement absentes de Canberra. Il y a une tolérance remarquable envers les autres nations qui ont laissé leur empreinte symbolique sur Canberra.     

Mexico’s balance of payments and exchange rates: a cointegration analysis

Mexico’s recurrent economic crises have cast serious doubts on the existence of a long-run relationship between the country’s balance-of-payments and exchange rates. In this paper, cointegration and vector autoregression techniques are applied to Mexico’s data covering the period 1971 through 1988. Despite the presence of nonstationarity, the statistical analysis supports a long-run relationship between changes in international reserves and the exchange rate and changes in domestic credit. Further multivariate Granger causality tests, together with innovation accounting, indicate that Mexico’s monetary authorities adjust domestic assets to sterilize balance-of-payments deficits in a futile attempt to control its monetary policy.     

Russia’s and Kazakhstan’s agro-food sectors under liberalized agricultural trade: a case for national product differentiation

Russia is a major importer of agro-food products in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), whereas Kazakhstan’s agro-food sector is more export-oriented. Based on a multi-market-model with bilateral trade, the paper investigates how a Common Agricultural Market (CAM) and World Trade Organization (WTO) accession would affect prices, quantities, and welfare on agro-food markets in both countries. Trade diversion effects are expected because of a changed tariff structure. Kazakhstan’s agro-food sector will loose price competitiveness on Russia’s markets if liberalization is too narrowly focused on import tariffs. Simulations also suggest that national product differentiation can be part of a strategy for Russian agro-food industries to cope with stronger international competition.     

A change management perspective on public sector cutback management: towards a framework for analysis

The financial crisis forces public managers to implement cutbacks within their organization. We argue that adopting a change management perspective contributes to our understanding of cutback management by adding a focus on managerial behaviour regarding cutback-related organizational changes. Relying on change management literature, this paper develops a framework for the analysis of cutback management connecting the context, content, process, outcomes and leadership of cutback-related change. From this it follows that managers can be positioned at the intersection of various imperatives, both externally and internally, such as their political leaders and their own subordinates. A research agenda is proposed.     

Street Children and Street Life in Urban Tanzania: The Culture of Surviving and its Implications for Children’s Health

This paper presents data from an in-depth study conducted among street children in an urban setting in Tanzania. It examines the reasons ‘children of the street’ leave their homes, how they survive and meet their daily needs, what problems they encounter whilst on the streets and how they surmount them. The paper also examines the implications of street life for children’s health. The findings show that general poverty lies at the center of the increasing number of street children in Tanzania. Street life makes the children vulnerable to a variety of problems including ill health. Policies in Tanzania have so far failed to solve this problem, particularly because social policies have been dealing with symptoms rather than essential causes. The paper ends by outlining short- and long-term policy solutions and also suggests directions for future research and early intervention. — Cet article présente les données d’une étude en profondeur conduite parmi les enfants des rues dans un cadre urbain en Tanzanie. Il explore les raisons pour lesquelles ‘les enfants des rues’ partent de chez eux, comment ils survivent et surviennent à leurs besoins quotidiens, les problèmes qu’ils rencontrent dans les rues et comment ils les surmontent. Cet article examine aussi les implications de la vie dans la rue pour la santé des enfants. Les résultats montrent que la pauvreté générale est la raison centrale du nombre croissant d’enfants dans les rues en Tanzanie. La vie dans les rues rend les enfants susceptibles à de nombreux problèmes, y compris la mauvaise santé. La politique de la Tanzanie n’a pas encore réussi à résoudre ce problème, en particulier parce que la politique sociale a adressé les symptômes plutôt que les causes essentielles. Cet article propose des solutions politiques à court et à long terme et suggère également des options pour les recherches futures et pour des interventions précoces.