The SLCP-driven land use changes and farmers＇ responses in the loess hilly and gully region： a case study for Ansai County

Taking Ansai County located in loess hilly and gully area as a case, this study analyzes the land use changes driven by the SLCP （Slope Land Conversion Program） and the farmers＇ responses by household survey and participatory rapid appraisal （PRA）. It is found that the SLCP aroused various changes in land use, agricultural production, rural incomes, etc. In the period of 1999-2005, the farmland and grasslands were reduced by 26,809 ha and 17,571 ha respectively, while forestland increased by 38,203 ha; greenhouse vegetable and orchard got a quick development, with the area enlarged by about 7 times and nearly doubled respectively. The SLCP reduced the area of crops particularly those that normally grown on slope lands, e.g. the sowing area of winter wheat ped from 19.39% of the total cropping area in 1999 to 0.98% in 2005. Draught animals, pigs and sheep have a decline in the number because the remained land and the ban on grazing on natural grasslands can not provide sufficient feed forage. Thanks to the financial subsidy, farmers increased land inputs and thus outputs. To achieve long-term sustainable development and improve rural income, the government should continuously support farmers to improve the land management, to adopt alternative land use systems, and to increase inputs on soil conservation. Vegetable and fruit production are two promise land use systems, and should be further developed.     

Impact of openness, economic policy reform and regional shocks on trade and growth of Thailand： An econometric study

Thailand has currently enhanced and promoted intensive trade and investment liberalization and implemented long-term growth policy according with current regional economic integration, WTO obligations and globalization. Nevertheless, several recent internal and external factors e.g. the massive SARS and avian flu outbreaks, the Indian Ocean tsunami devastation, the Asia financial crisis and domestic policy reforms （ICSEAD, 2006） have also impeded this policy. While the issues are important for Thailand and developing countries in Asia, only limited research has been undertaken to investigate them. The paper conducts a substantive quantitative study to contribute to these trade and development policy issues. A new econometric modelling policy method, namely the generalized gravity theory （Tran Van Hoa, 2004） is used to develop a simple flexible simultaneous-equation econometric model of Thailand＇s openness model with its seven major trade partners （ASEAN-4, Australia, the USA, the EU, China, Japan and India）. Using data from the ICSEAD, the World Development Indicators and the Bank of Thailand databases, the paper reveals efficient and reliable empirical findings on trade-growth causality, trade determination including the impact of shocks and policy reform on trade and growth between Thailand and its major trade partners over the past two decades. The paper also provides evidence on the linkages between trade in goods, FDI and services and regional economic integration for more credible policy implications.     

Differentiation and restructuring – new space for development of urban center area： a case study of Shizhong District of Ji＇nan City

Taking the development tendency of current world industrial development as the background, this paper restructures the internal space of urban center area by illustrating reasons for internal space differentiation of urban center area, that is to say, according to the tertiary industry interior＇s high-end of value chain after convergence among the primary, the secondary and the tertiary industries, the space structure of urban center area will form the space development mode with characteristic modern service industry cluster districts through vertical segmentation, horizontal derivatization and block aggregation and realize perfect space renewal of urban center area in the end.